Part 27

Ibn “Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, further reports: "‘Umar was delivering the Friday sermon, when he interrupted it saying: 'O Saariyah, seek the protection of the mount. If you are to ask the wolf to be your shepherd, you are at fault.' People looked at each other in astonishment. ~Ali told them: ‘Wait till he explains to you.' When *~Umar finished the sermon, he was asked about his digression. He said, It occurred to me that the disbelievers have defeated our army who were then by a mountain. Should they use it to cover their backs, they would fight in only one direction. Otherwise, they would be conquered. That is why | uttered the words you claim to have heard. The messenger of the army arrived a month later and mentioned that they had heard ~Umar's voice that day, sought the protection of the mountain and were indeed victorious." (Reported by Ibn Mardaweih.)

Ibn* Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, also mentions: "Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab asked a man, "What is your name?’ The man answered, 'Jamrah (glowing embers)’. ~ Umar asked, ‘Son of whom?' The man said, 'Son of Shihab (a falling star).' “Umar again asked, "Where are you from?' He replied, ‘From Al-Hurqah (the burning fire).' “Umar asked, 'Where do you live?’ The man returned, 'In AlHarah (the heat).' He asked, ‘Where is it located?’ The man answered, ‘In That-Ludhah (the flames).' “Umar then told him, ‘Rush to your people's rescue for they are on fire.’ The man hurried back only to find his family burned." (Reported by Abu Al-Qasim Ibn Bashraan.)

Moreover, it is reported that after the conquest of Egypt, its people went to meet “Amr Ibn Al-* Aas right upon his arrival. They said: "O Emir, the River Nile will not flow unless we observe a certain custom." Ibn Al--Aas asked, "What custom is that ?" They answered: "On the 11" night of this current month, we select a virgin still living with her parents, handsomely reward the latter, then dress and adorn the girl as richly as we can and throw her in the Nile." ~ Amr replied: ‘This certainly does not go in line with Islam, which wipes out whatever acts of ignorance that existed before its advent.” For a while, the Nile continued to flow neither abundantly nor insufficiently, till Muslim troops planned to leave. Consequently, “Amr wrote to “Umar to inform him of the situation. “Umar replied that ~ Amr said the right thing and that Islam does wipe out acts of ignorance that existed before its advent. ‘Umar informed * Amr that he was sending him a card enclosed with his message and _ that he was to throw it in the Nile. When ~Amr received the message, he opened the card, which read: "From Allah's humble servant, ~Umar Ibn AlKhattaab, the Commander of the Faithful, to Egypt's River Nile, if you flow on your own, do not continue flowing. Yet, if you flow according to Allah's Will, I pray to Allah, the One,

the Conqueror, to cause you to flow." The card was thrown in the Nile a day before observing the Egyptian pagan custom. The next morning people woke up to find how Allah, Exalted be He, caused it to flow for a distance of 16 cubits overnight. Since then, the people of Egypt have abandoned their hateful custom indefinitely. (Reported by Al-Hafiz Ibn Katheer.)

Tariq Ibn Shuraih states: When a man spoke to ~ Umar and lied, “Umar would say, "Take this back." The man would lie again and again ~Umar would say, "Take this back." The man would then admit, "Everything I told you is the truth except what you told me to take back." (Reported by Ibn * Aasaakir.)

The Prophet Gives “Umar the Glad Tidings That He Will Be Admitted to Paradise:

Our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, broke to “Umar the good news that he will be among the dwellers of Paradise. The Prophet even saw ~Umar's palace in heaven.

Ibn Mas*ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say: 'A man from among the dwellers of Paradise will now pass along,’ Abu Bakr passed by. The Prophet then said: 'Another of the dwellers of Paradise will now pass along,' and Umar passed by." (Reported by At-Tarmidhi and Al-Hakim.)

*Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn * Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, states: I heard Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "Abu Bakr will be admitted to Paradise, so will “Umar, so will “Uthmaan, so will “Ali, so will Tathah, so will Azubair, so will Abdur-Rahman Ibn ~Awf, so will Sa*d Ibn Abu Waqqaas, so will Sa*id Ibn Zaid, so will Abu *Ubaid Ibn Al-

Jarah.” (Reported by At-Tarmidhi.)

Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: "The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I walked into Paradise and saw a gold palace. I asked, who does it belong to? They replied, To aman from Quraysh. I thought that was me. I asked, who is he? They replied, ~Umar." " (Reported by At-Tarmidhi, Ahmad and Ibn Habban.)

Abu Hurayrah narrates: "While we were in the company of the Prophet, he said, ‘While J was asleep, I saw myself in Paradise and there I beheld a woman performing ablution beside a palace, I asked, To whom does this palace belong? They said, To “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab. Then I remembered “Umar's Ghayrah (i.e. jealousy over women), and so I hurried away from that palace.’ " (When ~ Umar heard this from the Prophet), he wept and said, "Do you think it is likely that I would have feelings of Ghayrah because of you, O Allah's Messenger?" (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.)

*Abdullaah Ibn Hishaam narrates: "We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was walking with *Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab arm in arm. ~ Umar said to the Prophet: 'O Allah's Messenger, you are dearer to me than everyone and everything except myself.' The Prophet answered: ‘No, by Him in Whose Hands my life is, I should be dearer to you than yourself.’ “Umar then returned: ‘I swear by Allah, you are dearer to me than myself now.' The Prophet thereupon said: ‘Now Jam, ~Umar.'" (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Ahmad.)

Among *Umar's invaluable words were the following: "Whenever one's sense of shame diminishes, one's piety does, too, and whenever one's piety diminishes, one's heart

Abu Sa*id Al-Khudryy reports Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: "While J was asleep I saw people being presented to me (in a dream) and they wore Shirts, some of which were merely covering their chests, and some were a bit longer. “Umar was presented before me and his shirt was so long that he was dragging it." They asked, "How do you interpret it, Allah's Messenger?" He said, "It is a symbol of faith."(Reported by Al-Bukhari, Moslem and AtTarmidhi.)

Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said: "While I was asleep, I saw (in a dream) @ cup containing milk being presented to me. I took some sips until I perceived freshness being reflected through my nails. Then I handed the milk to “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab. They said: Allah's Messenger: How do you interpret it? He said: This implies knowledge." (Reported by Al-Bukhari, Moslem and AtTarmidhi.)

In his Fathul Bari, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar explains that "knowledge" here refers to the Ability to rule people according to the Glorious Quran and Prophetic Tradition. *Umar exclusively enjoyed this kind of knowledge which was manifested in his long caliphate which lasted for a period of ten years, in contrast to Abu Bakr who ruled for only two years. Also, throughout ~Umar's reign, the entire nation was under his authority. Conversely, during *Uthmaan's rule, people divided over many issues and opinions varied, which resulted in widespread sedition. That is why ~Umar's knowledge was matchless in the Islamic history.

*Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab narrates: "A Jew one day said to me, "O Commander of the Faithful! There is a verse in your Holy Book which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration." “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab asked, "Which verse is that ?" The Jew replied:

"This day have I perfected your religion For you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (Al-Ma'idah: 3)

~“Umar replied, "No doubt, we know when and where this verse was revealed unto the Prophet. It was on Friday, the day the Prophet was standing on ~Arafaat (i.e. the Day of Hajj)." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Moslem.)

An Invaluable Advice from Al-Faroog (“ Umar):

“Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Seek knowledge before you come to assume leading posts."

In his Al-Fatih, Al-Hafiz explains: “Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, meant that being in a position of authority might prevent one from learning more about Islam, as a chief might be too proud to join circles of students. That is why Malik spoke of the disadvantages of being appointed as a judge saying: Whenever a judge is deposed, he never goes back to the circle where he used to learn.

Qubaysah Ibn Jabir states: "I swear by Allah, never have

I known anyone more merciful to his subjects than Abu Bakr, nor anyone who read Allah's Book more, who knew more about Islam, who Abided more strictly to Allah's limits and who was more feared by men than * Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, nor have I ever known anyone who was shyer than * Uthmaan Ibn * Affaan." (Reported by Ibnul Atheer.)

*“Abdur-Rahmaan {bn * Abdul-Qari' narrates: "I headed with “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, for the mosque one night in Ramadan. We found a disunited host of people; one man praying on his own, and a group of men praying behind an Imam. “Umar said: 'I believe if we unite all this host behind a single /mam, it will be better.’ He then made up his mind and united them behind 'Ubayy Ibn Ka*b. When we headed there another night, we found Muslims led by a single Jmam in prayer. ~Umar said: 'Quite a good innovation this is! Yet, the part of the night they sleep is better than that in which they praye eant the latter part of the night, as people used to pray during the earlier part.’ " (Reported by Al-Bukhari.)

*Abdullaah Ibn Masood, may Allah the pleased with him, states: "I believe all people were grieved when ~ Umar was stabbed except people of malevolence. “Umar was more Allah-conscious than any of us, read the Quran more than any of us and was more versed in Islam than any of us."