Part 28

‘Umar Highly Revered By All:

At-Tarmidhi reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings the upon him, said, "J see Satanic jinns and the people flee from ~Umar."

Sudaysah reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Wherever Satan encountered ‘Umar since

the latter embraced Islam, he fell on his face.”

Sa’d Ibn Abu Waqqaas reports that “Umar sought permission from Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, to visit him while some women of Quraysh were there talking to him and raising their voices above his. When “Umar asked for permission to come in, they got up and hurriedly hid behind the curtain. Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, gave him permission smilingly. Thereupon “Umar said: “Allah's Messenger, may Allah keep you happy all your life." Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I wonder at those women who were just with me; no sooner did they hear your voice than they immediately hid behind the curtain!" Thereupon ~ Umar said: "O Allah's Messenger, they ought to fear you more." Then “Umar, addressing the women, said: "O you enemies of yourselves, do you fear me and fear not the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?" They answered: "Yes, you are harsh and_ strict as compared to Allah's Messenger." Thereupon, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "By Him, in Whose Hand is my life, if Satan would encounter you in the way, he would certainly take a different way from that of yours." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and

~Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "I

brought the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, some Khazirah (boiled pieces of meat to which flour is added). I told Sawdah, while the Prophet was seated between the two of us, ‘Have some.’ She refused my offer. I said: ‘Either you eat or I will smear your face with it.' Yet she still refused it. So, 1 dipped my hand in the Khazirah and stained her face. The Prophet laughed and said to Sawdah, ‘Stain her face as well.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, laughed. *Umar passed by and called out, 'O Allah's slave, O Allah's

slave!' The Prophet thought he was going to come in, so he said, ‘Get up and wash your faces.’ ~Aa’ishah said, I have always feared “Umar as Allah's Messenger revered him." {Reported by Abu Ya‘ la.)

Ibn ~Abbaas narrates: “For a whole year I had a desire to ask “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab about the explanation of a verse (in Surat At-Tahrim) but I could not ask him because I revered him very much. When he went to perform the Hajj, I too went along with him. On our trip back home, ~ Umar stepped aside to answer the call of nature by the 'Arak' trees. I waited till he finished, and then we proceeded. I then asked him: 'O Commander of the Faithful, who were the two wives of the Prophet's who aided one another against him?' He said, ‘They were Hafsah and ~ Aa’ishah.' Then I said to him, ‘By Allah, I have wanted to ask you about this for a year, but I could not, out of my extreme respect for you." *Umar said, 'Do not refrain from asking me. If you think that I have knowledge (about a certain matter), ask me; and if I know (the answer), I will tell you.' " (Reported by Al-Bukhari.)

Umar's Insight During the Expedition of Tabook:

Abu Hurayrah narrates: "We accompanied the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in an expedition (towards Tabook). People's provisions were almost depleted, and the situation became so critical that they (the men of the army) decided to slaughter some of their camels. Upon this * Umar said: Messenger of Allah, I wish you would pool together what has been left of the provisions with the people and then invoke the blessings of Allah upon them. He (the Prophet) did that accordingly. Each, hence, fetched whatever provisions he had left with him. The Prophet invoked the blessings (of Allah) upon them (the provisions). There was such a miraculous increase in the stocks that people replenished their provisions

fully. At that point, the Prophet said: 'J testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am His Messenger. Whoever of Allah's servants meets Him without entertaining any doubt about these (two fundamentals) would surely be admitted to Paradise.’ " (Reported by Al-Bukhari.)

*Umar's Utter Devotion in Worship:

Despite the fact that “Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, had to shoulder the burden of an entire nation, never did he forget for a second about his worship, which he regarded as the indispensable provision along his journey to Allah, Exalted be He.

Abu Qatadah narrates that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked Abu Bakr: "When do you observe the Witr (i.e. the bedtime prayer) ?" He replied: "I observe the Witr prayer in the early hours of the night." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked ~Umar: "When do you observe the Witr?" He replied: "During the late hours of the night." He then said to Abu Bakr: "You are careful about it"; and he said to “Umar: "You have performed it with vitality." (Reported by Abu Dawood.)

Aslam mentions that “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to stay up late praying for as long as he wished, but in the latter part of the night, he would call out on his household urgingly, "Rise to pray! Rise to pray!" He would then recite the following verse:

CUNY cab) "gle broly tidy GUal ily "Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein.” (Ta

Ha: 132) (Reported by Abu Dawood, Malik and Al-Baihaqi.)

Zayd [bn Haydar, may Allah rest his soul in peace, states: “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab used to fast and use the Siwak (i.e. a tooth stick) more than anyone else. (Reported by [bn Sa*d.)

Ibn *~Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, mentions: ~ Umar died having observed the fast his whole life.

Al-Husayn narrates: ~Uthmaan Ibn Abu Al-* Aas married one of “Umar Al-Khattaab's widows and said: "I swear by Allah it is not because I am interested in money or offspring that I have married her, but because | would like her to tell me how ~Umar used to spend his nights." (Reported by AtTabarani.)

Al-Hafiz Ibn Katheer speaks of ~Umar's nights saying: “Umar would lead people in the “/sha' (night) prayer, then go home and continue to pray till dawn.

“Umar once said to Mu’ awiyah Ibn Khudryy: "Should I sleep in the morning, I would ruin my subjects and should I sleep at night, I would ruin myself. How will I ever get to sleep with those two burdens resting on my shoulders, Mu’ awiyah?" (Reported by Ahamd.)

“Umar, an Example to Be Followed:

Upon being handed the Black Stone (Al-Hajar AlAswad), ~Umar said: "I surely know that you are merely a stone incapable of inflicting harm or bringing good. Had I not seen Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, kiss you, I would never have done so."

recently abandoned idolatry. So he was worried some people might think that being handed the Black Stone was a token of glorification of some stones, as used to be the custom in the Pre-Islamic era. Hence, ‘Umar meant people to understand that he was only following the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in so doing.

Al-Hafiz, may Allah rest his soul in peace, then proceeds : ‘Umar's words reveal his total submission to the Lord, as well as his close adherence to Islamic rules, whose wisdom has not been revealed. He also illustrates the golden rule of following the Prophet in whatever he does, even if the significance of it is not clear. (Reported in Fathul-Bari.)

Nafi> reports: People used to head for the tree under which the Prophet conducted the Pledge of Satisfaction to pray there. When ~Umar learned of that, he ordered it to be cut down.

Al-Ma*roor narrates: "We accompanied ~ Umar Ibn AlKhattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, on one of his pilgrimages. He read the Surahs 'the Elephant' (Al-Feel) and ‘Quraysh' in the Fajr (dawn) prayer. When he left, people encountered a mosque and immediately hurried to it. “Umar asked: ‘What mosque is this?’ They answered: 'The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed in this mosque.’ “Umar returned: 'This was exactly what caused the destruction of the People of the Book prior to you. They held their Prophets' monuments as sacred places of worship. Whoever has yet to perform prayer may pray, whoever has already done so should leave.’ "

It is related that a man then came to meet ~ Umar Ibn AlKhattaab, may Allah be pleased with him and said: "O Commander of the Faithful, when we conquered Al-Madaa’in,

I came across a book wherein I read wondrous words." ~ Umar asked, "Are they from the Quran?" The man replied, "No." “Umar thereupon asked for his Dirah (stick) to be fetched and he fell to beating the man. He then read out Allah's words:

"A. L. R these are the symbols (or verses) of the perspicuous book. We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an, in order that ye may learn wisdom." till "before this, thou too was among those who knew it not." (Yusuf: 1-3) ~Umar next said: "What brought about the downfall of nations prior to you was their turning to the books of their scholars and priests, leaving behind the Torah and the Bible, till they decayed, and the knowledge they encompassed was gone." (Reported by Ibn AlJawjeyy.)

A staunch believer who is confident of Allah's Promise knows, beyond all doubt, that He, the Almighty , is the Sole Bestower. That is why he readily spends all he has for the sake of the welfare of his fellow Muslims as he realizes that Allah will compensate him for all he gives away. Al-Faroog (* Umar), may Allah be pleased with him, set an example in graciousness and generosity for the entire nation.

It is reported that “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab said: "Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded us to give out charity (Sadagah) and I was in possession of some wealth then. I thought: 'Today I will outdo Abu Bakr.' So I

brought half of my wealth. Allah's Messenger asked me, 'What have you left for your family?’ 1 answered, ‘Just as much (as | have given out).’ Abu Bakr brought all the wealth he possessed. The Prophet asked him, ‘What have you left for your family?’ He replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger." I thought, ‘There is no way I can outdo him in anything.’ " ~Umar meant by that he can never outdo Abu Bakr in any of the virtues, because if he could not outdo him although the former had plenty of money, whereas the latter had little, there was not much chance ~ Umar could outdo him in a different situation.