Part 36

Driven by his strong urge to administer justice on every inch of the Muslims’ land, ~Umar ordered his governors to report to him annually during the pilgrimage. He also used to ask whoever had a complaint or a grievance to refer it to him so he would return to the oppressed his rights. Similarly, ~ Umar pointed out that should he learn that any of his governors oppressed someone, and did nothing to rectify this injustice, he

would thus be oppressing him too. That is why “Umar appointed Muhammad Ibn Maslamah, whom he fully trusted, to look into the complaints lodged against his governors. It is noteworthy that Muhammad Ibn Maslamah did not investigate those cases secretly. Rather, he used to ask witnesses publicly and there was no way their opinions could be swayed because ~Umar was a firm Caliph and because each and every subject had the right to file a complaint directly to him. He was therefore able to truly achieve man's long-sought dream of justice and freedom.

“Umar was a living example of justice and integrity, not just in the way he dealt with people, but also with his own household. Ibn ~Umar states: "Abu Musa Al-Ash* areyy offered *Atikah Bint Zayd, ~Umar's wife, a rug as a present. The rug was equal to an ell and a span of the hand in length. ~ Umar walked in on his wife and saw the rug. He asked her, 'Where did you get this?’ ' 'Abu Musa Al-Ash*areyy gave it to me as a present,’ answered his wife. *Umar snatched it from her and beat her with it on the head till her head shook. ~Umar then said: 'Bring me Abu Musa Al-Ash* areyy and come with him.' Abu Musa was brought before “Umar, looking so exhausted. He asked; 'Why the rush, Commander of the Faithful?’ ~ Umar returned: 'Why should you give presents to any of my wives?’ He then picked up the rug and beat Abu Musa with it on the head. He next commanded him: 'Take it for we do not need it.' " (Reported by Ibn Sa*d.) May Allah rest ~Umar's soul in peace. He is indeed the best example rulers could ever hope to follow.

This was best illustrated in the famous incident when his own son ~Abdur-Rahmaan together with a friend of his got drunk in Egypt one night. The next morning they both regretted what they had done the night before and decided to head for the governor of Egypt, ~ Amr Ibn ~ Aas to admit their sin and ask to

be punished in order to atone for what they had done. However, since ~Abdur-Rahmaan was the son of the Caliph, the governor hated to defame him, and so he chose to punish him by lashing him in the patio of his own house. When ~ Umar learned of that, he was extremely irritated and at once wrote to ~ Amr Ibn * Aas reprimandingly. He also commanded him to immediately dispatch his son to Madinah. ~ Amr tried to explain that he had punished ~Abdur-Rahmaan the same way he punished everybody else, only it was not in public. Yet, this was hardly convincing to ‘Umar. Once *Abdur-Rahmaan arrived at Madinah, worn-out and fatigued after the long journey, ~ Umar never even allowed him to rest. He immediately commanded him to be lashed again, only this time in public, thus administering justice to the letter. It is further narrated that afterwards ~Abdur-Rahmaan was taken ill. Though sadly watching his son on his death bed, ‘Umar never for a second regretted what he did. Instead, he spoke to him saying: "If you meet my master, Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, tell him that your father administers legal punishments and observes the bounds Allah has placed on man's actions."

Muslims can only marvel at ~Umar's surprising justice in another story. It is narrated that the son of ~ Amr Ibn * Aas once raced with with an Egyptian youth. When the latter won the race, the former was upset and therefore beat his rival and arrogantly told him: " How dare you outdo the son of the most notable parents?". The Egyptian youth thus lodged a complaint against ~Amr's son to “Umar. “Umar immediately sent for ~Amr Ibn ~* Aas and his son to come to Madinah at once. Right upon their arrival, “Umar said to the Egyptian youth: "Now beat the son of the most notable parents." Then, turning to *Amr Ibn ~Aas, ~Umar uttered his famous words: "How dare you enslave people who have been born free?!" It therefore appears that nothing and no one was ever able to dissuade

*Umar from administering justice, in its full and real sense.

Fourthly, among *Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab's most notable achievements was his establishing a store house for flour, dates, raisins as well as various provisions for guests or for those who have lost their way. Likewise, he set down a system for supervising dealings in markets and the process of weighing goods, leaving no chance for whoever wishes to manipulate people's provisions. Moreover, whenever an orphan was brought to the Commander of the Faithful, he would allocate him a hundred Dirhams as well as monthly sustenance to be collected by his guardian in order to support him. His sustenance would then grow annually. * Umar also commanded that orphans should be taken good care of, and that the Treasury should pay for all the expenses of nursing and bringing them

Fifthly, “Umar undertook the process of establishing new cities to be inhabited by Muslims and to act as front-line bases from which to launch armies that would engage in Jihad. It was in the era of ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab that Al-Basrah (formerly Al-Ailah) and Al-Kufah (formerly Al-Hairah) were established. They both came to assume much significance in Muslim history, as they pride themselves on acting as the headquarters from which massive armies were launched to conquer more and more lands and consequently stretch the scope of the Muslim state to further corners of the globe. Similarly, Al-Basrah and Al-Kufah continued to be ardently sought centres of science and other branches of knowledge for many years.

Hence, we can safely draw the conclusion that thanks to *Umar's relentless efforts and wise planning, his coming to office ushered a whole new era of civilization and progress in the entire history of Muslims, an era that took pride in the

previously undreamed of degrees of justice, freedom, abundance and welfare that all Muslims deservedly basked in then.

Refuting Allegations Concerning ~Umar's Deposing Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed:

Unfortunately, some books of history encompass a pack of ridiculous lies aimed at destroying the impeccable image of Al-Faroog, may Allah be pleased with him, Enemies of Islam claim that “Umar deposed Khalid [bn Al-Waleed from the general command of the Muslim army in Syria because of feelings of animosity between the two of them or on account of some old grudge he used to bear him, and the list goes on.

However, those allegations simply do not stand to reason. If ~ Umar spared no effort in administering justice in the farthest ends of the Islamic diaspora, if he unhesitantly took the trouble of going out on night patrols to explore the conditions of Muslims and_ pulled all stops to undo whatever injustice any of his humblest subjects may have been made to suffer, how could he publicly and outspokenly commit such a flagrant act of oppression? The fact of the matter is that when ~ Umar deposed Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, he had a number of very good reasons, the least of which rendered his decision absolutely justifiable.

“Umar himself did not hesitate to explain plainly the reason behind his deposing Khalid. First, he was obviously worried lest people should be enthralled by Khalid 's heroic achievements and lest he should grow self-complacent and pompous. “Umar could not envisage the entire Muslim nation hinging on the life or death of a single leader. Secondly, on account of Khalid's dauntless nature coupled with his unparalleled genius in the arts of war, it was not difficult to perceive a discernible haughtiness in him, which often lead him

to take hasty decisions. Confident of his sound judgment and admirable valor, Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, on more than one occasion, acted as though he had a free hand to handle affairs the way he thought was best. On the day Makkah was conquered, Khalid, disobeying the Prophet's explicit demand, engaged in violence. Further, it was Khalid who killed Malik Ibn Nuwayrah, though Abu Bakr had warned him not to. Moreover, driven by his excessive pride, Khalid was accused of squandering official money in the Treasury by offering too generous gifts to poets who praised him, particularly AlAsh’ath Ibn Qais. “Umar thereupon was filled with bitter indignation and fury and therefore commanded Khalid Ibn AlWaleed to confine the money of the Treasury to the needy and the weak.

Hence, “Umar thought it was in Muslims’ best interest to depose Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed. Yet, the fact remains that there is no way ~Umar's decision was motivated by any personal animosity. Further evidence is to be found in ~Umar's words to Khalid [bn Al-Waleed, when paying him his last respects. “Umar grievingly said: "May Allah have mercy on Abu Sulaymaan (i.e. Khalid), Allah's handsome reward that He shall bestow on him is far better than all the worldly pleasures he enjoyed. He was praiseworthy all his life and he died happy, too." Amazingly, “Umar never forgot Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, not even on his own deathbed, when he was asked: "Who shall you name as your successor, Commander of the Faithful?” “Umar replied: "Had Abu * Ubaydah been still alive and had | named him then passed away and was asked by the Lord why [ did, I would have answered, 'Because I heard Your Servant and Close one, peace and blessings be upon him, say: In every nation, there is an honest one and Abu *Ubaydah Ibn AlJarraaah is the honest one of ours. Had Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed been still alive and had I named him then passed away, and was asked by the Lord, I would have answered: 'I heard Your

Servant and Close one, peace and blessings be upon him, say: Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed is one of Allah's swords that He unsheathed to fight the disbelievers.'"

Muslims’ Conquests in ~Umar’s Era:

Apart from all the abovementioned notable achievements of ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, the single landmark accomplishment that stands out from all the rest is his spreading Islam in provinces where idolatry and ignorance had prevailed for centuries. Though the task was indeed enormous and the challenge undertaken grave, “Umar, a man of unparalleled genius, capably handled the whole affair and was remarkably victorious.