The story of Umar’s reversion to Islam testifies the captivating effect of the Qur’ān. One day Umar went out with a sword in his hand to kill the Messenger.At that moment he was told as to why he was against the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), while his own sister and her husband had entered the fold of Islam. Umar’s anger veered from the Messenger to her sister and he rushed to her sister’s house where Khabbab Ibn Al-Aratt was teaching them the newly revealed verses of the Qur’ān(first six verses of Surah Taha). Umar was enthralled with the recitation and finally subdued his anger and went to the Messenger and declared his faith.
Umar’s genius and courage were immaculate.Interestingly he is the only Muslim after the Messenger to be included in the book named The 100: A Ranking of Most Influential Persons in History by Michael H. Hart. If we read the biography of Umar, we would be overwhelmed by his strict adherence to Islam, his compassion towards the weak and suppressed, and the high moral values and virtues that he upheld. His whole life after entering the fold of Islam was the one from which posterity can take innumerable lessons.
During his caliphate he established many important administrative institutions like regular mail system, official registry for the armies and soldiers (Diwan Al-Jund), etc. It was Umar who for the first time introduced the system of regular pension for the poor, infirm and destitute. He was so valiant that at the time of migration, when it was most feared that the Quraish would follow and kill the Muslims during their journey to Madina, he was the only one who came and told the Quraish and announced his decision to migrate and challenged Quraish to stop him, however none dared to come in his way.
It was Umar who was given the title of “Ameer-ul-Mumineen” (Leader of the Faithful), which later became common and was used for a long time for succeeding caliphs. He was so serious and committed to his duty as a caliph that often he used to shudder and shiver thinking of his accountability before Allah if he does not deliver what he is required to do. While in Madina, Umar once said, “If a goat’s kid dies out of hunger on the bank of river Euphrates, I fear that Allah might hold me accountable for not building the road properly.” One can imagine how God-fearing an individual Umar was and how he considered his being responsible for even the animals coming under his jurisdiction, and that too not just in the capital, but in the far flung areas of Islamic Empire. This can be best understood in today’s no-one-is-accountable world, where even the leaders of countriesare least bothered of the conditions of their citizens, leave aside the well-being of animals.
Another incident of his humbleness and care for citizens came into light when he went for a routine inspection at night outside Madina. He heard children crying and approached to find out the cause of it. He saw a woman sitting surrounded by a few crying children, with a vessel, under which the fire was burning. Umar enquired from the widow why the children were crying.She said the children were hungry and she had nothing to feed them and she had put some stones in the pot along with water just to keep the children quiet until they sleep. She then started complaining about the negligence of the caliph regarding their plight, of course without recognising Umar. The narration brought tears to the eyes of Umar and he straightaway went to the state’s store house and brought a sack of flour and some oil on his back and started blowing fire with his mouth until the food was ready. Umar did not leave the place until he saw that the children had their food and went to sleep. He then told the woman to go to the state’s store house to get a stipend for the maintenance of her family.
Once he saw an old Jew begging in the streets. He immediately called the governor and rebuked him for not treating him kindly and said when he was able-bodied and earning he was paying Jiziya, and now when he became old he was left to fend for himself and beg for sustenance. He said it is the state’s responsibility to take care of him.
Today when we are facing a big question as to whether the high officials and public leaders should be prosecuted while they hold office, it was Umar who showed the world that even an old womanhas a right to rebuke and ask the ruler about his assets. Umar has set the precedence for posterity that even the weakest citizen has a right to take to task public figures, even the head of the state.
Once two slaves were caught stealing a camel; however they were brought before Umar.He looked at them to find that they were too thin and skinny. Umar realised that they would have stolen it out of hunger and therefore, instead of punishing them under the Islamic Law, he called their master and chided him for not feeding them properly and asked him to compensate for the theft which his slaves have committed. Umar was a strong and able ruler, who ruled for around 10 years and during his reign he spread the message of Islam and expanded the Islamic empire to far flung areas. It was Umar who conquered the great Persian Empire and liberated it by bringing the people out from darkness into light.
In today’s world where all the good has been replaced by the bad, a glimpse at Umar’s life and his actions can really provide us with the much needed courage and strength to walk the path of truth with conviction and confidence.