In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The best of generations in their conduct and example,
Following the Messenger when he strove or spoke.
Mawaddah Association
Presents:
Vignettes from the Lives of the Tabi'un
By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
He filled life with glorious deeds,
And the world of humanity flourished because of them.
Speaking of the Tabi'i Caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz,
Is a poignant matter.
For you can barely grasp one image of his unique life,
Before it leads you to another, more radiant,
More abundant in splendor, and more profound in influence.
We have already seen in the previous book
Three images from the life of the fifth Rightly Guided Caliph.
So come, let us now enjoy three others,
No less brilliant and luminous than the former.
As for the first image,
It is narrated to you by Dukayn ibn Sa'id al-Darimi,
One of the Bedouin rajaz poets, who says:
"I praised Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz when he was the governor of Medina,
And he ordered that I be given fifteen camels from the finest of the herd.
When they were in my possession, I examined them,
And their sight filled me with awe.
I disliked the idea of traveling with them alone through the vast lands for fear of losing them,
Yet my soul could not bear to sell them.
While I was in this state,
A caravan arrived, intending to travel toward our homes in Najd.
I asked to accompany them,
And they said, 'You are welcome.'
'We are departing tonight,
So prepare yourself to leave with us.'
I went to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz to bid him farewell,
And I found two elderly men in his assembly whom I did not recognize.
When I intended to leave,
Umar turned to me and said,
'O Dukayn,
I have a soul that is ever-aspiring.
If you learn that I have attained more than what I am in now,
Come to me, and you shall have my kindness and generosity.'
I said, 'Bear witness to that for me, O Prince.'
He replied, 'I call Allah the Exalted to witness that.'
I said, 'And from His creation?'
He said, 'These two elders.'
I turned to one of them and said,
'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you,
Tell me your name so that I may know you.'
He said, 'Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab.'
I turned to the Prince and said,
'I have secured a weighty witness,'
Meaning I had obtained a witness whose word is heard.
Then I looked at the other elder and said,
'And who are you, if you would be so kind?'
He said, 'Abu Yahya, the freedman of the Prince.'
I said, 'And this is a witness from among his own household.'
Then I greeted him and departed with the camels to the homes of my people in Najd.
Allah placed blessing in them,
Until I acquired camels and slaves from their offspring.
Then time took its course,
And while I was in the desert of Falaj in the land of Yamama in Najd,
A herald announced the death of the Commander of the Faithful, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik.
I said to the herald, 'And who is the Caliph who has risen after him?'
He said, 'Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.'
No sooner had I heard his words,
Than I packed my belongings and headed toward the Levant.
When I reached Damascus,
I met Jarir, who was leaving the presence of the Caliph.
I greeted him and said,
'Where from, O Abu Hazra?'
He replied, 'From a Caliph who gives to the poor and denies the poets.
Return from whence you came,
For that is better for you.'
I said, 'I have a matter different from yours.'
He said, 'That is your business.'
I set off until I reached the Caliph's residence,
And he was in the courtyard of the house,
Surrounded by orphans, widows, and those seeking justice for grievances.
I could not find a way to him due to the crowd pressing upon him.
So I raised my voice, saying:
'O Umar of goodness and nobility,
And Umar of great endeavors,
A man from the tribe of Darim,
Seeks his due from the brother of nobility.'
His freedman, Abu Yahya, looked at me for a long time,
Then turned to him and said,
'O Commander of the Faithful,
I have a testimony for this Bedouin against you.'
Umar said, 'I recognize it.'
Then he turned to me and said,
'Come near to me, O Dukayn.'
When I stood before him,
He leaned toward me and said,
'Do you remember what I said to you in Medina?
That my soul never attained anything,
But that it yearned for what is higher than it?'
I said, 'Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.'
He said, 'And here I have attained the ultimate of what is in this world,
Which is the Caliphate.
So my soul yearns for the ultimate of what is in the Hereafter,
Which is Paradise.
And it strives to attain the pleasure of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.
And if kings make the kingdom,
A means to attain the glory of this world,
Then I shall make it a means to attain the glory of the Hereafter.'
Then he said, 'O Dukayn,
By Allah, I have not taken from the Muslims,
A single dirham or dinar of their wealth,
Since I took charge of this affair.
And I possess nothing but a thousand dirhams,
So take half of them and leave me half.'
I took the money he gave me,
And by Allah, I have never seen a greater blessing than it.
As for the second image,
It is narrated by the judge of Mosul,
Yahya ibn Yahya al-Ghassani,
Who says:
'While Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was walking one day,
In the markets of Homs,
To inspect the merchants and learn the prices,
A man approached him wearing two garments,
Red and striped.
He said, 'O Commander of the Faithful,
I have heard that you have ordered,
That whoever is oppressed should come to you.'
He said, 'Yes.'
The man said, 'And here he has come to you.'
He said, 'An oppressed man from a distant land.'
Umar said,
'And where is your home?'
The man said,
'In Aden.'
Umar said,
'By Allah, your place is indeed far from the place of Umar.'
Then he dismounted from his beast,
Stood before him, and said,
'What is your grievance?'
He said, 'A piece of land of mine,
Which a man among those who seek your favor has seized,
And taken from me.'
Umar wrote a letter to Urwa ibn Muhammad,
His governor in Aden,
In which he said:
'To proceed:
When this letter of mine reaches you,
Hear the evidence of its bearer.
If his right is proven,
Then restore his right to him.'
Then he sealed the letter,
And handed it to the man.
When the man intended to leave,
Umar said to him,
'Wait a moment.
You have come to us from a distant land,
And there is no doubt that you have exhausted much provision on this journey,
And worn out new clothes,
And perhaps you lost a beast.'
Then he calculated all of that,
And it amounted to eleven dinars.
He gave them to him and said,
'Publicize this among the people,
So that no oppressed person may feel burdened,
From seeking justice for their grievance after today,
No matter how distant their home may be.'
And as for the third image,
It is narrated to us by the devout ascetic,
Ziyad ibn Maysara al-Makhzumi (by clientage),
Who says:
'My master, Abd Allah ibn Ayyash, sent me,
From Medina to Damascus,
To meet the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz,
Regarding some of his needs.
There was an old connection between me and Umar,
Dating back to the time of his governorship in Medina.
I entered upon him,
And he had a scribe writing for him.
When I reached the threshold of the room,
I said, 'Peace be upon you.'
He said,
'And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah, O Ziyad.'
Then I walked toward him, feeling shy,
Because I had not greeted him with the title 'Commander of the Faithful.'
When I reached him, I said,
'Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful, and the mercy of Allah,
And His blessings.'
He said,
'O Ziyad,
We did not reject your first greeting,
So what is the need for the second?'
His scribe was at that time,
Reading to him grievances that had come from Basra with the post.
He said to me,
'Sit, O Ziyad, until we are finished with you.'
So I sat on the wooden frame of the door,
While the scribe read to him,
Umar sighed deeply, burdened by his heavy concerns.
When his scribe finished reading the documents he had with him,
and went about his business,
Umar rose from his seat,
and walked toward me until he sat before me by the door.
He placed his hands upon my knees,
and then said,
"Congratulations to you, Ziyad.
You have found warmth in your wool cloak,
and have found rest from the state we are in."
I was wearing a wool cloak at the time.
Then he began to ask me about the righteous people of Medina,
their men and their women, one by one.
He did not leave anyone out without asking me about them.
Then he asked me about various matters he had ordered in Medina when he was its governor,
and I informed him about everything he asked.
Then he sighed and said,
"O Ziyad,
do you not see the situation into which Umar has fallen?"
I replied,
"I truly hope for goodness and reward for you in this."
He said,
"Far from it."
Then he wept until I felt pity for him and said,
"Be gentle with yourself, O Commander of the Faithful,
for I truly hope for goodness for you."
He said,
"How far is that from what you hope, O Ziyad!
It has reached the point where I am able to insult others, yet I am not insulted,
and I am able to strike others, yet I am not struck,
and I am able to harm people, yet no one harms me."
Then he wept once more until I felt even more pity for him.
I stayed with him for three days,
until I had fulfilled the mission for which my master had sent me.
When I intended to depart,
he provided me with a letter to my master, asking him to sell me to him.
Then he took twenty dinars from under his bedding and said,
"Use this money to help you in your worldly affairs;
for if you had a rightful share in the fay' (spoils of war),
we would have given you your due."
I refused to take the money from him,
but he said,
"Take it,
for it is not from the wealth of the Muslims;
it is merely from my own personal expenses."
I refrained from taking it,
but he persisted until I took it from him and left.
When I reached Medina,
I handed the letter of the Commander of the Faithful to my master.
He opened it and said,
"He is only asking me to sell you to him so that he may set you free;
why should I not be the one to set you free myself?"
Then he set me free.
Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz was
of excellent character and appearance,
possessed of abundant knowledge,
a man of deep fiqh, pure of heart, and turning constantly to Allah.
A model and an example,
he followed the Messenger whenever he acted or spoke.
They were here, watering our lives like rain clouds,
and their memory remains exalted among us.
They departed, leaving a question in the conscience:
Is there any star like them that has risen and shone?
They filled life with glorious deeds,
and the world of the righteous flourished because of them.