In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association
presents:
The Ten Promised Paradise:
'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet’s kin is an established Sunnah;
with it I shall meet my Lord when He resurrects me.
Loving the Companions and the Prophet’s kin.
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) once sat
in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
alongside Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) picked up some pebbles from the ground,
and the pebbles glorified Allah in his noble hand,
such that everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of Abu Bakr,
and they glorified Allah in Abu Bakr's hand,
and everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
Then Abu Bakr handed them back to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
and they glorified Allah in his hand.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of 'Umar,
and they glorified Allah in 'Umar's hand,
and everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
and they glorified Allah in his hand.
Abu Dharr said:
"Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed them to the rest of those present in the circle,
but they did not glorify Allah in the hand of anyone else among them."
This narration has been cited as evidence for the legitimate succession of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him (peace and blessings be upon him).
Indeed!
When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab assumed the Caliphate,
it only increased his mercy and gentleness toward the Muslims.
The Caliphate only made him more humble and closer to them;
he was a nurturing guardian to their youth,
a brother to their elders,
a servant to their disabled,
a supporter to their needy,
and to all Muslims, he was like a compassionate father to his own children.
Once, a provincial governor came to visit 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
and found 'Umar lying on his back
with his young children playing on his stomach.
The governor expressed disapproval of that.
'Umar asked him:
"And how are you with your family?"
The governor replied:
"Whenever I enter the house,
all the children fall completely silent and motionless."
Thereupon, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"We hereby dismiss you from your post!
For if you show no gentleness to your own family and children,
how could you possibly show gentleness to the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?"
Such was 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with his subjects:
living their struggles
and matching his lifestyle to the weakest among them.
Five years into his caliphate,
a severe famine struck Medina and its surrounding villages.
Rain was withheld from the sky,
the earth became barren,
and livestock perished.
This famine lasted for nine months,
until the soil turned black
and resembled ash,
which is why that year was named "The Year of Ash" (Ramadah).
During that time, 'Umar's only food was bread and oil—
the diet of the poorest people in those days.
He was often hungry,
so much so that one day he ascended the pulpit to deliver a sermon to the Muslims,
and his stomach could be heard growling loudly,
as though crying out from the intensity of hunger and suffering.
Thereupon, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
did nothing but tap his belly with his hand, saying:
"Rumble or do not rumble;
you shall not taste meat until the children of the Muslims have eaten their fill!"
It was also his practice (may Allah be pleased with him)
that he would lead the people in the 'Isha prayer,
then return home and remain in prayer until the latter part of the night,
after which he would go out and patrol the outskirts of Medina
to inspect the condition of the people.
He would supplicate in the pre-dawn hours, saying:
"O Allah, do not bring about the destruction of the Ummah of Muhammad at my hands!"
Al-Faruq 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was so deeply affected during the Year of Ash
that his very complexion changed.
'Iyad ibn Khalifah narrated:
"I saw 'Umar during the Year of Ash,
and his skin had turned dark and weathered.
He had been an Arab accustomed to eating clarified butter and milk,
but when the people suffered drought, he forbade them to himself
and consumed only olive oil until his complexion darkened."
It once happened that the Muslims slaughtered a camel to feed the people,
and they dished out the finest cuts for 'Umar.
When it was brought to him,
he asked, "Where did this come from?"
They replied, "O Commander of the Faithful,
it is from the camel we slaughtered today."
He said: "Bakh, bakh! (How terrible!)
What a wretched ruler I would be
if I ate its choice meat while feeding the people its bare bones!
Take this bowl away,
and bring us something else instead."
So they brought him dry bread and olive oil,
and he began breaking the bread with his hands and crumbling it into the oil.
Then he said:
"Woe to you, O Yarfa'!
Take this dish of meat to the family of so-and-so,
for I have not visited them in three days
and I believe they are destitute.
Place it before them."
It was narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
"I passed by the people while they were eating meat and broth,
and 'Umar invited me to join his meal.
When I arrived, he was eating coarse bread and oil.
I said to him:
'You prevented me from eating meat broth with the people,
only to invite me to this?!'
He replied:
'I only invited you to my personal food;
as for that, it belongs to the general body of Muslims.'"
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) felt the people's suffering so profoundly
that his freedman, Aslam, said:
"We used to say:
'Had Allah not lifted the drought during the Year of Ash,
we would have thought 'Umar would die of sheer grief for the Muslims.'"
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was truly ascetic in his food, drink, and clothing.
He was once seen circumambulating the Ka'bah
wearing a lower garment that had twenty-one patches.
When he went to accept the surrender of Jerusalem,
his garment bore fourteen patches.
Some of his companions urged him to wear softer, finer garments
that would befit his stature
as the Caliph of the Muslims and Commander of the Faithful,
but he adamantly refused
and reproached them for their suggestion.
His daughter Hafsah, the Mother of the Believers
(may Allah be pleased with her), said to him:
"If only you would wear softer garments than these
and eat food better than this,
for Allah has granted you victory and bestowed abundance upon you."
He replied: "I will make your own conscience a judge against you!
Do you not know what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to endure
of hardship in life?"
And he continued reminding her of the hardships that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) faced
until he brought her to tears.
Then he said: "I had two companions who took a specific path;
if I take a path other than theirs,
I will be taken to an end different from theirs.
By Allah, I will surely endure the same austere life they lived,
so that I may perhaps join them in their blissful eternal life."
The Caliph remained hungry while the worldly treasures lay beneath his grasp;
what an exalted station of asceticism—glory be to the One who granted it!
Who could ever rival Abu Hafs and his legacy,
or who could dare attempt to match al-Faruq?
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding 'Umar:
"By Allah, he was not the earliest of us in accepting Islam,
yet I know by what he surpassed us:
he was the most detached from this worldly life among us."
'Amr ibn al-'As, the governor of Egypt, once wrote to him:
"We have prepared a house for you near the Grand Mosque."
'Umar wrote back: "What does a man residing in the Hijaz
need with a house in Egypt?"
and ordered him to turn it into a public marketplace for the Muslims.
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say:
"We found the best part of our life through patience."
Once, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by an elderly woman
who stopped him and said:
"O 'Umar! I remember you when you were called 'Umayr in the market of 'Ukaz,
herding sheep for the boys with your stick.
Then days passed, and you came to be called 'Umar;
then days passed, and you came to be called Commander of the Faithful.
So fear Allah regarding your flock!
For whoever fears the divine warning finds the distant reckoning brought near;
whoever fears death dreads missing his chance;
and whoever is certain of the Account fears the punishment."
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood before her,
listening intently to her words,
bowing his head and giving her his full attention.
One of his companions said to her:
"You have spoken far too much to the Commander of the Faithful, woman!"
'Umar said: "Woe to you! Leave her alone!
Do you not know who she is?
This is Khawlah,
whose speech Allah heard from above the seven heavens!
By Allah, 'Umar has all the more duty to listen to her."
Despite the position 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) held
in terms of leadership and high status,
he never forgot the affairs of the Hereafter.
He was intensely fearful of Allah
and deeply moved whenever he heard the Qur'an.
He would frequently gather his companions
and say to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari
(may Allah be pleased with him):
"Make us yearn for our Lord!"
So Abu Musa would recite from the Qur'an
whatever Allah willed for him to recite.
Whenever 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came across a verse of warning,
tears would choke his throat,
and he would weep until he collapsed.
He would then remain confined to his home, being visited by people
who thought he had fallen ill,
He had two dark lines on his face from weeping,
and he (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wear a ring on his left hand.
The inscription on his signet ring was:
"Death suffices as an admonisher."
There is more to be said about 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him),
which we will conclude in the next gathering, Allah willing.
For their honor,
they are Talhah,
Ibn 'Awf,
and al-Zubayr, along with
Abu 'Ubaydah,
the two Sa'ds,
and the Caliphs.