In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The best of generations in stances and exemplary conduct,
He followed the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
Mawaddah Association
presents:
"Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un"
by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
may Allah have mercy on him.
Speaking of the devout and ascetic caliph,
the fifth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs,
is a discourse sweeter than the fragrance of musk
and more radiant than blooming gardens.
His remarkable and illustrious biography
is a fragrant oasis:
wherever you alight within it,
you find tender verdure,
splendid blossoms,
and ripe, harvest-ready fruit.
And if it is not within our power
to fully encompass that biography right now—
one that has adorned the brow of history—
that does not prevent us
from plucking a flower from its garden
and drawing a gleam from its radiant light;
for what cannot be attained entirely
should not be abandoned completely.
Here, then, are three portraits
from the life of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
to be followed by further portraits in a subsequent volume,
if Allah wills and grants ease.
As for the first of these portraits,
it is related to us by Salamah ibn Dinar,
the scholar, judge, and elder of Medina,
who said:
"I came before the Caliph of the Muslims,
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
while he was at Khunasirah in the district of Aleppo.
Advanced age had already overtaken me,
and a long time had passed since I had last met him.
I found him seated at the head of the room,
yet I did not recognize him,
so greatly had his condition changed from what I had known of him
back when he was governor of Medina.
He welcomed me and said,
'Come close to me, O Abu Hazim.'
When I drew near to him, I said,
'Are you not the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz?'
He replied, 'Indeed, I am.'
I said,
'Was your face not radiant,
your skin supple,
and your life comfortable and opulent?'
He said, 'Indeed, it was.'
I said,
'Then what has altered your appearance so,
now that you possess the gold and silver of the world
and have become the Commander of the Faithful?'
He asked,
'And what has changed about me, O Abu Hazim?'
I replied,
'Your body has grown emaciated,
your skin rough,
your face pale,
and the luster in your eyes has grown dim.'
He wept and said,
'How then would you find me if you were to see me in my grave after three days,
with my eyeballs having flowed down upon my cheeks,
my abdomen ruptured and split open,
and worms freely roaming through my body?
Had you seen me then, O Abu Hazim,
you would disown recognizing me even more than you do today.'
Then he raised his eyes toward me and said,
'Do you not remember a hadith
that you once narrated to me in Medina, O Abu Hazim?'
I replied,
'I narrated many hadiths to you,
O Commander of the Faithful;
which one do you mean?'
He said,
'The hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah.'
I said, 'Yes,
do you recall it, O Commander of the Faithful?'
He said,
'Recite it to me again,
for I wish to hear it directly from you.'
I said,
'I heard Abu Hurayrah say:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"Ahead of you lies a steep, rugged, and arduous mountain pass;
none shall cross it save those who are lean and slender."'
Thereupon, 'Umar wept so intensely
that I feared his gall bladder would burst.
Then he wiped away his tears, turned to me, and said,
'Do you blame me, O Abu Hazim,
if I starve and emaciate myself for that steep ascent,
hoping thereby to be delivered from it?
Yet I scarcely think I will be saved.'
As for the second portrait from the life of 'Umar,
al-Tabari relates it to us on the authority of al-Tufayl ibn Mirdas,
who said:
When the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
assumed the caliphate,
he wrote to Sulayman ibn Abi al-Sari,
his governor over Sogdia, a letter in which he said:
'Establish inns throughout your lands
to host Muslims.
Whenever any of them passes by,
host them for a day and a night,
attend to their needs,
and care for their mounts.
If he suffers from exhaustion or fatigue,
host him for two days and two nights
and comfort him.
If he is stranded, having no provisions
and no mount to carry him,
give him what will satisfy his need
and convey him back to his homeland.'
The governor promptly complied with the command of the Commander of the Faithful
and erected the inns he had ordered him to prepare.
News of this spread far and wide,
and people across the eastern
and western reaches of the Islamic lands began speaking of it,
extolling the justice and piety of the Caliph.
Consequently, the notables of Samarkand
went as a delegation to its governor, Sulayman
ibn Abi al-Sari, and said:
'Your predecessor, Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili,
invaded our lands without prior warning
and did not follow the proper conduct of warfare that you,
the community of Muslims, observe.
For we have learned that you invite your enemies
to embrace Islam;
if they refuse, you call upon them to pay the jizyah;
and if they refuse, you declare war against them.
But we have witnessed such justice and piety from your Caliph
as to embolden us to lodge a complaint against your army to you,
and to seek your justice against what was inflicted upon us
by one of your commanders.
Therefore, grant permission, O governor,
for a delegation from among us to travel to your Caliph
and submit our grievance to him.
If we are in the right,
let it be granted to us;
and if not, we shall return as we came.'
Sulayman granted permission for a delegation from among them
to go before the Caliph in Damascus.
When they arrived at the seat of the caliphate,
they presented their case to the Caliph of the Muslims,
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz.
Thereupon, the Caliph wrote a letter to his governor, Sulayman ibn Abi al-Sari, saying: 'To proceed: When this letter of mine
reaches you, appoint a judge for the people of Samarkand to look into their grievance. If he rules
in their favor, order the Muslim army to evacuate their city, instruct the Muslims residing
among them to depart, and return to the state you and they were in before
Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili entered their lands.' When the delegation returned to Sulayman ibn Abi
al-Sari and delivered the letter of the Commander of the Faithful to him, he immediately appointed for them the chief judge,
Jumay' ibn Hadir al-Naji, who examined their grievance, investigated their account thoroughly,
and heard the testimony of a number of Muslim soldiers and commanders. Once the validity of
their claim became evident to him, he ruled in their favor. At that, the governor commanded the Muslim troops
to vacate the city for them, return to their military camps, and confront them anew:
either entering their land through a peaceful treaty, prevailing over
them in open warfare, or failing to conquer it altogether. When the notables
of the people heard the verdict of the chief judge of the Muslims in their favor, they said to one another, 'Woe to you! You have
mingled with these people, lived alongside them, and seen their conduct, justice,
and truthfulness. Therefore, let them remain among you, be pleased to live beside them,
and find comfort in their companionship.' As for the third portrait from the life of 'Umar,
may Allah be pleased with him, Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam relates it in his precious book entitled
*Sirat 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz*, saying: 'When death approached 'Umar,
Maslamah ibn 'Abd al-Malik entered upon him and said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, you have weaned
the mouths of your children from this wealth, so would that you entrust their care to me or to whomever you prefer
from your household.' When he finished speaking, 'Umar said, 'Help me sit up.' So they helped him sit up, and he said,
'I have heard your words, O Maslamah. As for your statement that I have weaned the mouths of my children
from this wealth, by Allah, I have not withheld any right that belonged to them, nor was I ever
going to give them anything that was not theirs. And as for your suggestion that I entrust them to you or to
whomever I prefer from my household, my only guardian and trustee over them is Allah, Who revealed
the Book in truth, and He protects the righteous. Know, O Maslamah, that my sons
are of two kinds: either a righteous, God-fearing man whom Allah will enrich from His bounty and grant
a way out in his affairs, or a wicked man bent on sin, and I will never
be the first to assist him with wealth in disobeying Allah Almighty.' Then he said, 'Call
my children to me.' So they summoned them, and they were a dozen or so boys. When he saw them, his eyes welled
with tears, and he said, 'May my soul be ransomed for youths whom I leave in poverty, possessing nothing!'
He wept silently, then turned to them and said, 'O my sons, I have
left you immense good; for you will not pass by any Muslim
or dhimmi without them acknowledging that they owe you a right. O my sons, before you
lies a choice between two matters: either you become wealthy and your father enters
the Fire, or you remain poor and he enters Paradise; and I believe nothing other
than that you would prefer your father's rescue from the Fire over wealth.' Then he looked
at them gently and said, 'Stand and go, may Allah protect you; stand and go, may Allah provide
for you.' Maslamah then turned to him and said, 'I have something better than that, O
Commander of the Faithful.' He asked, 'And what is it?' He replied, 'I possess three hundred thousand dinars,
and I gift them to you: distribute them among them, or give them away in charity if you wish.' 'Umar said to him,
'Or something even better than that, O Maslamah?' He asked, 'And what is that, O Commander of the Faithful?' He said,
'Return it to those from whom you took it, for you have no rightful claim to it.' Tears welled in the eyes of
Maslamah, and he said, 'May Allah have mercy on you, O Commander of the Faithful, in life and in death! You have softened
our hardened hearts, reminded them when they were heedless, and preserved for us a legacy
among the righteous.' Later, people traced the fortunes of 'Umar's sons after his passing, and they observed
that not one of them ever fell into need or poverty; and true are the words of Allah the Almighty when He says...
'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz is counted by the people of knowledge among the practicing scholars
and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, radiant in his principled stances and exemplary conduct, following the Messenger whenever
he strove or spoke. They were once here, reviving the drought of our lives, and in our midst their memory continues
to soar high. They departed, leaving within the conscience a question: has any star ever risen
and shone like them? They filled life with glories through their deeds, and through them, the world of patience blossomed.