Part of The Ten Given Glad Tidings of Paradise (series completed)
· Lesson 8 of 30
The ten promised Paradise | Episode (8) | Omar bin Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him (Part 4)
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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The Mawaddah Association
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presents:
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The Ten Promised Paradise:
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'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Loving the Companions and the Prophet’s kin is an established Sunnah;
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with it I shall meet my Lord when He resurrects me.
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Loving the Companions and the Prophet’s kin.
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Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) once sat
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in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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alongside Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali.
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) picked up some pebbles from the ground,
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and the pebbles glorified Allah in his noble hand,
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such that everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
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Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of Abu Bakr,
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and they glorified Allah in Abu Bakr's hand,
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and everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
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Then Abu Bakr handed them back to the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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and they glorified Allah in his hand.
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Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of 'Umar,
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and they glorified Allah in 'Umar's hand,
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and everyone in the gathering heard their glorification.
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Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them into the hand of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
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and they glorified Allah in his hand.
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Abu Dharr said:
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"Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed them to the rest of those present in the circle,
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but they did not glorify Allah in the hand of anyone else among them."
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This narration has been cited as evidence for the legitimate succession of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him (peace and blessings be upon him).
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Indeed!
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When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab assumed the Caliphate,
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it only increased his mercy and gentleness toward the Muslims.
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The Caliphate only made him more humble and closer to them;
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he was a nurturing guardian to their youth,
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a brother to their elders,
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a servant to their disabled,
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a supporter to their needy,
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and to all Muslims, he was like a compassionate father to his own children.
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Once, a provincial governor came to visit 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
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and found 'Umar lying on his back
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with his young children playing on his stomach.
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The governor expressed disapproval of that.
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'Umar asked him:
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"And how are you with your family?"
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The governor replied:
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"Whenever I enter the house,
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all the children fall completely silent and motionless."
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Thereupon, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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"We hereby dismiss you from your post!
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For if you show no gentleness to your own family and children,
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how could you possibly show gentleness to the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?"
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Such was 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with his subjects:
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living their struggles
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and matching his lifestyle to the weakest among them.
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Five years into his caliphate,
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a severe famine struck Medina and its surrounding villages.
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Rain was withheld from the sky,
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the earth became barren,
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and livestock perished.
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This famine lasted for nine months,
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until the soil turned black
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and resembled ash,
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which is why that year was named "The Year of Ash" (Ramadah).
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During that time, 'Umar's only food was bread and oil—
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the diet of the poorest people in those days.
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He was often hungry,
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so much so that one day he ascended the pulpit to deliver a sermon to the Muslims,
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and his stomach could be heard growling loudly,
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as though crying out from the intensity of hunger and suffering.
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Thereupon, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
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did nothing but tap his belly with his hand, saying:
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"Rumble or do not rumble;
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you shall not taste meat until the children of the Muslims have eaten their fill!"
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It was also his practice (may Allah be pleased with him)
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that he would lead the people in the 'Isha prayer,
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then return home and remain in prayer until the latter part of the night,
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after which he would go out and patrol the outskirts of Medina
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to inspect the condition of the people.
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He would supplicate in the pre-dawn hours, saying:
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"O Allah, do not bring about the destruction of the Ummah of Muhammad at my hands!"
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Al-Faruq 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was so deeply affected during the Year of Ash
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that his very complexion changed.
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'Iyad ibn Khalifah narrated:
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"I saw 'Umar during the Year of Ash,
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and his skin had turned dark and weathered.
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He had been an Arab accustomed to eating clarified butter and milk,
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but when the people suffered drought, he forbade them to himself
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and consumed only olive oil until his complexion darkened."
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It once happened that the Muslims slaughtered a camel to feed the people,
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and they dished out the finest cuts for 'Umar.
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When it was brought to him,
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he asked, "Where did this come from?"
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They replied, "O Commander of the Faithful,
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it is from the camel we slaughtered today."
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He said: "Bakh, bakh! (How terrible!)
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What a wretched ruler I would be
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if I ate its choice meat while feeding the people its bare bones!
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Take this bowl away,
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and bring us something else instead."
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So they brought him dry bread and olive oil,
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and he began breaking the bread with his hands and crumbling it into the oil.
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Then he said:
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"Woe to you, O Yarfa'!
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Take this dish of meat to the family of so-and-so,
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for I have not visited them in three days
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and I believe they are destitute.
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Place it before them."
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It was narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
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"I passed by the people while they were eating meat and broth,
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and 'Umar invited me to join his meal.
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When I arrived, he was eating coarse bread and oil.
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I said to him:
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'You prevented me from eating meat broth with the people,
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only to invite me to this?!'
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He replied:
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'I only invited you to my personal food;
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as for that, it belongs to the general body of Muslims.'"
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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) felt the people's suffering so profoundly
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that his freedman, Aslam, said:
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"We used to say:
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'Had Allah not lifted the drought during the Year of Ash,
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we would have thought 'Umar would die of sheer grief for the Muslims.'"
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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was truly ascetic in his food, drink, and clothing.
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He was once seen circumambulating the Ka'bah
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wearing a lower garment that had twenty-one patches.
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When he went to accept the surrender of Jerusalem,
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his garment bore fourteen patches.
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Some of his companions urged him to wear softer, finer garments
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that would befit his stature
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as the Caliph of the Muslims and Commander of the Faithful,
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but he adamantly refused
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and reproached them for their suggestion.
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His daughter Hafsah, the Mother of the Believers
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(may Allah be pleased with her), said to him:
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"If only you would wear softer garments than these
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and eat food better than this,
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for Allah has granted you victory and bestowed abundance upon you."
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He replied: "I will make your own conscience a judge against you!
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Do you not know what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to endure
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of hardship in life?"
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And he continued reminding her of the hardships that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) faced
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until he brought her to tears.
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Then he said: "I had two companions who took a specific path;
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if I take a path other than theirs,
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I will be taken to an end different from theirs.
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By Allah, I will surely endure the same austere life they lived,
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so that I may perhaps join them in their blissful eternal life."
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The Caliph remained hungry while the worldly treasures lay beneath his grasp;
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what an exalted station of asceticism—glory be to the One who granted it!
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Who could ever rival Abu Hafs and his legacy,
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or who could dare attempt to match al-Faruq?
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Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding 'Umar:
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"By Allah, he was not the earliest of us in accepting Islam,
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yet I know by what he surpassed us:
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he was the most detached from this worldly life among us."
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'Amr ibn al-'As, the governor of Egypt, once wrote to him:
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"We have prepared a house for you near the Grand Mosque."
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'Umar wrote back: "What does a man residing in the Hijaz
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need with a house in Egypt?"
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and ordered him to turn it into a public marketplace for the Muslims.
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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say:
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"We found the best part of our life through patience."
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Once, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by an elderly woman
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who stopped him and said:
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"O 'Umar! I remember you when you were called 'Umayr in the market of 'Ukaz,
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herding sheep for the boys with your stick.
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Then days passed, and you came to be called 'Umar;
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then days passed, and you came to be called Commander of the Faithful.
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So fear Allah regarding your flock!
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For whoever fears the divine warning finds the distant reckoning brought near;
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whoever fears death dreads missing his chance;
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and whoever is certain of the Account fears the punishment."
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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood before her,
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listening intently to her words,
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bowing his head and giving her his full attention.
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One of his companions said to her:
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"You have spoken far too much to the Commander of the Faithful, woman!"
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'Umar said: "Woe to you! Leave her alone!
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Do you not know who she is?
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This is Khawlah,
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whose speech Allah heard from above the seven heavens!
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By Allah, 'Umar has all the more duty to listen to her."
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Despite the position 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) held
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in terms of leadership and high status,
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he never forgot the affairs of the Hereafter.
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He was intensely fearful of Allah
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and deeply moved whenever he heard the Qur'an.
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He would frequently gather his companions
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and say to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari
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(may Allah be pleased with him):
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"Make us yearn for our Lord!"
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So Abu Musa would recite from the Qur'an
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whatever Allah willed for him to recite.
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Whenever 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came across a verse of warning,
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tears would choke his throat,
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and he would weep until he collapsed.
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He would then remain confined to his home, being visited by people
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who thought he had fallen ill,
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He had two dark lines on his face from weeping,
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and he (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wear a ring on his left hand.
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The inscription on his signet ring was:
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"Death suffices as an admonisher."
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There is more to be said about 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him),
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which we will conclude in the next gathering, Allah willing.
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For their honor,
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they are Talhah,
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Ibn 'Awf,
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and al-Zubayr, along with
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Abu 'Ubaydah,
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the two Sa'ds,
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and the Caliphs.