Many nights Omar was walking with his servant and they walked for a long time. As a result, they got tired, so they leaned against a wall to rest. The servant who was with him also sat down to rest. It was very difficult to go out to different places without sleeping at night to inspect the condition of the Muslims. They did various kinds of work. After work, they would return home without resting at night and stand at night. The wall against which Omar Khattab leaned to rest was the house of a mother and her daughter. There was no man in the house. And neither of them was married. The mother was a widow or a divorcee. She was a virgin. She was not married. Khattab could hear what was going on inside the house from outside. The mother was telling her daughter that you should mix water with this milk. I am telling you, daughter, don’t you know the order of the Commander of the Faithful in this regard? The girl said that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab had ordered that milk should not be mixed with adulteration. Milk should not be diluted. He forbade mixing water with milk. The mother said that Omar is not around us now. He was not seeing or hearing us. So you do it. The girl said that I cannot be a person who does not obey Omar Khattab’s orders. I do not want to disobey the Caliph because my mother was disobedient. The Caliph, who is the Commander of the Faithful, is the implementer of the orders of Allah Almighty in this world. He is the representative of the orders of Allah Almighty on this earth and has been fulfilling the representative responsibility of ensuring that the orders are ensured. Therefore, in this case, obeying the orders of the Caliph is above obeying the orders of parents and at the same time, we must remember that we cannot obey anything by disobeying the laws of Allah. That is, we cannot change any creation by disobeying it. Umar ibn al-Khattab told his servant to mark the house. The next morning, at dawn, Khattab said to his servant, “Bring me some news about the people living in that house. I want to know who they are? And is the girl married?” When his servant returned, he told him that the mother and daughter lived there, and the girl was unmarried and there was no male householder in their household. Umar ibn al-Khattab heard the news and called his son. After calling him, he said, “O my sons, is there anyone who is thinking of getting married now? Who needs a wife?” He said about himself that he had no desire to get married. Otherwise, I would have gotten married. Abdur Rahman ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that we have a wife and we are happy with that. Asim ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he said, “Father, I do not have a wife. I want to get married. Get me married.” Umar, he married that girl to Asim. A daughter was born in their house. Allah Subhanallah bestowed it. So if we think from the position of that girl, she did a simple good deed. She did not mix milk with adulteration and did not mix water. By obeying the order of the Caliph, she basically fulfilled the order of Allah Subhanallah. Whoever magnifies this act later on in a large scale, Allah Subhanallah will give him many rewards as a virtue. She was fortunate enough to become a member of the family. She got the son of the Caliph as her husband. Her father-in-law was Omar. Now we are going to a future event. Omar ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him) was a Caliph Rashidun from the clan of Banu Maiyar. They included four Caliphs. Abu Bakr Siddique, Omar ibn Khattab, Osman and Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with them). The next righteous caliph after them, the scholars have identified, is Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him). He has identified him as the fifth caliph and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was so righteous that the events of his time and his deeds reminded people of the days of Khattab. That their names were also one. Both of them were Amar (may Allah have mercy on him). The scholars have identified him as a Mujaddid. A reviver. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “In every century, Allah sends to this Ummah some people who revive Islam and revive Islam.” In the history of the Muslims, more than fourteen hundred years, the scholars have never been able to unanimously confirm who was the last 100 people in this century.
They thought that perhaps Islam was revived through them. But the one about whom the scholars unanimously agreed is Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him). There were many of them during his caliphate. He served as caliph for just over 2 years. But in this short time, he created a revolution in Islamic affairs. He created a tide, an awakening. He was the first century, he invited the senior scholars, influential people of the Umayyads, and gathered them together. Incidentally, when the Banu Maiyas appointed the caliph, they made it a hereditary matter, the way the royal family appoints the caliph, that is, the son of the son of the next caliph. So it was a royal family that was accustomed to various kinds of luxurious life. His idea was that their wealth was in the hands of the Muslims at that time. A lot of property came. The Muslims were in a state of abundance. As a result, they used to eat very high quality food, expensive and exquisite food. Omar bin Abdul Aziz invited the noble people for food. He invited them to his palace. But he was planning a different plan in his mind. After inviting them, he kept them waiting. He kept them seated for hours. But no food was coming. The elders of Anu Maiar waited politely for some time. At one point, they became hungry and lost their patience and started asking where the food was? Why was the food not coming? Omar bin Abdul Aziz replied that wait a little, be patient, the food is coming. Wait a little longer. Time passed. But no food was coming. He was obliged to say, bring something. There is no need to prepare any special food. We are very hungry. Give us something to eat. Omar bin Abdul Aziz said, don’t worry. I am preparing a meal with you. They said that there was no need for delicious food. Anything would do. We were very hungry and were served food. And that food was considered quality food at that time. What was to be shown to the common people was, in today’s language, dal rice. This type of food was kept and served. The noble person was being served this food in front of them. They were so hungry that they ate everything in their stomachs and were very satisfied after eating. They ate the entire meal due to hunger. Omar bin Abdul Aziz noticed and said that it seems that you liked the food very much. I saw that you all ate the food to your full stomach. They said yes, we are very satisfied. Then Omar bin Abdul Aziz said to them if this ordinary quality food can satisfy you, then how can you be so extravagant that you are spending the money of the Muslim Ummah on eating various types of food? Are you wasting it on eating better food? Are you wasting yours. He used to get good salaries, he used to get allowances from the Baitul Mal, Omar ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) reduced the amount of it. He stopped all the extra privileges that Banu Maiya used to get. What is an example of the current time in contrast to this? Our country is a poor country. As soon as we go out, the condition of our country is revealed before our eyes. When it comes to conducting development work, the government gives us excuses and tells us that it is beyond our means. But on the other hand, when it comes to personal expenses, when it comes to government officials or when it comes to spending by ministers, bureaucrats, secretaries, we see that in this poor country of ours, 75,000 is spent just to buy their mobile sets. What a terrible waste of resources. Taxes are being collected from individuals as fat from various places. Money is being taken from our pockets. That money is being spent on individuals. Omar bin Abdul Aziz controlled individuals and stopped their waste. Omar bin Abdul Aziz imposed such strict control over their unaccountable movements that at one point they became annoyed and frustrated with him. They started saying together that you should blame yourself for this difficult situation of yours. Don’t blame anyone else. Because first of all you brought a person from Umayya and married him to a descendant of Omar. And we can see the result of that marriage. Through that marriage a person came who looks like Banu Umayya from the outside but inside he is like Amar Khattab. What did they really mean? They meant that now they married that girl. When they later had a daughter, that daughter was the granddaughter of Omar Khattab from the descendants of Omar. She was married to her. She was a noble son of Banu Umayya, Abdul Aziz ibn Marwan, the granddaughter of Amar And the son of Abdul Aziz ibn Marwan, the governor of Egypt, is Umar ibn Abdul. This noble character trait seems to have been inherited from Amr al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). People were shouting to each other that no one else should be blamed. But blame yourselves because you have married another Umayyad, Abdul Aziz ibn Marwan, with a successor and the result of the marriage is a person like Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. Who looks like Banu Maya but is like Umar inside.
We should try to practice it in our lives. May Allah grant us success. In several subsequent events, Umar was not only concerned about people, but also about animals. He was not only concerned about the men, women and children of this Ummah. Rather, he was concerned about the people living in the areas under his rule. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once saw a camel driver beating his camels. He said to the man, “Why are you making them carry such a heavy load that is more than they can carry?” Then you hit their backs. On another occasion, some prominent people came to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to discuss some important matters, and with him, some other important people came to Medina. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) went to their camp. He went there and set up camp. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) began to inspect their place. When he went there, Umar looked at their animals and said, “O people, do not be pious in your treatment of your animals. Fear Allah. Can’t you lighten their load? Starve them, do not feed them properly.” The people with him were a delegation. They had come to discuss the big issues of the Ummah, political issues, military issues. Umar ibn al-Khattab had come there to talk about the camels. Fearing Allah and not oppressing them, not putting them under any burden, or feeding them properly were no less important matters for Umar ibn al-Khattab. Another incident, as we mentioned in the discussion, was that Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, once wanted to eat a fish. A servant said that I will arrange for it to be brought to you. Then he took an animal and a camel to a certain destination. And it took him a long time to reach there. After traveling for three nights, he returned with the fish. Umar ibn al-Khattab then saw that when the servant got off his camel. He was completely exhausted from the continuous journey of these four days and two nights and sweat was pouring from his whole body due to fatigue. And it was hissing. He was overcome with emotion and said that I have hurt a creature, a creature of Allah, an animal, to satisfy my own taste, to fulfill my own desire. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said that by Allah, I will not eat a part of this fish. I have hurt him, he is extremely tired. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did not eat that fish then. Subhan Allah, this was the love that existed in Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. He would ensure that no injustice was done to animals. Another incident was that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab placed his hand on the back of a camel and looked at it and said, I am afraid that on the Day of Judgment, he might ask me about you. So the careful management that Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab had was not limited to Muslims, citizens of the Islamic state. He would even take care of them and ensure their rights. In contrast, a scholar, observing the current situation in which we live, said that perhaps the present time is the time when it is better to be born as a camel in the time of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) than to be born as a human being.
Abu Musa Ashari, a close companion of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, came to his door once. Once, twice, three times, he was leaving without permission. Basically, the companions of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did not have any doors in the houses they were in, but used to use some curtains. This curtain separated the inside from the outside. He would call the person’s name from the house, ask for permission. When permission came, he would enter. After giving permission three times, after greeting him, the Asari returned without receiving any response. After some time, my Ibn al-Khattab said from inside that he thought it was Abu Musa. I heard this. He had left, that is, he had returned. Later, when Abu Musa al-Ash’ari met Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Musa said that I know from the Hadith of Allah that if permission is sought three times and permission is not granted to enter, then he should return. Umar ibn al-Khattab said that you have heard this from the Messenger of Allah, you must prove it. You will need testimony in this matter. Don’t just rely on it. He said that you must have heard it. I must prove what you heard from the Messenger of Allah. He was worried whether he would really be able to get any witnesses. He himself heard it, no doubt. But he wants my witness. He came to the Ansar companions in the mosque with that pale, bloodless face. When they saw him, they asked Abu Musa what happened to you? He said this incident. He said that there is no problem, there is a person among us who is a witness and the youngest among us. He will go with you, Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him). Which is a very common incident. Everyone knows this from close quarters. I am sending the youngest, the youngest person among us as a witness with you. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) went. He said who chose me to give testimony? I was the youngest, the youngest among those present. I went with Abu Musa and said that yes, I heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said, did you hear it? Abu Sa’id Ali said, I heard it. He was the youngest. He did not know that hadith, I did not know it. This may be because I was busy with some work at that time. Due to my busyness with that work, I was deprived of the privilege of listening to the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Due to worldly business, Umar bin Khattab was regretting that he did not know the Hadith that everyone knew because he was busy with some worldly work. For this reason, he was blaming himself. This incident has come from Bukhari and Muslim. We can learn several lessons from this incident. First of all, it is noteworthy that it was not the case that every Hadith was known by every Companion. One Companion knew some Hadiths that no other Companion knew. In this way, all the Hadiths were compiled later by combining them. The second thing is that Umar bin Khattab was very careful in narrating Hadiths. He was careful. He was not completely sure about the accuracy of the Hadith and someone said without any witnesses that he heard it. It was not that the Messenger of Allah would immediately accept the Hadith. Because even if a person is righteous and truthful, his memory may be weak, he may have forgotten something or misunderstood something or said something wrong. There may be various reasons for this. Forgetfulness is a natural characteristic of humans.
