A new episode of the discussion of the biography of Omar Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and the topic of our episode today is that a famine occurred during the caliphate of Omar Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). The day passed with a humanitarian disaster. It was a difficult test for them from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. The year of its occurrence is known as the year of Ramadan or famine in the history of Islam. We will discuss that disaster, God willing. This year has been named, the year of my Ramadan or Ramadan Ash. That is, the amount of rainfall was so little, the heat was so high, that when a person walked, it felt so hot and light on his face. As if it was like ashes of a fire. Eighteen Hijri, a few years after Omar Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) took over the caliphate. There was no rain for a while. We know that in Arabia the amount of rainfall is very little. Crops are not produced much. The normal rain that falls was stopped. They did not see even the slightest rain that year and the narration mentions that at that time wild animals roamed around. They became so hungry that they came to different settlements and started attacking people and eating them and all the tribes of Bedouins who roamed in the desert, their cattle died one by one due to lack of food. It is mentioned that one person was so hungry that he decided to slaughter a domesticated goat to eat its meat. In this case, we need to remember that the world we are talking about at that time was 60,000 people. This is a number because the population of the whole world at that time was very low. A large population came to Medina to the Caliph for food. But the reality was that Medina was the victim of this famine and there was also suffering from hunger. The Caliph himself was also suffering. In this context, we are going to give some narrations, if we put forward the narrations, we will understand how deplorable the situation was at that time? He was eating with a Bedouin. He was given bread and some butter. The Bedouin was taking the pieces of bread one by one and trying to mix whatever butter was on the plate with the bread and when the butter was gone, he wiped the remaining butter around the edge of the plate with the bread. In this way, he was eating the remaining butter around the plate with the other pieces and mixing it with it with great interest. He was doing this in the Bedouin’s eating manner and he said that it seems that you have not eaten for a long time. The man replied, You are right, Amir al-Mu’minin. I have not eaten any butter or oil for a long time. I have not eaten any fatty food and I have not seen it eaten for a long time. That day, they were so hungry that the protein part of their food was a variety of favorite foods, fats or fats that we get from plants, such as oil used in cooking, olives or other olives, olive oil or oil obtained from all plants, was included in the daily diet of those people in the desert. Naturally, when the human body needs protein, when there was a shortage of food, they needed more fatty foods. Today, we know that each of us needs food. We need protein. But sometimes our situation is completely opposite. If we eat so much food, the excess fat starts accumulating in our body and then nutritionists advise us that it is no longer suitable for us to eat fat, but it is a health risk. Normally, one fifth or 20% of a person’s daily food should contain fat. The Bedouin says that I have not eaten any such fat or fat for a long time and I have not seen anyone eat it. Seeing the miserable condition of Umar ibn al-Khattab, he swore an oath on himself that he would not touch meat or butter in this place until the common Muslims could eat those foods. Historians have mentioned that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) fulfilled his oath, that is, he was true to his statement until the common people could not eat those foods. The immortal famously forbade himself from eating those foods. In this context, a famous scholar, Khattab, understood that how can I be responsible for this ummah? I myself am facing the hardships they are facing. If I am not enduring the pain and suffering, how can I be responsible for them? I have to endure that difficult situation of theirs, I have to face it too.
In that year, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) changed, became pale, and faded. The food he ate was very ordinary. There was no special nutritional value in it. In difficult circumstances, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) became emaciated. His diet was limited to dry bread. He would never dip bread in oil, vinegar, or vinegar and eat it. His food was so simple that he did not eat any special meat or butter. Aslam, the favorite cook, said, “We thought that if Allah had not removed the famine of that year with my Ramadan, then perhaps Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) would have died of worry and anxiety for this Ummah.” Praise be to Allah, that He did not establish that famine for a very long time. By the grace of Allah, the situation improved in just one year. And He freed the Muslims from that difficult test. We are going to see some more events at that time. Umar ibn al-Khattab first of all applied a strict policy on himself that he himself would face the same situation that the rest of the Ummah was going through. He would not accept any luxury food as a Caliph. He applied the same policy not only for himself but also for his family. He also strictly ensured this regarding his children. A young child, one of his sons, saw a piece of fruit in whose hand. Umar ibn al-Khattab said that Muslims are dependent on God and the Commander of the Faithful is his child eating fruit? He asked his son to hold it but the little boy did not want to give it and ran away from there crying. While running away, the child was crying and saying that his father wants to take the fruit from me. Subhanallah, taking a piece of fruit from a young child is a difficult thing for any father. Khattab was not giving priority to his emotions there, other people told him that your son bought this fruit. He bought it in exchange for some date seeds. Amar ibn Khattab saw that he had bought it, through some exchange. Khattab let it go. In that situation, Amar ibn Khattab would take those fruits from his son. So he also applied a strict policy to his family. Another thing that is noteworthy in this context during that difficult time of famine is that when the famine came upon them, what measures did they take to manage that difficult test? This plight was not created by the state in the entire Muslim world, but it was only in the Arabian Peninsula where there was a shortage of food and famine, refugee camps were set up. Tents were made for them and about 60,000 people were staying in those tents. In difficult circumstances, about two-thirds of them, about 40,000 people, were infected and died of various diseases. The Bedouin kingdom lived in an environment where there was almost no rainfall, and various types of diseases and germs could not survive in a dry and hot environment. Although the environment was very hot, it was very healthy and the air was very clean. On the other hand, the environment, where people were living densely, where there was a source of water, especially in Medina, the weather in Medina was somewhat warmer than in other regions and there were some wetlands. As a result, while the Bedouins were used to the dry environment of the desert, it was quite difficult for them to adapt to the environment of Medina. And many of them were infected with various diseases. They were suffering from various types of fever. From the Seerat of the Prophet Muhammad, we see that when the Muhajirin companions migrated from Mecca to Medina, many of them fell ill. They were suffering from fever and were reading poetry. The devotees, who were delirious with fever, were reciting poems about Mecca. They could not adapt to the weather of Medina. At that time, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed for all his companions and hadith writers. He said to Allah (swt), O Allah, grant us the ability to love Medina as much as we love Mecca or even more. Allah (swt) accepted this prayer of the Holy Prophet (swt) and in a short time, the companions started loving Medina more than Mecca. They chose it as their permanent residence. Later, when Mecca was conquered, they did not leave Medina and move to Mecca. Mecca had the House of Allah, the Sacred House, and Abu Bakr Siddique was the center of his caliphate. Amr ibn al-Khattab and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) were all in Medina and in the end Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was forced to move the capital of the Caliphate from Medina to Kuffar due to certain political circumstances. He would have preferred to stay in Medina otherwise due to a special situation. Due to the supplications of the Companions, he was finally able to take water with Medina.
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated how he used to help the Muslims in those refugee camps. Abu Hurairah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I saw him in that difficult year, during Ramadan. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) going to the refugee camps with two sacks on his back and oil in his hand. On the way he saw me. He asked: Where are you coming from? Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I started helping him on his shoulders. He narrated that when I went to the refugee camp, more people were coming. He saw 20 people from the tribe who had just arrived. He asked: Why have you come? They are forced to eat. They were so hungry that they tried to eat a dead animal by skinning it and burning it in a fire, and they tried to play with it by grinding the bones into a white powder. When Amar Khattab saw the plight of the Muslims, he himself brought the food he was carrying and started cooking it. He narrated that Omar ibn al-Khattab would come to our tent and provide food to those present. He would deliver dates or flour or bread to them And he would send them rations that were enough for a month and he would visit the sick among the refugees, provide care and arrange funerals for the dead. It is also said that death spread like wildfire among the people. I saw that Umar ibn al-Khattab was conducting the funerals for 10 dead people together. When the famine ended, he assured the Muslims that everyone should return to their homes in their own lands. I will arrange for a vehicle for you. So after that situation ended, my Khattab ensured that they were safely transported. How did Umar ibn al-Khattab perform these duties in difficult times? On the one hand, he was a caliph, he was busy with work and it is mentioned in the narration that Umar ibn al-Khattab was busy at night. He worked all day and he worked at night too. He would pray the Isha prayer and then return home and pray for a long time. He would go out at night to see the condition of the Muslims. He would go to the refugee camps and observe if they had any needs. He would spend his time in their service. So there were no fixed working hours. It was not nine to five, but he was doing his duty round the clock in that difficult time. As the Caliph, my Khattab took the measures that were in his power to control this situation. He appealed for help from other Muslim lands. They were sending relief to his governors from there. Umar ibn al-Khattab sent an urgent letter to them appealing for help in this disaster. The governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-Khattab, sent a letter to him and said, “You see us. You know our condition. People around us are dying. You and the people around you are promoting charity. So send us help quickly, quickly.” Help started coming from other regions. All those regions including Egypt, Iraq or Syria were free from its reach. Help was coming from here but the problem is that the communication system in the world at that time was very slow. Many people were dying before help arrived and at that time there was no way to know any kind of weather forecast. As a result, there was no advance planning. He sent me these letters, the way he wrote to the Caliph that I had sent the relief. It was on its way and I had sent such a long caravan that the beginning of the caravan, that is, the head of the caravan would be in Medina and the end would be in Egypt. He sent a long caravan of a thousand camels which was full of goods and sent food by ship and 5000 clothes from Egypt. He was the governor, he also sent 4000 camels full of goods. Abu Ubayda himself came to Medina. He gave the responsibility. He distributed them, distributed them. He fulfilled that responsibility. Later, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to give him 40,000 dirhams as a gift. He said, “I am well. I am well off. We have no need of this.” Umar said, “You take it.” He said, “I have no need of this. I do not want it.” Umar said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once told me this. I said, “I did not need it, I did not want to take it, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told me to keep it. I am telling you to take the money.” So my Khattab was encouraging him and saying, “As long as you do not have any interest in this money, you can take it. It is lawful for you. Your hearts become attached to the world.”
Amr ibn al-Khattab was a test from the famine side during his time. Amr ibn al-Khattab was very worried about this. He was worried about worries. He wondered if the situation was caused by some mistake or sin? Was it because of my sin or our sin or because of the sin of our collective entire Ummah. He was encouraging people to repent. Ask forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. We see Adam (peace be upon him) saying to his people, ask for forgiveness, ask for forgiveness. Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala is the Forgiving, the Forgiving, and He will send rain for you from Islam. The main part of the prayer that is offered to the world is Salatul Istiskaar, which is the essence. Through this, forgiveness is sought from Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. Omar ibn al-Khattab, there, prayed. In the sermon, he prayed and he kept saying, Astaghfirullah, he prayed and repented. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was very sensitive to these things. He understood that what we call natural disasters are not natural disasters. They are all under the control of Allah Almighty. They are created by humans, because of their sins. They are on themselves. During the time of my Khattab, an earthquake occurred in Medina. Then, after some time, another earthquake occurred. When the earthquake occurred, Omar Khattab stood up. He gathered the Muslims and said that this earthquake is happening. Because of your sins. The third time this earthquake occurs, I will leave you. I will leave Medina. So you stop sinning, stop. He was telling them that either you stop sinning or I will leave you. Through these difficult situations, Allah Almighty purifies the Muslims in the world from their mistakes and their sins. Purification purifies.
On the other hand, in the case of the disbelievers, Allah Almighty gives them the results of their good deeds in this world. On the Day of Judgment, they come in a state where they will not be able to receive any reward for any good deeds. They have already received their rewards. On the other hand, in the case of the Muslims, He brings about a situation in this world where Muslims are purified from their mistakes and sins. So that on the judgment day, Muslims can appear before Allah in a state of sinlessness and purity. This situation is beneficial for Muslims in both respects. One situation is that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has told us that when Allah Almighty loves someone, He tests him in this world. He puts him in danger. So that he can leave this world without any sin.
