The topic of our today’s episode is, we will try to discuss the people whom Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) selected as chiefs or governors or governors during his reign, in different provinces. The first topic is, on what basis did our ibn al-Khattab choose these governors and appoint them to their posts. The second topic is that in the middle part of the discussion, we will try to see the qualities or characteristics of these governors and at the end of our today’s essay, we will mention what their main work was? What responsibilities did they perform? On behalf of the Caliph, we have mentioned in various places in our discussion that he established the institutional basis of various aspects of Islamic governance. In order to administer the Caliphate, it was naturally necessary to divide different regions into different provinces in order to administer it. And those who were the leaders of the provinces, the provincial governors, this is a very important matter, they will keep the Islamic governance in different regions under the Caliph. Our discussion is not a discussion of fiqh. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) is a discussion based on his events and a discussion about his various actions. So if we are interested in knowing in detail about these systems of Islamic government or the administrative matters of the Caliphate. We can take the help of a book and the book was written by Imam Abul Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him). The book is Alaka Masul. We can see in detail about the various administrative matters of the Islamic government or the Caliphate from there. This is the matter of dividing the Caliphate into different provinces or regions and appointing a Wali or governor there. My Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was there before him and Mecca was a different province. Medina was naturally where the Caliph himself lived, he was the head of it. The provinces were Yemen, Bahrain. Thus, the various regions or provinces of Egypt, Syria and Iraq were all included in the Caliphate. The communication system in the world was naturally slow. Therefore, it was not practical for the Caliph alone to administer the affairs of each region. Therefore, he appointed various representatives who kept the Islamic system of governance in effect in all those regions under the Caliph. The Caliph controlled the main issues and all these Muslims who were independent of him, obeyed the Caliph and ran the Islamic system of governance in their respective regions based on the Quran and Sunnah. Therefore, it was a very important matter for Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to select a person as a governor, as a wali. Those who were appointed to important government positions were all these wali or governors. There were also the commanders and judges of various armies. There were also the relevant officials or staff who collected zakat. Umar ibn al-Khattab would give multiple responsibilities to one person. Sometimes, different people would be appointed for different tasks. The factors that Amr bin Khattab looked at when appointing or choosing a governor are outlined. We will first mention them, then we will go into a detailed discussion of each point. First of all, number one, Amr ibn al-Khattab would see if the person being appointed had the ability to work and at the same time was a competent or trustworthy person? Amr ibn al-Khattab would formulate a surah before selecting a governor, consult, and sometimes if he wanted to appoint a governor, he would first verify him. Number two, Amr ibn al-Khattab would evaluate wisdom and experience. He would want to appoint him, see if the person had the appropriate knowledge for that job, and third, Amr ibn al-Khattab would evaluate the culture of the people. For example, he would not appoint a Bedouin person over the city dwellers. He would not appoint a person from a city as an emir over the Bedouins. Khattab would appoint the people of the area as governor in that area. To see if those who are being made leaders are kind to their subordinates? Umar ibn al-Khattab used to impose certain restrictions on his governors. One of the things that he did was that he did not allow the governors to help him and he would take an account of their assets before appointing them to government positions. Umar ibn al-Khattab used to sign contracts with the governors. If necessary, he would impose various conditions on them. Khattab did not grant this responsibility. Umar Khattab did not appoint his relatives and friends as governors.
And so Omar bin Khattab did not give any non-Muslims any responsibility in the administrative positions of Muslims. This is the short title. Now we will go into detail on each point. We have mentioned the first point. Omar bin Khattab used to see whether the person being appointed or the person he wanted to appoint was qualified to do that job? Was he a trustworthy or reliable person? We see that the Quran mentions two qualities that are mentioned in the case of Moses (peace be upon him). The two girls, one of them went to her father and said, “Employ him, Moses.” Appoint him because he will be a good worker, strong and trustworthy. Omar bin Khattab put these two qualities in front of everyone. He wanted to see whether all the people he was going to hire were strong and trustworthy? The word literally means physically strong but in reality it means those who are skilled in their respective jobs and have strong abilities. If the task is mental, then in that case to be strong in terms of mental ability and if the task is physical, then to be strong in terms of physical strength. Alamin means a reliable person, a trustworthy person or someone who can be relied on. So, the stronger or more capable of the two people, my Khattab gives him. Here is an example in this regard. Hasanah was the commander of the army, Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was an important commander during his caliphate. The Muslim army and Abu Bakr Siddiq appointed 11 armies to fight against the apostates. Hasanah was the commander. Omar bin Khattab removed him from the commandership and appointed Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan Alamin. Hasanah, he thought that maybe he had not made any mistakes, why would the Caliph remove him? So he came to Amr and said, O Commander of the Faithful, why did you dismiss me? Have I done anything wrong or have you been displeased with me for any reason? Have I angered you in any way? My Khattab said, “Nothing has happened as you think. Rather, I have found a stronger servant than a strong servant. That is why I have changed you.” At various times, when appointing governors, Umar ibn al-Khattab would compose a Surah and take the advice of prominent companions. On one occasion, Umar ibn al-Khattab sought the advice of his companions. He was saying, “Show me a person who, if made a leader, will remain an ordinary person. If he is not a leader, he will still be a leader.” What I was going to say here is that if he is made a leader, he will still be an ordinary person and if he is not a leader, he will still be a leader. The meaning is that there will be a balance between his behavior and being led. His behavior will not change because he is given the responsibility of leadership. He will not start thinking of himself as something special. He will be one of the common people, and even if that person is not made a leader, he will still have all the qualifications that will make him a leader in a special situation. My Khattab was searching, searching. At different times, they would present various baseless allegations against the governor. Most of those allegations could not be found. So, time and again, they would look for an excuse to change the governor. In that context, my Khattab told the companions that if I appoint a gentle or gentle person as governor over them, those people would start taking advantage of him. On the other hand, if someone who is very strong and harsh is appointed over them, they will disobey him. And they will rebel against him. Who can be appointed in this situation? Then he presented a question to the companions.
Real evaluation is not possible for humans to measure except Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. Because it is an internal matter. Only Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala knows that it emerges through various actions. Measuring it is a matter beyond the ability of humans.
Second point Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to look at whether the person he wanted to appoint had the appropriate knowledge and experience for that job. He would look at those things, the experience required for the job, for the post of governor, for the post of wali. He would want all those people who were experienced. Once some people came to my Khattab and praised a person a lot. While praising them, they were saying that the person was so good that he did not know what was bad. It was not a compliment. My Ibn Al-Khattab said that a person who does not know what is bad, has no idea about bad deeds. In his own case, there is a high probability that he will be affected by that work. All this process was not for my Khattab to appoint to the post of governor. He was interested in all people who know both good and bad things. In any situation, it has the ability to guide, give direction and protect oneself and others from evil. Only those people who are outwardly wise, that is, only the knowledge of the book is in them but who do not have practical knowledge or real experience, how the world is going, did not want to appoint them to this position. Omar has a famous saying here, Omar said that I know when Islam will be destroyed and will start to disappear. A generation will come. When people do not have any knowledge, what is ignorance, what is stupidity? When they do not know those things. Then slowly Islam will start to be damaged and lost. The companions of the Prophet saw Jahiliyyah. Later they got Islam. They felt faith. That is why Omar explained that he was saying that those who do not recognize falsehood. Those who do not recognize the path of Satan, they are more afraid that they will be deceived by Satan. Therefore, he was not interested in giving the responsibility of leadership to such people. He wanted those who are not stupid, who cannot be fooled. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab sometimes identified culture. There are some differences in the cultural behavior of people in different places. For example, city dwellers who have some characteristics in their behavior. On the other hand, those who live a nomadic life, the behavior of the Bedouins is different. If a person who is different from the culture is appointed as an emir, then some problems will arise, which is quite natural. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did not appoint a Bedouin person as an emir or appoint a city dweller as an emir over the Bedouins.
Amr ibn al-Khattab did not provide any special food to his governor. We have mentioned this before. In this regard, we are going to an incident, the news came through Bilal. We know that he was a worldly companion. And he was very careful about this matter. Very self-restrained. He was a worldly person. He also wanted people to be worldly and not to become attached to the world. The condition of the Muslims in Sham, there was gradually increasing abundance among the Muslims. And they were becoming attached to luxury. Seeing these conditions, he came to Medina and complained to the Caliph. He said that the members of your military are eating delicious bird meat. They are eating soft delicious bread. But this is not easily available to the common Muslims. Omar ibn al-Khattab said, tell them to come to me. The person in charge of them came to Khattab. Amr asked if what Bilal said was true? Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “What Bilal said about our food is correct. But the reason for this is that it is very easily available in our country. The same amount we spend on our families is available there. We are doing this. It is very cheap and easily available food. You will not be able to take this food until I can ensure that you can provide the same amount of food for your people.” My Ibn al-Khattab took information from the common Muslims of that region. He asked them what food you think is sufficient for a month? They replied that we think it is sufficient. My Khattab then wrote down the agreement on the commanders or governors. He wrote, “I have written this agreement between you, the people, and your governors that they will provide you with the same amount of food. To this will be added what the government will give. If they do not fulfill this agreement, you can come to me and present a complaint. Against your emirs. So Umar ibn al-Khattab did not give permission to his governors to eat special food, soft and delicious bread or poultry, until he had made sure that every common citizen was eating enough. They were also getting enough food. Umar ibn al-Khattab would ask about this. Do the people in charge take care of the common people? When he went to different regions, he would meet them and ask them, “How is your governor, how is his behavior?” People would say that he is a good man. May Allah reward him. Not satisfied with this, my governor would ask more specific questions. He would ask, “Does the person in charge of you visit your sick people? Does he take care of your slaves? How is his behavior? Does he go to the doors of the common people?” If these questions were not answered, he would expel the governor. So Umar ibn al-Khattab also wanted to ensure that those in charge would visit the sick, look after the weak, and be present at the doors of the common people. So it was not just about establishing justice or limiting ourselves to the external aspects. My Khattab also ensured that all these people were concerned about the Muslim community.
For example, when money was being given from the treasury, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab ordered that everyone be treated equally. From the treasury, Arabs were given but non-Arabs were not given anything. He summoned the governor and asked him why he did not treat everyone equally? The days of nationalism or tribalism are over. So, Arabs and non-Arabs should be treated equally. In this way, any of my khattabs would follow up on the situation with his wali or governor. He would make sure that at least 10 witnesses testify that the money was completely legal and halal in the treasury, the Muslim treasury. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab made a provision that any citizen, if he wanted, could present his wali or governor or the commander-in-chief against them by sending a letter directly to the Caliph. And the security of those letters was ensured. There was no chance of anyone opening the letter in the middle. Directly to the Caliph by maintaining complete secrecy. We see that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab used to observe the condition of the Muslims by adopting such diverse situations and in this regard he said one of his famous sayings that if I were alive, I would travel to different Muslim states throughout the year as needed. Because I am sure that the people have different grievances. There are different needs. I will travel to those regions myself. I will go to Iraq, stay there for two months. I will go to Kufa, stay there for two months. If necessary, he will be on the road throughout the year. He will go to different places and he wants to make sure that all the grievances and needs of every Muslim living under the Islamic Caliphate are being met. So after all this management, what is the matter of any complaint against a governor or a wali? In most cases, there would be no basis for all these complaints. There are some incidents in this regard that will come up in our next discussion. Some amazing incidents about the complaints made by the common people against them are our last submission today. It is that we are encouraging our listeners who have been participating in our discussion so far, as Muslims, let us know our own history. History is like an ocean. It is a collection of many events, there are thousands of years of different events. In the last two to 300 years, many changes have taken place in this being Muslim. The reality of which we are seeing today.
