When he became the Caliph, at the beginning of that time, he was not taking any kind of allowance from the treasury in exchange for this work. We also often see such an idealistic idea among us. We think that if we do any work for Islam, that work is being done for me for the sake of Allah. No remuneration can be taken in return for it. Accepting compensation for any work does not conflict with working for Allah. The reality is that a person will spend 100% of his time for the sake of Allah. Where will he earn his own livelihood? Of course, who needs him in this world. If a person dedicates himself to a noble cause, then the cost or purpose behind that work should be given to him. This is a rule of fiqh. That is, when a person devotes his own time, labor, effort, everything in the service of others, in the service of people, then other people should also spend to meet the needs of that person. Examples of work are examples of such people are a Mufti, a Wali, a Qadi. He is a judge. He conducts the judicial affairs of the Muslims. We can remember that when Abu Bakr Siddique first became the Caliph, he was not taking any kind of allowance from the Baitul Mal in return. He was an entrepreneur. Radi told him that you should take allowance from the Baitul Mal. Then you can spend your entire time working for the Muslim Ummah. When he became the Caliph, he was not taking any kind of allowance at first. Gradually poverty was surrounding him. He did not have time to do business for the Muslim Ummah as before. He could not concentrate on the work that he did to earn his living. When such a situation became difficult, he decided to take Surah on this issue with the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He asked what should I do in this situation? Radi said: You should take food and feed others. You can take your share from the treasury. Ali came to him and he said: What is your opinion on this? Ali said: Food and dinner. Umar ibn al-Khattab did take it and he said: How much does he consider it permissible for him to take from the treasury? He said: I consider this matter to be like that of a guardian of an orphan. If I can go without taking allowance, then I will not take allowance. And if I need it, then I will take only what I need. Several points have been mentioned in this regard. That is, regarding the issue of paying the expenses of the Caliph from the treasury or providing him with an allowance, they said that it is certainly permissible. That a Caliph can take an allowance in return for his work. Umar gave his opinion. The second point is that Abu Bakr and everyone else took an allowance as Caliphs. The third point is that the reason for their accepting this allowance was that they devoted their entire time to the affairs of the Muslim Ummah. Al-Khattab said that even if the Caliph is not in need, he has the right to receive an allowance from the Baytul-Mal. They opined that it is better for him to accept an allowance than not to accept an allowance. Because in this situation he will receive more support in his work and he will feel an obligation on himself because of accepting an allowance. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) We see that part of the personal expenses of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came from the spoils of war. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to bear his expenses from the spoils of war.
The one who took charge of the Muslims after Islam was Abu Bakr Siddiq. How did he earn his living? In this regard, in the previous discussion, in the last series of discussions, in the biography of Abu Bakr Siddiq, we mentioned that when Siddiq was not receiving any allowance at the beginning, he was trying to earn his livelihood through the work he did in business or cloth. In such a situation, my Ibn al-Khattab and Abu Ubaydah were not at work. And some people were waiting for Abu Bakr Siddiq, some women were waiting for him that the Caliph would come and they would get a decision on a matter between them. My Ibn al-Khattab from the Caliph saw Abu Bakr that Abu Bakr was going towards the market to do business. Umar said where are you going? What are you doing? Abu Bakr said what do you mean? I am trying to earn my own livelihood, my family and myself. And he said that people are waiting for you to do that work as a Caliph. He said that I must earn my living otherwise how will I feed myself or my family? Omar said okay we will arrange your allowance. He fixed an allowance for him from the wealth. He was the one who first came to Abu Bakr Siddique with the proposal that you should take a share from the Baitul Mal.
After Omar Khattab himself became the Caliph, he himself initially refused to accept anything from the Baitul Mal. Although it was lawful for him. What was initially determined for Siddiq was the amount of a sheep or mutton and a small amount. The allowance was going on. After a few days, Abu Bakr Siddiq was again seen busy working in the market. He asked, busy with work? What is the problem? What you are giving me is not enough for me. Abu Bakr Siddiq was a prosperous businessman and he was engaged in work again to earn the amount of money he deserved for the kind of life he was used to for his family. In this situation, the Sahaba Ikram decided again based on their advice that it is okay, we will increase your allowance. You will be given a whole sheep’s meat daily and the amount of allowance will be increased. From then on, Abu Bakr Siddiq became free from need and there was no need to divide his time for his livelihood.
We are going to the next incident. Here is the incident of the beginning of the calendar during the Caliphate of Omar. A man came to me here, Khattab, and brought a contract and said that this contract was between me and my brother. He borrowed some money from me. Now it is time for him to let you go and did he say that the time for paying this money has passed a long time ago. Rather, now it is written that this loan should be paid back in the month of Shaban. But the problem is that it is not written specifically in which year Shaban is. Is Shaban the previous year this year or the previous year or five years later? In some Arab societies, when they had a tribal society, they did not need to use any official calendar or calendar. They used to count the months but counting the years is when it comes to keeping track of an important year, many times they usually refer to the year as a year centered on some important event. For example, the year of the elephant army, the year of Ramadan, the year of famine or the year of high prices. They used to keep some verbal accounts like this, but the Caliphate now took on a larger form. The works developed. In that case, a calendar or calendar was actually a very important matter. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, in the midst of that person’s dispute with the companions, said that we need to introduce a calendar. What is your opinion on this? Some said that we think that we should start using the Gregorian calendar that the Romans have. Some said that we can use the calendar that the Persians have. In this way, different people gave different opinions. He said that we should have a Rika or calendar when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) migrated from the land of polytheism to the land. From that time, the opinion of Alif Nabid Aliv (may Allah be pleased with him) is that we should start counting the years from the time. The companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not specify the birthday of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the day of his death, or the day of his prophethood. If they chose the event of migration, why did they choose it? Because this was the most important event or the most important milestone for them that we can start counting the years around this event. It is more important than the birthday or the day of death. About Ibn Hajar Asqalani he said that this death day was the day of death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a day of sorrow. There are memories of sorrow surrounding that day among the companions. On the other hand, they chose the migration or birthday. The companions saw the migration as a huge turning point for Islam. The beginning of change began around the event of that migration. That was the beginning of the Islamic state, the real beginning of the Islamic way of life. Those who were a minority in Mecca, but when the migration happened, they came to Medina, they became a completely different nation. They decided to start the calendar based on that event. The Messenger (peace be upon him) migrated in the month of Rabi’ul Awwal in that year, but why is Muharram considered the first month of the year? Ibn Hajar Asqalani said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) initially decided in the month of Muharram that he would migrate. This is the opinion because the pledge of allegiance at Aqabah was made in the month of Dhul-Hijjah, and the first month after Dhul-Hijjah is Muharram.
In the very first part of our series of discussions, we discussed something about the character structure and characteristics of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. However, there was not much discussion about the character structure. This time we will try to look at those issues. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab and he had a combination of two opposite character traits, softness and hardness. When he gained power, he became the Caliph of the Muslim world. That power did not make him unbalanced or arrogant, but rather made him humble, as we see when a tree bears fruit, the tree leans further downwards in all directions, both mentally and in terms of worldly power. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was strong, but even after that, he was humble due to the fear of Allah. First, we will discuss the fear of Allah in Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). The power in that regard is in the Ulama, that is, those among the servants of Allah who have knowledge, fear Allah. Therefore, those among whom there is fear of Allah are those among whom there is knowledge.
In this regard, we see an incident. Once Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal was being discussed with him about a person and in that meeting some of his students were telling him that such and such a person was not a scholar at that time. He did not have any significant knowledge. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal replied, but the fruit of knowledge is in him and that is the fear of Allah. So what you want to achieve is already in him. Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had the fear of Allah. And in various incidents it is clearly revealed before us in the incident. Once a person came to Umar bin al-Khattab. Umar bin al-Khattab was busy with an urgent matter at that time. In that situation, the person came and said, O my son of Khattab, I want a dispute to arise between me and this person. You will decide that dispute. Being a little annoyed because of the busy time, he said, “You do not come when I am free.” And when you see that I am busy with the urgent matters of the Muslim Ummah. Then you come with all these things. Khattab hit the man with the stick he was holding. Frustrated and somewhat annoyed, he left there while we were busy with some urgent work and were doing something with full attention. At such a time, if another person came with a different topic, then naturally some annoyance would arise. But after some time, Khattab had a change of heart and called that man, my Ibn al-Khattab.
When the man came, he gave him his stick and said, “I hit you the way I hit you. I want you to hit me the same way.” He said, “I will not hit you for you.” Umar ibn al-Khattab said, “No, you will hit me only for the sake of Allah or you will return my hit to me.” Okay, I will do it only for the sake of Allah, meaning that the man had forgiven Umar. And he did not take it as a matter of course. Even then, he said, “I will protect your permission only for the sake of Allah. I will return your hit to you.” Ahnaf ibn Qays says that I was present when the incident happened. After the prayer, he himself said, “O son of Khattab, you were dishonored, Allah has honored you. Misguided, Allah has guided you. You were humiliated, Allah has elevated your status. He has appointed you as the leader of the Muslims.” One of those Muslims came to you for help and if you hit him like this, what will you answer him on the day you stand before Allah? How will you stand before Allah? How will you respond to your actions? Through this incident, I understood how much Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) feared Allah and how much he was pious.
The second incident we are going to. One day, Amr ibn al-Khattab came to the area around the Kaaba and saw that where there was a place for ablution, there was a pool of water where women and men were performing ablution together. Amr ibn al-Khattab went there and hit them with a stick and said, “Go away.” Then he said to a worker, “Didn’t I tell you to make separate arrangements for women and men? Why did you disobey my order regarding their places?” My son, Khattab, was very careful and men and women would come together in one place around the House of Allah. He did not want to allow this opportunity. He was driving them away from there and did not want to allow any kind of premix or free association. Ibrahim said about this incident that I am ruined. Amr ibn al-Khattab is ruined. Ali ibn Abu Talib said, “Why are you saying this?” Amr ibn al-Khattab said, “Who hit the men and women while I was there in the House of Allah in the Haram.” He said: A shepherd is like a shepherd and when a shepherd keeps his flock in order, that is justice. If a shepherd lets his flock go astray, that is oppression. So you have the right to bring back one of the sheep that is going astray to the right path. So he said: You did not do any injustice by hitting them, but you brought them back to order. In the third incident, we are going to when Amr ibn al-Khattab was very worried. Amr ibn al-Khattab was walking on the road to Medina because of a verse. At that time, he heard this verse. Medina came to his mind. Where Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says: Those who harm a believing man or a believing woman without any fault, they bear the burden of false slander and a manifest sin. Omar Khattab, as a caliph, had many subordinates above him. The great responsibility of looking after those matters under him was on his head. While performing this responsibility, many times, perhaps he had done something wrong to someone or had caused some trouble to someone. Because of this verse, that thought arose strongly in Umar ibn al-Khattab. Restless, he came to Ubayy ibn Kaab (may Allah be pleased with him). Ubayy ibn Kaab was a scholar. A Hafiz of the Quran and a Mufassir of the Quran. He had great knowledge. Umar ibn al-Khattab entered his room to meet him. When the Caliph Amir al-Mu’minin came to the room, Ubayy ibn Kaab put forward a pillow for him to sit on. Umar ibn al-Khattab was so worried and restless because of that verse that he kicked the pillow away.
And he sat down directly on the floor and said, O Ubayy, I am afraid that I will be the one who hurts the believing men and women? Ubayy ibn Ka’b said, O my Ibn al-Khattab, you are a caliph. As a caliph, your duty is to keep this Ummah in order. So you cannot remain without keeping me in order and showing me which is the right and which is the wrong path. You must fulfill this duty. My Ibn al-Khattab understood and was reassured. He said, “You are right.”
Umar was telling his daughter, Hafsa, she was the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said to her, “O my daughter, what was the extra clothing of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?” She said, “There were two clothes. There were two clothes that were scented. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would wear it when a representative or guest came to deliver the sermon on Friday.” Then Umar asked, “What was the best quality of the Messenger of Allah’s bed?” Hafsa said, “It was a bed that we used to spread out in four folds in the summer. And when winter came, we would spread half of it out and put half on top of our bodies. The clothes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the food, the bed of the Messenger of Allah, after hearing this, Umar said, “The example of me and my companion is like three people who traveled on a road. The first of them traveled on an old path and reached their destination. The second followed the first and also traveled on the road and reached their destination. Then what path does the third person want to follow?” Omar was explaining himself by saying that now if that third person takes the path of the two people as his own path and follows their Sunnah completely, he will definitely reach the same destination with them. But if he adopts a different path or path, he will never be able to reunite with the two previous companions. Omar cried after presenting these events. Omar informed that I want to follow my two previous companions. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr Siddique did not take anything from this world. They took the world as a means to achieve the Hereafter in a very ordinary situation. I also want to reach the same destination with them. Omar ibn Khattab once expressed his desire to eat a certain fish. He was a servant for him. He was told that you should collect the fish and bring them. There, he took a camel and a vehicle and went out in search of fish and started searching in different places. Finally, after traveling for two nights and covering the distance of two nights, that is, after completing the journey of four nights, he came to the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab with the fish. Umar saw that the animal was very tired due to the long journey. And its whole body was sweating and the animal was panting. And seeing this, the servant bathed the animal. Umar ibn al-Khattab saw the tired and exhausted state of the animal and said that an animal had suffered because of Umar’s interest. Umar would never taste this fish. Umar ibn al-Khattab saw that and refused to eat the fish. So from this incident, we can see that not only humans but also animals should not be oppressed, and that nothing beyond their capacity should be imposed on them, which was in the teachings of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Despite being the most powerful person in the Muslim world, the most powerful person, Omar Khattab was very humble and self-controlled.
