Umar bin Abdul Aziz – Generous Rules
During the caliphate of 'Umar bin 'Abdul-'Aziz, a woman traveled from Iraq to come and meet him. "When she arrived at his abode, she asked whether there was a guard to prevent people from going inside to meet him. They told her, "No, enter if you wish." The woman entered and saw Fatimah, the wife of 'Umar. She was sitting down at the time, spinning some cotton. The woman extended greetings of peace; Fatimah returned the greetings and told her to come inside.
As soon as the woman sat down, she began to look around, and was surprised to find that there was nothing of value or of importance in the house. Without realizing that she was speaking out loud, she said, "I carne to build and furnish my house from this house, which I have found to be empty and barren." Fatimah said, "The emptiness and barrenness of this house allows for the construction and adornment of houses such as yours."
'Umar entered the house, gave greetings of peace, and then asked his wife about the woman. He took out a bunch of grapes, chose the best ones, and gave them to his . wife, so that she could then offer them to the visitor. He then approached her and asked, "What is your need?"
She said, "I am a woman from the inhabitants of Iraq, and I have five daughters who cannot work and who have with them no material possessions. I came to you hoping that you might be willing to help them." Be began to cry, took out his inkstand and papers, and wrote a letter to the governor of Iraq. He asked the woman the name of her eldest daughter, and when she told him, he wrote down an amount that was to be given to her. Upon realizing that, the woman praised Allah (the Exalted), he then asked her the names of her second, third, and fourth daughters. The woman informed him and praised Allah. "When she realized that he had bestowed money upon all of them, she became so happy that she supplicated for him.
She left his house with the paper that she was to give to the governor of Iraq, and after a long travel, when she reached her home; she went to the governor to give him the piece of paper. "When she gave it to him, he began to cry for a long time, and then he said, "May Allah have mercy on the writer of this letter." She said, "Has news come to you of his death?" He said' "Yes.” She screamed but he told her not to worry, and that he going to give the allotted portion to her in any case.
