Generous Ruler Umar Bin Abdul Aziz

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.

Umar Bin Abdul Abdul Aziz - The Righteous Caliph

Umar Bin Abdul Aziz

The Umayyads, who gained control of the Islamic Caliphate, after the four Righteous Caliphs, chose Damascus for the capital of the Islamic Empire.  Umar Bin Abdul Aziz was not a man of war and military battles but rather a simple man who strived to live a very humble life in the midst of that type of life of luxury and affluence. What makes this all the more remarkable is that 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz did all this after he became the Caliph or the ruler of a great Empire. 'Umar the Caliph who was accustomed to the life of ease and comfort shunned all the amenities and luxuries of royal life and led a humble life like any of the ordinary citizens of the Empire he ruled. 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was born in Madinah around 59 A.H. (680 G.). He was a descendent of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab on his mother's side. So his life of material luxury and richness did not spoil the moral and religious aspects of his life. In his youth he memorized the Holy Ouran and kept the company of many religious scholars in Madinah and elsewhere. At the age of twenty-six, 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was appointed Governor of Madinah. This was the first test of his character. 'Umar successfully passed the test. For as soon as he was appointed, he chose ten 'Ulama' (religious scholars) to help him carry out his duties, by giving him sincere advice and warning him of any injustices incurred by the citizens. In the year 99 A.H. (ca. 720 G.) 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz ascended to the throne in Damascus after the death of Sulaiman ibn 'Abdul-Malik who chose him for a successor.

And according to the conventions of the time, people swore the oath of allegiance to 'Umar who told them to make their pledge conditional on his obedience to Allah; in other words, he did not want allegiance of his subjects to be a blind one. People had to obey him and be loyal to him only as long as he did not break any of the Divine laws; otherwise, they did not have to obey him. In this great attitude 'Umar ibn' Abdul-Aziz was certainly following the path of the four Righteous Caliphs, who always insisted that subjects should show obedience to the ruler only so long as he broke no law of Allah.

To him worldly comfort and wealth had no meaning but rather were considered hindrances in the path of piety. He had never transgressed the laws of the faith; neither had he caused any harm to anyone intentionally. When he became the Caliph, however, in contrast to many or most rulers, he rejected the soft way of life and started a new way of austerity and hard work for the Pleasure of Allah. He refused to be accompanied by the official parade, and he sent off his royal guards saying: "I have no need for this; for I am only a member of the Muslim community."

Another practice discontinued by 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was the practice of giving rewards and incentives to the poets who praised the Caliphs. To him this was an unfair way of wasting the money of the public treasury. For that money should only go to the people who really needed it.

What makes 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz a heroic model is the fact that to him piety and justice were not matters of preaching only, but they were matters of practice, and that practice began at home. He divested himself of all the unnecessary amenities of life and asked his wife Fatimah to return her dearest and valuable jewelry to the Muslim treasury. To him, members of the royal family were no better than the common people, and they deserved no special favors.

It was In fact this sense and practice of justice and sincerity in carrying out the duties of the caliphate that made the whole empire free of the poor and needy people, which made it difficult to find people who deserved the poor dues (Zakat).

Another important aspect of his personality was his extreme modesty and humility. He, the ruler of one of the greatest empires in history, wore the simplest of inexpensive garments, lived the simplest way of life and served himself whenever possible. His order to his servant was: "Rulers usually appoint people to watch over their subjects. I appoint you a watcher over me and my behavior. If you find me at fault in word or action guide me and stop me from doing it."