Hazrat Umar Farooq — Page 29
offered the person two hundred Dinars in exchange of the punishment, to which the person happily agreed. Thus the matter was resolved amicably. In another incident, Hadhrat Amr bin Al-Aas’s son hit a poor Egyptian for no apparent reason. He thought that being a Governor’s son; no harm would come to him. When Hadhrat Amr bin Al-Aas came to know of this incident, he arrested the Egyptian and put him into prison so that he could not go to Hadhrat Umar and complain. Shortly afterwards when the poor person was released, he went straight to Hadhrat Umar and told him the whole story. Hadhrat Umar called Amr bin Al-Aas and his son to Madinah. When they arrived, he told the Egyptian to take his revenge from Amr’s son. The Egyptian hit the boy so hard that he was injured. When he finished, Hadhrat Umar gave him permission to hit the Governor as well saying, “Had he not been the son of a Governor, he would not have hit you. ” Hadhrat Amr bin Al-Aas pleaded, “Sir, the offender has been duly punished. ” “What do you say?” asked Hadhrat Umar to the Egyptian. The Egyptian said that he had already taken revenge from the person who had hit him and that he was satisfied that the justice was done. Hadhrat Umar accepted the plea of the Egyptian and then admonished his Governor saying, “Every person is born free, you should not treat him like a slave. ” Hadhrat Amr bin Al-Aas was so ashamed at his conduct and that of his son that he sought forgiveness from Hadhrat Umar, which was duly granted. MAJLIS-SHOORA According to the example set by the Holy Prophet and by Hadhrat Abu Bakr, Hadhrat Umar always consulted people before appointing government officials. He had set up a committee of people who would advise him on such important matters. This was known as ‘Majlis-e-Shoora’ or Consultative Body. However on matters of utmost importance he would gather all Muslims of Madinah for consultation. When Iraq and Syria fell to Muslims, the Muslims were divided in their opinion as to what should be done to the conquered lands. Some were of the view that the estates should be returned to their original owners while others thought that those lands should be distributed amongst Muslims. The matter was put before Majlis-e-Shoora. After a few days discussion, Hadhrat Umar agreed with the majority that such lands should be returned to their owners and that a tax be imposed on them. COURTS OF JUSTICE Hadhrat Umar established courts of justice in every town and appointed judges from amongst righteous people. He advised the judges to decide the cases impartially. He told them not to be influenced by the status or riches of the parties. “Absolute justice should be done in all cases,” he emphasised. The judges acted so justly that even those historians, who are generally critical of Muslims, praise the system of justice administered by the courts during that period. ALL ARE EQUAL BEFORE LAW 29