Hazrat Umar Farooq — Page 36
who is your grandson as well. I longed for eating meat so I purchased it from him and slaughtered it. ” Hearing this explanation Hadhrat Umar forgave him. On another occasion when a camel was slaughtered in Madinah and food was served to Hadhrat Umar, he found nice big chunks of meat in his plate. He refused to eat saying, “I do not want to eat these nice big chunks of meat and leave meatless bones for other Muslims. ” Hadhrat Umar used to spend the nights in supplication to God Almighty and days in distributing food to the people of Madinah. As the food that he was eating was not wholesome, his health began to deteriorate. When a Companion of the Holy Prophet showed his concern regarding the health of Hadhrat Umar, he said, “An Arab (meaning he himself) used to eat ghee and meat and drink milk. Because of famine he stopped eating such food. As a result the colour of his skin has changed and he often starves. ” Hadhrat Umar, because of his position, could get nice food to eat and plenty of it if he so desired, but he preferred to eat the same food as was available to others. Once a small girl came to see him. She was very pale and weak. Hadhrat Umar asked who she was. His son Hadhrat Abdullah said, “Ameer-ul-Momineen! This is your grand daughter. Due to starvation she was reduced to a skeleton that is why even you could not recognise her. ” When the period of famine grew longer and Hadhrat Umar realised that it was extremely difficult to get more food from outside and there was no sign of any rain either, he got more worried. He asked the people of Madinah to come out of the city in order to beg mercy from Allah and offer special prayers for rain. It is related that he held the hand of Hadhrat Abbas, an uncle of the Holy Prophet, and prayed to God Almighty, “O Allah! For the sake of the uncle of the Holy Prophet, send us some rain. ” It is reported that Hadhrat Umar went on praying until his beard was soaked in tears. God took mercy on them and soon afterwards it started to rain. The crops came to life and the period of famine ended. Soon after the famine, another disaster in the form of plague struck Muslims and thousands died of plague in Syria. Hearing the news of this epidemic, Hadhrat Umar decided to visit Syria himself. A Companion of the Holy Prophet advised him not to undertake the journey. He drew his attention towards a Saying of the Holy Prophet, “Do not go to a place where there is epidemic or any other calamity. ” Hadhrat Umar accepted his advice. He therefore sent a message to the Muslims of Syria and instructed them to leave the urban area and take shelter in the mountains. Muslims left the towns and went to the mountains and lived there until the epidemic ended. It is related that twenty five thousand Muslims died in Syria because of plague. Hadhrat Abu Obaidah bin Al-Jarrah, the Governor of Syria, also fell victim to the disease. 36