Hazrat Umar Farooq — Page 41
HADHRAT UMAR’S CHARACTER Hadhrat Umar was a man of simple habits. He would eat whatever was available and clothe himself in whatever was available to him. His food was simple and so were his clothes. He was a symbol of nobility and humbleness. He had no palace and no guards. Once while he was having his meal, a rich person came to see him. Hadhrat Umar invited him to share his meal, which he gladly accepted. As the bread was made out of very coarse wheat flour the first morsel which the visitor took struck in his throat. He said to Hadhrat Umar, “Don’t you like bread made of fine flour?” Hadhrat Umar replied, “I am appalled at your remarks. How can I eat bread made of fine flour when it is not available to all Muslims?” It is related that once Qaiser, the king of Rome, sent a messenger to Hadhrat Umar. When he reached Madinah, he asked the people of Madinah, “Where is your king?” They replied, “We have no king. We have a leader. We call him Ameer. He has gone out of Madinah. ” The man went in search of Hadhrat Umar. He saw him resting on the ground under a tree using his stick as a pillow and was perspiring profoundly because of immense heat. The messenger was quite amazed. He said to himself, “Here is a person who has filled awe in the hearts of the mightiest kings but as he is fair in the treatment of his people and administers absolute justice, he sleeps without any fear whereas our rulers are cruel to their people, therefore they always fear for their lives and cannot sleep. ” Once Hadhrat Umar was going somewhere on foot. It was a very hot afternoon. He saw a slave who was riding a donkey and going the same way. Hadhrat Umar asked him to allow him to sit on the donkey at the back. The slave, out of respect, got down from the donkey and said, “Please ride my donkey. I will walk beside you. ” Hadhrat Umar declined the offer saying, “I will sit at the back if you allow me. I don’t want to see you walking on hot ground while I ride your animal. ” During Hadhrat Umar’s Khilafat God had given a lot of wealth to Muslims, which was put in the State treasury and from which the needs of the poor and needy were met. Hadhrat Umar was very particular about the State expenditure. He would keep an eye on the accounts and would hesitate to spend even one Dirham for any thing that was not necessary. It is related that when he was attacked and lay injured in bed he realised that he had eighty six thousand Dirhams loan to pay back. Hadhrat Abdur Rahman suggested to him to take a loan from the treasury in order to pay back the loan. Hadhrat Umar refused to do so, instead he called his son Abdullah and asked him to stand surety for him and pay back from the proceeds of his estate after his death. Once he said that if he heard a voice from the Heavens saying that God Almighty had allowed everyone to enter into Paradise except one person, he would think that he was that unfortunate person who was left out of the Paradise. He was leader of the Muslims, yet he was himself a very humble person and wanted to serve humanity to the best of his ability. Once he gathered people in the mosque and told them, “I was the one who used to tend the grazing camels belonging to my aunts and I was the one who used to fill their earthenware with water and in return they used to give me some dried dates. ” 41