Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 152
152 islam’s response to contemporary issues water and some stones in the kettle or pot to create the impression that food is being cooked. That is what you see. ’ In deep pain and anguish, Umar ra immediately returned to his seat of government. He procured some flour, butter, meat and dates and put them in a bag. He asked a slave standing nearby for help in putting the bag on his back. The slave, in surprise, asked Umar ra why he wanted to carry it himself and asked that he should be permitted to carry the bag instead. Umar ra replied: ‘No doubt you can carry this weight for me today, but who will carry my burden on the Day of Judgement?’ He meant that on the Day of Judgement, the slave would not be in a position to answer on Umar’s behalf as to how he discharged his responsibilities. He had to do it himself. It was also a sort of self-inflicted penance because Umar ra felt responsible for the misery of a helpless poor woman and her children whom he had just witnessed. He felt, in fact, that the entire township and its affairs were his ultimate responsibility—a trust he had to discharge himself. It is impossible for the head of every government to physically emulate what Umar ra did, but in both spirit and attitude Umar ra remains an excellent model. This is the spirit which must be followed by modern societies everywhere. If the governments become sensitive to the cause and sufferings of the people, then, even before the people begin to give voice to their pain and sense of deprivation, those in authority would be compelled to take remedial measures, not because of demands from fear but from the impelling voice of their own conscience.