The Economic System of Islam — Page 14
14 How painful is the following episode of his life! When a per- son—out of foolishness and misperception that Hadrat Umar ra had been unjust—fatally stabbed him, Hadrat Umar ra lay in anguish on his deathbed with the following words on his lips: O my Lord: I ask for no reward: only be pleased to call me not to account for my shortcomings. ( Usdul-Gh a bah , vol. 4, p. 75) His only thought was: ‘O Lord! You gave me this authority and trust. I do not know if I truly fulfilled my duty. Now the time of my death is near and I am about to leave this world and return to You. O my Lord! I do not ask for any compensation for my services and I do not seek any reward. Instead, I only seek your mercy. If I have done any wrong in discharging the responsibilities that were as- signed to me, I seek your forgiveness. ’ Hadrat Umar ra was a man of such high calibre that it is hard to find other examples in history that come close to his sense of equity and justice, yet he died under the weight of the Quranic injunction: 8 Even at his death he was restless and troubled. He was not satisfied with all the services that he had rendered for the betterment of his people and for advancing the cause of Islam. He had given such 8 S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:59, (publishers)