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Umar ibn al-Khattaab

Once a caravan came to Madinah. It had women and children too with it. `Umar said to Abdul Rahman ibn `Auf, “Can you stand guard on them tonight?” So `Umar, the second caliph, and he, kept awake that night together and kept vigil over the caravan. During that nightly vigil they both offered Tahajjud (late night) prayer as well. `Umar on hearing a baby’s cry and approaching, said to the mother, “Fear Allah and do look after your child carefully.” Saying this he came back to his own position. Once again he heard it crying, and going over to her mother once again gave her the same advice. When during the last part of the night the child cried once again, `Umar came to its mother and said, “Woe to you! You appear not to be a good mother. How is it that your child could not sleep peacefully during the night.” The woman little suspecting that she was speaking to the Amir of the believers, said in reply, “May Allah bless you, O man, you have pestered me several times during the night. I want to wean it forcefully (before time), but the child is intractable.” `Umar asked her, “And pray, why wean it forcefully?” She said in reply, “Because `Umar grants allowance only for such children that have been weaned.” `Umar asked her, “How old is your child?” And she told him it was only a few months old. And `Umar asked the woman not to be hasty in weaning her child. Then he led the morning prayer in such a state that his weeping made the recital of the Quran inaudible and unintelligible. At the end of the prayer he said, “`Umar is ruined. He killed the children of the believers!” And at this, he ordered the crier to proclaim in the town of Madinah that the mothers should not wean their children only for the sake of allowance for the suckling. From now on, every child, suckling or weaned, shall receive a stipend. And it was also proclaimed throughout the length and the breadth of the Islamic state. Unparalleled in the Entire History of Mankind

By Allah! The entire history of mankind is unable to produce such a brilliant and glorious incident. None among the civilizations of the world can present any personage like `Umar. He kept awake the whole night, keeping guard over the caravan and the caravan slept in peace. And we should keep in mind that he was the head of the Islamic state, and wielded great authority and power that had conquered the then mighty empires of Rome and Persia. And in spite of all that he did what a petty guard detailed to patrol the vicinity of a caravan in its sojourn would not do. He drew the attention of the crying child’s mother to her babe and asked her to restrain it from crying. Is there anyone who can mete out that treatment to the children in a passing Caravan, like `Umar? Who is there among the greatest personages of the history of mankind who can even touch the great human consciousness of `Umar?

The Awakening Of Umar Bin Al-Khattab

Umar was 27 when the Prophet (peace be upon him) began his mission. Young Omar was one of those who did not care to listen to the message of Islam. He was leading the old way of life. As years went by, Islam made slow headway. This made Omar angry. He wondered how people who once went over to Islam never went back to their old faith. One of Omar’s own maid-servants became a Muslim. He beat her as much as he could, but she would not give up the new faith.

At last in the sixth year of the Prophet’s mission, a number of Muslims left for Abyssinia. This made Umar boil with rage. “Here is a man,” he thought to himself “who has split the people. People lived smoothly enough. He appeared on the scene. He has torn son from father and brother from brother. Now his followers are running away to another land. Surely Muhammad is the cause of all trouble. I must slay him and put an end to the trouble.”

With this resolve, Omar drew his sword and set out to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him). On the way, he met a friend who asked him why he looked so upset. Omar told him what he was going to do. “You better take care of your own kin first,” said the friend, “Your sister and her husband have gone over to Islam.”
These words changed the direction of Omar’s anger. He went straight to the house of his sister, Fatima. He knocked at the door. Someone was reciting the Qur’an inside. Fatima was terrified when she heard Omar’s voice. She hid the portion of the Qur’an she was reading and opened the door.
“What was it that you were reciting just now?” Omar demanded.
“Oh nothing,” said the sister.
“Why nothing?” he shouted in rage. “I have heard it. I know you both have accepted Muhammad’s faith.” Saying this, he began to beat his brother-in-law, Saeed. Fatima ran to his help and got a blow to the head. The head began to bleed. This made the couple gather courage. “Yes, we have become Muslims,” they shouted at Omar. “Do what you will.” The sight of the bleeding sister deeply moved Omar. Fatima was such a loving sister! Surely there must be some great truth in the Qur’an which had won her innocent heart. “Would you let me have a look at the Qur’an?” said Omar.
Fatima handed him the few pages of the book she had.
Omar sat down to study the pages. Soon his face changed. His anger cooled down. The fear of Allah gripped his heart. He wept and declared, “Surely this is the word of Allah.”
Omar was again on his way to the place of the Prophet (peace be upon him). But he was a changed man. He was not going to slay him but to embrace his faith.
The Noble Prophet was sitting in the company of some men. He saw Omar coming and asked, “Omar , what brings you here?”
“O Prophet of Allah!” replied Omar, “I have come to embrace Islam.” Great was the joy of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers. Loud shouts of “Allah is the Greatest” rented the air of Makkah.
Soon everyone knew that Omar was no longer an enemy of Islam. It was a great day for Islam because one of its bitterest enemies had become its staunch follower.

Success Is In Islam

UMAR Bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was on his way to take over Jerusalem from the Romans. They insisted that they would hand over the keys of the city only to the leader of Muslims, whose power and might was well-known.

His journey was special. He would take turns with his slave to ride the camel. If for some distance he rode and the slave walked pulling the camel, then for the next equal distance the slave would ride and Umar would walk, pulling the camel. Jerusalem was near, the city’s gates were almost in sight, and it was the slave’s turn to ride the camel. While Umar walked, he passed through a pool of mud, so his clothes got soiled.

Abu Ubaidah Bin Al-Jarrah, commander of the Muslim army, was worried. He came to Umar, the leader of Muslims, and suggested that he rode the camel as they were about to enter Jerusalem. He thought the Romans, who are used to pomp and glory, will not respect his leader if he entered with such simplicity.

At first, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was taken aback. He didn’t expect Abu Ubaidah, one of the 10 whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave good news of Paradise in this world itself, to say something like this!

Then Umar spoke one of the most powerful statements ever to go down in history. He said, “We were a people who lived in humiliation before. Allah gave us honor through Islam. If we sought honor through anything else (at the cost of Islam) then Allah will humiliate us again.”

That statement looks as if Umar was directly addressing us, Muslims of the 21st century. Surely enough, what was the Arabian peninsula before Islam? It was steeped deep into ignorance that rulers would pass by and would not bother conquering it.

People would bury their female babies alive; fights would start at the drop of a hat and continue for hundreds of years; immoral practices were rampant; and most importantly idols made by their own hands were worshiped.

Who could have thought during the time that in less than 100 years the same people would be ruling from Spain to nearly the Indian subcontinent and beyond? But that is what Islam did to them, that is what standing firm upon the truth brought them. They were exemplary as believers – practicing Islam with full conviction, and obeying Allah with full submission. This is what we lack today. We lack knowledge that precedes action, and faith that turns knowledge into deeds. If we set that right, Allah promises us the success we so desperately seek.

“So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers.” (Qur’an, 3:139)