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In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
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First Evidence:
Abu Zarr of the Ghifar tribe somehow got angry
with the freed slave of Abu Bakr, Bilal of Abyssinia. Both of them were the
companions of the Prophet. The altercation became prolonged and Abu Zarr in his
fury called Bilal the son of a black skinned mother. Bilal complained to the
Prophet, who addressed Abu Zarr saying, "Did you
call him a name reviling his mother? It appears you still retain vestiges of
Jahiliyah (ignorance period before Islam)" Abu Zarr
failed to understand the word Jahiliyah and took it to signify some sort of
sexual immorality, and meekly questioned in surprise, "At this ripe age, O
Prophet of God?" The Prophet said in reply, "Yes,
you are his brother (and should be considerate and kind to him)". Abu Zarr who had by now understood the significance of the
Prophet's remark, was ashamed and repentant and out of extreme repentance and
humility requested Bilal to trample his face with his feet.
Second Evidence:
It happened once during the period of the
Prophet that a woman of the Bani Makhzoom tribe, Fatimah, was found guilty of
theft. She was brought to the Prophet so that she might receive her due
according to the Shari'ah (Islamic Law). The Quraish tribe very much resented it
since it involved their tribal prestige and dignity. So they thought of
intercession by somebody for the remission of her punishment. It was therefore
decided after deliberation to send Usamah bin Zaid for such intercession since
he was very much in favor with the Prophet. So he was approached, prompted to
intercede and he talked to the Prophet on this issue. The Prophet was very angry
and said to Usamah, "You intercede in the matter of
the limits prescribed by God?" Then he had the
people called and harangued to a big gathering of the believers in a touching
manner, saying, "The people before you who met
their doom, discriminated between the patricians and the plebeians in the
dispensation of justice for crimes like theft. The high-placed were spared while
the weaker elements of society were readily punished. By God if Fatimah bint-e-Muhammad
had committed theft, I would have amputated her hand also"
Third Evidence
Qais bin-e-Mutatiah, a hypocrite, once came to
a gathering where Salman Farsi, Suhaib Rumi, and Bilal Habashi were also
present. He remarked tauntingly, "Aus and Khazraj have rendered some service to
this person (the Prophet, Muhammad Sal'am), but I fail to understand what have
these people (Bilal, Suhaib and Salman) done (to deserve this honor). Mo'az
bin-e-Jabal was there in that gathering, and catching hold of him by the scruff
of his neck, he dragged him to where the Prophet was seated and told him what he
(Qais) had uttered. The face of the Prophet became ruddy with anger, and
dragging his sheet after him, he proceeded towards the mosque. The usual summons
for the gathering of the believers in the mosque were given and the Prophet
harangued to them saying, "O ye people! Always remember that your Lord and
Cherisher is one and your supreme ancestor is one, and your faith is also one
and the same ".
Fourth Evidence
Adi bin-e-Hatim came to Madinah before
embracing Islam and found the companions sitting around the Prophet. They had
just returned from some battles and some of them still had the armours and
helmets on. 'Adi witnessing the awe of the Prophet and their reverence for him
was himself inspired with awe. Meanwhile a humble woman of Madinah came to the
Prophet and requested to see him in private. The Prophet readily agreed to talk
to her in any street of Madinah named by her. Then he got up and at some
distance from the gathering talked to her for a sufficiently long time, and
having finished with her came back to the gathering. When 'Adi witnessed this
state of affairs, he was very much touched by this inconceivable concept of
philanthropy and embraced Islam.
Fifth Evidence
When after twenty-one years of hard struggle,
the Prophet conquered Makkah and those who had falsified him, had driven him out
of his home and had been waging a war with him, were brought before him
vanquished, even then he called them to the same thing and kept in view those
principles which he had preached bare footed in the vales of Makkah or had
enforced in Madinah as a ruler when he was laying the foundations of a new
civilization in the Islamic history. That day he proclaimed those principles
which he had been preaching while he had not yet gained his final victory.
Standing at the gate of the Ka'bah he said, "O ye
people of Quraish! Allah has, this day, put an end to your pride of the
Jahiliyah (ignorance) and also the pride of your ancestory. Keep in mind! All
men are the offspring of Adam, and Adam was fashioned out of clay". The Quraish who held an exalted position in the Arabian
Society, and had a high opinion of themselves, listened to him in silence with
bowed heads. On this occasion he recited the following Qur'anic verse which he
had been reciting off and on: {O Mankind! We
created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into
nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each
other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the
most righteous of you}
Sixth Evidence
When it came to the period of the caliphate of
Abu Bakr, he came forward as a ruler whose heart was full of sympathy for
mankind. Notwithstanding his position as the head of the Muslim state he came to
the girls of the locality whose fathers had become martyrs in religious wars. He
milked their goats for them and assured them that his new responsibilities would
not stand between him and his routine of benevolent acts such as that.
Seventh Evidence
'Umar comes as a glorious caliph. He is
sympathetic to the weak, is firm in his stand by the truth, and all are equal in
his sight. He goes without food to feed others, and keeps himself deprived to
give to others. He goes from door to door asking people about their conditions
of living, and is well known for his activities in this behalf. For example,
once he saw an old man. begging in the market-place. He questioned to ask him
about his identity. He said that he was infirm and old (unable to work for his
sustenance) and was therefore begging to pay Jizyah and keep something for his
daily bread. He was from the Jews living in Madinah. 'Umar said to him, "Old
man! We have not done justice to you. In your youth we realized Jizyah from you
and have left you to fend for yourself in your old age". Holding him by the
hand, he led him to his own house, and preparing food with his own hands fed him
and issued orders to the treasurer of the Bait-al-mal that that old man and all
others like him, should be regularly doled out a daily allowance which should
suffice for them and their dependents.
Eighth Evidence
'Umar was going through a lane in Madinah,
when he saw a very lean and thin young girl moving along shakily. He said, "In
what a sad plight this child is? Does anyone of you (his companions) know who
she is?" Abdullah bin-e-'Umar being closest to him said, "O Amir of the
believers! you do not recognize her." 'Umar said, "No, I do not." He told him
that she was his own daughter. 'Umar again asked him, "Which of my daughters is
she ?" Abdullah biri-e-'Uniar said in reply, "She is such and such of my
daughters (meaning that she was his Umar's own grand-daughter)". 'Umar asked
him, "Why then is she in this pitiable condition !" Abdullah said in reply to
his father, "Whatever is in your charge, you give us nothing from it. This
indigence of mine has brought her this sorry state". 'Umar said in reply to
his complaint, "By God! I have nothing for you more than I can give out to the
believers in general, whether it meets your needs or not. The Book of God stands
to decide just between us."
Ninth Evidence
Once a caravan came to Madinah. It had women
and children too with it. 'Umar said to Abdul Rahman bin-e-Auf, "Can you stand
guard on them to-night?" So 'Umar, the second caliph, and he, kept awake that
night together and kept vigil over the cara-van. During that nightly vigil they
both offered Tahajjud (late night and early dawn) prayer also. 'Umar on hearing
a baby's cry and approaching, said to the mother, "Fear God and do look after
your child care-fully." 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 thee! Thou appears not to be a good mother.
How is it that thy 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, "God bless you 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. And 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 the allowance for the children. From now on, every child,
suckling or weaned, shall receive a stipend. And it was also proclaimed
throughout the length and breadth of the Islamic state.
Unparalleled in the entire History of Mankind, By God! 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 overrun the then super powers of Rome
and Iran. 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 quieting her. Is there
any one 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?
Tenth Evidence
And this is not all. Our civilization has
still more glorious incidents to present. 'Umar's servant Aslam relates that he
came out with 'Umar one night, and went far out into the open area outside
Madinah. We were out on a fact finding mission to distant hamlets on the
outskirt of Madinah. From a distance we observed fire aglow far off. 'Umar said,
"I believe the darkness of the night and the cold have compelled some horsemen
to sojourn here. Let us go and see." We proceeded at a brisk pace and reached
that spot. We saw a woman Sitting there with some children around her, a pot
boiling on fire, and the children crying. 'Umar greeted her and asked the woman
about her condition and also what was going on there. The woman told him that
the darkness and cold had forced her to stay there for the night. 'Umar asked
her, "Why are these children crying?" And the woman said in reply, "They are
hungry". Then 'Umar asked her, "What is there in that pot on fire?" The woman
said, "Only water to console the children so that they may remain quiet and go
to sleep. And God alone shall judge between us and 'Umar". What the woman wanted
to convey was that 'Umar was not fair and just to them. 'Umar said to her, "My
good woman I What does 'Umar know about your state of affairs?" To which she
retaliated, "Why then should he hold the high office of the Caliph when he is
unaware of our condition?" Aslam relates that 'Umar said to him, "Let us go
now". And we started from there with all haste, Aslam goes on to say, "and
reached the godown of provisions (of the Bait-al-mal) and 'Umar took a bag of
flour and container of fat and asked me to load the bag on his back. I offered
my services but he angrily brushed aside my offer saying 'Can you relieve me of
my burden on the Day of reckoning also?' So I loaded the bag on his back, and
then we hastened to-wards our destination at a fast enough pace and soon he
placed the bag and taking out some flour from the bag gave it to the woman and
asked her to knead it while he himself offered to fan the fire to a flame. So he
started blowing the fire below the pot. His beard was thick and I saw smoke
percolating through his beard. He went on blowing at it until the food was
ready, and he asked the woman to bring some vessel. And when she brought a
platter, he poured out the contents of the pot into it and asked the woman to
feed the children while he himself fanned to cool it. We sat there until all of
them had eaten to their fill. What was left of the flour and fat was handed over
to her and then 'Umar got up and I followed suit. The woman said, 'God bless
you. You are more deserving of that high office than the Amir of the believers.'
'Umar said to her, 'Say only a good word. When tomorrow you come to see Amir of
the believers, you will find me there, God-willing.' After that 'Umar went to
some distance and retraced his steps and hid himself close to their place of
stay. I said to him that that was not proper on his part to observe them from
the place of his concealment. But he kept quiet. We saw that the children were
playing merrily and then they went to sleep. 'Umar thanked God and got up and
turning to me said, 'Aslam I Hunger was growing at their stomachs and they were
miserable and could not go to sleep. I would not haye been at ease until I had
seen them happy and comfort-able. So I looked at them from my position of
vantage. You have also seen that they have gone to sleep per-fectly at ease."
Eleventh Evidence
One of the unique incidents relating to sympathy and
equality in the history of mankind is that 'Umar came by one night. It was usual
with him to go out during the nights to see with his own eyes the conditions
under which people were living. One night he found himself in one of the many
valleys of Madinah. All of a sudden he heard somebody crying in a nearby tent,
at whose door was standing a man. 'Umar greeted him in the proper manner and
asked him who he was. He said in reply that he was a Bedouin who had come to
Madinah to ask the Amir of the believers for help. Then 'Umar asked him about
the crying and wailing inside the tent, which question the Bedouin tried to
evade, saying that since it did not concern him, he should not interest himself
in it and go his way. Little he knew that he was talking to the Amir of the
believers. However, on the insistence of 'Umar he told him that his wife was in
labour pain and has no one to help her with the delivery. 'Umar came back home
and asked his wife, Umme-Kulsum bint-e-Ali, whether she was interested in the
reward from God which He might have brought her way. And on her asking what was
that, he told her in some detail, and asked her to take with her the requisites
of a new born and the delivered mother and also some provisions for food. He
took all those things from her and started, Umme-Kulsum following him. Soon they
came to the Bedouin's tent and 'Umar sending his wife inside, himself sat with
the husband, and lighting a fire started cooking food with the provisions he had
brought with him. The Bedouin was even now unaware that he was sitting beside a
great man of the world. Meanwhile the woman in the tent was delivered of a babe
and Umme-Kulsum called him from inside the tent, addressing him as Amir-al
Muminin, and asked him to congratulate his friend on the birth of his child. The
Bedouin on hearing her words became conscious of the fact that he had been with
the head of the Islamic state all this time and had been rude to him, and was
awe-struck and began receding from 'Umar. But 'Umar reassured him and asked him
to keep sitting where he was, unceremoniously. And when he asked Umme-Kulsum to
offer the mother the food that he had cooked. And when she had eaten, he offered
food to her husband, saying "Partake of it, you have kept up the whole night and
have been inconvenienced. Come to me tomorrow and I shall see to it that your
needs are pro-vided." When he came to him ('Umar) the next morning he granted an
allowance for his new born babe and he too was liberally helped.
Let the World present one Parallel
So far as my information is concerned, I can say with certainty that there is
not a single incident as glorious, outstanding and based on the sentiments of
fraternity as the one cited above, anywhere in the lives of the greatest men in
the history of mankind. There is an incident connected with George Washington
the savior of America that he was once going along the road when he saw that
some soldiers were trying to lift a stone but were unable to do so. Their
supervisor was standing close by but not lending a helping hand. George asked
him to come to their help, but he refused saying that it was below his dignity.
Washington kept his sheet on one side of the road and helped them lift the
boulder, and said to them when departing that whenever they needed help in a
difficulty of that type they could enlist his help at such and such address.
Certainly this is a unique incident and is an example of a high standard of
morality. But it stands no comparison with the incident of 'Umar cited above. 'Umar
sacrificing his sleep and comfort of the night came out to find out the
condition of the people, when he found a woman passing through the pangs of
labor, having no one to help her, he came home, took his wife with him and
loaded with provisions himself and the wife with the needs of the mother and the
new born infant, to go to the tent of a Bedouin far from the town in the
darkness Ii of the night. The wife, who, in our present day terminology, was the
queen, plays the role of a maid-servant, a mid-wife, and he himself takes upon
the role of the cook. Is there a single example of this height of man's psyche?
The height which was never attained by any ruler of a state on this globe. This
is one of those brilliant incidents that go to make 'Umar so great, and also one
of the dazzling aspects of our civilization that it molded a simple Bedouin Arab
like 'Umar into a personage that even today occupies the highest stand among the
great men in the history of mankind, just as our civilization stands out among
the civilization of the world, topping the list.
Not One but a Multitude Rank after Rank
Here we must also mention that 'Umar is not an isolated example presented as a perfect and affectionate person by our civilization. The lives of Abu Bakr, Uthman and 'Ali (God be pleased with them all) were also molded in the mould of perfect humanity, brimming over with mercy and affection. Also the lives of 'Umar bin-e-Abd-al-Aziz, Salahuddin Ayyubi and many other big personages, the 'ulama' the legists, philosophers and leaders also present countless immortal examples, which is a brilliant evidence in favor of our glorious civilization from every aspect.