Riyad As-Saliheen- Lesson 16: Mujahada (Striving in Allah's Cause)- part2: Two blessings which many people squander
- Prophetic Hadith / Explanation of Prophetic Hadith
- /
- Riyadh Al Saleheen
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Dear believing brothers, before I start with the Hadith of our discussion today, I would like to highlight the fact that some people think religion is pieces of information including Ahadeeth, Ayaat, interpretations, stories, and biographies that need to be memorized, so that they will be religiously successful, but this is definitely incorrect.
Religious information is but one small part of religion. Religion is to turn to Allah the Almighty, to get closer to Him and to establish a firm connection with Him. When Islam is narrowed down to become mere pieces of information, books, and culture, it vanishes. In contrast, if Islam is understood as religious commitment, purification, and physical and spiritual elevation, Muslim will be able to make miracles, and because of his deep faith, he will be as strong as 1000 people are.
I find myself obliged from time to time to draw the attention of our noble brothers to the fact that getting information about Islam has no value if this information is not turned into actions. The noble companions opened the world and spread Islam as real heroes in every sense of the word. They achieved such a great success not because they used to listen to the Ahadeeth of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, but because they put them into action.
Being a Muslim means establishing Islam in your household and relations, and having a strong connection with Allah the Almighty, so that you will keep turning to Him and yearn to keep close to Him.
I like to remind you from time to time to get back to the Right Path. When man heads towards collecting information about Islam, his Salah will be mere moves, his steadfastness will not be firm, his discipline will be weak and his commitment will be shaky. Such a man will get nothing from religion. Remember, establishing justice for an hour is better than worshipping Allah for 60 years. Actually, you can apply your just, honesty, fairness and trustworthiness at work.
Imam al-Ghazali talked about Islamic religion, and I have repeated his words a lot. He said, "The price for this religion is Mujahadah (striving in Allah's Cause)." This is an expensive price, and the gains are worthwhile. This religion is not only acquired by attending a religious session, reading a book of religion, mastering Tajweed rules, being aware of Fiqh (jurisprudence), or enrolling at a faculty of Shari'ah. In fact, this religion is acquired by Mujahadah, and with this regard Imam al-Ghazli said, "Strive and you will be strongly connected with Allah the Almighty."
If you fight against your Nafs (ownself) and whims, you will strengthen your connection with Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. Let me tell you this; whether you are connected or disconnected with Allah, you can make ablution, and you can stand before Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, to pray properly with your body. Yet, you will be absent-minded and disconnected with Allah the Almighty due to a sin, a violation, a transgression, a deviation, slackness, a forbidden lust, a hidden act of Shirk and so on. Accordingly, Salah is the standard with which one can measure his deeds. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( Prayer is a balance; whoever gives well, receives well. ))
This means, whoever remains steadfast will receive the fruitful results of Salah. Man's lifespan is very precious, and he should know that spending more than 10 years praying regularly without receiving the fruitful results of his Salah is because he is religiously uncommitted. Therefore, if someone wants to be one of the true believers, firstly he should have the determination to adhere to Allah's Commands completely.
People are mistaken when they say things like:
"We will try to be committed as much as we can", "May Allah forgive us for falling short in performing religious duties and obligations", "Allah will pardon us", "Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, will not hold us accountable for our wrongdoings" or "He will not ask us about every tiny thing we have said or done". Beware, the Justice of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is absolute, His Jannah is precious, and His Commodity (Jannah) is priceless, and only the one, who deserves to be among its people, shall be admitted to it, so whoever wishes to be a believer without acting upon it, his wish will be to no avail.
When man sets a schedule for himself containing his steps towards Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, these steps become habitual activities if he keeps following them. For instance, if someone attends a religious lesson on Sunday, but he spends Monday evening with males and females, the lesson will be useless. Also, it will be worthless if he attends it, but on the next day, he involves in false oaths in his shop while dealing with customer as he tries to promote bad quality goods or to hide a defect in the goods and so on. If religious commitment is not reflected clearly in your actions and behavior during the week, you will be held accountable for this session.
By Allah, I hope that the elite among Muslims are those who apply Islam completely. So, The Muslim should reconsider things around him. I mean he should notice if there is anything done in his household that is unacceptable in Islam, he should see whether his wife and children (both males and females) are modest or not, and he should make sure that he establishes Islam at home. Furthermore, he should make sure that his transactions, like selling and buying, are Islamic, and his relations are Islamic. Moreover, he should make sure that he yearns to stand before Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, whenever he intends to pray. Unfortunately, some people pray to relieve themselves from such an obligation (they feel Salah is a burden), while other people are relieved by performing it, and there is a big difference between the two situations. The Prophet, peace be upon him indicated that the Salah should be the relief from all burdens when he said to Bilal:
(( Relieve us with it, O Bilal ))
I like from time to time to give you some instructions, even if my instructions seem to be harsh to our brothers, this is because (by Allah), the truth is always bitter, and it is harsh sometimes.
We should read about the noble companions and see why they used to be high-spirited with one another. Let me give you a hint, do you think that it is permitted for a Muslim to backbite his fellow brother? He is not a Muslim if he does so. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. ﴿
This is a Divine Prohibition. Let me ask you this question: Why do you pray? Well, because Allah the Almighty orders you to pray. How do you dare to backbite your brother, while Allah the Almighty prohibits you from doing so? You read the Quran, yet you apply the things you like and leave the things you do not like! Is this how Islam should be established and applied? Why do you not apply all the Divine Commands and avoid all the Divine Prohibitions you read in the Quran? When you do so, by Allah, the only Deity worthy of worship, you will be on cloud nine. You will also be delighted when you determine to repent to Allah the Almighty sincerely and to mend your relation with Him.
As a Muslim, you are supposed to get yourself prepared for each Salah, so that you will be able to stand before Allah with a clean heart in order to be able to stay connected to Him, Exalted and Sublime be He, during Salah. Man will remain connected to Allah during the time between each Salah and another, like the time between Zuhr and Asr Salah, as long as he does not lie, does not backbite others, does not slander, does not look at forbidden things, and does not commit a sin. He will keep connected to Allah the Almighty as long as he is honest, faithful, helpful and obedient.
Furthermore, man should perform a good deed to stay connected with Allah. He should make Du'a to Allah, saying "O Allah, help me do a good deed that makes You pleased with me." The point that I would like you to understand is that man should always ask himself about the things he has spent his day doing. Has he spent his day gossiping, wasting money, begging, earning money, or arguing with others? He will not be able to remain close to Allah and reap the fruitful results of the religious lessons he attends on Sunday and Friday if he keeps doing things that do not please Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He.
I would like you dear noble brother, particularly those who come from distant areas, to make the best use of the time you spend in here attending my lessons. Making use of these lessons is not by taking notes, reading religious books, writing books, listening to religious lectures, listening to Khutab, or acquiring knowledge, because these things are axiomatic, and they are not enough to be a Muslim. Being a Muslim means to establish Islam in your household and to be deeply affected by it and that will be manifested in things like fearing Allah and shedding tears upon reading the Quran. In fact, the more you react to the Quran the more committed and giving you become. Bear in mind, your good deeds play a key role in being impressed by Allah's Book.
(( It was narrated that Hudhaifah said: "I prayed with the Prophet (peace be upon him) one night. He started to recite Al-Baqarah and I thought, 'he will bow when he reaches one hundred,' but he carried on. I thought, 'he is going to recite the whole Surah in one Rak'ah,' but he carried on. He started to recite An-Nisa' and recited (the whole Surah), then he started to recite Aal-'Imran and recited (the whole Surah), reciting slowly. When he reached a verse that spoke of glorifying Allah (the Almighty), he glorified Him. When he reached a verse that spoke of supplication, he made supplication. When he reached a verse that spoke of seeking refuge with Allah, he sought refuge with Him. Then he bowed and said: 'Subhana Rabbiyal-Azim.(Glory be to my Lord Almighty)', and he bowed for almost as long as he had stood. Then he raised his head and said: 'Sami Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him)', and he stood for almost as long as he had bowed. Then he prostrated and started to say: Subhana Rabbiyal-'Ala (Glory be to my Lord Most High),' and he prostrated for almost as long as he had bowed.'" ))
Unlike the Prophet, peace be upon him, we will be in trouble if we recite pages from the Qruan during Salah. Does anyone feel pleased upon reading many pages of the Quran during his Salah?
Each one of us should dedicate at least one hour to His Lord through which he feels delightful. For instance, one of us can pray tow Rak'at or even eight Rak'at of Qiyam al-Lail, during which he recites long Ayaat and thus melts out of love to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, in his Salah. Being totally submissive and connected with Allah during Salah and reciting the Quran means that man fears and loves Allah, and he is completely religiously committed. Such a man will not accept to take even one Lira if he does not have the right to take it. How pious he is!
One of At-Tabi'een (the followers of companions) never shared his mother a dish when he used to have his meal with her, and when he was asked why, he said, "By Allah, I fear that I may eat something she sets her eyes on to eat." How dutiful and pious he is! Another manifestation of great piety is Imam Abu Hanifah's behavior, may Allah have mercy upon his soul. He never stood in the shade of a house he has taken as collateral, so as not to benefit from it. How amazing his piety is! The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
﴾ Two Rak'aat (of Salah performed) by a pious person are far better than a thousand Rak'aat by someone who mingles (good deeds with evil ones). ﴿
As long as man's heart beats, becoming a committed Muslim is very easy, because fixing your relation with Allah can be done in the blink of an eye. Just consider the Islamic teachings and Shari'ah rulings and see if you apply them to your home, outside your home, your work, your income, your expenses, your relationships, your visits, your friendship, and your activities or you break them and do things that displease Allah.
What an ecstasy to strive to please Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. What a great honor to strive to obey Allah the Almighty! What an honorable position it is to serve Allah's servants. Actions speak louder than words, so you should express your Islam by actions. We are surrounded with all sorts of topics that are presented to us in books, magazines, researches, tapes, or video-recorded lectures that provide data, pictures, proofs, and so on. What counts is your actions, and this is what counted to the noble companions, they strived to do more than to say.
Allah is Able to help someone guide an entire nation or a society to Him. Success in proving that you are a true Muslim can be achieved by many ways. People consider the one who goes to the Masjid regularly as a religiously committed person, so before everyone, he is a true Muslim, but the question is: Does he strive to be a true Muslim in Allah's Sight? Actually, your position in Allah's Sight is determined by your good deeds, that is why the serious question is: What have you done in your life for Allah's Sake? How have you strived in this life? Have you performed a deed you can present before Allah the Almighty when the angel of death comes to you?
The subject of death is very serious. When a person enters a dark room, and he closes the door behind him to stay alone inside, he should know that he would experience the same status in grave. It is time to pray and to turn to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. I wonder; have you done any good deed by which you can meet with Allah the Almighty? Have you done any good deed that pleases Allah the Almighty? Have you done any good deed that will exalt you? When Islam is narrowed down to going to the Masjid only and coming back from it without real commitment to the religion, and when a Muslim takes backbiting, gossiping, slandering and the likely sins, lightly, be sure that there is a big problem here.
I beseech Allah the Almighty to guide our hearts to obey Him, to love Him, and to act upon the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him. I like the field of Ahadeeth, and I like biographies of noble companions, but what I like more is that every Muslim becomes fully into the religion psychologically, mentally, emotionally and physically. Having that knowledge will show in his household, in having peace of mind and in becoming friendly, humble and generous. Being such a Muslim requires worshipping Allah properly and correctly.
Upon offering two Rakaat during the night before Al Fajr Salah for a month, each one of you will feel the closeness to Allah, will have a radiant face and will be in great happiness.
Upon committing yourself to reciting part of Quran (whether one chapter, half or quarter of it), to spending an hour for Allah (in which you recite Quran, remember Allah and offer night prayers), to spending time every Fajr for Al Dhikr and to perfecting your prayers, you will become a different person.
Indeed, the valuable information you have about religion is not the whole religion.
Build a connection with Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, strive in His cause, offer good deeds, commit yourself to the religion and do righteous deeds and then tell me how delighted you will be then!
Keep in mind that being a true believer requires discipline, Dhikr, Salah, Tahajjud, Qiyam al-Lail, good deeds, and so on. When man exerts efforts to be a true believer, and so he strives to remain religiously committed, by Allah if you ask him, "How are you?" He will answer, "There is no one on earth who is happier than I."
Without any exaggerations, when someone reconciles with Allah, commits to Him and is motivated by His love, he will answer upon being asked: "How are you doing?" "By Allah there is no one on earth happier than I, save someone who is more pious than I".
This will be his answer even though he might be living amid oppressed, tired, lost, anxious and afraid people. Considering one's self as the happiest man on earth indeed marks man's faith. Indeed life is very beautiful as long as it is spent in obeying Allah the Almighty.
Faith gives the true believer a sense of glory and dignity. Someone asked a companion, "O our Master is it acceptable to be proud of yourself as a Muslim?" The companion replied, "This is not pride, it is being dignified and honored due to obeying Allah the Almighty." Verily, when man obeys Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, he will feel a sense of self-respect and dignity that is matchless.
****
I choose Ahadeeth for our discussion from the book of Riyadh As-Saliheen. This book as you know contains sound and authenticated Ahadeeth.
The Hadith of our lesson today was narrated by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. Our Master Al-Abbas and his son Ibn al-Abbas were among the companions of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him. So, whenever you mention a name of a noble companion say, may Allah be pleased with him, and since these are two (al-Abbass and his son) I say, may Allah be pleased with them.
Now, pay attention to the following Hadith, please:
﴾ It was narrated from Abdullah bin Sa'eed bin Abu Hind that his father said: "I heard Ibn Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Two blessings which many people squander: Good health and free time.'" ﴿
This Hadith is mentioned in chapter Mujahadah (Striving) in Riyadh As-Saliheen. Having a good health is a blessing that is acknowledged only by those who lack it. It is said in this regard, "Whoever realizes the meaning of Islam and knows the blessing of good health, has not missed anything", and it is said, "Health is a crown on the heads of healthy people, which only the sick can see." So, when a person is blessed with physical, psychological and mental health, has good hearing and sight, and all his systems and organs like the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, the muscles, the veins, the arteries, the bones, the brain, the endocrine glands, the spleen, the pancreas, and the adrenals, function regularly, then this is a matchless blessing.
Upon asking many people to choose either to have hundreds of millions and lose some of their organs, or to have no money but to have good health, they prefer to remain poor as long as they have good health. The person who has good heath is actually fortunate, and this fortune is priceless. Hence, our Lord, Exalted and Sublime be He, blesses us with good health not to exhaust it in trivial matters. In other words, the ability to walk, to stand up, to use your hands, and to use your senses should be used in obeying Allah the Almighty. Your eyes should see the Divine Signs of Allah, your ears should listen to al-Haqq (the truth), your tongue should tell the truth, your hand should be used to help those in need, and your feet should be used to go to the Masjid, to a respectful work, or to a place where you can perform a good deed.
I repeat the Hadith:
((It was narrated from Abdullah bin Sa'eed bin Abu Hind that his father said: "I heard Ibn Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Two blessings which many people squander: Good health and free time.'" ))
Whoever has free time, yet he neglects to attend an Islamic session, will be called to account for his negligence. Read the Quran in your free time. The believer on the Day of Resurrection will regret wasting an hour without reading the Quran. If you have a free time for an hour, you can read the Quran, remember your Lord, enjoin Ma'ruf and forbid Munkar, read a scientific topic that you will benefit from, read a topic in Fiqh, read something about Sirah, help your family, serve your neighbors, write an essay, and do something useful. Time is very precious, and "man is nothing but a number of days; whenever a day passes away, a part of him passes away."
What I wish you to do is to consider time as the most precious thing in our life. It was reported:
(( There is not a day when its dawn breaks but it calls out, "O son of Adam, I am a new creation, and a witness of your deeds, so take provisions from me, for I will not come back till the Day of Resurrection." ))
When man wakes up, let him know that Allah the Almighty has allowed him to live another day. How many are the people who have gone to bed and died. A wife who was sleeping next to her husband did not notice that he was dead until she put her hand on his hand and felt how cold it was. Such a husband was suffering from nothing the night before his death. There are many stories like this, so since man knows that death is inevitable, he should make use of every minute he lives. Allah the Almighty says:
(( O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah. ))
The complete submission means the one that is manifested in man's steadfastness and satisfaction with Allah's Qada' and Qadar.
The Hadith asserts the fact that good health and free time are two great blessings that many people neglect. One of the scholars in Damascus, whom I think is Sheikh Badr Ad-Din, passed by a café and saw people playing dice, so he said to himself, "Glory be to Allah! If time could be bought from these people, we would buy it from them." Some people stay in a café until midnight, what a waste of time! Is this how valuable time is spent? Is this how you consume it? By Allah, there are a thousand ways through which you can rise to Allah. For instance, evenings are long and days are short in winter, and the believer can spend these days as the Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to in the following Hadith:
(( The night becomes longer, so he prays Qiyyam al-Lail, and his day has become shorted, so he fasts. ))
If you get back home at 8.30 in the evening, you can sit with your family and talk to them about Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, you can read an article about a certain topic, you can read the Quran, you can pray, you can go on reading a book about a specific subject, you can write an article, you can advise someone, you can warm the heart of a sister who lives far from you by visiting her, you can help the family and so on. The main thing is doing something that pleases Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He.
This is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, meant by good health and leisure. Young people have free time before they get married. However, when someone gets married, he will become busy with so many things, such as having a domestic problem, taking his sick son to the doctor for he has got a fever, taking his wife to the hospital to give birth, and looking for the injection to protect the embryo from any health problem due to blood type incompatibility. After having the newborn, the father should meet his basic needs, such as food.
Before you get married you have time, so take advantage of this great opportunity and get yourself to know Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. If the working hour of someone are few and he has enough time to spend in knowing Allah, then this is a great blessing, because there are people who work twelve hours, and others work eighteen hours in order to meet their basic needs and the needs of their family.
(( Two blessings which many people squander: Good health and free time. ))
This Hadith is short, but it is very critical. You should never waste your time, and the minute you wake up, you should know what you have to do. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( Should the day come wherein I do not increase in knowledge wherewith to draw nearer to Allah, let the dawn of that day not be blessed.
))
What have you learned today? Have you learned the interpretation of an Ayah? Have you learned a Hadith? Have you learned a Fiqhi ruling? Have you learned anything about the companions of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him? Have you read anything about Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him?
(( Should the day come wherein I do not increase in knowledge wherewith to draw nearer to Allah, let the dawn of that day not be blessed. ))
What have you done? Have you affected others positively with your presence? Have you caused anyone to repent? Have you helped anyone to move from one state to a better one? Have you helped him to turn his words into actions?
I repeat the Hadith of our discussion today for one last time:
(( It was narrated from Abdullah bin Sa'eed bin Abu Hind that his father said: "I heard Ibn Abbas saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Two blessings which many people squander: Good health and free time.'" ))
This Hadith is mentioned in chapter Al-Mujahadah in Riyadh As-Saliheen.
*****
The second part of our Master Umar's biography:
We go on with the biography of the giant of Islam, our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
In his era, there was affluence of money and Baitul Mal (income of the treasury) was full of money, so some of his companions advised him to make statistics of people to give them annual salaries and to write their names in a registry. Umar chose Aqail bin Abi Talib, Ali's brother, may Allah be pleased with them, Jubair bin Mut'im, and Makhramah bin Naufal. They were the most knowledgeable people of the families of Quraysh and other Muslim tribes. They wrote down the names starting with the families of Babni Hashem, Abi Bakr, and Adi (the linage to whom Umar's family belong).
When Ameer al-Mu'mineen (The Commander of the Believers), Umar, read the registry, he returned it to them, asking them to write the names of many other families before his. He said, "Put the names of the family of Umar at the end." Banu Adi were informed about Umar's command, so they went to him asking him to keep their names at the beginning of the registry. They said, "Are we not the relatives of Ameer al-Mu'mineen?" Umar answered, "What an excuse O Bani Adi! Would you like to be favored over others because of me, so that I would lose my good deeds because of you? No, by Allah, your names will not be written at the beginning, and let them even be written at the end of all other names." This is one of his great stances, may Allah be pleased with him.
He has a similar stance when he, may Allah be pleased with him, refused to appoint his son Abdullah, who used to be one of the companions of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, as his successor. Abdullah used to be pious, fearful of Allah, and strong. Yet, Umar refused to let him be among the six people who were selected for Khilafah. He said, "It is enough for one person among Umar's family to be called to account (he meant himself)." His companions were surprised, so they said, "O Ameer al-Mu'mineen, your son Abdullah is a pious and just person, so being the son of Ameer al-Mu'mineen is not his fault, nor is it the fault of those who will be pleased with him if he is appointed as Khalifah." Upon hearing this Umar, said, "If he is chosen to be Khalifah after me, later on people would appoint their close relatives, justifying their deed by saying, 'This is what Umar did before us', and so it will become a rule to follow.'" After that Umar said, "Whoever appoints a Muslim as a ruler of Muslims due to being a close friend or a relative, he has indeed betrayed Allah, His Messenger and Muslims."
There are many examples from our daily life about this matter. If you are the owner of a factory, a school, or a hospital, and one of your sons in law is a doctor, and so you appoint him as the head of a certain department although there is another doctor who is more qualified and more competent than him, then you have betrayed Allah, His Messenger, and the Muslims. Let me repeat what Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said in this regards, "Whoever appoints a Muslim as a ruler of Muslims due to being a close friend or a relative, he has indeed betrayed Allah, His Messenger and Muslims."
The greatest speech Khalifah Umar had ever delivered was the inaugurating one. A couple of days after Umar was appointed as Khalifah, the people started talking and saying how worried they were about his harshness and punishments. One of his companions conveyed the worry of people to him, saying, "O Ameer al-Mu'mineen, people are afraid of your harshness." At that moment, this Khalifah, may Allah be please with him, ascended the minbar and said: "It has reached me that the people have feared my strictness and feared my harshness, and they said: 'Umar was harsh while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was with us [the Noble Prophet is merciful, kind, and forbearing, so he used to calm Umar down and ask him to be less harsh], and he was harsh when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was with us, so what would he do now that the rule has become his?'…"
Before I continue, in some families, the father is strict, but the mother is lenient, but after the death of the mother, the father will become less strict, because he is supposed to take the role of the mother besides his role as a father.
Now, we go on with Umar's speech, "…and he was harsh when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him was with us, so what would he do now that the rule has become his?' Whoever said this has spoken the truth, for I was with the Messenger of Allah, supported and served him, and as you know Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, was the kindest person…"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, is known for his kindness and mercy as Allah the Almighty describes him in the following Ayah:
(( For the believers (he PBUH is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. ))
Our Master Umar went on saying, "When the Prophet was alive, I used to be his unsheathed sword until he would sheath me, or he would let me go and I would go. I remained like that with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, until he passed away, and he was pleased with me, all praises be to Allah, and I am extremely happy about this. Then Abu Bakr became the ruler of Muslims, and none would deny his kindness, generosity, and gentleness. I used to be his servant and his helper, and I would combine my strictness with his leniency, so I used to be a drawn sword until he sheathed me, or he would let me go, and I would go. I remained like that with him until he passed away, and he was pleased with me, all praises be to Allah, and I am extremely happy about this." So, he used to be the unsheathed sword that was waiting to be used during the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the era of Abi Bark, may Allah be pleased with him.
Then, he said, "I have been appointed as your leader, O people, so understand that the harshness has become less, and it will only be applied to wrongdoers and oppressors. I will not allow anyone to oppress anyone else or to transgress the rights of others, but I will put his cheek on the ground and place my foot on his other check, until he submits to the truth. In contrast to that former harshness of mine, I will lay my own cheek on the ground before those who are humble and modest.
O people, I make some promises to you, which I will mention so that you will hold me to them. I promise that I will not take anything of your taxes or of the booty that Allah grants to you, except in the proper manner. I promise you that whatever I do take, I will not spend it except in the proper manner. I promise you that I will increase your stipends, if Allah wills, and I will protect you borders." Protecting the borders is one of the duties of the ruler. Umar, went on saying, "I promise you that I will not throw you into dangerous places or keep you away from your families for a long time to guard the borders; when you are away on military campaign, I will be responsible for your children until you come back to them."
Taking care of the children of those who are sent to battlefields is a great job, and it encourages man to defend his country and Ummah. Umar went on, "Fear Allah, O slaves of Allah, and help me by keeping your evil away from me and by enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil and by giving me sincere advice with regard to the way I am running your affairs. I say these words of mine and I ask Allah to forgive me and you."
Our Maser Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, appointed one of the greatest scholars of his time as his advisor, and his name was Umar. He said to him, "Your mission to keep close to me and watch my deeds and words. If you see that I have gone astray, grab me by my lapels, shake me severely, and say to me, 'Fear Allah, O Umar, for you will die one day and you will be called to account for your deeds and words.' This is your task."
This was what Umar bin Al-Khattab asked his people to do to him, he said, "Fear Allah, O slaves of Allah, and help me by keeping your evil away from me and by enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil and by giving me sincere advice with regard to the way I am running your affairs. I say these words of mine and I ask Allah to forgive me and you." This is his inauguration speech after he became the Khalifah of Muslims.
When he visited the Levant, good food was brought to him (this means that the people of the Levant used to make good food for a long time, as it appears) with many different dishes. Instead of accepting them and enjoying their taste, he looked at them with tearful eyes and said: "All of this is ours, whereas our poor brothers who are dead now, could not get enough of barley bread!" He was referring to the companions who died at Badr, Uhud and Al-Khandaq, he felt sorry for them, because they were deprived of such tasty food, "All of this is ours, whereas our poor brothers who are dead now, could not get enough of barley bread!"
Listen to this story please. It was narrated that Aslam, the freed salve of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Some merchants came to Madinah and camped in the prayer-place. Umar said to Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf, 'Shall we go and guard them tonight?' He said, 'Yes.' So, they guarded them overnight. They prayed, and Umar heard a child crying. He went towards him and said to his mother, 'fear Allah and look after your child.' Then he went back to his place. At the end of the night, he heard a child crying again, so he went to his mother and said to her, "Woe to you, what a bad mother you are! Why has your child not stopped crying all the night?' She said, 'O salve of Allah, I am distracting him from nursing, but he refuses to accept that.' Umar said, 'Why?' she replied, 'Because Umar does not give a stipend except to children who are weaned.' Umar allocated a stipend to every child who was weaned. He said, 'Woe to you, do not hasten to wean him.' When he prayed Fajr, the people could not hear his recitation clearly because of his weeping. He said, 'Woe to Umar, how many of the Muslims' children has he killed?' Then, he ordered a caller to cry out: 'Do not hasten to wean your children, for we will give a stipend to every child born in Islam.' He wrote instructions to that effect to all regions."
In the year of Ramadah, he heard about a group of people living in the farthest part of al-Madeenah, who had been afflicted with severer poverty than the people of the interior part of Madeenah. He carried sacks of flour on his back, and his servant Aslam carried oil. Then, they ran towards them to give help and relief. When they reached the people, Ameer al-Mu'mineen lay down in his robe. He himself cooked their food and gave it to them to eat until they were satisfied. After that, he sent his servant to return to him with camels to carry those people on their backs until they entered al-Madeenah, so that they would be close to him.
He, may Allah be pleased with him, said to our Master Ali, "O Ali, if you are in charge of the people's affairs, then I seek refuge with Allah from causing any harm to Bani Hashim (by being unjust to people)." He said the same to Uthman, "O Uthman, if you are in charge of the people's affairs, then I seek refuge with Allah from causing any harm to Bani Abi Mu'ait (by being unjust to people)." This piece of advice was also given to Sa'd, "O Sa'd, if you are in charge of the people's affairs, I seek refuge with Allah from causing any harm to your relatives (by being unjust to people)."
In the year when he died, he was supposed to travel around all over the regions he ruled, to inspect the conditions of the people, and to ascertain their status. One day, he said to his companions, "If I live, isnha' Allah, I will travel among the people I am responsible for, for a year. I know that people have needs I have no idea about, because their governors do not inform me about their needs, or because they themselves cannot reach me to ask me for their needs. I would like to go to the Levant and stay there for two months, then I would like to go to the Peninsula to stay there for two months too. After that, I would like to go to Egypt to stay there for two months, and then I would like to go to Bahrain to stay in it for two months too. After that, I would like to go to Kufah and then to Basra for two months too. By Allah, what a blessed year it will be." He wanted to inspect on-site and by himself all the parts of the Islamic countries, to learn more about the conditions of the Muslims.
Once he wanted to test his companions, so he asked them, "If I appoint the best man among you as a governor, and I ask him to be just to those whom he governs, does this mean I will not be accountable before Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, for his injustice,?" His companions replied, "Yes, it does." Umar said, "No, it does not. I will not be on the safe side before Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, until I make sure myself whether he follows my orders or not. If a governor I have appointed oppresses someone and I am informed about it, I will be his oppressor if I do not deal with his case fairly." This is the manifestation of Umar's responsibility before his people.
The last rule of our Master Umar regarding appointing governors was taken from the Prophet, peace be upon him:
(( Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I called on the Prophet (peace be upon him) with two of my cousins. One of them said to him: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), appoint me governor of some land over which Allah has given you authority." The other also requested for something of the same nature. Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "By Allah we do not appoint someone to this post who seeks it or someone who contends for it." ))
As long as such a person requests for it, and he would love to be appointed as a governor, this means he is not aware of the responsibilities it entails, and so he is not qualified for it.
One day he confided in himself to choose one of his companions to appoint him as a governor of one of the provinces. If that companion had been patient for few hours, Umar would have summoned him to appoint him to that position, but our brother took the initiative in that matter though he knew nothing about, and he went to Umar asking him to appoint him to that position. Umar smiled at the wisdom of the destinies, and he said to him, "We wanted you for that position, but whoever asks for it, will not be chosen." Then, Umar dismissed him and left. Umar had selected him for that position, but when the man longed to it, Umar changed his mind.
Once he chose someone to be a governor, and said to him, "I did not choose you to kill Muslims or to abuse their honor. I chose you to lead them in Salah, and to establish justice among them." Then Umar mentioned to him the things the governor should never do by saying, "Never ride the best animal, never wear expensive outfits, never eat tasty food, and never close your door before those who come to ask you for their needs. Let your lifestyle be tough, and keep your door wide open for all people."
Once he said, "May anyone of you tell me whom I can give a task that concerns me?" They said, "So-and-so." He said, "We do not need him for such a task." They said, "Who do you want, then?" He said, "I need someone who upon being among the people appears to be their Ameer due to the intensity of his kindness, care, intelligence, and wisdom, and who upon being among them seems to be one of them although he is their Ameer." How difficult such a condition is!
During the Hajj season, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, gathered all his workers and governors in front of a crowd of pilgrims who came from every country. He stood among them and preached, saying, "O people, by Allah, I do not send my workers to you to beat your skin, nor do I send them to take your money, but I send them to teach you your religion and the Sunnah of your Prophet, peace be upon him. So, whoever does anything other than that to anyone of you, let him bring him up to me, for by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I will enable him to take retaliation. I appointed them as governors to teach you your religion and the Sunnah of your Messenger, and thus it is none of their mission to beat you or to take your money unlawfully."
It appears that our Master Amr Ibn al-'Aas thought that it was not appropriate to say that to governors before other people, because in his opinion it might provoke them against the governors. Amr Ibn al-'Aas thought that by his speech, Umar weakened the prestige of the governors, so he said to Umar, "What do you think if a governor disciplines someone of the people he governs, will you take revenge on him?" Umar said, "Yes, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I will do so. I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, doing this himself and saying, 'Whoever I flog his back, this is my back, so let him take revenge from it. [Majma' az-Zawa'id, on the authority of Ibn Abbas]".
What a great example for us to follow. The biography of our Master Umar is the longest one in the book I am reading it from, so insha' Allah we will carry on in the coming lessons.
Yesterday, I read in another book something that touched me. The author said that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, proposed to a woman as Ameer al-Mu'mineen, but she refused him. Can you believe that Ameer al-Mu'mineen would be refused by a woman he proposed to? When she was asked, "Why did you not accept him?" She replied, "His life is rough, and his house has nothing in it. He is austere, and he is very strict with us [with his people]."
The author of the book said, "This woman's refusal to marry Ameer al-Mu'mineen is the greatest testimony that raises his position to the top." If hundreds of women had raced to get married to him, all these incidents would not have been a testimony of his good behavior. Well, this woman refused to marry him although he is Ameer al-Mu'mineen. She was rebuked for that, "Woe to you! How do you dare to refuse Ameer al-Mu'mineen?" She said, "He works for his Hereafter, neglecting his worldly life due to that. Besides, he keeps calling himself to account as if his Lord saw him." How impressive! Sine a woman refused to marry Umar, this is a testimony of honor to him, how great such a testimony is!
Anyway, because of such stories, hearts are touched, and because of such stories, gatherings are perfumed. If you were a father, follow the steps of our master Umar.
If you were a teacher, if you were a boss of 10 employees whether in a factory or a bureau, follow the steps of our master Umar.
If you were a physician in a hospital and you are in charge of patients and employees, follow the steps of our master Umar.
Let us follow our master Umar in his characteristics, humility, fairness, his ability to confess if he committed a mistake, in his acceptance of criticism, advices and objections, and in putting himself and other people on equal footing.
The above-mentioned stories are meant to influence us and to make us follow the example of the noble companions.
