As-salaamu'alaykum,
On another hot, scorching day a delegation from Iraq arrived in Madeenah and one of the delegates was Al-Ahnaf ibn Qais. When the delegates reached Umar they were surprised to see that he was wrapped in a cloak and that he was busy anointing a camel with tar. That particular camel was earmarked for charity which probably explains why Umar was anointing it. He was doing so in order to make it easy identifiable.
Umar turned to Al-Ahnaf and said,
“O Ahnaf, remove your clothing (and instead wear something that is more suited for hard work); and come and help the Leader of the Believers with this camel. For indeed, it is one of the camels that are meant for charity; each of the following categories of people has a right over it: The orphan, widow and poor. “
One of the delegates said,
“May Allah forgive you, O Leader of the Believers! Should you not have ordered a slave to do this work, so that you would not have to do it yourself?”
Umar replied,
“And which slave is more of a slave that I am? And who is Al-Ahnaf? He is among those who are charged with authority over the affairs of Muslims; therefore, he owes to them (i.e., to Muslims) – in terms of services, sincerity and fulfilling the trust – the same duties that a slave owes to his master.”
(Akhbaar Umar, pg. 343 and Ashaab ar-Rasool, 1/156)
On another hot, scorching day a delegation from Iraq arrived in Madeenah and one of the delegates was Al-Ahnaf ibn Qais. When the delegates reached Umar they were surprised to see that he was wrapped in a cloak and that he was busy anointing a camel with tar. That particular camel was earmarked for charity which probably explains why Umar was anointing it. He was doing so in order to make it easy identifiable.
Umar turned to Al-Ahnaf and said,
“O Ahnaf, remove your clothing (and instead wear something that is more suited for hard work); and come and help the Leader of the Believers with this camel. For indeed, it is one of the camels that are meant for charity; each of the following categories of people has a right over it: The orphan, widow and poor. “
One of the delegates said,
“May Allah forgive you, O Leader of the Believers! Should you not have ordered a slave to do this work, so that you would not have to do it yourself?”
Umar replied,
“And which slave is more of a slave that I am? And who is Al-Ahnaf? He is among those who are charged with authority over the affairs of Muslims; therefore, he owes to them (i.e., to Muslims) – in terms of services, sincerity and fulfilling the trust – the same duties that a slave owes to his master.”
(Akhbaar Umar, pg. 343 and Ashaab ar-Rasool, 1/156)