As-salaamu'alaykum,
One night, Umar (radiyAllahu anh) went outside and, under the cover of darkness, he entered one house, and then he entered another house. Talhah ibn Ubaydullah happened to see him that night, and to Talhah, Umar was behaving in a manner that seemed odd. What was he doing late at night going into people’s homes? In the morning, Talhah visited the second house, and upon entering inside, he saw a blind, crippled old lady. Talhah asked her,
“What business does the man who comes to you have (with you)?”
The old lady replied,
“He has been taking care of me for such-and-such amount of time. He comes, gives me things I need, and cleans up the filth (in the house) for me.”
Talhah then said to himself,
“May your mother be bereaved of you! Is it the faults of Umar that you are searching out for?”
When one takes care of the weaker members of society, one is doing one of the best deeds one can possibly perform. While there are Muslims today who busy themselves with seeking knowledge, with performing Da’wah, with organising educational programs for children, we, as Muslims today, might be guilty of forgetting the weak, the needy, the helpless – and especially the old and frail. For if Umar, the man who was responsible for the needs of millions, took it upon himself to take care of a weak, old women, it behoves leaders, Imams of Masjids, and common Muslims today to do the same – to dedicate at least some of their time to community service.
(Akhbar Umar, p. 344; Mahd as-Sawab, 1/356)
One night, Umar (radiyAllahu anh) went outside and, under the cover of darkness, he entered one house, and then he entered another house. Talhah ibn Ubaydullah happened to see him that night, and to Talhah, Umar was behaving in a manner that seemed odd. What was he doing late at night going into people’s homes? In the morning, Talhah visited the second house, and upon entering inside, he saw a blind, crippled old lady. Talhah asked her,
“What business does the man who comes to you have (with you)?”
The old lady replied,
“He has been taking care of me for such-and-such amount of time. He comes, gives me things I need, and cleans up the filth (in the house) for me.”
Talhah then said to himself,
“May your mother be bereaved of you! Is it the faults of Umar that you are searching out for?”
When one takes care of the weaker members of society, one is doing one of the best deeds one can possibly perform. While there are Muslims today who busy themselves with seeking knowledge, with performing Da’wah, with organising educational programs for children, we, as Muslims today, might be guilty of forgetting the weak, the needy, the helpless – and especially the old and frail. For if Umar, the man who was responsible for the needs of millions, took it upon himself to take care of a weak, old women, it behoves leaders, Imams of Masjids, and common Muslims today to do the same – to dedicate at least some of their time to community service.
(Akhbar Umar, p. 344; Mahd as-Sawab, 1/356)