As-salaamu'Alaykum,
I wanted to share this snippet from the great companion of the Prophet
, Umar ibn al-Khattaab's (may Allah be pleased with him) life. I felt it might produce similar thoughts in all of us considering we often overindulge (I remind myself first).
During the era of the rightly-guided Khaleefahs, the Muslim Nation was built on the principle of justice. And that is mainly why Muslims were so prosperous during those times. Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) wrote,
“Verily, Allah helps a just country, even if its people are disbelievers; and He does not help a wrong-doing, oppressive country, even if its people are Muslims. It is through justice that men become upright and it is through justice that wealth becomes abundant (among a people)."
(As-Siyaasah ash-Shar’eeyah, pg. 10).
As for equality, it too was a principle that Umar upheld throughout the duration of his caliphate. And it is, as the following verse indicates, a principle that is very important in Islam.
Allah says:
“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious)). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.
(Qur’aan, 49: 13)
Is Islam, all people are equal – the ruler and the common man, men and women, Arabs and non-Arabs, whites and blacks. Islam rendered null and void all distinctions that are based on race, colour, status or lineage.
(Refer Fiqhut-Tamkeen fil-Qur’aan-ul-Kareem, pg. 501).
And in Islam, rulers are not privileged members of society; instead, they must follow the same rules as everone else. Umar did not give himself preferential treatment, living a life of comfort while others struggled to make ends meet; to the contrary, he treated himself more harshly than he treated others, and if the common masses suffered during a period of drought, ‘Umar would – as a way of commiserating with them – make himself suffer more than they did. The following examples illustrate the principle of equality that was established during the period of Umar’s caliphate.
At one point during Umar’s caliphate, Madeenah was afflicted with a severe drought. The land was so dried up during the drought that, when the wind blew, the dirt that flew in the air was dry like ashes. And so the year of that drought became known as “The Year of the Ashes.”
‘Umar swore that until the situation of his people improved, he would taste neither cooking fat nor milk nor meat. When the effects of the drought lessened in intensity and when food was readily found in the marketplace, a large shipment of cooking fat and milk was brought to Madeenah. ‘Umar’s servant purchased a quantity of those items for 40 Deenars or Dirhams. He then went to ‘Umar and said,
“O Leader of the Believers, Allah has fulfilled your oath (by providing people with an adequate amount of sustenance), and has certainly decreed for you a great reward. A shipment... of milk and cooking fat has arrived in our marketplace, and so we brought 40 Deenars worth of those items (for you).”
‘Umar replied,
“They are overly priced; give them away as charity, for indeed, I hate to eat immoderately.”
‘Umar further said,
“How will I personally come to care about the affairs of the people when I do not share in their suffering?”
(Taareekh at-Tabaree, 4/98 and Nidhaam al-Hukm fish-Sharee’ah wat-Tareekh al-Islaamee, 1/87).
This was ‘Umar’s attitude vis-a-vis the “Year of the Drought”; he was similarly self-denying during the “Year of High Prices,” a year during which the prices of commercial goods became excessively high. Because cooking fat was very expensive during that year, ‘Umar would eat a cheaper substitute – (some kind of) oil. He would go hungry for so long that his stomach would rumble; and he would look down at his stomach and say,
“Growl as much as you want, for by Allah, you will not eat cooking fat until the people also eat it.”
(Manaaqib Ameer al-Mu’mineen, by ibn al-Jawzee, pg. 101).
If all Muslims could not enjoy specific types of food, ‘Umar, as a show of solidarity to them, refused to eat those very foods, opting instead to eat simple, inexpensive foods that were available to everyone. During the “Year of the Ashes”, a year of severe drought, ‘Umar would fast for many consecutive days, in the evening, he would take some bread, dip it in oil in order to soften it, and then eat it – and that would be his meal for the day. Then one day, a camel was slaughtered, and its meat was distributed among the people. The people who were in charge of the slaughtering saved the best parts of the camel for ‘Umar – meat from the hump of the camel and from its liver. When the meat was present to him, ‘Umar asked,
“Where did this meat come from?”
Someone replied,
“O Leader of the Believers, from the camel that we slaughtered today.”
‘Umar replied,
“Wonderful! Wonderful! But what a vile leader I would be if I ate the best part of the camel and left the people to eat its bones. Lift up this tray and bring me some other food.”
Some bread and oil were procured for him, and he began to break the bread with his hand and dip it in the oil.
(Nidhaam al-Hukm fish-Sharee’ah wat-Tareekh al-Islaamee, 1/87).
I wanted to share this snippet from the great companion of the Prophet
, Umar ibn al-Khattaab's (may Allah be pleased with him) life. I felt it might produce similar thoughts in all of us considering we often overindulge (I remind myself first).During the era of the rightly-guided Khaleefahs, the Muslim Nation was built on the principle of justice. And that is mainly why Muslims were so prosperous during those times. Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) wrote,
“Verily, Allah helps a just country, even if its people are disbelievers; and He does not help a wrong-doing, oppressive country, even if its people are Muslims. It is through justice that men become upright and it is through justice that wealth becomes abundant (among a people)."
(As-Siyaasah ash-Shar’eeyah, pg. 10).
As for equality, it too was a principle that Umar upheld throughout the duration of his caliphate. And it is, as the following verse indicates, a principle that is very important in Islam.
Allah says:
“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious)). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.
(Qur’aan, 49: 13)
Is Islam, all people are equal – the ruler and the common man, men and women, Arabs and non-Arabs, whites and blacks. Islam rendered null and void all distinctions that are based on race, colour, status or lineage.
(Refer Fiqhut-Tamkeen fil-Qur’aan-ul-Kareem, pg. 501).
And in Islam, rulers are not privileged members of society; instead, they must follow the same rules as everone else. Umar did not give himself preferential treatment, living a life of comfort while others struggled to make ends meet; to the contrary, he treated himself more harshly than he treated others, and if the common masses suffered during a period of drought, ‘Umar would – as a way of commiserating with them – make himself suffer more than they did. The following examples illustrate the principle of equality that was established during the period of Umar’s caliphate.
At one point during Umar’s caliphate, Madeenah was afflicted with a severe drought. The land was so dried up during the drought that, when the wind blew, the dirt that flew in the air was dry like ashes. And so the year of that drought became known as “The Year of the Ashes.”
‘Umar swore that until the situation of his people improved, he would taste neither cooking fat nor milk nor meat. When the effects of the drought lessened in intensity and when food was readily found in the marketplace, a large shipment of cooking fat and milk was brought to Madeenah. ‘Umar’s servant purchased a quantity of those items for 40 Deenars or Dirhams. He then went to ‘Umar and said,
“O Leader of the Believers, Allah has fulfilled your oath (by providing people with an adequate amount of sustenance), and has certainly decreed for you a great reward. A shipment... of milk and cooking fat has arrived in our marketplace, and so we brought 40 Deenars worth of those items (for you).”
‘Umar replied,
“They are overly priced; give them away as charity, for indeed, I hate to eat immoderately.”
‘Umar further said,
“How will I personally come to care about the affairs of the people when I do not share in their suffering?”
(Taareekh at-Tabaree, 4/98 and Nidhaam al-Hukm fish-Sharee’ah wat-Tareekh al-Islaamee, 1/87).
This was ‘Umar’s attitude vis-a-vis the “Year of the Drought”; he was similarly self-denying during the “Year of High Prices,” a year during which the prices of commercial goods became excessively high. Because cooking fat was very expensive during that year, ‘Umar would eat a cheaper substitute – (some kind of) oil. He would go hungry for so long that his stomach would rumble; and he would look down at his stomach and say,
“Growl as much as you want, for by Allah, you will not eat cooking fat until the people also eat it.”
(Manaaqib Ameer al-Mu’mineen, by ibn al-Jawzee, pg. 101).
If all Muslims could not enjoy specific types of food, ‘Umar, as a show of solidarity to them, refused to eat those very foods, opting instead to eat simple, inexpensive foods that were available to everyone. During the “Year of the Ashes”, a year of severe drought, ‘Umar would fast for many consecutive days, in the evening, he would take some bread, dip it in oil in order to soften it, and then eat it – and that would be his meal for the day. Then one day, a camel was slaughtered, and its meat was distributed among the people. The people who were in charge of the slaughtering saved the best parts of the camel for ‘Umar – meat from the hump of the camel and from its liver. When the meat was present to him, ‘Umar asked,
“Where did this meat come from?”
Someone replied,
“O Leader of the Believers, from the camel that we slaughtered today.”
‘Umar replied,
“Wonderful! Wonderful! But what a vile leader I would be if I ate the best part of the camel and left the people to eat its bones. Lift up this tray and bring me some other food.”
Some bread and oil were procured for him, and he began to break the bread with his hand and dip it in the oil.
(Nidhaam al-Hukm fish-Sharee’ah wat-Tareekh al-Islaamee, 1/87).
