Author: Khaled Yaghi Zahi
The Exemplary Figures of History; The Perfect Caliph (Part Four)
When Umar became the governor of Madinah, he gathered a group of scholars and reformers—many of whom had been his teachers—as his advisors. He entrusted them with handling all complaints and grievances, and they would inform him of every oppressed person, complainant, or needy individual they encountered. Umar would personally visit his teacher Ubaidullah at his home; sometimes he would be allowed in, and sometimes he would be turned away. This was the relationship between kings and scholars in our history—scholars who were ascetic and chaste, never seeking worldly gain, wealth, or personal benefit from rulers.
When Umar assumed the caliphate, the people praised Allah and rejoiced that such a righteous man had been appointed as their leader. However, in Umar’s own household, there was mourning! People were astonished and came to inquire what had happened.
The news was that Umar had gathered his wives and maidservants and said to them: “I have been tasked with a duty that prevents me from tending to you. Whoever wishes, I will divorce or free her. And whoever wishes to stay, let her stay—but let her not expect anything from me.”
Only Fatimah stayed with him. Previously, we spoke of Umar’s administrative and political leadership; now we speak of his personal and family life and his virtuous and righteous wife.
After becoming caliph, Umar continued to live with her—but their relationship resembled that of brother and sister, with nothing between them but fraternal affection. Their love did not vanish, but their free time and emotional availability did. The burden of the caliphate filled Umar’s heart and mind. The caliphate became a blessing for the people and a trial for Umar and his household.
Fatima later said after his death: “By Allah, ever since he became caliph until his death, I do not recall him ever performing ghusl (ritual purification) due to janabah or a wet dream.”
Fatimah also abandoned adornments and finery. Even other women criticized her. One day, a wife of a prince reproached her. Fatimah replied: “Does a woman not beautify herself to be loved by her husband?” She replied: “Yes.” Fatimah said: “My husband loves me like that, even without adornment.”
With the caliphate, Fatimah lost not only marital intimacy and affection but also all comfort and luxury. As mentioned earlier, ʿUmar had donated all his properties to the public treasury. When he returned any illegitimate wealth acquired by previous caliphs, he was left with nothing but an annual income of 150 dīnars. That was his entire income, despite having a large family; yet he committed himself to live within those means. He was like a trustworthy clerk of the tenth rank today!
ʿUmar did not live in palaces but rather in his modest house in Samsāṭiyyah (now near Bab al-Amara of the Umayyad Masjid). Gradually, he sold off his furniture, carpets, and cushions until the house was empty. Whenever he had spare time, he worked in the house himself. One day, a woman from Persia came to meet the caliph. She asked, “Where is his palace?” They directed her to his house. She found it to be an ordinary home with only a small servant inside. Upon entering, she saw a man working with mud and a woman handing it to him. She said to the woman, “Why are you not veiled in front of the builder?” The woman replied: “This is the Commander of the Faithful!”
That woman working like a laborer was none other than Fāṭimah, the wife of the caliph and not a stranger to him.
Their staple food was mostly lentils. One day, Fatimah served dinner to their young servant. He protested angrily, “Lentils again?”
Fatimah replied: “This is the food of your master, the Commander of the Faithful!”
Fatimah chose the path of patience and contentment. She did not complain or lament and only expressed hardship when it became truly necessary.
Once, when Umar fell ill, Muslimah, Fatimah’s brother, came to visit him. After leaving, he said to his sister: “Fatimah, wash the caliph’s shirt, for he is the leader, and people are coming to see him.”
A few days later, upon returning, he found the shirt still unwashed. He reminded her again. When he came a third time and saw it still dirty, he became angry. Fatimah lowered her head, tears filled her eyes, and she said: “By Allah, he owns no other shirt.”
Once, he saw his daughter Aminah walking around the house and called her, “Aminah… Aminah…” She did not respond. He had her brought over and saw that her dress was torn.
“Why did not you answer me?” She wept and pointed to her clothing. Her dress was made from old rags… Would the daughter of any of us accept that?
One day, his daughters passed by him, covering their mouths and walking quickly. He asked: “What’s the matter with them?” Fatimah replied: “There was nothing but bread and onions for dinner, so they covered their mouths so their breath would not reach you.”
This was the meal of the daughters of the Commander of the Faithful. Would any of our daughters accept such a meal?
One day, apples were brought from a state-owned orchard. The caliph began distributing them to the needy. One of his children crawled over and grabbed an apple. Umar ordered it to be taken from him. The child held on tightly and cried, but it was pulled from his hands. He ran, crying, to his mother. She took a dirham, bought an apple, and gave it to him. When Umar returned and saw the apple, he was overjoyed and took a bite, saying: “By Allah, I love this apple.”
Fatimah asked the servant what had happened. He replied: “By Allah, when I took that apple from the child’s hand, it felt like I was ripping it out of my own heart. But I feared that for the sake of a single apple from the wealth of the Muslims, I might have to answer to Allah.”
His piety extended to even lesser matters. One day, he asked for an apple, and it was brought on a postal donkey. When it reached him, he sold the apple and deposited the proceeds into the public treasury to pay for the animal’s transport. Those postal animals were like today’s official government vehicles. Which employee today would refrain from eating even a kilo of apples carried by an otherwise empty government car?
Once, a jug of water was heated for him in the public kitchen (where caliphs prepared food for the people). In return, he purchased firewood for the kitchen.
On another occasion, an official brought some paperwork. Umar tore off a small sheet the size of two fingers and wrote on it. The next morning, he asked for the case file again and returned it with a different sheet in place of the one he had taken.
Umar would act silently, without issuing proclamations or announcements. One day, as he went out for prayer, a man approached him and handed over a written complaint. Umar threw it back at him, accidentally injuring the man’s face and causing it to bleed. The man screamed in fear. Umar then fulfilled his need and gave him something to appease him—because he had frightened him.
Continues…
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