Author: Khaled Yaghi Zahi
The Exemplary Figures of History; The Perfect Caliph (The 5th and Final Part)
Once, together with Raja’, the adviser of the state, he was reviewing official documents. The lamp needed to be adjusted. He called ‘Umar, the servant, but saw he was asleep. Raja’ stood up to fix it, but ‘Umar stopped him, saying, “It is not generous for a host to make his guest work.” Then he fixed it himself. Raja’ said, “You are the Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Momineen), yet you did it yourself?” ‘Umar replied, “I stood up as ‘Umar and came back as the same ‘Umar!”
‘Umar had a maidservant who fanned him on a hot day. The maid fell asleep, and sweat began to pour from ‘Umar. He got up and began fanning her instead. One night, ‘Umar entered the mosque and accidentally stepped on someone sleeping. That man uttered harsh and inappropriate words. The guard wanted to seize him, but the Caliph said, “Leave him be.”
Let us return to Fatimah—the Fatimah who graduated from the school of ‘Umar, who walked upon his tradition and accepted for herself that which ‘Umar accepted for himself. She patiently endured poverty with ‘Umar, even as the treasures of the world were in their hands. She endured deprivation and lived with her husband. ‘Umar would stand in prayer out of fear of God, and Fatimah would pray behind him. ‘Umar would weep from his reverent fear, and Fatimah would join him in weeping from his tears.
One day, ‘Umar said to Fatimah, “Where are we now compared to the luxury we once had?” Fatimah replied, “If you wish, you are more powerful today.” ‘Umar said, “Fatimah, I have a soul full of desires. Whatever I gave it, it wanted something greater. I desired governance, and when I attained it, I wished for the caliphate. When I reached the caliphate, do you know what I wished for? Is there anything higher than the caliphate? All the world was given to me—yet I desired something greater.” (That greater thing was Paradise.)
That is why he said, “When I attained the caliphate, I began desiring Paradise.” Fatimah too desired Paradise with him and soared toward it as he did. The world appeared small to her—like an astronaut who, as he ascends and passes through vast layers of space, sees great cities as mere dots, mighty rivers as lines, and vast seas as blue ink spilled on a page. But neither I nor you can truly imagine this. I write, and you read, while our minds are filled with worldly distractions and the fleeting joys of this small life, blinding us to the vision of the greater truth. Like someone who places a tiny hand in front of their eyes, blocking out the vast expanse, so too have life’s minor scenes distracted us from the journey’s end. The trivialities of life occupy us from life’s true purpose—so much so that when we read of these people’s conditions, we understand nothing. But for them, these were profound realities.
إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عِبَاداً فَطِناً طَلَقُوا الدُّنْيَا وَعَانُوا الفِتَنَا
قَدْ رَأَوْهَا لُجَّةٌ فَاتَّخَذُوا صَالِحَ الْأَعْمَالِ فِيْهَا سُفُنَا
Translation:
Indeed, Allah has wise servants who have divorced the world and distanced themselves from its tribulations. They viewed the world as a deep ocean and took righteous deeds as their ships within it. [1]
Fatimah possessed a collection of jewelry unmatched by any other woman. One day ‘Umar said to her, “Fatimah, these are not permissible for you; they have come from the public treasury. Choose: either me or these.” Fatimah replied, “By God, I prefer you over them.” ‘Umar took the jewelry and returned it to the treasury.
After ‘Umar’s death, the caliphate passed to Yazid, Fatimah’s brother. He returned the jewelry to her. Fatimah imagined ‘Umar before her, and tears poured from her eyes. Her love for pleasing her husband overcame her affection for the jewelry and its pleasures and value. She said, “By God, I will not disobey him even after his death. I have no need for these.” Yazid divided the jewelry among his wives while Fatimah looked on.
A full account of the reports and virtues of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al- ‘Aziz cannot be contained in a short article. Let me end this piece with one final story, a merit unique to a man of ‘Umar’s caliber.
A man may endure hunger, the intensity of battle, and terrifying anxieties. But to endure a burning love that captivates the heart, unsettles the body, and makes all worldly pleasures seem light—just to reach the beloved and ease the pain of separation—that is another matter. ‘Umar was struck by such a love. He loved Fatimah’s maidservant and tried in every way to have Fatimah give her to him, but to no avail. A woman may sacrifice everything for her husband’s pleasure—except sharing his love with another woman. Her faith prevented her from allowing a haram path to that love. ‘Umar suffered from this love like one grieving until he reached the caliphate. Fatimah’s sincerity and self-effacement had reached such a level that her desires had melted into those of her husband. She overcame her own self and took a stance no other woman could.
Yes! She gave the maid to her husband, adorned her, and sent her to him. ‘Umar rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was dreaming or awake. But his sense of duty made him alert. He immediately asked the maid who had owned her and from whom she had been taken. When it became clear that she had been seized unjustly and should be returned to her rightful owners, a battle began within him—between the powerful, burning love, he had long waited to fulfill and the duty he had vowed from the beginning of his rule: that he would return every stolen right to its owner.
He hesitated for a moment, then ordered that the maid be returned to her owners. They brought her back, intending to gift her to the Commander of the Faithful. But the Caliph said, “I have no need for her.”
They said, “Buy her.”
He replied, “If I do that, I would no longer be among those who restrain their souls from desire.”
The maid asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! What happened to your love for me?”
He replied, “It still exists—perhaps even more.” And he carried that love within him until she passed away.
These are glimpses from the life of a man whose character, if imagined by the most vivid dreamers as the epitome of human virtue, would be none other than ‘Umar’s—may God have mercy on him. This is the story of a ruler who, if one envisions the most perfect traits of leaders, no image more complete than his could be found.
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Reference:
Al-Wāqidī, Muḥammad ibn ‘Umar ibn Wāqid, Volume 2, p. 159, mention of the conquest of the fortress of Laghub, First Edition, 1417 AH – 1997 CE, Publisher: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
