Episode 8: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s First Khutbah as the Khalifah:
When Umar ibn al-Khattab became the Khalifah, he addressed the people with his first Khutbah as the ruler of the Muslim Ummah.
After praising Allah SWT and sending blessings on the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the first thing he told the people was: Read the Quran and you will be known as people of righteousness through this. Reciting the Quran is not enough, rather you have to act upon it as well. And if you read the Quran and act upon implementing the rules of the Quran, you will be from the people of the Quran.
Umar ibn al-Khattab continued: Bring yourself to account (weigh your actions) before you are brought to account by Allah SWT on the Day of Judgement. And prepare yourselves for the meeting with Allah SWT when you will come in front of Allah and nothing will be hidden from him.
Umar said: Nobody has the right to be obeyed if obeying this person involves the disobedience of Allah. I am your ruler now but if I were to ever tell you to do something that is in disobedience to Allah, then I order you not to obey me.
Umar’s Approach to Wealth and Responsibility:
Umar ibn al-Khattab continued: the way that I am going to deal with the wealth that Allah (Muslim treasury) has entrusted me with in regards to my own expenses, if I don’t need it (if I have wealth from outside coming in) then I won’t touch it. But if I don’t have any wealth coming from outside, I will only take only what I need.
Umar then said: I am going to make three Duas now and when I make these Duas, I want you to all say Ameen.
- The first Dua was: O Allah, I am weak so make me strong.
- The second Dua was: I am very rough and harsh, so make me gentle ya Allah.
- The third Dua was: Ya Allah, I am stingy, so make me open-handed and generous.
After these Duas, Umar ibn al-Khattab said: If there was anyone from amongst you that I knew was stronger than me and more able to carry out this responsibility of ruling the people, then Wallahi, I would rather have my neck cut than have this responsibility. I don’t want this responsibility but it has been decided that I am the best person for this responsibility.
Leadership and Accountability:
Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Surely, Allah has tested you with me. And also, Allah has tested me with you. This is a test for me, being in this position of leadership. If there is any problem or dispute amongst you, then I am responsible for taking care of this. no one else has the right to make these types of decisions. And if something happens somewhere that is far away from me, and I can’t deal with it personally, then I will appoint people on my behalf to deal with it.
Umar continued: those people that I appoint to deal with these issues, if they do a good job, then I will be good to them and generous to them. But if they do not deal with the people in the right way, then I will punish them for that. May Allah forgive us and forgive you.
Humility Before Predecessor:
When he gave this speech, he was standing on the mimbar and Abu Bakr used to stand on a certain step of that mimbar.
When Umar ibn al-Khattab went onto the mimbar, he did not stand on the same step Abu Bakr used to stand on and he stood one step below it.
Umar ibn al-Khattab said regarding this: I don’t want Allah to see me thinking about myself that I have the right to stand in the same place where Abu Bakr stood. I am not on the same level as Abu Bakr so I will stand one level below him.
Title of Amir al-Mu’minin:
Abu Bakr was known as ‘Successor of the Messenger of Allah.’
When Umar ibn al-Khattab became Khalifah, he was known as the ‘successor of the successor of the Messenger of Allah.’
Adiy ibn Hatim and Labid al-Amiri came into Madinah from Iraq and they came into Madinah with a message for Umar ibn al-Khattab.
They went to the Masjid of the Prophet (Masjid al-Nabawi) and found Amr ibn al-A’as, and they asked him: ask Amir al-Mu’minin (leader of the Muslims) for permission to see him.
When Amr ibn al-A’as heard this, he said: what a great title that is! What a perfect title! We are the believers and he is our Amir (rulers). This is a title that can continue for whoever takes over after Umar.
Adiy ibn Hatim and Labid al-Amiri were the first people to come up with this title.
Amr ibn al-A’as went to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said: Peace be upon you O Amir al-Mu’minin!
Umar was surprised to hear this and said: where did you come up with this name? Amr ibn al-A’as replied: Labid and Adiy came from Iraq and said to me: Ask permission for us to enter from the Amir al-Mu’minin. Wallahi, these two people came up with the right name for you.
Umar ibn al-Khattab agreed with this and he decided to keep this title.
From then on, he became known as Amir al-Mu’minin and he was the first ruler of the Muslims to be known by this title.
Addressing Public Fear and Harshness:
One fear that the people had of Umar ibn al-Khattab was that he was someone that was known for being strict and rough and they knew that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Bakr, Umar was very harsh.
They felt now that he was the ruler himself, if he maintained this harshness, they were not going to be able to handle this.
When Abu Bakr would be walking on the streets of Madinah, the kids would run and jump on him because of his soft nature. As for Umar, when he would walk, even grown men would get scared and run away.
The people got worried about this so Umar ibn al-Khattab gathered the people to discuss this fear.
Umar said: Yes, I hear that you are afraid of the fact that I am rough and harsh. Yes, it is true. During the time of the Prophet, I was very harsh, but that harshness came in handy sometimes. If there was a time where harshness was needed, I came in handy. The Prophet would use me if the situation warranted harshness. I was like a sword for the Prophet with my harshness, and it complimented his gentleness.
Umar continued: it was the same thing during the time of Abu Bakr, he was very calm and gentle but if the situation required harshness, I was always there for him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab said: But now that I am your ruler, know that the harshness that I had has now become less. As for the people of righteousness, I will be more gentle to them than they are to their own-selves. As for the people of oppression, then my roughness and harshness will still be there in full effect. As for those people who oppress others, if you oppress another person, I will put your face on the ground. One cheek will be on the ground and my foot will be on the other cheek. That is how harsh I am going to be with the oppressors and the people of injustice, but if you are not one of those, you do not have anything to worry about.
Economic and Military Responsibilities:
Umar ibn al-Khattab said: You have rights upon me. From these rights, I should help you economically and financially. I will do my best to boost the economy to make sure that everyone is taken care of financially.
Umar continued: If I ever send any soldiers to battle, they will only be away from their families for a limited period of time. I will never send anyone away to fight for Jihad and keep him there indefinitely. If you are away from your family for a certain period of time, I will bring you back and replace you.
Umar ibn al-Khattab set that period of time to be four months and he said: Anyone who I send for battle, their family is my responsibility. I will take care of your children and your household.
Encouragement of Sincere Advice:
Umar ibn al-Khattab continued: If I make any mistake, come to me and advise me. Be sincere towards me and give me good advice.