Please read to the end, the lessons are worthwhile
History bends to the will of man when it is exercised with faith and steadfastness. Umar (r) was one of such men. He bent history to his will, leaving a legacy that successor generations have looked upon as a model to copy. He was one of the greatest of conquerors, a wise administrator, a just ruler, a monumental builder and a man of piety who loved God. The Prophet planted the seed of Tawhid. It was during the Caliphate of Umar (r) that the seed grew into a full-blown tree and bore fruit. Umar (r) shaped the historical edifice of Islam and whatever Islam became in subsequent centuries is due primarily to the work of this historical figure. Indeed, Umar (r) was the architect of Islamic civilization.
Umar having to come from a poor background rose to weld together an empire greater in extent than either that of Rome or Persia and governed it with the wisdom of a Solomon and administered it with the sagacity of a Joseph.
Upon his election to the Caliphate, Umar (r) was faced with the immediate geopolitical situation in West Asia. The Persian and Byzantine empires held the balance of power in the region with the Euphrates River as the historical divide between their respective areas of influence. The emergence of Islam and the unification of the Arabs altered this balance of power. It was a situation that neither the Byzantines nor the Persians could ignore. The emperor of Persia, was on record as having ordered an assault on Madina. The Byzantines had also attacked on the northern frontier and had killed the Muslim general Zaid bin Haris (632). Border clashes had begun during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr (r) between the newborn Islamic state and the two superpowers. The triumph of Umar (r) over the mighty empires of Persia and Byzantium within a brief span of ten years is one of the most remarkable stories in military history. In 641, Umar (r) sent an expedition to Alexandria which was then under the Byzantines. It was conquered and the muslim army moved to Tripoli in Libya.
Unlike how some people perceive islam, it is A RELIGION OF PEACE. Umar, apart from the prophet(SAW) and Abubakr is the greatest leader Islam ever had and he treated the conquered people with a lot of respect and fairness. The document signed upon the conquer of Jerusalem provides an example. Umar wrote:
“This is the safety given by a servant of God, the leader of the faithful, Umar ibn alKhattab (r) to the people of Ilia. This safety is for their life, property, church and cross, for the healthy and the sick and for all their co-religionists. Their churches shall neither be used as residence nor shall they be demolished. No harm shall be done to their churches or their boundaries. There shall be no decrease in their crosses or riches. There shall neither be any compulsion in religion nor shall they be harmed.”
The document speaks for itself. The Muslim armies were fighting for the freedom of worship, not for religious conversion. They considered it their mission on earth to free humankind from the yoke of exploitation and abuse.”
Meanwhile the eastern war with Persia is active. After losing in the boader areas of the Euphrates River, the Persians re-organized and stroke again. They were again defeated at Namaraq and then again at Maqatia. Devastated by there loses, the Persians re-inforced with an army of 150,000 men which included one hundread war elephants mounted troops. It was obvious it has became a test of strength between Muslims and the Persian empire. Umar offered to lead the campaign to Persia himself but was later persuaded to designate Sa’ad ibn Waqqas to lead an army 20,000 troops to Persia among which are 70 companions who fought the battle of Badr with the prophet. The Persians made a tactical blunder, they wore heavy amour unsuitable for warfare in the desert and consequently they were defeated.
That was a turning point in world history. It marked the fall of the Persian empire which was among the largest and strongest empires the world has ever seen. It also marked the beginning of Islamic empire. (Without Umar in history, Islam would not have been spread to the rest of the world).
Within a decade of Umar’s leadership, he has completely invaded the Persian and the Byzantine empires and some territories of the Roman empire. Madina was now the capital of the largest empire in the world. Extending from Tripoli in Libya from the west, to the boarders of China and India in the East, down to Ethiopia in the south and ended in Spain from the north. This empire was ruled not by a king or a general but by a revolutionary creed.
When Caliph Umar (r) was informed of the victories over Persia, he went to the mosque in Madina and addressed the people:
“ O believers! The Persians have lost their kingdom. They cannot harm us any more. God has made you inherit their country, their properties and their riches, so that He may test you. Therefore, you should not change your ways. Otherwise, God will bring forth another nation in place of you. I feel anxiety for our community from our own people”.
Umar (r) was a superb administrator. He established a Shura(consultative) council and sought advice on matters of state. He divided the far-flung empire into the provinces. A governor, answerable to the Caliph, was appointed for each province.
Warren Buffet is said to be the humblest billionaire on earth because of the enormous wealth at his disposal and ironically his down to earth simplicity. Buffet’s simplicity is a child’s play compared to Umars’. Upon conquering Jerusalem from the Romans, the patriarch offered the keys to the city provided that Umar himself came up to collect them. When Umar got the message he set out north to Jerusalem. Knowing how kings and emperors were in those days, the people the Jerusalem came out of the city to have a glimpse of the arrival of the over-hyped emperor of the Islamic Empire, people were standing on the roof of their houses. But the great ruler travelled to Jerusalem on one camel with a single attendant, taking turns with him for the ride. As he approached Jerusalem, it so happened the attendant was on the camel and Umar was walking alongside. The people of Jerusalem on the other hand, who were expecting an entourage with an army of security guards dressed in expensive jewelries were shocked to see two people, ruggedly dressed, weary from travel approaching them. They offered abeyance to the rider of the camel and assumed the man on foot with his patched clothes was the servant.
Such was the simplicity of Umar. He, many times will come back from his farm and find dignitaries waiting for him at home to discourse state issues and will do that with his feet soaked with mud and farm equipments in his hand. Up until his death he was still a poor petty trader and local farmer.
People visiting Madina would want to see the palace of the Caliph, but will surprisingly find out that he lived in a typical house just like anybody else. Theirs was the kingdom of the heavens and not the Earths. They held the key to the treasures of the earth but only as a divine trust as servants of the Lord.
Umar ibn al Khattab (r) laid the foundation of Islamic civilization. He was the historical figure who institutionalized Islam and determined the manner in which Muslims would relate to each other and to non-Muslims. Ironically, this man of justice was assassinated for a verdict he had given in a civil case brought before him. One of the Companions, Mugheera bin Sho’ba, rented a house to a Persian carpenter named Abu Lulu Feroze. The rent was two dirhams a day, a sum Abu Lulu felt was too high. He complained to the Caliph Umar (r) who gathered all the facts, listened to both sides and gave the judgment that the rent was fair. This seemingly minor incident caused one of the biggest upheavals in Islamic history. Abu Lulu was so distraught at the verdict that he resolved to take the life of the Caliph. The next morning, as Umar (r) appeared at the mosque to lead the prayer, Abu Lulu hid in a corner, his double-edged sword concealed under his long robes. As the Caliph stood at the head of the congregation reciting the Qur’an, Abu Lulu jumped at him and thrust his double-edged sword into the Caliph’s stomach. The internal bleeding could not be stopped and Umar (r), the citadel of the community of believers, passed away the following day. The year was 645.
By Mohammed Saleh
culled from:
www.wikipedia.org;
www.sahaba.net
The beggining and the end by Ibn kathir
Omar al khattab by Dr Nazeem Ahmed
www.historyofislam.com
