Governing Lessons from The Second Caliph

In a chaotic world, what does the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab RA have to offer?

The staunchest anti-Islam Meccan who became arguably the most successful Muslim leader of all time. Umar ibn Al-Khattab: the bearer of the staff onto the tortured backs of early Muslims whose staff became more feared by oppressors than the swords of men. Al-Farooq: the one to distinguish right from wrong, justice from oppression, truth from falsehood. His legacy helped lay the foundations for the Islamic Caliphate that spanned nearly thirteen centuries until the disbanding of the Ottoman Empire following their loss in WWI. As the Prophet’s cousin, and the fourth Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib RA told Umar RA himself, “You’ve exhausted the Caliphs after you, O Umar.” It is his life, chronicled and studied by countless historians since his death in 644 AD, and from which one can devise a lengthy list of various lessons, whether it is his devotion to his cause, his strong sense of accountability, his justice and equality in treatment and judgement, that serves as an approachable and admirable example for a leader, in any field, to follow.

Lesson №1: You’re accountable for EVERYTHING. So act accordingly.

Accountability seems a trivial and obvious characteristic that any leader must adopt a strong sense of. But Umar RA took this to higher grounds. Such was his sense of accountability, that he was quoted saying: “If a mule were to stumble on the bank of the Euphrates, I would’ve feared Allah asking me about it, why I did not pave the way for it”. It is in this sense that Umar RA extended accountability beyond the realm of humans, applying it on everything within the realm of the Caliphate at his time, and it is this first lesson that carries over to all the others; thus, it requires no further elaboration, as the following lessons demonstrate it effectively.

Lesson №2: Rule Collectively. Care Individually.

This concept was cultivated in Umar’s persona from a very young age, as he spent most of his childhood and adolescent years as a shepherd for his father’s camel herd. The distinction between rule and care became apparent to him through this experience. Closeness and daily engagement with these camels helped him realize the individuality of each camel, despite the apparent uniformity of the herd. His reign became to him an act of directing and managing the affairs of the state for the welfare of the general public, and caring for the individual needs and wants of the different groups in the early Islamic society.

A developed habit that assisted Umar RA in achieving this, was his night patrol in Medina, as he would spend the night walking throughout Medina with his servant as companion to attend to the private needs of the people and ensure the safety of pedestrians at night and protect foreign travelers and merchants who had camped on the outskirts of Medina from theft or the like.

On one such night of patrolling, Umar RA was watching over a recently arrived caravan of travelers. Sitting at his fire, his servant and him heard the constant crying of an infant in a nearby tent. Concerned with the noise, he approached the tent and asked why the infant was crying. A woman inside, the infant’s mother, replied that she was trying to wean him and he refuses. Seeing the infant, Umar RA reprimanded the mother, asking her why she was trying to wean him at such a young age (barely a few months old). She replied that the government allowance Umar had prescribed for children applies on weaned children, not infants; she was not aware that she was speaking to Umar RA himself, being a traveler. Upon hearing her response, Umar RA was taken aback in shock and great regret, as his servant heard him repeating: “Woe to Umar! How many of the children of Muslims has he killed?!” After asking the woman to stop, he promised her he would see this situation fixed. The following day, he decreed that the government allowance for children is prescribed for every Muslim new-born.

On another night of patrolling, Umar RA was passing by a house when he heard a woman inside reciting a poem of loneliness and longing for her husband, who was on duty with the Muslim armies fighting the Persian Sassanid Empire. Moved by her words, Umar RA returned to his home and asked his daughter, Hafsa RA, how long a woman can be patient over the departure of her husband. She replied by signalling four months with her hand. Immediately the following day, he decreed that no man shall last in deployment more than four months.

It becomes evident from these cases his attention to the individual needs of the different demographics in society, taking care not to make decisions that affect certain demographics without consulting the demographic in concern.

Lesson №3: You’re the servant, not the ruler.

The humility and asceticism of Umar RA serves a great example to all, especially those of high position, as this humility was greatly amplified when Umar RA became Caliph, repeatedly imploring the people in his several addresses during his first days to be his advisors, enjoining him to good and forbidding him from evil, and providing sound advice. In a renowned incident, while in consultation and discussion with the Prophet’s Companions in the Prophet’s Mosque, a man exclaimed towards him that the most rightful to quality food and soft clothing is Umar RA, being the Caliph. Umar angrily retorted at him that he only intended to sway and gain closeness to him [Umar RA] with that statement. Umar RA continued, asking the man, and his audience, that if a caravan of merchants entrusted all their travel money to one of them, does he have any right to gain from it? They replied in the negative. He continued, saying that is the comparison with him, Umar RA, and the people. He is servant and trustee, and has no right to dress or eat better than what he can afford himself.

Lesson №4: Your day for them. Your night for yourself.

Umar’s rule, however, was not spent tending to state matters 24/7. He split his load equally between caring for the people and caring for himself, as he was quoted saying, after receiving a remark on his obvious lack of sleep, that if he slept during the day, he would neglect the people, and if he slept during the night, he would neglect himself. He would spend his night in acts of worship, contemplation, supplication, and charity, aimed at self-betterment and improving his faith cache. This gave him mental, physical, and spiritual balance, lest he, as a human, cave in under his overwhelming burden of service to the people of the Caliphate.

Lesson №5: Fear no one. Favor no one.

In a world torn by corruption, favoritism, and political and social waves that have shattered the very core of many societies, melting and bending, we have a man who stood a tall mountain, unshaken and unbent by the wills and whims of mere fellow mortals. Umar RA was known to be relentless in the path of justice and truth. He made it very clear from the beginning in his inaugural speech:

“It has reached me [I’ve heard] that the people have feared my strictness and feared my harshness. And said: Umar was harsh while the Prophet SAW was with us,and harsh when Abu Bakr RA was with us, what would he do, now that the rule has become his? Then know, O people, that this harshness has been multiplied, but it will only be onto the people of oppression and aggression on Muslims. As for the people of peace, faith, and goodwill, I am more merciful to them than they are to each other. And I will not leave anyone oppressing anyone or committing aggression onto him, until I put his cheek on the ground and press my foot against his other cheek, until he yields to justice. And after this strictness, I put my own cheek on the ground to the people of contentment and the people of virtue.”

His impartial, well-informed, and unwavering justice made him feared by the oppressive and evil, and respected by the people and his adversaries. One demonstrative occasion was his removal of Khalid ibn Al-Walid RA, the undefeated Emir (supreme commander) of the Muslim armies fighting the Byzantines in the Levant, from his position. Throughout the reign of Abu Bakr RA, Khalid RA built strong reputation among the people and staunch fear from his opponents with his string of unimaginable victories, such as the Battle of Yamamah, Dhat-es-Salasel (Battle of Chains), the Siege of Damascus, and the Battle of Yarmouk. With his proven talent and the Prophet’s own praise for him, having titled him “The Sword of Allah”, Abu Bakr RA relied on him greatly to deliver conclusive and swift victories on both the Levantine and Persian fronts. Umar RA regularly implored Abu Bakr RA to remove him and use someone else over concerns that the people had come to trust and praise him too much, as he saw the rising numbers of people claiming Khalid RA being the only one who could’ve done this or that. He was of the opinion that 1) no society must ever put their complete faith in one man, such that if this man is gone or deceased, their progress falls apart, and 2) People must not forget their original faith, and such victories are blessings of Allah as much as they were the result of Khalid’s genius and the soldiers’ sacrifice on the battlefield. As such, upon his inauguration, Umar RA immediately removed Khalid RA from his position in the Levant and installed the previous Emir, Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah RA, advising Abu ‘Ubaydah to maintain Khalid RA by his side, as Umar RA did not deny his genius, but rather the dangerous effect of his reputation on the Muslim society. In doing this, Umar RA triggered the chagrin of many, especially Khalid’s own clan from the Quraysh tribe, Banu Umayyah. While Khalid himself gladly, respectfully, and without question accepted Umar’s orders, becoming a soldier under the leadership of Abu U’baydah, while remaining instrumental in the Siege of Damascus, the Banu Umayyah felt that their cousin was mistreated, and implored Umar RA to reinstall him, accusing him of making his move out of ill will towards Khalid RA. Umar denied their accusation, and made it clear that he will not be swayed by anyone in the matters that affect the nation and its future, and will fear no one but Allah SWT.

In another famous incident of impartiality, absence of favoritism, and promotion of justice, A Coptic Egyptian traveled to Medina and asked for the Caliph at the Prophet’s Mosque. Umar RA responded with affirmation and the man joined him on the floor of the Mosque with Umar’s advisers and the Sahaba RA (Companions of the Prophet SAW). The Egyptian explained that he had engaged Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Al ‘Aas (son of Umar’s governor over Egypt, Amr ibn Al ‘Aas RA) in a horse race and won. Muhammad claimed the contrary. Upon inspecting himself, the Egyptian insisted the victory was his. Muhammad proceeded to beat him and tell him: take it and I am the son of nobles. As the Egyptian finished, Umar RA ordered the man to stay in Medina and instructed a summons to be sent to Amr ibn Al ‘Aas RA, reading:

Whenever this letter of mine reaches you, Come to me and bring your son with you!

When Amr RA arrived accompanied by his son, Umar RA held a short trial to ensure the accusation was true. When it was confirmed, Umar RA then handed the Egyptian his staff and told him:

Beat the son of nobles!

When the man felt he had fulfilled his right, Umar RA ordered him:

Turn it [the staff] onto Amr’s scalp, for he [Amr’s son] only beat you because of his father’s position [of governance]!

The man replied with rejection, saying that he had fulfilled his vengeance upon the one who oppressed him, and wanted nothing to do with Amr RA himself. Umar RA then turned to Amr ibn Al ‘Aas RA and, in one of his most famous statements, proclaimed:

O Amr, when did you enslave the people when their mothers bore them free?

To Umar RA, Amr’s position to him didn’t matter. It held no significance to him that Amr was his governor, while the Egyptian was a “commoner”. It didn’t matter to him that Amr’s clan in the Quraysh tribe is one of the most influential and powerful, while Umar’s lineage bears no benefit. It was of no consequence to him that he and Amr RA were long-time friends, before and after Islam. Umar RA ruled over a large empire, spanning Arabia, the Levant, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. His reign was its zenith. His armies had challenged the might of the two most powerful empires on Earth in his time: Byzantium and Persia. He had toppled the millennia-old Persian Imperial family and lineage. He had ran the Byzantines to the ground, taking Damascus and conquering Jerusalem and defeating 240,000 Byzantines with an army of 30,000 led by Khalid ibn Al-Waleed RA at Yarmouk. His reputation had reached East and West, as Turkic chiefs and the Chinese Emperor refused to aid the last Persian ruler, Yazdegerd III, fearing a confrontation with the Muslim armies, as the Chinese Emperor himself replied to Yazdegerd’s plea:

These are men who could uproot mountains if they so desired.

With all this behind Umar RA, what would any ruler do? Any ruler wouldn’t be as accessible as Umar was, seated on the floor in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Any ruler wouldn’t bother to receive the Coptic Egyptian, being an outsider in three facets: non-Arab, non-Muslim, and a foreign commoner of a province. Any ruler would rather maintain his friendship with a strong governor than risk breaking it by instating justice. But Umar RA wasn’t any ruler, and it would be a lie against the Prophet SAW (who titled Umar Al-Farooq: he who distinguished between truth and falsehood) if Umar RA did not fulfill his title of Al-Farooq. It would be a lie against Umar RA himself, if he did not adhere to his words:

If a mule were to trip on the banks of the Euphrates, I would have feared that Umar would be questioned for it [by Allah] as to why he didn’t pave the road for it.

And it would be a lie against Persian Imperial messenger who, upon meeting Umar RA while sleeping under a palm tree and seeing his humility, his accessibility, and his lack of guards, proclaimed:

You ruled, You instated justice, and thus you were safe (from the vengeance of the people), and thus you slept.

He fulfilled the Prophet’s expectation of him, his own words, and the Persian messenger’s observation. He put behind him his achievements, his position of power, his ties to Amr RA, and avenged a commoner from a far away land. Thus was his impartiality. Thus was his justice.

This concludes my first article on Umar ibn Al-Khattab’s lessons to the leaders of any place and time. I could write on and on, but it is more memorable to the mind, and much easier to the eyes, to publish a piece at a time, rather than a single, lengthy paper that grows less interesting with length. Umar RA was indeed an exemplary leader for anyone who wishes to rule successfully. His actions and standards, while seemingly idealistic, did not compromise on his values and beliefs. His was not a writhing, multi-faced, compromising, and mischievous approach to grab and hold power, as Machiavelli preached. Umar RA held firm in the face of the lure of this world. After all, He had just amassed all the treasures of Persia when he conquered its capital. He was, as described, a man to whose door the treasures of the world came knocking, and he turned them away.

Notes:

While no sources are referenced, all the accounts have been verified for authenticity, and sources for them can be easily found online or through printed literature.

SWT: Subhanahu wa ta’ala — He is free of all defect and above all. Used frequently after every mention of Allah, SWT.

SAW: Sallallahu alayhi wasallam — peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Used after every mention of the Prophet Muhammad, SAW. A more familiar abbreviation is the English version, PBUH.

RA: Radiya Allahu ‘anh/’anha — may Allah be please with him/her. Used after every mention of a Sahabi/Sahabiyya, the Companions of the Prophets SAW.