History of Khulafah Rashideen by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti - translated by Abdassamad Clarke

Ak Askari narrated in al-Awa’il, at-Tabarani in al-Kabir, and al- I lakim by way of Ibn Shihab that cUmar ibn cAbd al-cAziz asked Abu Bakr ibn Sulayman ibn Abi Hathamah what was the reason that it used to be written, ‘From the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,’ in the time of Abu Ikikr, then later cUmar used to write at first, ‘From the Khalifah of Abu Bakr’? Then who was the first to write, ‘From the Amir al- Mu’minin (the Commander of the Believers)’? He said, ‘Ash-Shifa, who was one of the women of the Muhajirun, told me that Abu Bakr used to write, “From the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah,” and cUmar used to write, “From the Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah,” until one day cUmar wrote to the governor of 1 raq, to send him two strong men whom he could ask about Iraq and its inhabitants. He sent to him Labid ibn Rabicah and cAdi ibn Hatim, and they came to Madinah and entered the mosque where they found cAmr ibn al-cAs. They said, ‘Get permission for us (to visit) the Amir al-Mu’minin.’ cAmr said, ‘You two, by Allah, have hit upon his name!’ Then cAmr went in to him and said, ‘Peace be upon you, Amir al-Muminin.’ He said, ‘What occurred to you about this name? You must explain what you have said.’ He told him and said, ‘You are the amir (commander) and we are the mu’minun (the believers).’ Thus letters have continued to be written with that from that day.

An-Nawawi said in his Tahdhib: cAdi ibn Hatim and Labid ibn Rabicah named him thus when they came as a deputation from Iraq. It has been said that al-Mughirah ibn Shucbah named him with this name. It has also been said that cUmar said to people, ‘You are the believers and I am your amir,’ and so he was calle< Amir al-Mu’minin, and before that he was known as the Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, but they changed from that expression because of its length.

Ibn cAsakir narrated that Mucawiyah ibn Qurrah said: It used to be written ‘From Abu Bakr the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah,’ and then when it was cUmar ibn al-Khattab they wanted to say, ‘The Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah.’ cUma said, ‘This is lengthy.’ They said, ‘No. But we have appointed you as amir over us, so you are our amir! He said, ‘Yes, and you are the believers, and I am your amir! 1 hen it became written Amir al-Mu’minin.

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Tarikh that Ibn al-Musayyab said: The first to write the date was cUmar ibn al-Khattab two and a half years into his khilafah, and it was written down as the sixteenth year of the Hijrah, through the advice of cAli.

As-Salafi narrated in at-Tuyuriyyat with a sahih isnad from Ibn cUmar from cUmar that he wished to record the sunan (customary practices of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and of his companions), so he sought Allah’s choice in the matter (through the supplication known as the istikharah) for a month. Then he arose one morning with a clear resolve and said, ‘I remembered a people who were before you who wrote a book, and then they turned to it and abandoned the Book of Allah.’ Ibn Sacd narrated that Shaddad said: The first words that cUmar would say when he ascended the minbar were, ‘O Allah, I am severe, so make me gentle, I am weak, so strengthen me, and I am miserly, so make me generous.” Ibn Sacd and Sacid ibn Mansur and others narrated by different unites thatt cUmar said, ‘I have placed myself in respect to Allah’s property in the same relation as the guardian of the orphan to his (the orphan’s) wealth. If I am in good circumstances, I will refrain from it, and if I am in need I will eat of it in moderation, and if (again later) I am in good circumstances, I will repay.” Ibn Sacd narrated that Ibn cUmar said that when cUmar ibn al- Khattab was in need, he used to go to the man in charge of the bait dl-maland seek a loan from him. Often he might be in difficulty and I he man in charge of the public treasury would come to him, seek repayment of the debt and would oblige him to pay it, and cUmar would be evasive to him. Then, often cUmar would receive his stipend Hnd so pay his debt.

Ibn Sacd narrated that al-Bara’ ibn Macrur said that cUmar went out one day until he came to the minbar and he had been suffering from a complaint. The good qualities of honey were mentioned to him, and there was a receptacle (made of kidskin) of it in the bait al-mal. He said, ‘If you give me permission I will take it, but if not then it is haram for me.’ They gave him permission.

He narrated that Salim ibn Abdullah said that cUmar used to insert his hand into the saddle sore of his camel and say, ‘I fear that I will be asked about what is (wrong) with you.’ He narrated that Ibn cUmar said: When cUmar meant to forbid people from some wrong action, he would come to his family and say, ‘If I come to know of anyone who becomes involved in something I have forbidden, I will double the punishment for him.’ We have narrated in more than one way that cUmar ibn al-Khattab went out one night to patrol Madinah - and he used to do that a lot—when he came upon one of the women of the Arabs whose door was bolted against her (locking her in) and she was saying:

‘This night, whose stars creep slowly, is wearisome and makes me sleepless, Because I have no bedfellow with whom to sport, For, by Allah, if Allah’s punishments were not feared, His rights would have been removed from this couch.

However, I fear a Watchful One Who is in charge of our | selves And Whose recorder is not negligent for an instant.

Fear of my Lord and modesty prevent me, and I honour my husband (too much), That his noble station should be conferred (on another).’ So he (cUmar) wrote to his governors about military expeditions that no-one should be absent for more than four months.

Ibn Sacd narrated from Zadan that Salman said that cUmar said to him, ‘Am I a king or a khalifahV Salman said to him, ‘If you collect a dirham from the land of the Muslims, or less or more, then you put it to an improper use, you are a king, not a khalifahs cUmar took warning from it.

He narrated that Sufyan ibn Abi’l-cArja’ said: cUmar ibn al- Khattab said, ‘By Allah, I do not know whether I am a khalifah or a king, for if I am a king then this is a tremendous matter.’ Someone said, ‘Amir al-Mu’minin, there is a distinction between the two of them.’ He said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘A khalifah does not take except what is due and he does not use it except in the right way, and you, praise be to Allah, are like that. The king treats people unjustly, and takes from this one and gives to that one.’ cUmar was silent. 1

He narrated that Ibn Mascud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: cUmar mounted a horse and his robe disclosed his thigh. The people of Najran saw on his thigh a black mole and said, ‘This is the one whom we find in our Book will exile us from our land.’ He narrated from Sacd al-Hari that Kacb al-Ahbar said to cUmar, ‘We find you in the Book of Allah at one of the gates ofJahannam preventing people from falling into it. When you die, they will carry on plunging into it until the Day of Resurrection.’ He narrated that Abu Mashcar said: Our shaykhs told us that 'Umar said, ‘This matter will not be correct but with the severity that has no haughtiness in it, and with the gentleness that has no weakness in it.’ I bn Abi Shaybah narrated in his Musannafthat Hakim ibn cUmayr ■aid: cUmar ibn al-Khattab said, ‘Let not the amir of an army or a raiding party whip anyone for a haddpunishment until he arrives til Darb (Derbe near the Cilician Gates, a mountain pass through which the Muslims passed returning from raids into Byzantine territory) so that the rage of the shaytan does not carry him to the point that he joins with the kujfar! Ibn Abi Hatim narrated in his tafsir that ash-Shacbi said: The Byzantine Emperor wrote to cUmar ibn al-Khattab, ‘My messengers have come to me from you claiming that among you there is a tree which is not like anything else among trees: it produces something like the ears of the ass, it opens out (to reveal) something like a pearl, It becomes green so that it is like the green emerald, it reddens until It is like the red ruby, then later it ripens and matures so that it becomes like the sweetest honey-cake ever eaten, then later it dries until it becomes a defence (against want) for the house-dweller and a provision for the traveller. If my messengers have told me (lie truth, I can only imagine that this is one of the trees of the Garden.’ cUmar wrote to him, ‘From the slave of Allah, cUmar, the Amir al-Mu’minin, to Caesar, the king of the Byzantines. Truly your messengers have told you the truth. This tree, which is with ns, is the tree which Allah made to grow over Maryam when she [>ave birth to cIsa her son. So fear Allah and do not take Tsa as a }>od apart from Allah, for truly, “ The likeness ofcIsa with Allah is as the likeness of Adam, He created him from dust, ...’” (Qur’an 3: 59)

to the end of the ayah.

Ibn Sacd narrated from Ibn cUmar that cUmar ordered his governors, so they recorded their properties, and among them was Sacd bin Abi Waqqas. Then cUmar shared with them in their properties and took a half and gave them a half.

He narrated that ash-Shacbi said that when cUmar used to appoint a governor he would record his property.

He narrated that Abu Imamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf said: cUma( remained some time not eating anything at all from the property of the bait al-mal, until poverty and constriction came upon him in that. He sent for the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah] bless him and grant him peace, to seek their advice. He said, ‘I have occupied myself with this command, so what is fitting for me from' it?’ cAli said, ‘The midday and evening meals.’ cUmar took that, j He narrated from Ibn cUmar that cUmar performed the Hajj in the year twenty-three (AH) and spent sixteen dinars upon his Hajj.

He said, <cAbdullah we have been extravagant with this property.! cAbd ar-Razzaq narrated in the Musannaf that Qatadah and ash-Shacbi said: A woman came to cUmar and said, ‘My husband stands at night (in prayer) and fasts during the day.’ cUmar said, ‘You have praised your husband excellently well.’ Kacb ibn Sawwati said, ‘She was complaining.’ cUmar said, ‘How?’ He said, ‘She claims! that she has no share in her husband (in his time).’ He said, ‘If you understood that much, then you decide between them.’ He said, Amir al-Mu’minin, Allah has permitted him four (wives). So she has one day of every four days, and one night of every four nights.’ He narrated that Ibn Jarir said: One I trust informed me that cUmar, while he was patrolling, heard a woman saying:

‘This night stretches out and is grievous, and that I have no intimate to sport with makes me sleepless, For, if it were not for fear of Allah Whom nothing is like, his rights would have been removed from this couch.’ cUmar said, ‘What is wrong with you?’ She said, ‘You sent my husband on an expedition some months ago, and I long for him.’ He said, ‘Do you mean to do wrong?’ She said, ‘(I seek) the refuge of Allah!’ He said, ‘So restrain yourself; it is only (a matter of) the post to him.’ He sent a message to him. Then he went to Hafsah and said, ‘I want to ask you about a matter which concerns me, so dispel it for me. How long does a woman long for her husband?’ She lowered her head and was shy. He said, ‘Truly Allah is not shy of the truth.’ She gestured with her hand, indicating three months, and II that is not possible, then four months. cUmar wrote that armies must not be kept on service for more than four months.

He narrated from Jabir ibn cAbdullah that he came to cUmar to complain to him of the treatment he received from his womenfolk.

'Umar said to him, ‘We also find that, so much so that when I intend (going out for) some necessity, she says to me, “You are only going to the girls of Bani so-and-so to look at them.”’ cAbdullah ibn Mascud said to him, ‘Has it not reached you that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, complained to Allah about Sarah’s character and it was said to him, “She has been created from a rib so have l he enjoyment of her company as long as you don’t see in her any unsoundness in her deen.’” He narrated that cIkrimah ibn Khalid said: One of cUmar ibn al-Khattab’s sons went in to see him. He had combed and oiled his liair and dressed up in the very best clothing. cUmar struck him with a whip until he made him weep. Hafsah asked him, ‘Why did you strike him?’ He said, ‘I saw that his self had made him conceited, and I wanted to make it (his self) small for him.’ He narrated from Macmar from Layth ibn Abi Salim that cUmar said, ‘Do not name yourselves with the name al-Hakam (the ruler and judge) nor Abu’l-Hakam (possessor of judgement) for truly Allah, He is al-Hakam (the ruler) and don’t call a road a sikkah.’l0

Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Shucab al-Iman that ad-Dahhak said:

Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, I wish that I were a tree by the side of the road by which a camel passed, and it took me into its mouth, 10 Sikkah is literally both a ‘row’ and a ‘plough’ and it is possible there is a reference to the tradition that ‘The sikkah (plough) has not entered the abode of a people but that it humiliated them.’ chewed me, swallowed me, passed me out as dung, and that I were not a man.’ cUmar said, ‘Would that I were my family’s ram, which they were fattening as much as seemed right to them, until when I became as fat as could be, some people whom they love visit them, and they sacrifice me for them, make some of me into roasted meat, some of me into sun-dried meat, then eat me, and that I were not a human being.’ Ibn cAsakir narrated that Abu’l-Bakhtari said: cUmar ibn al- Khattab used to give the khutbah on the minbar. Al-Hussein ibn cAli, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up before him and said, ‘Come down from my father’s minbar.’ cUmar said, ‘It is the minbar of your father and not the minbar of my father. Who told you to do this?’ cAli stood and said, ‘By Allah, no-one told him to do this. I will certainly cause you (al-Hussein) some pain, traitor.’ He (cUmar)

said, ‘Don’t hurt the son of my brother, for he has told the truth, it is the minbar of his father.’ Al-Khateeb narrated in A dab ar-Rawi from Malik by his route from Ibn Shihab that Abu Salamah ibn cAbd ar-Rahman and Sacid ibn al-Musayyab narrated that cUmar ibn al-Khattab and cUthman ibn cAffan were arguing over a certain question until an onlooker said, ‘They will never reach an agreement.’ Yet they only separated on the best and most beautiful terms.

Ibn Sacd narrated that al-Hasan said: The first khutbah which cUmar delivered, he praised Allah and then said, ‘Right. I have been tested by you and you have been tested by me, and I have succeeded to the khilafah, amongst you, after my two companions. Whoever is here present, we will manage their affairs in person, and whoever is not here with us, we will appoint over him strong and trustworthy people. Whoever acts excellently well, we will increase him in excellent treatment, and whoever acts wrongly we will punish, and may Allah forgive us and you.’ He narrated from Jubayr ibn al-Huwayrith that cUmar ibn al- Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, sought the advice of the Muslims on the recording of a register. cAli said to him, ‘Divide up every year what is collected for you of property, and don’t keep any of it.’ cUthman said, ‘I see much wealth, which is sufficient for the people and if it is not counted so that whoever takes is distinguished from whoever does not take, I am afraid that the matter will become confused.’ Al-Walid ibn Hisham ibn al-Mughirah said, 'Amir al-Mu’minin, I went to Syria and I saw that its kings had recorded registers and organised the troops, so record registers and organise the troops.’ He took his advice, and he called cAqil ibn Abi Talib, Makhramah ibn Nawfal and Jubayr ibn Mutcim, who were genealogists of Quraysh, and said, ‘Record people according to their ranks.’ They recorded them beginning with Banu Hashim, then they followed with Abu Bakr and his people, then cUmar and liis people, according to the order of their khilafahs. When cUmar saw it, he said, ‘Begin with the close relatives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the closest, then the next closest until you place cUmar where Allah placed him.’ He narrated that Sacid ibn al-Musayyab said: cUmar recorded the register in al-Muharram of the year 20 AH.

He narrated that al-Hasan said: cUmar wrote to Hudhayfah, ‘Give the people their stipends and their provisions.’ He wrote back to him, ‘We have done that and a great deal remains.’ cUmar wrote to him, ‘It is their spoils which Allah has given them. It is not 'Umar’s nor cUmar’s family’s. Divide it up among them.’ Ibn Sacd narrated that Jubayr ibn Mutcim said: While cUmar was standing on the mountain of cArafah he heard a man calling out, saying, ‘Khalifah of Allah!’ Another man heard him, and they were taking provisions for the way, so he said, ‘What is wrong with you, may Allah split your uvulas?’ I went towards the man and shouted at him. Jubayr continued: Then the next morning, I was standing with cUmar at al-cAqabah (the major pillar of stones in Mina) and he was stoning it, when there came a stray pebble and split (the skin on) cUmar’s head. I turned that way and heard a man from the mountain saying, ‘I make it known, by the Lord of the Kacbah, that cUmar will not stand in this place after this year,’ and it was the one who had called out among us the day before, and that disturbed me greatly.

He narrated that cA’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: At the time of the last Hajj which cUmar performed with the Mothers of the Believers (the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when we returned from cArafah, I passed by al- Muhassab and I heard a man upon his camel saying, ‘Where was cUmar, the Amir al-Mu’minin? I heard another man saying, ‘Here was the Amir al-Mu’minin.’ He made the camel kneel down upon its breast, then he raised his voice in a wail saying:

‘Upon you peace from an imam and may the hand of Allah bless that much-rent skin, Whoever hurries on or mounts the two wings of the ostrich, in order to overtake what you sent ahead the day before, will be outstripped.

You decided matters, then after them you left behind trials and misfortunes in their sleeves, not yet unloosed.’ That rider did not move and it was not known who he was, and we used to say that he was one of the Jinn, for cUmar came back from that Hajj, was stabbed by the dagger and died.

He narrated that cAbd ar-Rahman ibn Abza said that cUmar said, ‘This authority is among the people of Badr as long as one of them remains, then it is among the people of Uhud as long as one of them remains, and among such and such, and such and such, and there is no part in it for a freed captive, nor the son of a freed captive, nor those who became Muslims at the Opening (of Makkah to Islam).’ He narrated from an-Nakhaci that a man said to cUmar, ‘Will you not appoint cAbdullah ibn cUmar as khalifah? He said, ‘May Allah fight you! By Allah, I never wanted this of Allah. Shall I appoint as khalifah a man who did not know how to divorce his wife properly?’ He narrated from Shaddad ibn Aws that Kacb said: There was among the Tribe of Isra’il a king whom, when we remember him we are reminded of cUmar, and when we remember cUmar we are reminded of him. He had by his side a prophet who received revelation. Allah revealed to the prophet, peace be upon him, to say to him, ‘Make your covenant and write your testament to me, for you are dead after three days.’ The prophet informed him of that.

When it was the third day, he fell down (dead) between the wall and the couch. He came to his Lord and said, ‘O Allah, if You knew (hat I was just in my rule; that when matters differed, I followed Your guidance; and I was such and such, and such and such, then increase my life-span until my infant son grows up and my nation increases.’ Allah revealed to the prophet that, ‘He has said such and such - and it is true - and I have added fifteen years to his lifespan.

That is enough for his infant son to grow up and his nation to increase.’ When cUmar was stabbed, Kacb said, ‘If cUmar were to ask his Lord, Allah would definitely let him stay.’ cUmar was told about that. He said, ‘O Allah take me back to You without (my)

being powerless and incapable or blameworthy.’ He narrated from Sulayman ibn Yasar that the Jinn wailed in mourning for cUmar.

Al-Hakim narrated that Malik ibn Dinar said: A voice was heard on the mountain of Tabalah when cUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, was killed:

‘Let whoever would weep, weep for Islam, For they are on the point of being thrown to the ground and (their) appointed time has not been exceeded, And the world has declined and the best of it has gone, turning its back, Whoever is sure of the promise has become weary of it.’ Ibn Abi’d-Dunya narrated that Yahya ibn Abi Rashid al-Basri said: cUmar said to his son, ‘Be economical with my shroud, for if there is good for me with Allah, He will exchange it for me for that which is better than it. If I have been otherwise, He will strip me and be very fast in stripping me. Be economical in the grave you dig for me, for if there is good for me with Allah, He will expand it for me as far as my sight can reach. If I have been otherwise, He will tighten it upon me until my ribs interlace. Let not a woman go out with me (to the grave), and do not attribute to me a purity that I do not have, for Allah has more knowledge of me. When you go out (with me to the grave) then hasten your pace, for if there is good for me with Allah, you will send me on to what is better for me.

If I am otherwise, you will throw an evil you have been carrying down from your necks.’

Ibn cAsakir narrated from Ibn cAbbas that al-cAbbas said: I asked Allah, one year after cUmar had died, to show me him in a dream.

I saw him after a year and he was wiping the sweat from his brow, so I said, ‘May my father and my mother be your ransom, Amir al-Mu’minin\ How is it with you?’ He said, ‘This is the time I have just finished. The house of cUmar had almost been violently demolished if it had not been that I met a pitying, compassionate one {Rauf Rahim. Note that these are two names that Allah gave to His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the penultimate ayah of Surat at-Tawbah. Ar-Ra’u f ar-Rahim are names of Allah).’ He also narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam that cAmr ibn al-cAs saw cUmar in his sleep and asked, ‘How have you done?’ He asked, ‘When did I leave you?’ He answered, ‘Twelve years ago.’ He said, ‘I have only finished my accounting now.’ Ibn Sacd narrated that Salim ibn cAbdullah ibn cUmar said: I heard a man of the Ansar saying, ‘I asked Allah to show me cUmar in my sleep, then I saw him after ten years, and he was wiping sweat from liis brow. I said, Amir al-Mu’minin, what have you done?’ He said, ‘ Right now I have finished, and if it were not for the mercy of my Lord I would have been destroyed.’ Al-Hakim narrated that ash-Shacbi said: cAtikah bint Zayd ibn ' Amr ibn Nufayl eulogised cUmar, saying:

‘Eye! let your tears and weeping be abundant, and do not weary over the noble imam.

The fate of the inspired horseman distressed me on the day of combat and harsh reproach; The protection of the deen, the helper against fate, succour of the troubled and the distressed.

Say to the people of hardship and misfortune, “Die! since fate has given us to drink the cup of division and disunion.’”