|
Umayr ibn
Sad al-Ansari
Umayr ibn Sad became an orphan at an
early age. His father died leaving him and his mother poor
and destitute. His mother eventually married again, to one
of the richest men in Madinah. His name was Julas ibn
Suwayd who was from the powerful tribe of al-Aws.
Umayr was well looked after by Julas and
loved him as a son would love a father. Indeed he began to
forget that he was an orphan. As Umayr grew older, Julas
fondness and love for him grew. Julas would marvel at the
intelligence he displayed in everything he did and at the
honesty and trustworthiness which characterized his
behavior.
When he was barely ten years old, Umayr
became a Muslim. Faith found in his tender heart a secure
niche and penetrated deeply into his being. In spite of
youthfulness, he would never delay in the performance of
salat behind the noble Prophet. Often he would be found in
the first row of worshippers, hoping for the thawab
promised those who attend mosques early and sit in the
foremost rows. His mother was particularly pleased
whenever she saw him going to and coming from the mosque,
sometimes with her husband and sometimes alone.
Umayr's days passed in this fashion with
no major disturbance to upset his calm and contentment.
This idyllic state, however, could not last forever. Umayr
was soon to face a most difficult test for a boy of his
age, a test which shook the peaceful and loving atmosphere
of his home and challenged the steadfastness of his faith.
In the ninth year after the Hijrah, the
Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, announced
his intention to lead an expedition to Tabuk against the
Byzantine forces. He ordered the Muslims to get themselves
ready and make the necessary preparations.
Usually when the Prophet wanted to go on
a military campaign he would not give precise details of
his objective or he would set off in a direction opposite
to his intended destination. This was for security
purposes and to confound the enemy's intelligence service.
This he did not do in announcing the expedition to Tabuk.
This was perhaps because of the great distance of Tabuk
from Madinah, the enormous difficulties expected and the
overwhelming strength of the enemy.
The preparations needed for this
expedition had to be extensive. In spite of the fact that
summer had set in and the intense heat produced languor
and listlessness, and in spite of the fact that the date
crops needed harvesting, the Muslims responded
enthusiastically to the call of the Prophet and busied
themselves in preparing for the arduous campaign ahead.
There was however a group of munafiqun
or hypocrites who outwardly had declared their acceptance
of Islam but inwardly did not believe in it. They were
critical of the expedition and tried to weaken the resolve
of the Muslims. They even ridiculed the Prophet in their
private gatherings. Disbelief and hatred remained in their
hearts.
One day, shortly before the army was due
to set out, the young Umayr ibn Sad returned home after
performing Salat in the mosque. He was all agog with
excitement. He had just witnessed the great generosity and
the spontaneous spirit of sacrifice which the Muslims
displayed in preparing for the expedition. He had seen
women of the Muhajirin and the Ansar donating their
jewellery and their ornaments to buy provisions and
equipment for the army. He had seen Uthman ibn Affan
handing over a purse containing a thousand gold dinars to
the Prophet and Abdur Rahman ibn Awl carrying on his
shoulders two hundred awqiyyah of gold and placing it
before the noble Prophet. Indeed he had even seen a man
trying to sell his bed in order to purchase a sword for
himself.
At home, he recalled these moving and
inspiring scenes. He was surprised however that Julas was
so slow in preparing for the expedition with the Prophet
and at his delay in contributing especially since he was
quite rich and could afford to give generously. Umayr felt
that he had to arouse his ardor or stir his sense of
generosity and manliness. So with great enthusiasm he
related what he had seen and heard at the mosque
particularly the case of those believers who, with great
fervor, had come to enlist themselves in the army and were
turned away by the Prophet because there was not
sufficient means of transport. He related how sad and
disappointed these people were at not realizing their
desire to go on the path of Jihad and sacrifice for the
sake of Islam. Julas' response was sharp and shocking.
"If Muhammad is true in claiming
that he is a Prophet ," he shouted angrily,
"then we are all worse than donkeys."
Umayr was flabbergasted. He could not
believe what he had heard. He did not think that a man as
intelligent as Julas could have uttered such words, words
which put him instantly outside the pale of faith.
A host of questions paced through his
mind and he immediately began to consider what action he
should take. He saw in Julas' silence and his tardiness to
respond to the Prophet's call, clear signs of a traitor to
God and His Prophet, who wanted to bring harm to Islam in
just the same way as the munafiqun who were plotting and
conspiring against the Prophet. At the same time he saw a
man who had treated him as a father and who was kind and
generous to him, who had taken him as an orphan and had
saved him from poverty.
Umayr had to choose between preserving
this close relationship with Julas on the one hand and
dealing with his treachery and hypocrisy on the other. The
choice was painful but his decision was swift. He turned
to Julas and said:
"By God, O Julas, there is no one
on the face of the earth, after Muhammad ibn Abdullah,
dearer to me than you. You are the closest of men to me
and you have been most generous to me. But you have
uttered words which, if I should mention them will expose
and humiliate you. If I conceal them, however, I will be a
traitor to my trust and destroy myself and my religion. I
will, therefore, go to the Messenger of God, peace be upon
him, and tell him what you have said. It is up to you to
clarify your position."
The young Umayr went to the mosque and
told the Prophet what he had heard from Julas. The Prophet
asked him to stay with him and sent one of his companions
to summon Julas.
Julas came, greeted the Prophet and sat
in front of him. The Prophet, peace be upon him
straightaway asked him: "What did you say that Umayr
ibn Sad heard?" and he mentioned what Umayr had
reported to him.
"He has lied against me, O
Messenger of God, and has fabricated this. I have not
uttered anything of the sort" asserted Julas.
The companions of the Prophet looked
alternately at Julas and Umayr hoping to detect on their
faces what their hearts concealed. They began to mutter
among themselves. One of those in whose hearts was the
disease of hypocrisy asserted:
"The youth is a nuisance. He is
bent on defaming someone who has been good to him."
Others replied: "Not at all. He is a youth who grew
up in obedience to God. The expressions on his face attest
to his truthfulness."
The Prophet, peace be on him, turned to
Umayr and saw his flushed face and the tears streaming
down his cheeks. Umayr prayed:
"O Lord, send down a revelation on
Your Prophet to verify what I have told him." Julas
meanwhile continued to defend what he had said: "What
I have told you, O Messenger of God, is certainly the
truth. If you wish, make us swear an oath in your
presence. I swear by God that I did not say anything of
the sort that Umayr reported to you."
As the companions turned to Umayr to
hear what he had to say, they saw the Prophet come under a
special mood of serenity and they realized that he was
being inspired. Immediately there was complete silence as
they gazed intently at the Prophet in anticipation.
At this point, fear and terror gripped
Julas and he began to look tremulously at Umayr. The
Prophet, having received the revelation, recited the words
of God:
"(The hypocrites) swear by God that
they have said (nothing wrong); yet most certainly they
have uttered a saying which is a denial of the truth, and
have thus denied the truth after having professed their
self-surrender to God; for they were aiming at something
which was beyond their reach. And they could find no fault
(with the Faith) save that God had enriched them and
(caused) His Apostle to enrich them out of His bounty.
Hence, if they repent, it will be for their own good; but
if they turn away, God will cause them to suffer a
grievous suffering in this world and in the life to come
and they will find no helper on earth, and none to give
them succour." (The Quran, Surah at-Tawbah, 9:74).
Julas trembled with fear at what he
heard and in his anguish, could hardly speak. Finally, he
turned to the Prophet and said: "I do repent, O
Messenger of God. I do repent. Umayr told the truth and I
lied. I beseech God to accept my repentance..."
The Prophet turned to the young Umayr.
Tears of joy moistened his youthful face, radiant with the
light of faith. With his noble hand, the Prophet tenderly
took his
ear and said:
"Young man, your ear has been true
in what it heard and your Lord has confirmed the truth of
what you said." Julas returned to the fold of Islam
and was a good and faithful Muslim thereafter. The
companions realized that by his generosity and good
treatment of Umayr, he had reformed. Whenever Umayr was
mentioned, Julas would say:
"My God reward Umayr with goodness
on my behalf. He certainly saved me from kufr and
preserved my neck from the fire of hell."
Umayr grew up and distinguished himself
in later years with the same devotion and firmness which
he had shown in early life.
During the caliphate of Umar ibn
al-Khattab, the people of Hims in Syria complained much
and bitterly of the governors appointed to the city even
though Umar in particular used to pay special attention to
the type of men he chose as his provincial governors. In
selecting a governor, Umar would say: "I want a man
who when he is among the people and is not their amir,
should not behave as their amir, and when he is among them
as an amir, he should behave as one of them.
"I want a governor who will not
distinguish himself from the people by the clothes he
wears, or the food he eats or the house he lives in."
"I want a governor who would
establish Salat among the people, treat them equitably and
with justice and does not close his door when they come to
him in need."
In the light of the complaints of the
people of Hims and going by his own criteria for a good
governor, Umar ibn al-Khattab decided to appoint Umayr ibn
Sad as governor of the region. This was despite the fact
that Umayr at that time was at the head of a Muslim army
traversing the Arabian peninsula and the region of great
Syria, liberating towns, destroying enemy fortifications,
pacifying the tribes and establishing masjids wherever he
went. Umayr accepted the appointment as governor of Hims
reluctantly because he preferred nothing better than Jihad
in the path of God. He was still quite young, in his early
twenties.
When Umayr reached Hims he called the
inhabitants to a vast congregational prayer. When the
prayer was over he addressed them. He began by praising
and giving thanks to God and sending peace and blessings
on His Prophet Muhammad. Then he said:
"O people! Islam is a mighty
fortress and a sturdy gate. The fortress of Islam is
justice and its gate is truth. If you destroy the fortress
and demolish the gate you would undermine the defences of
this religion.
"Islam will remain strong so long
as the Sultan or central authority is strong. The strength
of the Sultan neither comes from flogging with the whip,
nor killing with the sword but from ruling with justice
and holding fast to truth."
Umayr spent a full year in Hims during
which, it is said, he did not write a single letter to the
Amir al-Muminin. Nor did he send any taxes to the central
treasury in Madinah, neither a dirham nor a dinar.
Umar was always concerned about the
performance of his governors and was afraid that positions
of authority would corrupt them. As far as he was
concerned, there was no one who was free from sin and
corrupting influences apart from the noble Prophet, peace
be upon him. He summoned his secretary and said:
"Write to Umayr ibn Sad and say to
him: "When the letter of the Amir al-Muminin reaches
you, leave Hims and come to him and bring with you
whatever taxes you have collected from the Muslims."
Umayr received the letter. He took his
food pouch and hung his eating, drinking and washing
utensils over his shoulder. He took his spear and left
Hims and the governorship behind him. He set off for
Madinah on foot.
As Umayr approached Madinah, he was
badly sunburnt, his body was gaunt and his hair had grown
long. His appearance showed all the signs of the long and
arduous journey. Umar, on seeing him, was astonished.
What's wrong with you, Umayr?" he asked with deep
concern.
"Nothing is wrong with me, O Amir
al-Muminin," replied Umayr. "I am fine and
healthy, praise be to God, and I carry with me all (my)
worldly possessions."
"And what worldly possessions have
you got?" asked Umar thinking that he was carrying
money for the Bayt al-mal or treasury of the
Muslims."
"I have my pouch in which I put my
food provisions. I have this vessel from which I eat and
which I use for washing my hair and clothes. And I have
this cup for making wudu and drinking..." "Did
you come on foot?" asked Umar. "Yes, O Amir
al-Muminin." "Weren't you given from your
amirship an animal to ride on?" "They did not
give me one and I did not ask them."
"And where is the amount you
brought for the Baytalmal?"
"I didn't bring anything."
"And why not?"
"When I arrived at Hims," said
Umayr, "I called the righteous persons of the town to
a meeting and gave them the responsibility of collecting
the taxes. Whenever they collected any amounts of money I
would seek their advice and spent it (all) on those who
were deserving among them."
At this point, Umar turned to his
secretary and said:
"Renew the appointment of Umayr to
the governorship of Hims." "Oh, come now,"
protested Umayr. "That is something which I do not
desire. I shall not be a governor for you nor for anyone
after you, O Amir al-Muminin."
With that Umayr asked the Khalifah's
permission to go to his village on the outskirts of
Madinah to live there with his family. This Umar granted.
A long time passed since Umayr had gone
to his village and Umar decided to put him through a test
to make sure of his circumstances. He said to one of his
trusted aides called al-Harith:
"Harith, go to Umayr ibn Sad and
stay with him as though you were a guest. If you see on
him any signs of luxury or good living, return quietly as
you went. If, however, you find him in straitened
circumstances give him these dinars." Umar handed
Harith a bag with a hundred dinars.
Al-Harith set our for Umayr's village
and found his home after making enquiries.
"As-salamu alaykum wa
rahmatullah," he greeted Umayr.
"Wa alaykum as-salam wa
rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu," replied Umayr and asked,
"From where have you come?"
"From aI-Madinah."
"How arr the Muslims there?"
"Fine."
"How is the Amir al-Muminin?"
"He is fine and doing well."
"Has he applied the hudud
laws?"
"Yes. He carried out the sentence
of punishment on his own son for committing the crime of
adultery. His son died as a result of the
punishment." Al-Harith continued: "O Allah, help
Umar. I only know that he has a great love for you."
Al-Harith stayed as Umayr's guest for
three nights. On each night he was given only a small flat
piece of barley bread. On the third day a local man said
to Harith:
"Umayr and his family are suffering
great hardship. They only have these loaves which they
have given you in preference to themselves. They are
hungry and in great distress. Harith went to Umayr and
gave him the bag of money.
"What is this?" asked Umayr.
"The Amir al-Muminin sent it to
you."
"Return it to him. Give him my
greetings of peace and tell him that Umayr has no need of
it."
"Take it, O Umayr," shouted
his wife who was listening to the conversation between her
husband and his guest. "If you need it, you can spend
it. If not, you can spend it in other appropriate ways,
for those in need here are many."
When al-Harith heard what she had said,
he placed the dinars in front of Umayr and left. Umayr
took the money and placed it in a small bag. He only went
to sleep that night after he had distributed the money to
those in need and especially to the children of those who
had been martyred.
Al-Harith returned to Madinah and was
questioned by Umar al-Faruq.
"What have you seen, Harith?"
"A very distressing situation, O
Amir al-Muminin."
"Did you give him the dinars?"
"Yes, O Amir al-Muminin."
"What did he do with them?"
"I don't know. But I think that he
did not keep a single dirham of it for himself."
Al-Faruq wrote to Umayr: "When you
receive this letter, I do not put it down until you come
to me."
Umayr proceeded straightaway to Madinah.
Umar greeted and welcomed him and proceeded to question
him.
"What did you do with the dinars,
Umayr?" "You have no responsibility for the
money after you have donated it to me."
"I adjure you to tell me what you
did with it."
"I stored it away for myself so
that I could benefit from
it a day when neither wealth nor
children will be of any avail." Tears came to Umar's
eyes as he said:
"I swear that you are one of those
who are hard against themselves even when they are in dire
need." And he ordered a camel load of food and two
garments to be given to Umayr who protested:
"About the food, we do not need it,
O Amir al-Mumineen. I left two saas of barley with my
family and when we have finished that, Allah- Great and
Exalted is He - will provide. As for the two garments, I
will take them for (my wife). Her dress is now in tatters
and she is almost naked."
Not long after that meeting with Umar
al-Faruq, Umayr ibn Sad passed away to his Lord. He was
not weighted down with the cares and burdens of the world
and he was concerned to provide plenty of provisions for
the hereafter. Umar received the news of his death with a
heavy heart and said in deep sorrow: "I have wished
to have men like Umayr ibn Sad whose help I could seek in
dealing with the affairs of Muslims."
|
