ISLAM’S ALL-TIME SYMBOL OF LEADERSHIP OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB

Sun 05 July 2020:

Omar bin al-Khattab, the second Khalifa of Muslims following the death of Prophet Muhammad, is highly revered among Muslims not only for being a piousness and just nature, but also for being a brilliant leader and statesman.

Before accepting Islam, he was one of the most rabid enemies of Prophet Mohammad. Omar acknowledged Muhammed as the Messenger of God after six years of his prophecy, to become the 40th man to join the religion of Islam and became a senior companion of the Prophet.

Responsibility

When the name of Omar is mentioned, he is always described as al-Farouk, or the distinguisher between right and wrong.

As a leader, Omar was known to be humble, aware of the significance and seriousness of his responsibility. At night, he was known for going around to inspect the conditions of Muslims. Those night tours weren’t common before his reign, and weren’t done at the same pace even after his death.

His sense of responsibility and kindness also extended to animals, whom he valued because they are God’s creations. Omar is often quoted declaring that “If a mule or a donkey should fall in Iraq, because the roads are not level, Omar will be questioned before God on the Day of Judgment as to why he did not repair the roads for these animals.” 

Dawud ibn Ali quotes Omar as once saying: “If a lost sheep under my care were to die on the banks of the Euphrates, I would expect Allah the Exalted to question me about it on the Day of Resurrection.”

Leadership and management

And because under his leadership the Muslim world expanded to reach Persia, Syria and Egypt, Omar is seen as the architect of the Islamic Empire. As a statesman, he established a political structure to hold the vast Islamic state together.

He divided the state into provinces and appointed governors, whom he did not allow to exceed two years in power, out of fear it would influence their roles.

Among his numerous achievements as a ruler, Omar decreed the Hijri or Islamic calendar, which counts starting from the year Prophet Mohammad left Makkah to Medinah.

In 641, he established Bayt al-mal, or the “House of Wealth”, the first financial institution in the Islamic state to overlook taxes and administrate the distributions of zakat revenues for the public. He also provided stipends for poor Jews and Christians.

Capture of Jerusalem

By 637, Muslim armies began to appear in the vicinity of Jerusalem. In charge of Jerusalem was Patriarch Sophronius, a representative of the Byzantine government, as well as a leader in the Christian Church. Although numerous Muslim armies under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al-Aas began to surround the city, Sophronius refused to surrender the city unless Omar came to accept the surrender himself.

Having heard of such a condition, Omar ibn al-Khattab left Madinah, travelling alone with one donkey and one servant. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted by Sophronius, who undoubtedly must have been amazed that the caliph of the Muslims, one of the most powerful people in the world at that point, was dressed in no more than simple robes and was indistinguishable from his servant.

Umar was given a tour of the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When the time for prayer came, Sophronius invited Omar to pray inside the Church, but Umar refused. He insisted that if he prayed there, later Muslims would use it as an excuse to convert it into a mosque – thereby depriving Christendom of one of its holiest sites.

Instead, Omar prayed outside the Church, where a mosque (called Masjid Omar – the Mosque of Omar) was later built.

The Treaty of Umar

As they did with all other cities they conquered, the Muslims had to write up a treaty detailing the rights and privileges regarding the conquered people and the Muslims in Jerusalem. This treaty was signed by Omar and Patriarch Sophronius, along with some of the generals of the Muslim armies. The text of the treaty read:

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is the assurance of safety which the servant of God, Omar, the Commander of the Faithful, has given to the people of Jerusalem.

He has given them an assurance of safety for themselves for their property, their churches, their crosses, the sick and healthy of the city and for all the rituals which belong to their religion.

Their churches will not be inhabited by Muslims and will not be destroyed. Neither they, nor the land on which they stand, nor their cross, nor their property will be damaged. They will not be forcibly converted.

No Jew will live with them in Jerusalem.

The people of Jerusalem must pay the taxes like the people of other cities and must expel the Byzantines and the robbers.

Those of the people of Jerusalem who want to leave with the Byzantines, take their property and abandon their churches and crosses will be safe until they reach their place of refuge.

The villagers may remain in the city if they wish but must pay taxes like the citizens. Those who wish may go with the Byzantines and those who wish may return to their families. Nothing is to be taken from them before their harvest is reaped.

If they pay their taxes according to their obligations, then the conditions laid out in this letter are under the covenant of God, are the responsibility of His Prophet, of the caliphs and of the faithful.

– Quoted in The Great Arab Conquests, from Tarikh Tabari

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