The Islamic Bulletin Volume XX No. 26 Page 20 Khalifa Umar Ibn Khuttab. One particularly interesting story occurred during the reign of Khalifa Umar Ibn Khuttab. Unlike other leaders, Khalifa Umar would walk around the city at night to see if everything and everyone was fine. He would try to solve problems if made aware of anything not right. One night, he went in disguise as not to be recognized by the citizens. He was accompanied by his good friend, Ibn Abbas. As they made their way to all parts of the city, they finally reached a neighborhood where very poor people lived. When he was walking by a very small house, he heard a mother telling her daughter to add water to the milk that they were going to sell so that they would have a greater quantity of milk. The daughter told her mother that although they did that prior to becoming Muslims, now that they were Muslim, they could no longer practice deceitful business dealings. The mother again insisted that her daughter add water to the milk. The daughter replied, “No. The Khalifa said that we should not practice deceitful acts.” The mother said, “We are too poor. It is the only way we can earn enough money to provide for us. The Khalifa has forgotten us, and he won’t know what we did.” The daughter said, “Such an income would not be lawful; as a Muslim I would not do anything whereby other Muslims are deceived.” The mother said, “But there is neither the Khalifa nor any of his officers here to see what we do. Daughter, go to bed now and tomorrow I will myself mix the milk with water for you.” The daughter refused to take part in the plan of her mother. She said, “The Khalifa may or may not be here, but his order must be obeyed. You may escape the notice of the Khalifa and his officers, but how can we escape the notice of Allah and our own conscience?” She also said, “Omar cannot see us but the God Umar can see us.” The daughter refused to take part in the plan of her mother. Thereupon the mother remained quiet. The lamp was extinguished and the mother and the daughter went to sleep. Having heard all of this, Khalifa Umar knew of the mother’s plan. The next day, Khalifa Umar sent a man to buy milk from the woman. To his surprise, the milk didn’t have any water added to it. The daughter knew right from wrong and was strong enough to hold her ground with her mother. Khalifa Umar said to his friend, “The daughter stayed strong even when her mother wanted her to do something wrong. She deserves a reward. What reward should I give her?” ”She should be rewarded with some money,” said lbn Abbas. Khalifa Umar said, “A daughter like her would be a great wife for my son. Someday she would make a good mother—strong, honest, and a great role-model. Because she is so good, she should be given the greatest gift in the nation, because everyone in the nation should learn how to be good like her.” The Khalifa sent for the young woman and her mother to come to his court. The mother shivered because she was afraid when she stood before the mighty ruler, but the young woman stood boldly and without fear. Then, in front of everyone, Khalifa Umar told how he had overheard the mother and daughter talking about adding water to the milk, and how the daughter had done what was right, even when her mother told her not to. Someone said that the mother should be punished, but the Khalifa said that usually he would, but he had forgiven her because her daughter was so good. Then he turned to the daughter and said, “Islam needs daughters like you and as a Khalifa of Islam, it is my job to reward you. I would like to reward you by having you as my daughter.” Then the Khalifa called his sons and said to them, “Here is a wonderful young woman who would make a great wife and mother. I don’t know a better bride than this girl who is so good.” Abdullah and Abdur Rahman, the oldest sons of the Khalifa, were already married. Asim, the third son wasn’t married yet, and he offered to marry the young woman. When the young woman and her mother agreed, Asim married her and the milkmaid became the daughter-in-law of the Khalifa. From this union was born a daughter, Layla, who became in due course the mother of Omar bin Abdul Aziz, who became one of the most great and unique Khalifas. Khalifa Omar Bin Abdul Aziz Omar Bin Abdul Aziz was born in 682 A.C., in Medina, Saudi Arabia. During his childhood, he memorized the entire Quran. Omar was a direct dissident, on his mother’s side, of the famous Amir ul-Momineen, Umar ibn Khattab (RA). He inherited many good traits and manners from his great grandfather that also made him into one of the great Khalifas. When Omar Bin AbdulAziz first became Khalifa, he made the following changes that strengthened the administration: · All taxes were abolished. People commented that there was nothing in the treasury and most of the savings were used to help the poor and needy. He replied by saying, “…the state STORIES OF THE SAHABA
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