It was the caliphate of the great Umar ibn al-Khattab. Under him, the largest territorial expansion took place, with the conquests of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, the Sassanid Empire, Iraq, Mesopotamia and Byzantium. This resulted in the growth of the Arab empire across three continents in just ten years of his caliphate. For a few moments, let this fact seep through the eye of the mind.

After a military expedition in Yemen, cloth from Bayt ul Maal was distributed among the people of Madina. Everyone received an equal share. The cloth pieces were too small to make a full adult garment. After some time, the Caliph came to address a public congregation wearing a full garment made of the same cloth. Before he could begin his address, a man stood up and said, “We will not listen to you until you explain where you obtained enough cloth for a full garment, while each one of us received just one piece.” (Please put this in the perspective of today’s world.)

The mighty Caliph did not lose his temper, did not admonish the man, nor did he say that he did not need to explain. He asked his son, Abdullah ibn Umar, to respond. Hazrat Abdullah stated that he had given his share to make the full garment which his father was wearing.

On hearing this, the man who had held the Caliph accountable said, “Now we will listen and obey.”

The general response today would, at best, be a shrug of the shoulders, a statement signifying that this form of governance was fit for those times. However, nothing could be further........

© The Friday Times