Saeed bin Musayyab and Abu Salama bin Abdir Rahman relate:
“By God, whatever Hazrat Umar (ra) said, he truly fulfilled it. When it was time to be strict, he showed strictness and when it was time to show leniency and compassion, he did so and became a father figure for the children. Those women whose husbands were away, he would personally visit their homes and offer his greetings of peace from the door and then ask them, ‘Are you in need of anything? Or do you require anything and I will go to the market and buy it for you because I would not like for someone to cheat you in matters of buying and selling.’ The women would then send their children along with him. Hazrat Umar (ra) would enter the marketplace and there would be so many children behind him that it would be difficult to count. Hazrat Umar (ra) would then purchase their items of need for each one, and for those women who did not have any children, he would personally buy it for them. Whenever a messenger arrived from the army, Hazrat Umar (ra) would personally take the letters from their husbands and deliver it to them and he would say, ‘Your husbands have left for the sake of Allah and you dwell in the city of the Holy Prophet (sa). If you have someone who can read the letter for you then that is fine, otherwise you can stand near the door and I will read out the letter for you.’ Hazrat Umar (ra) would then say, ‘Our messenger will leave from here on such and such day. You can write your letters and we will send them for you.’ Hazrat Umar (ra) would then deliver paper and pens to their houses. Those who could write themselves, he would take the letters and those who were not able to write, he would say, ‘Here is the paper and ink, come near the door and say what you would like me to write.’ Hazrat Umar (ra) would go to every single house and take their letters they had written for their husbands and he would then arrange for them to be sent.
(Izalatul Khulafa An Khilafat-ul-Khulafa, translated by Shah Walliullah Muhaddis Dehlvi, Vol. 3, pp. 228-229, Qadeemi Kutub Khana Karachi)
Hazrat Ali (ra) relates:
“I saw that Hazrat Umar (ra) was once holding the saddle of a camel and was quickly going towards Abtah.” Abtah is the name of a place situated near Mecca and Mina. “Upon seeing him, I said, ‘O Leader of the Faithful! Where are you going?’ Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, ‘One of the camels which had been donated for charity is missing and I am going to search for it.’ Upon this, I said to Hazrat Umar (ra), ‘You have set such examples for those Khulafa who shall come after you which will not be easy to follow.’ Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, ‘O Abul Hasan! Do not say anything against me for I swear by Him Who sent Muhammad (sa) as a prophet, even if a baby goat went missing near the Euphrates River, Umar will be asked about it on the Day of Judgment.’”
(Izalatul Khulafa An Khilafat-ul-Khulafa, translated by Shah Walliullah Muhaddis Dehlvi, Vol. 3, pp. 286-287, Qadeemi Kutub Khana Karachi) (Mu‘jamul Buldan, Vol. 1, p. 95)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:
“During the time of Hazrat Umar’s (ra) Khilafat, a Muslim man was once walking with his head lowered. Hazrat Umar (ra) thought that perhaps he had received some sad news or was experiencing some difficulty and hence had lowered his head. Hazrat Umar (ra) lifted his face up with his fist and stated, ‘This is the era of Islam’s victories and yet you have lowered your head.’” In other words, this was an era wherein God Almighty had granted governance to Islam despite the efforts of the world [opposing it], and so even if he did experience a little difficulty, there was no need to lower his head like that. “Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, ‘At this moment in time, Allah the Almighty has granted governance to Islam and so regardless of what the world says, if you have absolute faith that Islam will be victorious then what need is there to cry’” i.e. over small issues.
(Qadian Se Humari Hijrat Eik Asmani Taqdeer Thi, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 1, p. 379)
In other words, if some of the Muslims in a particular place had to endure some loss, there was still no reason to cry or be worried.
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) mentioned this incident after migration from Qadian. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) stated that even if a believer had suffered a loss, they should not look at what they have lost; rather, they ought to reflect as for whose sake had they lost it for. If something had been lost for the sake of God Almighty and for the progress of Islam, then Allah the Almighty would grant an even better reward than that. One should not become worried over temporary loss.
Similarly, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) cites a well-known incident of Hazrat Umar (ra) from which he concludes that though Hazrat Umar (ra) had to endure hardships, he did not mind doing so and he established such equality which Islam seeks to establish throughout the world. The incident is as follows:
“Jabalah bin Ayham used to be a prominent chief of a Christian tribe. When Muslims began conquering Syria, he along with his tribe accepted Islam, and then proceeded to go for Hajj. During Hajj, at one point, there was a large crowd; incidentally, another Muslim stepped on his foot.
“In some narrations, it is stated that the Muslim stepped on the hem of his robe. [Jabalah] considered himself to be a king seeing as there were 60 thousand people who followed him. In fact, according to some historical accounts, 60 thousand was just the number of his soldiers.
“In any case, when a partially clothed Muslim man stepped on his foot, he was enraged and slapped him, saying ‘You wish to dishonour me. Do you not know who I am? You should have moved back out of respect, yet you have impudently stepped on my foot.’ After having been slapped, the Muslim man remained silent; however, another Muslim spoke up saying, ‘Are you aware of the fact that the religion which you have entered is Islam, and Islam does not distinguish between ordinary and prominent people. Especially in this house”, i.e. the Holy Ka‘bah around which he was performing circuits, “there is considered to be no difference between the rich and the poor.’ Jabalah replied, ‘I do not care about this.’
“The Muslim said, ‘If a complaint against you is made to Umar (ra), then he will surely take retribution from you for this Muslim.’ When Jabalah bin Ayham heard this, he became furious and said, ‘Is there anyone who would slap the face of Jabalah ibn Ayham?’ The Muslim man said, ‘I do not know about anyone else, but this is how Umar (ra) would settle the matter.’
“Upon hearing this, [Jabalah] quickly completed circulating the Ka‘bah and then went straight to the gathering of Hazrat Umar (ra) and asked, ‘If a prominent person slaps an ordinary man, then what do you do?’ Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, ‘We will have the ordinary person slap the prominent person.’ Jabalah then said, ‘You have not understood what I mean to say. What I mean is that if there is an extremely prominent person who slaps [an ordinary person] then what do you do?’
“Hazrat Umar (ra) said, ‘In Islam, there is no discrimination between the prominent and the ordinary.’ Then Hazrat Umar (ra) said, ‘Jabalah, is it you who has committed this fault?’ Upon this, Jabalah lied and said that he had not slapped anyone and that he had simply asked a question. However, he left that gathering immediately and returned to his country with his people after which they became apostates and fought alongside the Byzantines in the battles against Muslims; however, Hazrat Umar (ra) did not show any concern for him.”
(Sair-e-Ruhani (Part 2), Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 16, pp. 43-43)
This was the level of equality which was established by the Muslim government and this is a lesson for the Muslim governments of today.