Excelling in Piety & Detachment of Worldly things

Whenever Hazrat Hassan (ra) would mention Hazrat Umar (ra) he would say:

“By God, though he was not amongst the very first people to accept Islam and nor was he the most superior amongst those who spent in the way of Allah; however, he had no desire for worldly things and was most strict in implementing the instructions of Allah the Almighty amongst people and he never feared the reproach of any fault-finder.”

(Ibn Abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, Kitab al-Fada‘il, Vol. 11, p. 121, Hadith 32546, Maktabat al-Rushd Nashirun, al-Riyad, 2004)

Hazrat Saad (ra) bin Abi Waqas states:

“By God, although Hazrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab did not excel us in the acceptance of Islam, I do know what he did excel us in and that is piety and detachment from worldly things.”

(Ibn Abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, Kitab al-Fada‘il, Vol. 11, p. 121, Hadith 32548, Maktabat al-Rushd Nashirun, al-Riyad, 2004)

Hisham bin Urwah relates from his mother that when Hazrat Umar (ra) travelled to Syria, his upper garment was torn from the back. It was quite a thick and long garment which was reaching to the ground. This type of garment was commonly worn in Rome. Hazrat Umar (ra) sent this garment to the people of Azriyat or Aela, Aela is a town situated on the coast of the Red Sea, which is next to Syria. In any case, the narrator states that he washed this garment and patched it and also prepared a new garment of a thin white cloth made from cotton. He took both these garments and presented them to Hazrat Umar (ra). Hazrat Umar (ra) held the garment [made from cotton] and felt it and stated that it was too soft and returned it back to the individual and stated, “Return to me my original garment because among all the garments, that one absorbed sweat the most.”

(Ibn Abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, Kitab al-Bu‘uth wa al-Saraya, Vol. 11, pp. 580-581, Hadith 34427, Maktabat al-Rushd Nashirun, al-Riyad, 2004) (Taj al-Urus, Zair Madah Sunbul)

In other words, he preferred the ripped garment which he had patched.

Hazrat Anas (ra) bin Malik relates that he saw Hazrat Umar (ra) at a time when he was the Leader of the Faithful and his garment had three leather patches stitched on them between the shoulders.

In another narration, Hazrat Anasra states that there were four leather patches stitched on the garment of Hazrat Umar (ra) near the shoulder area.

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], p. 249)