Humility & Modesty at the time of his Demise

After explaining this in further detail, I shall now narrate a few more accounts from the life of Hazrat Umar (ra). Hazrat Umar’s (ra) humility and modesty at the time of his demise was such that his son narrates that he instructed him:

“Adopt moderation when shrouding my body for burial because if Allah has decreed prosperity for me, then He shall grant a better garment in its place and if that is not the case, then He shall seize this from me, and that too very swiftly.

“Moreover, adopt moderation with regard to my burial. If Allah wishes to grant me prosperity, then He shall expand it as far as the eye can see and if this is not the case, then He shall constrict it to the extent that it will crush my ribs.

“Also, do not allow any woman to accompany my funeral. Do not praise me for a quality which I did not possess for Allah has complete knowledge about me. When you carry me [for the burial] walk swiftly for if Allah has decreed prosperity for me then you will be carrying me towards that which is best for me and if that is not the case, then you will be able to quickly remove the evil which you are carrying.”

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], p. 273)

Aside from this, it is also mentioned that Hazrat Umar (ra) instructed for them not to wash his body with musk.

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990] p. 279)

Hazrat Uthman (ra) bin Affan relates that he went to Hazrat Umar (ra) and at the time, he was resting his head on the thigh of his son, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra). Hazrat Umar (ra) told Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra) to place his head onto the ground. Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra) stated, “My thigh and the ground are almost at the same level.” (In other words, there was hardly any distance between the two.)

Hazrat Umar (ra) repeated this two or three times and then stated, “Please, place my head on the ground.” Hazrat Umar (ra) then placed his legs together and the narrator says that he heard Hazrat Umar (ra) say, “My mother and I will be ruined if Allah the Almighty does not grant us His forgiveness.” Thereafter, Hazrat Umar (ra) passed away.

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], pp. 275-276)

Hazrat Simak Hanafi relates that he heard Ibn Abbas say that he once said to Hazrat Umar (ra), “Allah established new cities through you; many conquests took place through you and such and such achievements were attained through you.” Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, “I desire to attain salvation whereby I neither attain any reward for this, nor carry the burden [of any wrong].”

In other words, he took no pride in these great achievements nor the conquests that took place, instead, the fear and awe of Allah the Almighty reigned supreme over him and he was only concerned about the hereafter.

Zaid bin Aslam relates from his father that when Hazrat Umar’s (ra) demise was near, he stated, “You entertain doubts regarding my leadership. By God, I desire to seek salvation in a manner that:

لَا‭ ‬عَلَيَّ‭ ‬وَلَا‭ ‬لِيْ

That is, neither should I receive any punishment nor any reward.

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Dhikr Hijrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], p. 267)

In relation to this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) says:

“Hazrat Umar (ra) was someone who spent his entire life worrying and caring for the religion of Islam. At every instance, he offered the most sublime sacrifices. With regard to his sacrifices, they were not of the same level as Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra); however, in regard to his intentions and motives, they were equal.

“At the time of Abu Bakr’sra demise, tears began to flow from the eyes of Hazrat Umar (ra) and he said, ‘May God Almighty bestow His blessings upon Abu Bakr (ra)for I tried on many occasions to excel him but I always failed. On one occasion, the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed people to present their wealth and I brought half of my wealth thinking that today I shall excel Abu Bakr (ra). However, Abu Bakr (ra)was already there before me and since he was related to the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Holy Prophet (sa) knew that he would not have left anything at home, he enquired, “Abu Bakr, what did you leave at home?” Upon this, he replied, “I have left the name of Allah and His Messenger (sa).”’ After saying this, Hazrat Umar (ra) cried and stated, ‘Even on that occasion, I could not excel him.’”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) further says:

“Such was the level of Hazrat Abu Bakr’sra sacrifices. He would offer sacrifices before this as well, but when a particular occasion arose, he presented his entire wealth. On the one hand, we have such people, and on the other hand, there are those who do not even get the opportunity to present 1/10 of their wealth as a sacrifice and claim that should they do so, they would be ruined.

“Hazrat Umar (ra) was close to his demise; his eyes would well up and he would say, ‘O Allah! I am not worthy of any reward, but all I ask for is to be saved from the punishment.’”

• (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 10, p. 24)*