Excelling in Piety & Detachment of Worldly things (II)

Mentioning Hazrat Umar’s (ra) detachment of worldly things and his piety, Hazrat Hafsah bint Umar (ra) relates that she once said to her respected father, “O Leader of the Faithful”. In another narration, it is mentioned that she addressed him in the following manner, “O my father! Allah has increased your provisions, granted you victories and has also given you wealth in abundance. Why then do you not choose to eat food which is softer than the food you eat and why do you not wear garments made of a softer material than the ones you wear?”

Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “I will ask you to make the decision in this regard. Do you not remember how many hardships the Holy Prophet (sa) had to endure during his life?”

The narrator says that he continuously reminded Hazrat Hafsah (ra) of this so much that Hazrat Hafsah (ra) began to cry. Following this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, “By Allah! As long as I have the strength to do so, I will continue to partake of the hardships endured by the Holy Prophet (sa) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), so that perhaps, through this I may be able to join them in their life of comfort [in the Hereafter].”

In another narration, it is also mentioned that Hazrat Umar (ra) said to Hazrat Hafsah (ra), “O Hafsah, daughter of Umar! You have sought the welfare of your nation, but have not sought the welfare of your father. You have advised me to do such and such as I would be able to serve my nation better by doing so. However, this does not concern my welfare.” Following this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, “My family has a right only over my life and my wealth, but they do not have any right over my faith and what I have been entrusted with.”

(Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Dhikr Hijrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1996], p. 148)

In other words, they did not have the right to say anything to him in relation to what had been entrusted to him and how he would fulfil that responsibility and they did not have any right to say anything to him in this regard.

Hazrat Ikrimah (ra) bin Khalid relates that Hazrat Hafsah (ra), Hazrat Abdullah (ra) and some other individuals were speaking to Hazrat Umar (ra) and said, “If you eat better food, you will be stronger whilst serving for the cause of the truth.” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “Do all of you hold the same opinion?” They all replied in the affirmative. Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “I have understood that you seek my welfare, but I left both of my friends, i.e. the Holy Prophet (sa) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)on this very path and if I do not adopt the same path as them, I will not be able to meet them at the final destination.”

(Jalaluddin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa, p. 101, Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab,Lebanon, 1999)