Recompensating an Injustice
There is an incident that has been related by Ibn Umar (ra). When Hazrat Umar (ra) returned from Syria to Medina, he separated from the others in order to enquire about the people (i.e. he separated himself from the caravan in order to enquire about the conditions of the people). He passed by an elderly woman who was in her tent. He began enquiring about her situation to which she replied, “What has Umar done?” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “He is here, he has returned from Syria.”
The woman said, “May Allah not bestow any goodness upon him from me.” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “Woe be unto you, why?” (i.e. why would she say such a thing?) She replied, “Ever since he has become the Khalifa, I have not received a single allowance; neither a dinar, nor a dirham from him.” Hazrat Umar (ra) said, “Alas! How would Umar know of your condition when you are living in a remote place far away near the jungle?”
The elderly lady did not know that she was speaking to Hazrat Umar (ra). To this, she replied, “Holy is Allah! I do not believe that someone can be appointed to rule over the people and he remains heedless of what is happening around him.” Hazrat Umar (ra) began to cry and said, “Woe to you, O Umar! How many similar complainants will there be, each one of them understands faith more than you!”
Hazrat Umar (ra) then said to her, “How much do you seek in recompense for the injustice done against you? I would like to save him from the Hellfire.” (That is, he would like to save Hazrat Umar (ra) from the Hellfire) and enquired how much it would take to make amends for this injustice. She said, “Do not mock me? May Allah have mercy on you.” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied that he was not mocking her and kept on insisting to tell him, until he managed to pay 25 dinars as recompense for the injustice done against her.
They were in the middle of this conversation when Hazrat Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib and Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud arrived and said, “Peace be upon you, O Leader of the Faithful!” Upon this, the woman placed her hands on her head and said, “May Allah have mercy on me! I spoke ill in front of the Leader of the Faithful!” Hazrat Umar (ra) then said, “No blame lies on you; may God have mercy on you.”
Hazrat Umar (ra) then asked for a leather parchment to write on but could not find one. He then ripped a piece of his cloak and wrote on it, “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, Ever Merciful. This manuscript is formed between Umar and such and such woman and affirms that all the injustices committed against her from the time he became leader until today has been compensated for with 25 dinars. Now if she stands before Allah on the Day of Resurrection and makes any claim, Umar is absolved from it. Ali bin Abi Talib and Abdullah bin Mas‘ud are a witness to this.”
He then gave this parchment to Hazrat Ali (ra) and said, “If I pass away before you, then place this inside my grave.”
(Izalat al-Khafa ‘an Khilafat al-Khulafa [Translated], Vol. 3, pp. 276-278, Manaqib Faruq A‘zam, Qadimi Kutub Khana, Karachi)