Modesty of Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) & his Dispassion for Material Gains
During Hazrat Umar’s (ra) stay in Jerusalem, the officers of the Muslim army would invite him for meals. They would prepare the meals and would then request Hazrat Umar (ra) to come to their tent. Hazrat Umar (ra) would honour them by graciously accepting their request. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra), however, did not invite Hazrat Umar (ra) for a meal and Hazrat Umar (ra) stated to him, “Among the officers of the army, everyone except you has invited me for a meal.” Upon this, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) submitted, “O Leader of the Faithful! I fear that if I were to invite you, you will not be able to possess control over your eyes.” In other words, he would be overcome with emotion.
Hazrat Umar (ra) afterwards went to his tent and saw that it was completely empty except for the saddle of his horse, which he used as a sleeping mat and he would use the soft layer that sits above the saddle as his pillow. The soft layer of the saddle would be used as a pillow and the saddle itself would be used as a sleeping mat. There was a piece of dried bread in one corner of the tent. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) took the bread and placed it on the ground in front of Hazrat Umar (ra). He then bought a clay pot which contained some water. Upon observing this, Hazrat Umar (ra) began to cry and then tightly embraced Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) and stated, “You are my brother. Among my companions there is no one who has not partaken anything of this world, nor has the world partaken anything from him, except you.” To this, Abu Ubaidah (ra) submitted, “Did I not tell you before that you would not be able to control your eyes?”
Thereafter, Hazrat Umar (ra) came out and stood amongst the people and after offering praise to Allah the Almighty which He is worthy of and invoking salutations upon the Holy Prophet (sa), he stated:
“O followers of Islam! Verily, Allah has fulfilled His promise He made with you and He granted you support against the enemy. He has granted you these lands and has firmly established you in them. Thus, you ought to express gratitude to your Lord for these bounties. You should abstain from all those deeds which go against the commandments of God for this is ingratitude to God. There are many a people who were bestowed the bounties of God and in turn they became ungrateful, and failing to repent, their honour was taken away from them.”
In other words, if one fails to repent after having become ungrateful, then their honour is taken away from them. Their rewards are taken away from them and the enemy overcomes them. Since many of the army chiefs and officers had assembled in Ilya, therefore Hazrat Umar (ra) remained there for a few days and issued important instructions.