Factors that led to his Martyrdom

Whilst mentioning the Islamic teachings regarding the freeing of slaves, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) has also mentioned the martyrdom of Hazrat Umar (ra) and the factors which lead to it. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“The first injunction is that one ought to free the slaves without seeking anything in return from them and simply do it as an act of kindness. If one is unable to do this, then they should grant them freedom by taking something in recompense. Even if then there is a slave who neither has the means to acquire his freedom, nor does the government to whom he belongs show any interest and his family members also show no concern, then he can give a notice [to his owner] and can acquire his freedom by fulfilling his payment through instalments.” The prisoner who has been taken as a slave can fix his own instalments of payment.

“In such a scenario, apart from the amount for the instalments, the rest of his earnings will belong to him and he will be considered as a free man.” In other words, he will pay his instalments from whatever he earns which has been fixed to acquire his freedom and the rest of his earnings will remain his own and this would be a form of freedom for him.

“Hazrat Umar (ra) was martyred by a similar kind of slave, who had entered into an agreement [to acquire his freedom]. This slave had entered into an agreement with the Muslim man in whose possession he was and asked him to fix a payment in monthly instalments according to his means, which he would gradually fulfil and thus acquire his freedom. Subsequently, he fixed a small sum of money which he began to pay.

“One day, he complained to Hazrat Umar (ra) that his owner had fixed a very large amount of payment and asked for it to be reduced. Hazrat Umar (ra) assessed his income and found that his actual income was far higher than the amount of income on which the instalments were based. Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stated that based on his actual income, this instalment was very little and could not be reduced.

“This slave was extremely angered at this decision and felt that since he belonged to Iran therefore the decision was issued against him and the decision had been made in favour of his owner who was an Arab. And so, out of anger, he attacked Hazrat Umar (ra) the very next day with a dagger causing such injuries which lead to his martyrdom.”

(Islam ka Iqtisadi Nizam, Anwar al-Ulum, Vol. 18, pp. 28-29)

Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) further states:

“There are two things which lead one astray from the right path; either it is extreme malice or extreme love. At times, one harbours extreme malice over a very minor issue. Look at the time of Hazrat Umar (ra) in that such a small incident led to such a degree of malice that it ultimately caused great harm to Islam and I feel that the repercussions of this incident are still felt to this day.

“Once, a case was brought before Hazrat Umar (ra) whereby someone’s slave was earning far more than what he was paying to his owner [to acquire his freedom]. Hazrat Umar (ra) called this slave and said to him that he should pay his owner more. At that time, there were very few people who possessed a specialised skill, hence the blacksmiths and carpenters were greatly valued. This slave would build flour mills to grind wheat and would earn a good amount. Hazrat Umar (ra) fixed 3.5 annas [a unit of currency formerly used in the Indian subcontinent] which he had to pay his owner. This is a very small amount; however, he felt that Hazrat Umar (ra) had made a wrong decision and began to harbour malice in his heart against Hazrat Umar (ra).

“Once, Hazrat Umar (ra) asked him to make a millstone for him as well and upon this, he replied, ‘I will build a millstone which will function very effectively.’ Hearing this response, someone said to Hazrat Umar (ra) that he was threatening him.” This seems to be similar to the incident that was narrated earlier or the same one, but nevertheless it is referring to the same slave.

“Hazrat Umar (ra) stated that his words did not reflect [that he was issuing a threat].” In the earlier narration, Hazrat Umar (ra) himself stated that he had made a threat. “The companion stated that his tone was such that he was making a threat. Following this, one day Hazrat Umar (ra) was offering his prayers that this slave attacked him with a dagger and martyred him.”

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

“That Umar (ra), who was the king of millions and ruler of a vast empire and among the best guides of the Muslims, was killed for a mere 3.5 annas. The fact of the matter is that whoever harbours enmity and rancour will not worry whether it is 3.5 annas or two annas. They only wish to quench their thirst [for retribution]. Their disposition becomes aligned in a way that they fuel their hatred. In such a condition they do not see how their actions will affect themselves nor others. When Hazrat Umar’s (ra) killer was asked why he committed such a heinous act, he replied that a verdict was passed against him and so he took revenge.”

This particular detail has not been mentioned previously. Perhaps they had a short moment whilst they were capturing him wherein he stated why he had killed Hazrat Umar (ra) and after this he killed himself.

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

“Having mentioned this painful incident, I have stated before that this incident has had an effect on Islam even until today. Although death is always attached to man, one usually does not expect death to overcome them when one is strong and healthy. When one becomes weaker and their health declines, people [around them] naturally become alert and begin to plan about the future. They do not speak about this matter between themselves, but a driving force is created that stimulates people to prepare for the future. For this reason, when a leader passes away, the people are vigilant and prepared.

“Since Hazrat Umar (ra) was strong and healthy, despite being 63 years old, the companions could not fathom that Hazrat Umar (ra) was soon to depart from among them. For this reason, they were completely unaware of how to prepare for the future when all of a sudden, the trial of Hazrat Umar’s (ra) demise befell them.

“At that time, the community was not prepared to accept a new leader. Owing to this lack of preparation, the people did not develop that relationship with Hazrat Uthman (ra) as they should have. For this reason, Islam was in a fragile state and by Hazrat Ali’sra time, this condition became ever more precarious.”

(Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 11, pp. 240-141)

According to Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra), this could also have been a reason for the dissension and discord which arose later on.