Praise of Hazrat Umar (ra) by an Orientalist

Edward Gibbon, a famous orientalist, writes in praise of Hazrat Umar (ra):

“The abstinence and humility of Umar were not inferior to the virtues of Abu Bakr: his food consisted of barley bread or dates; his drink was water; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in 12 places, and a Persian satrap [Governor of a province in the Persian Empire], who paid his homage as to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Muslims. Economy is the source of liberality, and the increases of the revenue enabled Umar (ra) to establish a just and perpetual reward for the past and present services of the faithful. Careless of his own emolument, he assigned to Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet, the first and most ample allowance of 25 thousand dirhams of pieces of silver. Five thousand were allotted to each of the aged warriors, the relics of the field of Badr, and the last and the meanest of the companions of Mohammad was distinguished by the annual reward of three thousand pieces [of silver].”

(The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, Vol. 3, Chapter LI. Page 178, London)