Whilst mentioning this, on one occasion, Hazrat Musleh Maud(ra) states:
“During his Khilafat, on one occasion, Hazrat Umar(ra) came to Mecca. All the renowned chiefs of the eminent tribes came to greet him. They thought that since Hazrat Umar(ra) was fully acquainted with their families, and they themselves were the chiefs of their tribes, Hazrat Umar(ra) would extend them respect and honour and through this they would be able to establish some of their tribes’ lost glory. Thus, when they came to meet Hazrat Umar(ra), they began conversing with him. Whilst they were engaged in conversation, Hazrat Bilal(ra) joined this gathering. A short while later Hazrat Khabbab(ra) arrived and thus one by one, all the [former] slaves who accepted Islam in its early years came to the gathering. All of them were previously slaves of the chiefs that sat in the gatherings or they were slaves belonging to their forefathers. When they were in bondage, those chiefs would inflict the most severe cruelties upon them. Each time one of these slaves”, i.e. they were slaves in the previous times, such as Hazrat Bilal(ra) and Hazrat Khabbab(ra), Hazrat Umar(ra) would greet each one of them and welcome them and request if the chiefs could kindly move back. Usually in gatherings the chiefs would be seated at the front. When these early converts to Islam came to the gathering, Hazrat Umar(ra) would request the chiefs of Mecca to move back in order to allow them to be seated in the front. To the extent that the young chiefs that had come to meet Hazrat Umar(ra) kept on moving back, eventually reaching the door.”
In those days there were no large halls, it would have been a small room. As they would not have all fitted inside, hence moving backwards the chiefs ended up sitting near to where the shoes were placed.
“When these chiefs were forced to sit where the shoes were placed and they saw with their own eyes that each one of the [former] slaves were made to sit ahead of them, they felt greatly aggrieved.”
Hazrat Musleh Maud(ra) states:
“God Almighty arranged in a manner whereby coincidentally, all those Muslims who were once slaves of the disbelievers, all came to the gathering one after the other. If these chieftains were made to move back at once, they may not have felt anything, yet since they were made to move back a number of times, they were unable to bear it and left the gathering. Outside they began to complain to one another expressing how they had been humiliated and how they were made to move back every time a slave came to the gathering, eventually being made to sit amongst the shoes. At this, one of the youths said, ‘Who is to blame for this; Umar(ra) or our forefathers? If you take a minute to ponder, you will realise that no blame lies with Hazrat Umar(ra). It is the fault of our forefathers that we are being punished today. This is because when God Almighty appointed the Holy Prophet(sa), our forefathers opposed him, but those slaves accepted him and happily endured every kind of difficulty. Therefore, if today we have had to suffer humiliation it is not due to Hazrat Umar(ra), rather it is our own fault.’ Upon hearing this, the others said, ‘Agreed, this is all due to the actions of our forefathers, however is there a way to remove this blemish or not?’ They all conferred amongst themselves and thought that since they were unable to think of an answer, they ought to ask Hazrat Umar(ra) for a solution to their predicament. Thus, they came to Hazrat Umar(ra) and said, ‘You are fully aware of what happened to us today, as are we.’ Hazrat Umar(ra) replied, ‘Forgive me, for I was obliged to act in this manner, as those people were honoured in the gatherings of the Holy Prophet(sa). They may have been your slaves, but in the gatherings of the Holy Prophet(sa) they were shown honour and respect. Therefore, it was my duty to also show them the same respect.’ They replied, ‘We are aware that this was owing to our own shortcomings, however is there a way whereby we can remove this blemish?’”
Hazrat Musleh Maud(ra) states:
“It is very difficult for us to envisage just how much influence these chiefs wielded over Mecca. However, Hazrat Umar(ra) was fully aware of the situation of their tribes. Hazrat Umar(ra) was born and raised in Mecca. He knew full well the power and influence the forefathers of these young chiefs commanded. Hazrat Umar(ra) knew that no man could even have dared to look them in the eye and he knew the level of authority and command their forefathers had. Hazrat Umar(ra) recalled each one of these incidents and was overcome with intense emotion to the extent that he was unable to speak as a result of it. All he could do was to point towards the north, i.e. towards Syria, which meant that Muslims were engaged in battle in Syria. If they went and fought in these battles, it is possible for them to atone for those mistakes. Thus, those young chiefs stood up and swiftly made their way to this battle.”
Hazrat Musleh Maud(ra) states, “History bears testimony that not a single one of these young chiefs returned from the battle and instead were all martyred during combat. They all attained martyrdom in those lands and in this way, they were able to remove this blemish from their family name which had become a cause of humiliation for them.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 8, pp. 65-67)
Thus, ultimately, one has to offer sacrifices. Those who offered sacrifices in the early days of Islam were granted honour, whereas those who joined later and wanted to remove this blemish, which was a cause of shame for them also had to offer sacrifices.
