Opinion

Hazrat Umer: The Pinnacle of Good Governance - 2
By Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry
Pittsburg , CA

Hazrat Umer introduced some very far-reaching reforms and took many a new step that was much ahead of his time. He created the department of public relations, police and civil intelligence with reporters who would send reports to the Caliph about the performance of his governors. No one could dare misreporting, because the punishment for a liar was known to all. In modern times, in Singapore and Taiwan, a person found guilty on felony charges is fined so heavily by the courts that nobody dares to indulge in character assassination or mud-slinging of anybody.

2. He streamlined the process of passing edicts or Fatwas by designating only the rightly qualified people. He established the department of Uftah for this purpose. In one case, he announced, “Anyone wishing to learn the Qur’an, may consult Abi bin Kaab; anyone wanting to know the laws of the land, may consult Zaid; and anyone interested in learning Fiqh, may go to Muaz”. He would practically test people. Once he tested Hazrat Abu Huraira on a certain matter by asking him his opinion. On listening to his answer he said, “Abu Huraira, had you answered it differently, you would not have been allowed to pass any edict in life”.

3. He introduced the modern concept of seeking the opinion of specialists/experts in matters that were technical. One may remember that this idea was introduced in America by its 26 th President, Teddy Roosevelt in the early 20 th century. Hazrat Umer used it in matters of crops and Hijv, (parody). In one case, somebody wrote a hijv/parody and the affected person sued the poet. Hassan bin Saabit, the great poet of the day, was called to give his expert opinion.

4. He made it compulsory for every citizen to know the law of the land. Ignorance of law, he made it clear, would not be counted as a rationale for being innocent. It is a very modern Western concept. Most Americans may not be able to quote the Constitution, but they do know their rights very well.

5. Equality in a court of law was of paramount importance to him. He made sure that all men and women were equally treated in a court of law. In one case, Hazrat Abi ibn Kaab over a dispute sued the Caliph in the court of Hazrat Zaid bin Saabit. When Hazrat Umer entered the court, the Qazi stood up in respect. Hazrat Umer told him instantly that it was his first violation. When Hazrat Abi ibn Kaab tried to put Hazrat Umer under oath, as was the custom, Hazrat Saad, the Qazi, again intervened by telling the complainant that it was unnecessary as the accused was none else but the Caliph himself. Hazrat Umer got greatly upset.

He suspended the Qazi by saying, “As long as you keep discriminating between a common man and the Caliph, you shall stand disqualified to act as a judge”. In America, people remember the 26 th President, Teddy Roosevelt because he took up the case of common people in all business deals, known as “Square Deals”. In order to make justice available to all the people at the earliest, and all the time, he declared all mosques as venues for courts. He even introduced the concept of free medical treatment for all, a concept that we call today as universal health care system.

6. First time, Hazrat Umer introduced the concept of Prison houses/jails. Before that, the accused often remained subjected to some very harsh and unjust punishments for lack of internment arrangements.

7. First time, Hazrat Umer created the departments of Revenue Collections and Audit, borrowing the concept from Syria and Iran. He divided his domain into 8 provinces and in each province he appointed collectors who would document all receipts and transactions and report the details to the capital. During the Prophet and Hazrat Abu Bakr’s times, all collections were disposed off on daily basis.

8. He created the department of PWD, Nazarate Nafia, to deal with streets, canals, light-system in mosques, sanitation etc.

9. He ordered the construction of guest houses/rest areas on all the main routes, leading to Medina and other main cities, for travelers to rest.

10. He chose for himself the title of, “Amir ul Momineen”, and not of a Caliph as it carried in it a linkage with people.

11. He created the concept of housing the soldiers separate from the civilians. Thus what is called, Ahsars, or cantonments, were created in Iraq, Egypt, Syria. “The Arab soldiers were not to enjoy the fruits of victory…the conquered lands were not to be divided among generals; but left to existing cultivators who paid rent to the Muslim state”, says Karen Armstrong in her book, Islam. It was the most revolutionary act when viewed in the 7 th century culture of the world.

12. On his death bed, he wished that his advice be conveyed to the new Caliph. He willed that the rights of five types of people be safe-guarded: the Muhajirs; the Insaars; the Arabs; the people who had settled in the cities; and most importantly, the Zimmis, non-Muslims, like Christians, Jews and Parsis, etc. “Fulfill the duties as ordained by God and His Prophet, and guard the rights of Ahle Zimmi; do not burden them more than their strength”. He allowed them to bear arms and to conduct their lives as per the laws of their own religion.

Muslims after reaching Medina after Hijra in 622, felt secure and safe for the first time. Now the time had come for them to regularize their Arkan-i-Islam, like Fasting, Zakat, Jumma prayers, Eid prayers, etc. Till then, even five daily prayers were being said in their brief form-two rakats, except the Mughrib prayers. There was no formal way of calling people for prayers. It was Hazrat Umer who suggested to the Prophet to designate a person for making the announcement - Adhan. The Prophet liked the idea.
It was on his suggestion that the phrase, “As-Salaat-o-Khair-un-Noam” in the Fajr Edhan was introduced. In the month of Ramadan, the practice of offering the extra prayers, Taraweeh, was also regularized by him.

He also had the honor to make efforts for the collection and arrangement of the verses of the Qur’an in the order we have them even today.
He expanded Khana-i-Kaaba and Masjid-i-Nabvi; and lighted the two places with lamps.
In the education of Uloom i Fiqh, he appointed highly learned people like Hazrat Abu Darda, Hazrat Abdul Rahman bin Ghanam, Hazrat Abadah bin Saamit, Hazrat Muaz bin Jabal and sent them to far off places like Syria and Egypt to teach the soldiers as well as the people of Fiqh.. He established a fixed stipend for those engaged in the teaching of Fiqh.
He ordered the construction of Jamia Mosques in all the big cities. According to Mohadis Jamal Uddin, Hazrat Umer constructed about four thousand mosques. He paved the floor of Masjid I Nabvi and of the House of God, so that the clothes of people may not get soiled with dirt.

The problem regarding an Islam Calendar arose about the year of Hijra during his times. A financial document was received in the year 21 Hijra, and only the month of Shabaan was mentioned in it. Most people opined that in this matter the Persians could be followed. Luckily, Hurmuzaan who was the king of Khurasan and who had embraced Islam, was present in Medina at the time. He said that in Khurasan, dates were mentioned along with day and month. Hazrat Ali suggested that the year of Hijra be selected as the point of time for determining the year of the date.

So the Arab year was fixed to start with the month of Muharram. The rate of literacy was abysmal in the early days. Only about 17 people in the tribe of Quraish could read and write, but they knew nothing about calculating and counting. Till the year of 14 Hijra, when Muslims conquered Apla, there was not even a single person who could keep an account of the booty. Only a 14-year-old boy, Zaid bin Abi Sufyan, knew the art. His services were hired and a daily allowance of two Dirham was fixed. Hazrat Umer during his years of rule promoted mass literacy, so much so, that by the end of his tenure Muslims knew how to draw, plan and document all their financial transactions.

The concept of maintaining a separate Register/Account was introduced for the payment of salaries to the vast armed forces, and they came to be paid according to their past performance, and character. For each tribe a separate register was established. Experts like Hazrat Aqeel bin Abi Talib; Hazrat Mukhzama bin Naufal; Hazrat Jabar bin Mutaam; Hazrat Mughira bin Shauba and Hazrat Abdullah bin Khalaf were posted at Medina, Basra and Kufa respectively.

In the dispensation of justice, no direness of a situation, nor its consequences, were considered as a valid rationale for tampering with it or for deferring it. The root-cause of all corruption in Pakistan these days is due to corruption in the judiciary, and due to delay in justice under the plea of the existence of some, “special circumstances”, and hence the “/PCO’s & NRO’s”.

In 21 stHijra, a complaint was received against Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqas, the governor of Kufa. We may recall that Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas had been the commander who had performed valiantly in the famous Battle of Qudisiyia, resulting in the defeat of Iran in 637. This complaint was received at a time when a huge Iranian army of about one and a half lac had reached “Nehavend” in the year 642. A contingent of the Muslim army was to be dispatched from Kufa to counter this threat, and this arrangement was to be done by Hazrat Saad. These were the most tense times for Hazrat Umer. He, however, said, ‘Investigations could not be postponed due to the unusual emergency situation.’ The Chief Investigator, Hazrat Mohammad bin Musalama Ansari, was dispatched to Kufa who recorded statements from people in the Mosque.

What was the charge? Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas had added to his official residence a porch, which in Hazrat Umer’s as well as in people’s view, was a kind of obstruction to a complainant’s access to the governor . Hazrat Umer ordered that the porch be set on fire, and his orders were duly implemented. Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas just watched all this happening helplessly.

Hazrat Umer, indeed, was the most energetic and the most brilliant ruler that Islam ever had in its history. Once a bitter opponent of Prophet Muhammad, and Islam, he became its strongest and most loyal supporter after conversion. He had the courage to differ, even with the Prophet (during the pact of Hudaiyyibia; during the Battle of Badr regarding the fate of the prisoners; holding strict views about women etc), but he also had the honor of remaining one of the closest advisors to the Prophet. A corrupt, and chaotic Muslim world terribly needs a ruler like him.

(Material of this article is based on information sifted from Maulana Shibli’s book ‘Al-Farooq’)