Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
The legendary caliphate of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz is just as well known as those of the four righteous sahaabaa. In his short rule but memorable rule, his well known and unrivalled accomplishments included returning properties illegally usurped by the Umayyads, abolishing the jizya for new Muslims, appointing a council of scholars to discuss state issues rather than ruling on his whims and desires and lots more. 1 He was a man who would extinguish the state lamp when discussing personal issues, content with a pay far lesser than his subordinates, honest, pious and practicing zuhd in its true sense. He was undeniably worthy of titles like The righteous caliph, Mujaddid, etc conferred on him by scholars. Let us take a brief look at some of his lesser known but nevertheless important contributions.
Compilation of Hadith
Just as Caliph Umar (ra) initiated the compilation of the Quran into a copy, his great grandson Umar II was the first to officially begin the compilation and verification of hadeeth. As Islam spread and those who had memorized hadith died or were martyred, alongwith the increase in fabrication of hadith, the fear of losing the second major source of revelation prompted him to begin this task. Imam Bukhari narrates that he wrote to the governors of the various Islamic territories saying: Search for the hadith of the Messenger and assemble them.2 Among the first ones entrusted with this task were Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm and Ibn Shihab al Zuhri.
1 2
Census
A remarkable modern type of survey was launched by Caliph Umar during his rule. He ordered a census to be undertaken in Spain. This was based on the nationality, race and religion of the people living there. Not only that, he also had a geographical survey of the entire territory done, including the many cities, rivers, seas, mountains, the agricultural produce, the types of soil and the mineral resources present in them.4
"Omar Bin Abdul Aziz , p. 5 Jamil, p. 62 5 Ibid 6 Ahmed 7 Umar Ibn Abdul-Aziz 8 Umar ibn Khattab (ra) and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz 9 Ismail, p. 6
3 4
He abolished various other taxes like marriage tax, stamp tax, home tax, taxes for travelers, taxes on camel milk and others.10
Prison reforms
Umar paid special attention to reforming prisons, unlike most caliphs. Orders were given for regular weekly inspections and the wardens were warned against mistreating prisoners. No prisoners were to be handcuffed as this prevented them from praying salah properly.11 All prisoners were given monthly stipends and clothing to suit the seasons. He also instructed they be given Islamic education and this led to their reform.12 These indicate both his sincere concern for the people and obedience to the laws of Allah.
Public works
Welfare works witnessed much needed growth and expansion in his short reign. During his tenure as the governor of Madinah, he oversaw the expansion of Masjid al Nabawi and its repair. He also beautified the city by constructing public structures, new aqueducts and improved the suburban roads.13 After assuming the caliphate, thousands of wells and canals were dug throughout the Islamic empire. Charitable clinics were begun, roads were laid and inns were constructed along these roads. The government would even provide expenses for poor travelers. Teaching was encouraged by teachers being given regular stipends.14
In an effort to reconcile with the Khawaarij and invite them into the mainstream, he invited two Khaawaarij leaders to an open and honest discussion on Uthman and Ali (ra). He even agreed to join them if he was convinced of their debate. After debating, one accepted the correctness of Umars view and joined the mainstream while the other left. Umar did not punish him.15 He is probably the only caliph whom the Khawaarij could not oppose due to his kindness and justice.
Mihrab
Caliph Umar is also credited to be the first one to have introduced the holed mihrab where the Imam stands to lead the salah. The scholars of his time were in consensus as it agreed with the rules of Shariah.16
15 16
Dawah
As a consequence of his justice to other religions, entire towns embraced Islam just by hearing of his fairness. The incident on Samarqand mentioned earlier is an example. Similarly, when such acts were witnessed by other nations like the Berbers in North Africa and the nobles of Sindh, they too gladly professed Islam. Even Orientalists today acknowledge the truth that Umar did not popularize Islam by the sword.20
Others
He focused on the quality of the Islamic empire, while his predecessors had focused on the quantity by conquests. Besides various moral reforms, he tried to inculcate in the masses piety, honesty and simplicity. Some others worth mentioning are his strict prohibition on drinking alcohol and lewd public behavior. 21 This was in stark contrast to some Umayyad caliphs who indulged in public drinking. He also abolished mixed washrooms for males and females.22
His contributions are extolled both by Muslims and non-muslims as well. The Romans were the enemies of Islam since its advent, yet on Caliph Umars death the Roman emperor testified to his glorious rule saying, "A virtuous person has passed away I am hardly surprised to see an ascetic who renounced the world and give himself to the prayers of Allah. But I am certainly surprised at a person who had all the pleasures of the world at his feet and yet he shut his eyes against them and lived a life of piety and renunciation."23
20 21
Bibliography
Aayed, Saleh Al, Dr. The Rights of Non-Muslims in Islam (part 1 of 13): An Islamic Basis.The Rights of Non-Muslims in Islam (All Parts). IslamReligion.com, 3 July 2006. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/374/viewall/>. Ahmed, Nazeer, Dr. "Omar Bin Abdul Aziz." Web log post. History of Islam. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://historyofislam.com/contents/the-age-of-faith/omar-bin-abdulaziz/>. Babelli, Ibrahim, ed. Know Thy Prophet. Riyadh: Al Jumuah Magazine, n.d. AlJumuah.com. Al Jumuah Magazine, 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/single/en_know_prophet.pdf>. Islam, Arshad. "The Contribution of Muslims to Science during the Middle Abbasid Period (750945) | Islam | Revelation and Science." Revelation and Science 1.1 (2011): n. pag. The Contribution of Muslims to Science during the Middle Abbasid Period (750-945) | Islam | Revelation and Science. 18 May 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://iium.edu.my/revival/index.php/revival/article/view/18/9>. Ibn Kathir, Ismail Ibn Omar,. The Caliphate of Banu Umayyah: The First Phase : Taken from AlBidayah Wan-nihayah. Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2012. Print. Ismail, Nor Asmat. "In Search of Debt Free Development: A Theoretical Study."International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 3.13 (2013): n. pag.Darulfatwa.org.au. July 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_3_No_13_July_2013/21.pdf>. Jamil, Ahmad Khwaja. Hundred Great Muslims. Des Plaines, IL: Library of Islam, 1987. Print. "Omar Bin Abdul Aziz ." EbookBrowsee.net. Islam House, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://ebookbrowsee.net/en-omar-bin-abdul-aziz-doc-d497257813>. Stacey, Aisha. "Omar Bin Abdul Aziz (part 1 of 2): Islamic Principles transform an Empire."The Religion of Islam. IslamReligion.com, 30 July 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/5188/viewall/>. "Umar Ibn Abdul-Aziz." Darulfatwa.org.au. Darul Fatwa, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.darulfatwa.org.au/en/Islamic-Books/umar-ibn-abdul-aziz>.