scholars and writers like Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi considered Umar to be a competent scholar of tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis), hadith and fiqh. By virtue of his scholarly achievements, he became known throughout Madinah as one of the most learned of the Umayyad princes.
After completing his formal education, he moved to Egypt where his father, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, served as governor. As a prominent member of the ruling Umayyad clan, his father was a close confidant of the Caliph and this no doubt enabled Umar to become a member of the Umayyad family’s inner circle. Being an Umayyad prince and a prominent member of the royal family, he had a privileged upbringing, surrounded by much wealth, luxury and material extravagance. Like the other Umayyad princes of the time, he was offered a high-ranking post within the Umayyad administration which enabled him to lead a life of comfort and indulgence. And although all the other Umayyad princes wore expensive clothes, applied the best perfume and walked through the streets of Damascus with their heads held high, young Umar always went out of his way to impress everyone around him. Of fair complexion, refined manners and always immaculately dressed, he was constantly surrounded by servants who were happy to comply with his every whim and desire. Not surprisingly, he came to symbolise the pomp, pride and material extravagance of the ruling Umayyad family. After the death of his father Abd al-Aziz, the reigning Caliph Abd al-Malik offered the hand of his daughter, Fatimah bint Abd al-Malik, to him; Umar not only accepted the marriage proposal, he also thanked the Caliph for his kindness and generosity.
As an intelligent and gifted scholar, he could have occupied one of the Muslim world’s highest seats of learning at the time but, thanks to his strong family connection with the Umayyads, he decided to pursue a political career instead. Appointed governor of the province of Khanasarah by Caliph Abd al-Malik, his father-in-law, Umar took charge of this region and became very popular with the locals for his sense of justice, fairness and equality. After the death of Caliph Abd al-Malik, his son al-Walid ascended the Umayyad throne and he promoted Umar to the governorship of Madinah. Although this was a tremendous honour for him, he made it clear to the new Caliph that he had no desire to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and behave ruthlessly towards the people of Madinah. Al-Walid agreed with him and he set out for Madinah, the city of the Prophet, where he had spent his early years studying under the great scholars of the city. Though only twenty-five years old, he discharged his duties as governor with loyalty, dedication and understanding. Soon after becoming governor, he invited all the leading scholars and citizens of Madinah to dinner and established a consultative (shura) council. Consisting of religious scholars, civil servants and prominent local people, the remit of this council was to discuss and debate important policy issues of the day and offer advice to the governor. Since Umar’s jurisdiction also encompassed Makkah and Taif, his willingness to listen to the people and address their concerns quickly won him the support of the locals, who pledged to co-operate with him fully.
Then, to his dismay, Umar noticed how the masjid al-nabi (the ‘Prophet’s mosque’) had been neglected by his predecessors. The mosque was so small that it overflowed with worshippers; it had not been renovated since Marwan ibn Hakam carried out some repairs during his tenure as governor. He therefore wrote to Caliph al-Walid for his permission to expand the mosque. The last time the mosque had been expanded significantly was during the Caliphate of Uthman, and it required urgent attention. When Caliph al-Walid gave the go-ahead, Umar summoned all the prominent scholars of Madinah (including al-Qasim, Salim and Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman) to seek their advice on the matter. Following the consultation, the old mosque was demolished and a new one was built, thus creating a mosque which could accommodate more worshippers. According to the historians, Caliph al-Walid even wrote to the Byzantine Emperor requesting him to make a contribution towards the cost of building the mosque. The Emperor obliged by sending a large quantity of gold and precious mosaic tiles, along with one hundred craftsmen to assist with the construction. This mammoth project took nearly two years to complete, and Caliph al-Walid came to inspect it during the hajj (pilgrimage) season in 709. The Caliph was so impressed with the new mosque that he publicly praised Umar for his remarkable achievement. When it was pointed out to the Caliph that Umar had also constructed a fountain near the Prophet’s mosque to supply free, fresh water to the worshippers, he acknowledged Umar’s superior qualities and attributes.
Umar remained governor of Madinah for six years before he was removed from his post in 711. The historians have provided conflicting accounts for his removal from the governorship. According to al-Tabari, the Caliph removed him from his post on the advice of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who was an iron-fisted military general, because he considered him to be too lenient towards their adversaries. However, according to Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali ibn al-Jawzi, he was not removed from his post; rather he resigned after discovering that he had punished an innocent man on the orders of the Caliph and as a result the victim had died. When Umar was informed of the man’s death, he apparently jumped up from his seat and exclaimed, ‘From Allah we come and to Him we will return.’ and fainted. This incident stung his conscience and he resigned his post as governor. However, after al-Walid’s death in 715, his brother Sulaiman became the Caliph and the latter, being very fond of Umar on account of his loyalty, principles and honesty, appointed him special advisor and thus he became a key figure within the Umayyad administration again. And although Caliph Sulaiman’s reign lasted barely two years, before his death he had anonymously nominated Umar as his successor and this proved to be one of the best decisions he made during his short reign.
With his accession to the Umayyad throne in 717, Umar became one of the most powerful rulers of his time. If ‘power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ as Lord Acton put it, then Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an exception to this rule. As a strict adherent of the Prophetic sunnah and the way of the al-khulafa al-rashidun (the first four ‘rightly-guided Caliphs’), he refused to let power go to his head; rather his assumption of political responsibilities made him more humble and sagacious. So much so that he insisted on conducting his official inauguration ceremony riding his own horse, flatly refusing to mount the royal ceremonial horses which were prepared for him with great care and attention. The pomp and pageantry, pride and prestige associated with Umayyad power failed to impress Umar. Indeed, he developed a profound dislike of such lavish and extravagant displays of wealth and power. Being once a hugely wealthy and pampered Umayyad prince himself, his accession to power transformed him for good. Thus, despite being one of the most powerful rulers of his time, he preferred to live like a hermit rather than a King. The Prophet and the first four Caliphs of Islam aside, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz is the closest one can get to a saintly King.
According to Umayyad custom, the new Caliph was expected to collect all his predecessor’s belongings and distribute them among their children. Umar deliberately broke this custom by emptying his predecessor’s wardrobe and dispatching all its contents to the public treasury (bait al-mal), notwithstanding fierce opposition from the entire royal family. He then refused to move into the plush Caliphal Palace; instead he erected a tent for himself. As he sat inside the tent agonising about the huge political responsibility which had been placed on his shoulders, a servant appeared in front of him and remarked, ‘You look very worried, Sir.’ He replied, ‘It is a great worry that in the East and the West there is no follower of Prophet Muhammad’s ummah (global community) who does not have a right upon me which it is my duty to fulfil without demand or notice.’ The thought of being responsible for all the citizens of the vast Islamic State concerned Umar so much that he went straight to the local mosque – and following in the footsteps of the first four Caliphs of Islam – announced: ‘O people, the burden of Caliphate has been put on me without obtaining my opinion, without me desiring it, and without consulting the Muslims at large. I remove the collar of allegiance to me that has been put round your necks. You are now free to choose whoever you like as your Caliph.’ The people in the mosque responded, ‘We choose you as our Caliph and agree to your Caliphate.’ After pausing for a moment, Umar then proclaimed, ‘O people, it is incumbent upon you to obey one who obeys God. It is not incumbent upon you to obey one who disobeys God. As long as I obey God, obey me. As soon as I disobey Him, you cease to owe me any obedience.’ With this historic announcement, Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz restored the democratic right of the people to choose and elect their ruler, a precedent originally set by the Prophet himself, within the Islamic polity, almost a century earlier.
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