LAW ENFORCER SHOULD BE LAW ABIDER FIRST

LAW ENFORCER SHOULD BE LAW ABIDER FIRST

The second Caliph of Islam, Omar bin al Khattab (R.A), during one of his disguised night strolls around an interior locality of his capital Madinah, heard a loud singing voice emanating from a distant place. He doubted that the singer could be a drunken person. He turned towards the direction from where he heard the singing and found that it was coming from a house. He then proceeded to that house which had a compound wall with a locked gate. He scaled the wall and went near the front door of the house. He peeped through a hole in the door and saw that it was indeed a drunken man singing loudly. The thought that one of his own subjects had consumed liquor which was prohibited by Islam and singling loudly in the night, made the pious Caliph very furious. He couldn’t control his anger and he shouted at the top of his voice: “Open the door!” The door opened from inside. The man saw the Caliph standing before him trembling with anger. He was terrified at first, but slowly regained his composure. Keeping his cool, he said to the Caliph: O leader of the faithful. It is true that I have sinned. But to question the sin, you had committed three other wrongs.” He continued: “ Your entry to this place without my permission, scaling the wall and peeping through the hole in the door. All these three deeds are prohibited by the holy Quran and you are very well aware of that.” Omar was speechless and became very restless. After a while he said to the man: “Forgive me my brother” and left the place abruptly without uttering another single word.

The sudden outburst of the Caliph was due to his inner anger when he saw a grievous sin was being committed. In the hurriedness of questioning the wrong, Omar was unable to fulfill the requirements as prescribed by Allah. One should not enter other’s house without permission, one should enter through the proper way and one should not violate other’s privacy. The Caliph was not unaware of these simple manners, but in the haste of reacting to a wrong deed, he got carried away.

Islam emphasizes not to punish the wrongdoers, but to train them to practice morality through good counseling and warnings. Punishments are, in the eyes of Islam, to be carried as a last step and only if inevitable, after meeting all the required procedures. In enforcing one law, several other laws should not be violated. Justice and law should be equal to all. The law enforcer should respect the law by himself first. Omar strongly believed that. He used to warn his governors and other officials always that justice couldn’t be served if the law enforcers did not respect the law by themselves.

In the present time, the increasing number of criminals and lawbreakers in the parliament, other legislative bodies and the seats of power, has ceased to be no news. Its consequence is that human rights and social justice are denied. Here becomes the example of rulers like Caliph Omar pertinent and guiding light. What made Omar a responsible and just ruler, is his hard conviction about the day of judgment wherein his deeds will be put to trial and that if he was found guilty, he would have to bear the wrath of the Almighty. And the very absence of such thoughts and fears are the cause for the lawbreaking and denial of justice by the contemporary rulers.