WHEN THE SCRIPT GOES TO THE HEART
WHEN THE SCRIPT GOES TO THE HEART
By: A. Sayeed
On every matter (Caliph) Omar had his own views. And he used to make it known as well. It was usual that his views and opinions were either accepted or rejected during group consultations. The Prophet (pbuh) valued Omar’s opinions. However, on several occasions, he used to reject them.
Abu Backer also did the same. During consultations, he used to consider Omar’s views as second to none, but at the same time, his opinions were often rejected or corrected. When Omar took the reins of leadership after Abu Backer, one thing Omar feared most could have been this: who is there to correct me henceforth? When living under someone’s leadership, I can think freely and maintain my own views. Necessary corrections will be made by those concerned. Now I have to take the decisions by myself. And if I go wrong, I only will have to bear the responsibility.“If you see me committing mistakes, what will you do?” Omar used to ask the people. There were persons among them who had the guts to warn him that they would correct him with sword. This gave him a sea of comfort.
One day, Omar was in a nice gathering which was attended by several disciples of the holy Prophet (pbuh) including Thalha bin Ubaidullah, Slaman al Farsi, Zubair bin Awwam and Ka’ab bin Maalek. Omar said briefly: “I am asking you a question. You should tell me the truth. Or else, both of us will be losers.” Everyone was very anxious to know what he was going to ask.“Am I a caliph or a king?”
That congregation should assess his rule. That was Omar’s intention.Am I representing the faith established by the Prophet of Allah and his people? Or am I implementing my own whims? Omar was subjecting himself to the people’s court.
Many of them present did not understand the question as they were all born and brought up in a free society. They were strangers to monarchies. Thalha said: “You are asking us matters unknown to us. We never knew how to differentiate between a caliph and a king.”Zubair also said the same. However, Salman al Farsi got the wind of the matter. He was familiar with emperors, kings and clerics.
“I swear by my life, you are not a king. You are none other than a caliph,” he said with full conviction. But Omar was not yet ready to give in. He said: “I respect your words. You had lived with the Prophet. Even so, what is the basis of your statement?”Salman elaborated.
“You enforce justice among the people, maintain equality in distribution, show mercy to the citizens and pass judgments according to divine laws.”Ka’ab supported Salman’s remarks adding: “I had a feeling that only I knew the difference between a caliph and a king, because I had seen some references in the divine book. But Allah had filled the heart of Salman with wisdom and knowledge. He has already expressed a better and clearer opinion than that of mine. One thing is sure. You are not a king. You are no doubt a caliph.”
“What have you read in the holy book?” queried Omar. “Did you find my name in that?”Ka’ab replied: “Your name is not in it. But it says about the people of Mohamed like this – First a prophet, then a caliph equal to him and generous. Again a caliph equal to the prophet and generous. Then there will surface ruthless kings.”
When the open mind of Omar, Salman’s wisdom and the knowledge of Ka’ab, all the three came together, Omar’s mind felt that it was ridden of a heavy burden.
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