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KISAH-KISAH
ISLAM |
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Umair Bin Saad Ansari Antarah
narrates: Umar
(ra) appointed Saad Umair bin Saad (ra) as the Governor of Hamas. Saad passed
a year at Hamas, sending no despatch (of news) to Umar. Umar said, "By
Allah! I think he (Umair bin Saad) has committed breach of trust, so he "Rush
back to me on receipt of my letter with booty that you have so far
collected" Umair
bin Saad set out at once with a bag containing some provisions, a cup, a
chagal (spouted leather bottle) and a small spear and left for Medina on
foot. As per the narrator, when he arrived at Medina, he was dusty-faced and
long-haired. He appeared before Umar and said,: "Assalama
ulikum O Amiril Mominin (leader of the Muslims)" Umar
said, "How are you?" Umair
bin Saad replied, "How am I looking to you? Dont you see that I am quite
healthy and of pure blood and that I am pulling the wild by its horns?" Umar
asked, "What have you brought with you?" Saad
replied, "I have a skin bag for keeping provisionss; a cup to have a
meal, take bath and wash clothes; a chagal to keep water for drinking and for
performing wudu and a small spear for supporting myself and for facing the
enemy if he attacks. By Allah, the world is under this much capital of
mine" Umar
asked, "Have you come on foot?" Umair
bin Saad replied in the affimitive. Umar
asked, "Was there none to provide you with an animal to ride?" Umair
bin Saad said, "The people neither did so nor I asked anybody to provide
me one for the purpose" Umar
asked, "Are those Muslims where you are coming from.. bad?" Umair
bin Saad replied, "Fear Allah O Umar! Allah has forbidden from back
biting, I have left them saying fajr (morning) solah" Umar
asked, "Why did I send you and what did you do when you got to your
destination?" Umair
bin Saad replied, "What do you mean by this O Amirul Mominin?" Umar
stated, "What a reason to wonder?!" [in sarcasm] Umair
bin Saad replied, "Look here, if I had no fear of your being displeased,
I would not have informed you that I had reached the city to which you had
sent me.There I assembled the virtous people and appointed them custodians of
the booties. When they collected the booties, I invested them in their proper
place. Had there been any share for you I would have bought it". Umar
asked, "Have you bought nothing for me?" Umair
bin Saad replied, "No!" (meaning if there was something to give
then I would have given it) Upon
hearing this, Umar ordered a fresh agreement for Umair bin Saad's governship
(i.e. renewed his governship). After
Umair bin Saad sought permission to go home, the narrator states that there
was a distance of several miles between Medina and his house, when Umair bin
Saad left,Umar said, "I still think he has caused breach of trust"
Hence he sent a person named Harith (ra) after him with a hundred dinar, and
asked him to go to Umair bin Saad and stay with him as a guest. He further
asked that if Harith saw any sign of ease or comfort, that he go back to Umar
and inform him. And if he saw him in a state of monetary trouble to give him
the one hundred dinar. Harith
proceeded as instructed and found Umair bin Saad in a garden picking louse
from his shirt. He appeared before Umair bin Saad and offered his Salam
(greetings). Umair
bin Saad greeted him saying, "May Allah bless you!" and Harith sat
beside him. Umair
bin Saad asked, "Where are you coming from?" Harith
replied, "I am coming from Medina" Umair
bin Saad asked, "How is Amirul Mominin?" Harith
replied, "He is well" Umair
bin Saad asked, "In what state have you left the Muslims?" Harith
replied, "They are all well" Umair
bin Saad asked, "Are penal ordinances applied these days?" Harith
replied, "Yes, penal ordinances are applied and recently, he (i.e. Umar)
has applied it against his own son resulting in death!" Umair
bin Saad exclaimed, "O Allah help Umar! So far as I know he lovs you
much" The
narrator says that Harith stayed with him for three days. The family members
of Umair bin Saad only had a small bread of barley and that too was given to
Harith (their guest), while they themselves remained hungry. This state of
affairs proved very hard for them. Finding no alternative Umair bin Saad said
to Harith, "You
have bought us to the brink of death by consecutive starvations, hence you go
to some other (person) if you choose to do so" The
narrator states that at this point, Harith took out the gold coins and wanted
to give them to Umair bin Saad saying that the Amirul Mominin (i.e. Umar) had
sent them to help him. Hearing
this Umair bin Saad cried, "I do not need them, give them back to
him!" Umair
bin Saad's wife said to her husband, "Keep them with you if you need,
otherwise spend them in virtous deeds" Umair
bin Saad said, "By Allah! I do not need them at all". Hearing
this his wife tore the lower portion of her shirt and gave the cut piece to
Harith. Harith put the dinars in the cut piece. Thereafter Umair bin Saad
came out with the dinars and distributed them all among the offspring of the
martyred men and the paupers. Thereafter,
Umair bin Saad asked Harith to give Salam (greetings) to the Amirul Mominin,
and Harith left. When
Harith returned to Umar, he asked, "How was he?" Harith
replied, "I found him in great hardship O Amirul Mominin" Umar
asked, "What did he do with the gold coins?" To
which Harith replied in the negative. Umar
wrote a letter to Umair bin Saad asking him to see him as soon as he recieved
the letter. Thus
Umair bin Saad left his home and met Umar. Umar
asked him, "What did you do with the gold coins?" Umar
said, "I make you swear to tell me what you did with those gold
coins" Umair
bin Saad replied, "I sent them ahead for the sake of getting
reward" (i.e. distributed them in charity seeking the reward of Allah in
the hereafter) Umar
said, "May Allah bless you!" Saying
this, Umar had ordered that Umair bin Saad be given a Wasaa (12 seer) of food
grains and a pair of garments. Umair
bin Saad said, "I am not in need of grain as I already have 7 seers of
Barley at home. Regarding the garments, I shall accept them as the mother of
so and so is without clothes" Thus
Umair bin Saad left for home, but soon after he died. When
Umar learned of his death, he was disturbed and prayed for his forgiveness. Once
Umar proceeded towards Baqai Gharqad accompanied by some people. He asked the
people to express their desires. One
of them said, "I wish I had enough wealth to set such and such number of
slaves free" Another
said, "I have a desire to have wealth to be spent in the way of
Allah" Another
said, "I wish I had the strength to draw water from the well of Zam Zam
and give it to the pilgrims to quench their thirst" At
last, Umar said, "I
wish I had a person like Umair bin Saad to be utilised for serving the Muslims
at large" [Transmitted by Al Tabari, Said al Haithmi Vol IX, p 384] |
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