Evidences of Equality in Islamic History
First Evidence:
Abu Zarr of the
Ghifar tribe somehow got angry with the freed slave of Abu Bakr,
Bilal of Abyssinia. Both of them were the companions of the
Prophet. The altercation became prolonged and Abu Zarr in his fury
called Bilal the son of a black skinned mother. Bilal complained to
the Prophet, who addressed Abu Zarr saying, "" Abu Zarr failed to understand the word
Jahiliyah and took it to signify some sort of sexual immorality,
and meekly questioned in surprise, "At this ripe age, O Prophet of
God?" The Prophet said in reply, "". Abu Zarr who had by now understood the significance
of the Prophet's remark, was ashamed and repentant and out of
extreme repentance and humility requested Bilal to trample his face
with his feet.
Second Evidence:
It happened once during the period of the Prophet that a woman of
the Bani Makhzoom tribe, Fatimah, was found guilty of theft. She
was brought to the Prophet so that she might receive her due
according to the Shari'ah (Islamic Law). The Quraish tribe very
much resented it since it involved their tribal prestige and
dignity. So they thought of intercession by somebody for the
remission of her punishment. It was therefore decided after
deliberation to send Usamah bin Zaid for such intercession since he
was very much in favour with the Prophet. So he was approached,
prompted to intercede and he talked to the Prophet on this issue.
The Prophet was very angry and said to Usamah, "" Then he had the people called and
harangued to a big gathering of the believers in a touching manner,
saying, ""
Third Evidence
Qais bin-e-Mutatiah, a hypocrite, once came to a gathering where
Salman Farsi, Suhaib Rumi, and Bilal Habashi were also present. He
remarked tauntingly, "Aus and Khazraj have rendered some service to
this person (the Prophet, Muhammad Sal'am), but I fail to
understand what have these people (Bilal, Suhaib and Salman) done
(to deserve this honour). Mo'az bin-e-Jabal was there in that
gathering, and catching hold of him by the scruff of his neck, he
dragged him to where the Prophet was seated and told him what he
(Qais) had uttered. The face of the Prophet became ruddy with
anger, and dragging his sheet after him, he proceeded towards the
mosque. The usual summons for the gather-ing of the believers in
the mosque were given and the Prophet harangued to them saying, "O
ye people! Always remember that your Lord and Cherisher is one and
your supreme ancestor is one, and your faith is also one and the
same ".
Fourth Evidence
Adi bin-e-Hatim came to Madinah before embracing Islam and found
the companions sitting around the Prophet. They had just returned
from some battles and some of them still had the armours and
helmets on. 'Adi witnessing the awe of the Prophet and their
reverence for him was himself inspired with awe. Meanwhile a humble
woman of Madinah came to the Prophet and requested to see him in
private. The Prophet readily agreed to talk to her in any street of
Madinah named by her. Then he got up and at some distance from the
gathering talked to her for a sufficiently long time, and having
finished with her came back to the gathering. When 'Adi witnessed
this state of affairs, he was very much touched by this
inconceivable concept of philanthropy and embraced Islam.
Fifth Evidence
When after twenty-one years of hard struggle, the Prophet conquered
Makkah and those who had falsified him, had driven him out of his
home and had been waging a war with him, were brought before him
vanquished, even then he called them to the same thing and kept in
view those principles which he had preached bare footed in the
vales of Makkah or had enforced in Madinah as a ruler when he was
laying the founda-tions of a new civilization in the Islamic
history. That day he proclaimed those principles which he had been
preaching while he had not yet gained his final victory. Standing
at the gate of the Ka'bah he said, "". The Quraish who held an exalted
position in the Arabian Society, and had a high opinion of
themselves, listened to him in silence with bowed heads. On this
occasion he recited the following Quranic verse which he had been
reciting off and on: {O Mankind! We
created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made
you into na-tions and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that
ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the
sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you}
Sixth Evidence
When it came to the period of the caliphate of Abu Bakr, he came
forward as a ruler whose heart was full of sympathy for mankind.
Notwithstanding his position as the head of the Muslim state he
came to the girls of the locality whose farthers had become martyrs
in reli-gious wars. He milked their goats for them and assured them
that his new responsibilities would not stand bet-ween him and his
routine of benevolent acts such as that.
Seventh Evidence
'Umar comes as a glorious caliph. He is sympathetic to the weak, is
firm in his stand by the truth, and all are equal in his sight. He
goes without food to feed others, and keeps himself deprived to
give to others. He goes from door to door asking people about their
conditions of living, and is well known for his activities in this
behalf. For example, once he saw an old man. begging in the
market-place. He questioned to ask him about his identity. He said
that he was infirm and old (unable to work for his sustenance) and
was therefore begging to pay Jizyah and keep something for his
daily bread. He was from the Jews living in Madinah. 'Umar said to
him, "Old man! We have not done justice to you. In your youth we
realized Jizyah from you and have left you to fend for yourself in
your old age". Holding him by the hand, he led him to his own
house, and preparing food with his own hands fed him and issued
orders to the treasurer of the Bait-al-mal that that old man and
all others like him, should be regularly doled out a daily
allowance which should suffice for them and their dependents.
Eighth Evidence
'Umar was going through a lane in Madinah, when he saw a very lean
and thin young girl moving along shakily. He said, "In what a sad
plight this child is? Does anyone of you (his companions) know who
she is?" Abdullah bin-e-'Umar being closest to him said, "O Amir of
the believers! you do not recognize her." 'Umar said, "No, I do
not." He told him that she was his own daughter. 'Umar again asked
him, "Which of my daughters is she ?" Abdullah biri-e-'Uniar said
in reply, "She is such and such of my daughters (meaning that she
was his Umar's own grand-daughter)". 'Umar asked him, "Why then is
she in this pitiable condition !" Abdullah said in reply to his
father, "Whatever is in your charge, you give us nothing from it.
This indigence of mine has brought her this sorry state". 'Umar
said in reply to his complaint, "By God! I have nothing for you
more than I can give out to the believers in general, whether it
meets your needs or not. The Book of God stands to decide just
between us."
Ninth Evidence
Once a caravan came to Madinah. It had women and children too with
it. 'Umar said to Abdul Rahman bin-e-Auf, "Can you stand guard on
them to-night?" So 'Umar, the second caliph, and he, kept awake
that night together and kept vigil over the cara-van. During that
nightly vigil they both offered Tahajjud (late night and early
dawn) prayer also. 'Umar on hearing a baby's cry and approaching,
said to the mother, "Fear God and do look after your child
care-fully." Saying this he came back to his own position. Once
again he heard it crying, and going over to her mother once again
gave her the same advice. When during the last part of the night
the child cried once again, 'Umar came to its mother and said, "Woe
to thee! Thou appears not to be a good mother. How is it that thy
child could not sleep peacefully during the night." The woman
little suspecting that she was speaking to the Amir of the
believers, said in reply, "God bless you man, you have pestered me
several times during the night. I want to wean it forcefully
(before time), but the child is intractable." 'Umar asked her, "And
pray, why wean it forcefully?" She said in reply, "Because 'Umar
grants allowance only for such children that have been weaned."
Umar asked her, "How old is your child?" And she told him it was
only a few months old. And 'Umar asked the woman not to be hasty in
weaning her child. And then he led the morning prayer in such a
state that his weeping made the recital of the Quran inaudible and
unintelligible. At the end of the prayer he said, "Umar is ruined.
He killed the children of the believers!" And at this, he ordered
the crier to proclaim in the town of Madinah that the mothers
should not wean their children only for the sake of the allowance
for the children. From now on, every child, suckling or weaned,
shall receive a stipend. And it was also proclaimed throughout the
length and breadth of the Islamic state.
Unparalleled in the entire History of Mankind, By God! the entire
history of mankind is unable to produce such a brilliant and
glorious incident. None among the civilizations of the world can
present any personage like 'Umar. He kept awake the whole night,
keeping guard over the caravan and the caravan slept in peace. And
we should keep in mind that he was the head of the Islamic state,
and wielded great authority and power that had overrun the then
super powers of Rome and Iran. And in spite of all that he did what
a petty guard detailed to patrol the vicinity of a caravan in its
sojourn would not do. He drew the attention of the crying child's
mother to her babe and asked her to quieten her. Is there any one
who can mete out that treatment to the children in a passing
Caravan, like 'Umar? Who is there among the greatest personages of
the history of mankind who can even touch the great human
Consciousness of 'Umar?
Tenth Evidence
And this is not all. Our civilization has still more glorious
incidents to present. 'Umar's servant Aslam relates that he came
out with 'Umar one night, and went far out into the open area
outside Madinah. We were out on a fact finding mission to distant
hamlets on the outskirt of Madinah. From a distance we observed
fire aglow far off. 'Umar said, "I believe the darkness of the
night and the cold have compelled some horsemen to sojourn here.
Let us go and see." We proceeded at a brisk pace and reached that
spot. We saw a woman Sitting there with some children around her, a
pot boiling on fire, and the children crying. 'Umar greeted her and
asked the woman about her condition and also what was going on
there. The woman told him that the darkness and cold had forced her
to stay there for the night. 'Umar asked her, "Why are these
children crying?" And the woman said in reply, "They are hungry".
Then 'Umar asked her, "What is there in that pot on fire?" The
woman said, "Only water to console the children so that they may
remain quiet and go to sleep. And God alone shall judge between us
and 'Umar". What the woman wanted to convey was that 'Umar was not
fair and just to them. 'Umar said to her, "My good woman I What
does 'Umar know about your state of affairs?" To which she
retaliated, "Why then should he hold the high office of the Caliph
when he is unaware of our condition?" Aslam relates that 'Umar said
to him, "Let us go now". And we started from there with all haste,
Aslam goes on to say, "and reached the godown of provisions (of the
Bait-al-mal) and 'Umar took a bag of flour and container of fat and
asked me to load the bag on his back. I offered my services but he
angrily brushed aside my offer saying 'Can you relieve me of my
burden on the Day of reckoning also?' So I loaded the bag on his
back, and then we hastened to-wards our destination at a fast
enough pace and soon he placed the bag and taking out some flour
from the bag gave it to the woman and asked her to knead it while
he himself offered to fan the fire to a flame. So he started
blowing the fire below the pot. His beard was thick and I saw smoke
percolating through his beard. He went on blowing at it until the
food was ready, and he asked the woman to bring some vessel. And
when she brought a platter, he poured out the contents of the pot
into it and asked the woman to feed the children while he himself
fanned to cool it. We sat there until all of them had eaten to
their fill. What was left of the flour and fat was handed over to
her and then 'Umar got up and I followed suit. The woman said, 'God
bless you. You are more deserving of that high office than the Amir
of the believers.' 'Umar said to her, 'Say only a good word. When
tomorrow you come to see Amir of the believers, you will find me
there, God-willing.' After that 'Umar went to some distance and
retraced his steps and hid himself close to their place of stay. I
said to him that that was not proper on his part to observe them
from the place of his concealment. But he kept quiet. We saw that
the children were playing merrily and then they went to sleep.
'Umar thanked God and got up and turning to me said, 'Aslam I
Hunger was growing at their stomachs and they were miserable and
could not go to sleep. I would not haye been at ease until I had
seen them happy and comfort-able. So I looked at them from my
position of vantage. You have also seen that they have gone to
sleep per-fectly at ease."
Eleventh Evidence
One of the unique incidents relating to sympathy and equality in
the history of mankind is that 'Umar came by one night. It was
usual with him to go out during the nights to see with his own eyes
the conditions under which people were living. One night he found
himself in one of the many valleys of Madinah. All of a sudden he
heard somebody crying in a nearby tent, at whose door was standing
a man. 'Umar greeted him in the proper manner and asked him who he
was. He said in reply that he was a beduin who had come to Madinah
to ask the Amir of the believers for help. Then 'Umar asked him
about the crying and wailing inside the tent, which question the
beduin tried to evade, saying that since it did not concern him, he
should not interest himself in it and go his way. Little he knew
that he was talking to the Amir of the believers. However, on the
insistence of 'Umar he told him that his wife was in labour pain
and has no one to help her with the delivery. 'Umar came back home
and asked his wife, Umme-Kulsum bint-e-Ali, whether she was
interested in the reward from God which He might have brought her
way. And on her asking what was that, he told her in some detail,
and asked her to take with her the requisites of a new born and the
delivered mother and also some provisions for food. He took all
those things from her and started, Umme-Kulsum following him. Soon
they came to the Bedouin's tent and 'Umar sending his wife inside,
himself sat with the husband, and lighting a fire started cooking
food with the provisions he had brought with him. The Bedouin was
even now unaware that he was sitting beside a great man of the
world. Meanwhile the woman in the tent was delivered of a babe and
Umme-Kulsum called him from inside the tent, addressing him as
Amir-al Muminin, and asked him to congratulate his friend on the
birth of his child. The Bedouin on hearing her words became
conscious of the fact that he had been with the head of the Islamic
state all this time and had been rude to him, and was awe-struck
and began receding from 'Umar. But 'Umar reassured him and asked
him to keep sitting where he was, unceremoniously. And when he
asked Umme-Kulsum to offer the mother the food that he had cooked.
And when she had eaten, he offered food to her husband, saying
"Partake of it, you have kept up the whole night and have been
inconvenienced. Come to me tomorrow and I shall see to it that your
needs are pro-vided." When he came to him ('Umar) the next morning
he granted an allowance for his new born babe and he too was
liberally helped.
- Let the World present one Parallel
So far as my
information is concerned, I can say with certainty that there is
not a single incident as glorious, outstanding and based on the
sentiments of fraternity as the one cited above, anywhere in the
lives of the greatest men in the history of mankind. There is an
incident connected with George Washington the saviour of Ame-rica
that he was once going along the road when he saw that some
soldiers were trying to lift a stone but were unable to do so.
Their supervisor was standing close by but not lending a helping
hand. George asked him to come to their help, but he refused saying
that it was below his dignity. Washington kept his sheet on one
side of the road and helped them lift the boulder, and said to them
when departing that whenever they needed help in a difficulty of
that type they could enlist his help at such and such
address.
Certainly this is a unique incident and is an example of a high
standard of morality. But it stands no corn-parison with the
incident of 'Umar cited above. 'Umar sacrificing his sleep and
comfort of the night came out to find out the condition of the
people, when he found a woman passing through the pangs of labour,
having no one to help her, he came home, took his wife with him and
loaded with provisions himself and the wife with the needs of the
mother and the new born infant, to go to the tent of a Bedouin far
from the town in the darkness Ii of the night. The wife, who, in
our present day termi-nology, was the queen, plays the role of a
maid-servant, a mid-wife, and he himself takes upon the role of the
cook. Is there a single example of this height of man's psyche? The
height which was never attained by any ruler of a state on this
globe. This is one of those brilliant incidents that go to make
'Umar so great, and also one of the dazzling aspects of our
civilization that it moulded a simple beduin Arab like 'Umar into a
personage that even today occupies the highest stand among the
great men in the history of mankind, just as our civilization
stands out among the civilization of the world, topping the
list.
- Not One but a Multitude Rank after Rank
Here we must also mention that 'Umar is not an isolated example presented as a perfect and affectionate person by our civilization. The lives of Abu Bakr, Uthman and 'Ali (God be pleased with them all) were also moulded in the mould of perfect humanity, brimming over with mercy and affection. Also the lives of 'Umar bin-e-Abd-al-Aziz, Salahuddin Ayyubi and many other big personages, the 'ulama' the legists, philosophers and leaders also present countless immortal examples, which is a brilliant evi' dence in favoUr of our glorious civilization from every aspect.
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