During his reign as the second Caliph, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), used to patrol the streets of Madinah at night.
One night, Umar and his friend, Aslam, came upon a woman setting with her kids around a fire; they were travelers and the kids were crying.
After greeting, Caliph Umar asked permission to approach.
He asked: “Why are your kids crying?”
The lady answered: “My kids are crying because they’re hungry.”
She told him that she put some water in the pot and kept stirring it to make her kids think that she was preparing food. She hoped that they would sleep while waiting for the food to get ready.
Unaware that she was actually talking to the ruler, Caliph Umar, she said: “I am complaining to Allah about Umar’s [not taking care of us]”
How did Umar respond to this strong, surprising statement?
” on the authority of Abdullah, the son of Al-‘Abbās, (who heard it) from his father (‘Abbās) that he said: ” When ‘Umar heard these words, he trembled, and said to her, ‘O aunt! in what way has the son of Al-Khattāb oppressed thee?’ She replied, ‘Yes, by God! he has wronged us. Surely a king should inquire into the condition of every one of his subjects; and then, perhaps, he would find among them one who like myself, is in straitened circumstances, having many children and no helper or assistant. It is his duty to supply the poor man’s wants, and grant him from the Public Treasury something on which to feed his household, and his children. Then ‘Umar said to her, ‘How can ‘Umar know of thy circumstances, thy poverty, and thy having so many children? It was thy duty to go and inform him of thy condition.’ She replied, ‘No, by God! surely it is the duty of a good king to inquire into the wants of his subjects one and all. A person in dire poverty may perhaps have been overcome by a sense of shame, and thus prevented from going to the king to inform him of his condition. It is, therefore, rather the duty of ‘Umar to inquire into the condition of the poor amongst his subjects, than that the poor man should go to the king to inform him of his condition. Neglect to do this constitutes an act of oppression on the part of a good king. It is the law of God, and whoever transgresses it is surely doing wrong.’ Thereupon ‘Umar said to her, ‘O aunt! thou speakest the truth; but keep the children occupied, and I will return to thee immediately. He then went out, and I with him. The last watch of the night remained. We walked on, and the dogs barked at us, but I drove them away, defending him and myself, until we reached the storehouse which he himself opened and entered. He commanded me, and I entered with him; and, after looking right and left, he went up to a bag of flour containing over a hundred pounds. ‘Umar then said to me, ‘O ‘Abbās! lift it on to my shoulder’ and I did so. He then pointed at a jar that was there and said to me, ‘Carry that jar of ghee,’ and I lifted it up, and we both went out. He locked the door, and we went on our way, flour falling on his beard, his eyes, and his forehead. We walked on until we reached half our way, when the load wearied him, because the place was at a great distance off. 37So I offered my services saying, ‘May my father and mother be thy ransom, O Prince of the Faithful! transfer the bag from your shoulder, and let me carry it.’ ‘Umar answered, ‘No, by God! thou wilt not bear my sins and burdens for me on the day of judgment. Know, O ‘Abbās! that verily the burden and the carrying of mountains of iron is better than to have to account for an unjust act, be it great or small, especially as has been done to this old woman who has been diverting her children with small pebbles. He then went on, quickening his pace, and I accompanied him. He was panting like an ox from fatigue, until we reached the old woman’s tent. He then put down the bag of flour from his shoulder and I laid the jar of ghee before him. Then he himself went forward, and, taking the cooking-pot, poured out its contents, and, putting some of the ghee into it, added some flour. Just then he looked at the fire and lo! it was nearly out. He asked the old woman, ‘Hast thou any firewood?’ She replied, ‘Yes, O my son!’ and pointed it out to him. He then arose and fetched some of the wood; but it was green. He put some of it on the fire, and set the pot on the fireplace, bent his head towards the ground and blew under the pot. By god! I saw the smoke of the firewood coming through his beard, which trailed on the ground when he stooped low to blow. He continued doing this until the fire blazed up and the ghee melted and began to boil. He then began stirring the ghee with one hand with a piece of wood, and mixing the flour with the ghee with the other, (and continued) until it was cooked.
All this time the children were shrieking round him. When the food was ready, he asked the old woman for a vessel, which she brought him. He poured out the cooked food into the vessel and blew upon it with his mouth to cool it, and then fed the little ones with his hands. He continued feeding them thus, one after another, until he had fed them all and they were satisfied. They then began playing and laughing with one another, until they became drowsy and slept. ‘Umar then turned to the old woman and said to her, ‘O aunt! I am a relation of ‘Umar, the Prince of the Faithful, and shall mention thy case to him. Come to me tomorrow morning at Government House, and thou wilt find me there; so hope for the best.’ Then ‘Umar, bidding her goodbye, left the tent, and I with him. He said to me, ‘O ‘Abbās! by God! when I saw the old woman diverting her children with pebbles, I felt as if mountains had quaked38 and fallen upon my back until I brought what I did and had fed them with what I cooked for them until they were satisfied, and sat down playing and laughing. It was then that I felt that these mountains had fallen off my back.’ ‘Umar then returned to his own house, and ordered me to enter with him; and we spent the night (there). The next morning the old woman arrived, and ‘Umar asked her to forgive him, and settled on her and her children a pension from the Public Treasury which she received in full each month
