on the ground that it would set a precedent for the Muslims of the following generations to forcibly convert churches into mosques. He was thereafter led to a place where the prophet David (Dawood, pbuh) used to pray. Caliph Umar offered special prayers of thanksgiving and Muslims joined him. As the Byzantines watched the Muslims at pray, they felt that such people so obedient to God were bound to command. The Patriarch said that he was not sorry for surrendering the city for he had surrendered it to a better people.
Caliph Umar stayed in Jerusalem for a few days. He reorganized the administration, and made the necessary arrangements to look after the needs of the citizens. He founded a Mosque at an elevated place in the city. This mosque came to be known as Umar's Mosque. On the inaugural occasion Bilal (ra) was requested to give the call to prayer as he used to do in the time of the Holy Prophet. After the death of the Prophet (pbuh), Bilal had ceased to give the Adhan. At the request of Caliph Umar he agreed to give Adhan to mark the foundation of Umar's mosque. As Bilal (ra) gave the call to pray in his stentorian voice, Caliph Umar and the Muslims wept recalling the days when the Prophet used to be in their midst. As the inspiring words of the Adban resounded in the hills and dales, the people stood in awe realizing that a new era had dawned in Syria.
<b>Umar's Address after Jerusalm</b>
After receiving the surrender of Jerusalem and completing the tour of Syria when Caliph Umar was returning to Madina he led the prayer at Jabiah. On this occasion he delivered an address which is preserved in history. The major part of his address was:
"O ye people I counsel you to read the Qur’an. Try to understand it and ponder over it. Imbibe the teachings of the Qur’an. Then practise what the Quran teaches. The Qur’an is not theoretical; it is a practical code of life. The Qur’an does not bring you the message of the Hereafter only; it is primarily intended to guide you in this life. Mold your life in accordance with the teachings of Islam for that is the way of your well being. By following any other way you will be inviting destruction.
"Fear Allah (The One True God), and whatever you want seek from Him. All men are equal. Do not flatter those in authority. Do not seek favors from others. By such acts you demean yourself. And remember that you will get only that is ordained for you, and no one can give you anything against the will of God. Then why seek things from others over which they have no control? Only supplicate God for He alone is the sovereign.
"And speak the truth. Do not hesitate to say what you consider to be the truth. Say what you feel. Let your conscience be your guide. Let your intentions be good, for verily God is aware of your intentions. In your deeds your intentions count. Fear God, and fear no one else. Why fear others when you know that whatever sustenance ordained for you by God you will get under all circumstances? And again why fear when you know that death is ordained by God alone and will come only when He wills?
"Allah has for the time being made me your ruler. But I am one of you. No special privileges belong to ruler. I have some responsibilities to discharge, and in this I seek your cooperation. Government is a sacred trust, and it is my endeavor not to betray the trust in any way. For the fulfillment of the trust I have to be a watch-man. I have to be strict. I have to enforce discipline. I have to run the administration not on the basis of personal idiosyncracies; I have to run it in public interest and for promoting the public good. For this we have the guidance in the Book of God. Whatever orders I issue in the course of day to day administration have to conform to the Qur’an. God has favored us with Islam. He sent to us His Messenger (Muhammad, pbuh). He has chosen us for a mission. Let us fulfil that mission. That mission is the promotion of Islam. In Islam lies our safety; if we err we are doomed."
<b> Umar's Wife acts as a midwife</b>
It was the usual practice of Caliph Umar that he would patrol the streets and suburbs of Madina to watch the interests of the people, and attend to their needs. One day Caliph Umar noticed a tent pitched in an open space outside Medina. A person was sitting outside the tent, and some one inside the tent was groaning.
Caliph Umar went to the man, greeted him, and wanted to know who he was. The man said that he was a man of the desert, and had come to Medina to wait on the Commander of the Faithful (Amirul Mominin) to seek his assistance. Umar next asked who was groaning inside the tent. The man said that his wife was groaning with labor pains; he was a stranger in Madina and did not know what to do. Caliph Umar enquired whether he had any woman to look after the confinement of his wife. He said there was none. Caliph Umar said: "Do not worry, I will make the necessary arrangements." Caliph Umar came home, and asked his wife Umm Kulsum to accompany him on a mission of service. Umm Kulsum got ready and took with her such things as might be needed for purposes of confinement. Caliph Umar took with him some provisions for the purposes of cooking a meal.
Caliph Umar returned to the camp with his wife. Umm Kulsum went inside the tent to attend to the women in pain, while Caliph Umar sat outside the tent with the Bedouin and began cooking some meals for him.
After an hour or so when the meals had been cooked, Umm Kulsum addressed Caliph Umar: "Amirul Mominin! Congratulate your guest on the birth of a son." Hearing this the Bedouin felt much embarrassed. Turning to Caliph Umar he said, "Amirul Mominin, why did you not reveal your identity? You have overwhelmed me with your benevolence." Caliph Umar put all his fears to rest saying: "That's all right. There is nothing to worry about. Thank God, I have been of some service to you at the time of your need. You may come to me tomorrow and I will see what can be done further to help you." It was late at night when Caliph Umar and Umm Kulsum left. The Bedouin thanked God and said: "God be praised I came to seek the Commander of the Faithful, and God send the Commander of the Faithful to seek me."
<b>Umar's son marries a milkmaid</b>
One night, Caliph Umar as usual went in disguise with his companion Ibn Abbas to see the condition of the people. They strolled from one quarter to another. At last they came to a colony where poor people lived.
While passing by a small house, the Caliph heard a whispering talk within. The mother was telling her daughter that the amount of milk fetched by her for sale that day was very little. She told her that when she was young, and used to sell milk, she always mixed water with milk, and that led to considerable profit. She advised her daughter to do the same.
The girl said, "You adulterated milk, when you were not a Muslim. Now that we are Muslims, we cannot adulterate milk." The mother said that Islam did not stand in the way of adulteration of milk. The daughter said, "Have you forgotten the Caliph's order? He wants that the milk should not be adulterated." The mother said, "But the Caliph has forgotten us. We are so poor, what else should we do but adulterate milk in order win bread?" The daughter said "Such a bread would not be lawful, and as a Muslim I would not do anything which is against the orders of the Caliph, and whereby other Muslims are deceived."
The mother said, "But there is neither the Caliph nor any of his officers here to see what we do. Daughter you are still a child. Go to bed now and tomorrow I will myself mix the milk with water for you." The girl refused to fall in with the plan of her mother. She said, "Caliph may or may not be here, but his order must be obeyed. My conscience is my Caliph. You may escape the notice of the Caliph and his officers, but how can we escape the notice of Allah and our own conscience." Thereupon the mother remained quiet. The lamp was extinguished and the mother and the daughter went to sleep.
The next day, Caliph Umar sent a man to purchase milk from the girl. The milk was unadulterated. The girl kept her resolve. CaliphUmar turned to his companion and said, "The girl has kept her resolve in spite of the exhortation of her mother. She deserves a reward. What reward should I give her?” “She should be paid some money," said Ibn Abbas. Caliph Umar said, "Such a girl would become a great mother. Her integrity is not to be weighed with few coins; it is to be measured in the scale of national values. I shall offer her the highest award in my gift, and which shall also be in the highest interest of the nation."
The Caliph summoned the daughter and the mother to his court. The mother trembled as she stood before the mighty ruler. But the girl faced the Caliph boldly and with great equanimity. She was beautiful, and there was an impressive dignity about her. Then before the gathering, Caliph Umar related how he had overheard the mother and the daughter, and how in spite of the exhortations of the mother the daughter had kept her resolve.
Someone suggested that the mother should be taken to task. The Caliph said that ordinarily he would have punished the mother, but he had forgiven her for the sake of her daughter. Turning to the girl the great Caliph said, "Islam needs daughters like you and as a Caliph of Islam it devolves on me to reward you by owning you as a daughter." The Caliph called his sons, and addressing them said, "Here is a gem of a girl who would make a great mother. I desire that one of you should take this girl as wife. I know of no better bride than this girl of sterling character. In matters of wedlock, it should be the character and not the stature in life that should count."
Abdullah and Abdur Rahman the elder sons of the Caliph were already married. Asim the third son was yet unmarried, and he offered to marry the girl. Thereupon with the consent of the milkmaid and her mother Asim was married to the girl, and milkmaid became the daughter-in-law of the Caliph.
From this union was born a daughter Umm Asim, who became in due course the mother of Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Umar bin AbdulAziz was elected as Caliph and served for a short period during 717 - 720.
While other Caliphs of the Ummayad dynasty reveled in luxury, Umar bin Abdul Aziz as a Caliph set up standards for austerity and simplicity following in the footsteps of Caliph Umar, the second Caliph of Islam. It is said that if ever there was a noble Caliph after the first four “Rightly guided Caliphs,”such a man was Umar bin Abdul Aziz. And he inherited the noble qualities of the milkmaid who married the Caliph's son, and those of Caliph Umar Farooq who had the eye to discern the nobler qualities of sterling character in a poor girl.
<b>Caliph Umar's inaugural address</b>
After the assumption of office as the second Caliph, Umar soon realized that he was more feared than loved. Abu Bakr, his predecessor, was tender and soft hearted. Whenever he appeared in the streets of Madina, the children ran to him saying "Father, Father."
On the occasion of the first Friday prayer after his assumption of office as Caliph, Umar addressed the faithful assembled in the mosque of the Prophet in the following terms:
"Brethren, it has come to my notice that the people are afraid of me. They say when the Holy Prophet was alive, Umar was harsh to us. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar was hard and stern. Now that he has become the Caliph himself, God knows how hard he will be. Whoever has said this is not wrong in his assessment.
"The truth of the matter is that I was the slave and servant of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet was most kind hearted, liberal and generous. In contrast I was hard and harsh. Sometimes he ignored my point of view. There were occasions when he agreed with me. Till the death of the Holy Prophet that remained the situation between him and me. Thank God, the Holy Prophet was pleased with me. Though the Holy Prophet sometimes accepted my advice, and sometimes turned it down, yet he approved of my conduct.
"During the caliphate of Abu Bakr my role remained the same. Abu Bakr was most soft hearted and tender. It was my business to bring the other side of the picture to his notice. He always took my point of view into consideration, but the ultimate decision lay with him. Sometimes he agreed with me, and I acted as his agent to enforce a decision which appeared to be harsh. Sometimes he did not agree with me, and I had to remain quiet. I am happy that throughout the period of his office, Abu Bakr approved of my conduct, and ultimately nominated me as his successor, although I did not covet the office.
"Now that the entire responsibility has come to vest in me, know ye brethren that you will feel a change in me. I will no longer be hard and stern in all matters. For those who practice tyranny and deprive others of their rights, I will be harsh and stern, but for those who follow the law, and are devoted to religion, I will be most soft and tender. I will not tolerate any person make any excess. He who commits any tyranny, him I will sternly call to account. I will be harsh and stern against the aggressor, but I will be a pillar of strength for the weak and the meek. They will find in me their best friend.
"Friends you have some rights on me, and I tell you of these rights, so that you may be in a position to call me to account. These rights are:
Firstly, that I should not exact any tax or other levy from you not authorized by law;
Secondly, that whatever taxes are lawfully realized from you are spent in your best interests;
Thirdly, it is incumbent on me that I should protect the frontiers of your land;
Fourthly, it is my duty to promote your prosperity and look after your interests;
and Fifthly, it is my obligation to do justice.
<b>"O servants of God, continue to fear God. Suppress your selfish motives and work for the solidarity of the Muslims as a whole. In running the State, you are my partners. Help me with your sound advice. If I follow the right path laid down by God and His Prophet follow me. If I deviate, correct me. Strengthen me with your advice and suggestions. Let us pray for the glory of Islam."</b>