The Day that Umar wept



One day, Umar came to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)'s house to see him. The blessed Prophet lived in a small apartment which bordered his mosque.

These apartments are now included in the beautifully-built Mosque of the Prophet in Madinah. But at that time, the walls were built of mud and stones, the roof of palm trees and stalks, and the floors of sand. The doors gave onto the courtyard and hall of prayer.


Umar (radiAllahu anhu) came to the door and sought permission to enter. "May Umar ibn Al-Khattab enter, O Prophet of Allah?," said Umar.

"Yes, come in, Umar," the Blessed Prophet replied.

Umar entered the room where the Blessed Prophet was resting. He first greeted the Blessed Prophet "Assalamu alaikum - Peace be with you."

"Wa' alaikum assalam - And with you be peace," replied the Blessed Prophet.


Umar (radiAllahu anhu) sat down on the floor and began to notice the room for the first time. There was no bed in the room. The Blessed Prophet was lying on a mat. Part of his body was on the floor and part on the mat. The mat was rough and the floor hard. The marks from the mat were visible on his body. He was wearing a garment of rough and coarse cloth. He had a pillow, but the pillow was filled with prickly leaves from a palm tree.
There was nothing else in the room, no wardrobe, no rich food to eat, no comfortable mattresses. Instead, in a corner were some berry leaves, and a small heap of barley, over which an untreated piece of leather was hanging.


Tears began to well up in Umar's eyes. When the Blessed Prophet saw Umar crying, he asked him, "Why! What were you crying about, Umar?"

Umar (radiAllahu anhu) answered in a bitter voice, "And why shouldn't I cry, O Prophet of Allah? I see your bedding and the marks from the mat on your back; I see all your belongings which amount to nothing, and yet you are the Prophet of God and His chosen Messenger!
The emperors of the Byzantine and the Persian empires are living in luxury and comfort. Their thrones are made of gold and their clothing and bedding are made of the finest silks". Umar waved his arm to illustrate. "And this is all you have - this is your treasure."


The Blessed Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) smiled and looked kindly and affectionately at Umar (radiAllahu anhu). "Are you not happy, O Umar that we shall receive our riches and treasures and comforts in the eternal life. The kings of this world have received their full share here, and even this share is going to be useless for them as soon as they depart from this world. Our share is to come later, but once we receive it, it will remain with us forever."


Umar understood then that the government the Blessed Prophet was going to establish was not a government of kings and emperors, but a government of the servents of Allah, who live not for this world and its transient rewards and comforts, but for the world to come, for the everlasting rewards and tresures to be found in the Hereafter.



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