JUSTICE

During Hadrat [1] Umar’s (radiy-Allahu ’anh) caliphate, Sa’d ibn Abu Waqqas (radiy Allahu ’anh), the commander of the eastern front, wanted to have a villa built in Kufa city. He had to buy a magian’s house which was next to his parcel. The magian did not want to sell his house. The magian went home and conferred with his wife who said: ‘They have the ‘Amir-ul-Mu’minin in Medina. Go to him and lodge a complaint with him.’ He went to Medina and asked about the Caliph’s palace. The people he asked answered that the Caliph did not have a palace or a villa and that he had gone outside the city. So he, too, left the city to look for him. There were no soldiers or guards around. He saw someone sleeping on the ground. He asked the man if he had seen the Caliph Umar. In fact, the man he asked was the Caliph Umar himself (radiy-Allahu ’anh). He asked the magian why he was looking for the Caliph Umar. The man answered: ‘His commander coerces me to sell him my house. I came here to lodge a complaint against him.’ Hadrat Umar (radiy-Allahu ’anh) went to his home, taking the magian along with him. He asked for some paper, but they could not find any paper in the house. He saw a shoulder blade and asked for it. He wrote as follows on the bone: ‘Bismillahirrahmanirrahim Lo, Sa’d! Do not hurt this magian’s heart! Otherwise, come to me at once.’ The magian took the bone and went back home. He said: ‘I went to all this lot of trouble for nothing. If I give this piece of bone to the commander he’ll think he is being teased and will become very angry.’ But when his wife insisted, he went to Sa’d. Sa’d was sitting and chatting cheerfully with his soldiers. No sooner had he caught sight of the handwriting on the bone in the magian’s hand, who was standing at some distance, than he turned pale, for he had recognized the Emir-ul-mu’minin Umar’s (radiy-Allahu ’anh) handwriting. The abrupt change surprised everybody. Sa’d (radiy-Allahu ’anh) approached the magian and said: ‘I’ll do whatever you want me to. But, please don’t do anything that will make me look guilty in Umar’s (radiy-Allahu ’anh) presence, for I cannot endure the punishment inflicted by him.’ Seeing the commander begging surprised the magian to the degree of madness. When he regained his senses, he immediately became a Muslim. When others asked him how he had become a Muslim, his answer was: ‘I saw their Amir (chief) sleeping on the soil with a patched coat. I saw how his commanders trembled with fear of him. I, therefore, came to the conclusion that they were in the right religion. Such justice for a fire worshipper like me could only have been done by believers of the right religion.’
________________________________________
GLOSSARY
[1] Hadrat: title of respect used before the names of great people like and Islamic scholars.