A truly beautiful person

O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from their religion (Islâm), Allâh will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble (soft) towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allâh, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allâh which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allâh is All­Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All­Knower. 5:54
Umar ibn al-Khattaab (R.A. - may Allah be pleased with him)

Once a caravan came to Madinah, it had women and children too, with it. `Umar (R.A.) said to Abdul Rahman ibn `Auf, "Can you stand guard on them tonight?" So `Umar, the second caliph, and he, kept awake that night together, and kept vigil over the caravan.

During that nightly vigil they both offered Tahajjud (night) prayer as well. `Umar (R.A.) on hearing a baby's cry approached the mother and said, "Fear Allah and look after your child carefully." Saying this he came back to his own position. Once again he heard the baby crying, and went over to it's mother and gave her the same advice.

During the last part of the night the child cried once again, `Umar (R.A.) came to its mother and said, "Woe to you! You appear not to be a good mother. How is it that your child could not sleep peacefully during the night." The woman little suspecting that she was speaking to the Amir (Commander/leader) of the believers said in reply, "May Allah bless you O man, you have pestered me several times during the night. I want to wean it forcefully but the child is intractable." `Umar (R.A.) asked her, "why wean it forcefully?" She said in reply, "Because `Umar (R.A.) grants allowance only for such children that have been weaned." `

Umar (R.A.) asked her, "How old is your child?" she told him it was only a few months old. And `Umar (R.A.) asked the woman not to be hasty in weaning her child.

Umar (R.A.) then 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 (R.A.) 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 allowance for the suckling. From now on, every child, suckling or weaned, shall receive a stipend. And it was also proclaimed throughout the length and the breadth of the Islamic state. Unparalleled in the Entire History of Mankind

By Allah! 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 (R.A.). He kept awake the whole night, keeping guard over the caravan whilst 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 conquered the then mighty empires of Rome and Persia.

He drew the attention of the crying child's mother to her baby and asked her to restrain it from crying by taking good care of it. Is there anyone who can mete out that treatment to the children in a passing Caravan, like `Umar(R.A.)? Who is there among the greatest personages of the history of mankind who can even touch the great human consciousness of `Umar?