Umar ibn Abdul Aziz

Being the son of Abd al-Aziz, the younger brother of the caliph Abd al-Malik , i.e. Suleiman’s nephew, Umar was completely unprepared for rule. He became a caliph quite unexpectedly for himself, when in September 717 AD Suleiman was seriously ill, whose eldest son had recently died, and the youngest was on a campaign against Byzantium and it was not known whether he would survive. Suleiman did not dare to transfer power to his brothers, with whom he was in strained relations, and therefore approved a neutral candidacy - his nephew Umar, to which all the military leaders present at the dying caliph agreed.

Outwardly, Umar was handsome: a dark-skinned man with graceful features, wearing a magnificent beard. Studying from childhood with the most famous scientists, he received a brilliant religious education, and from an early age he was very God-fearing. Once, as a teenager, 'Umar cried for a long time. And when his mother asked him why he was crying, he replied that he was thinking about death and the Day of Judgment. Despite his wealth, 'Umar was famous for his modesty and unpretentiousness.

At 26, Umar was appointed governor of Medina, Mecca and Typhus. Over the 6 years of his reign, he did a great job: new roads were laid, channels and wells for agricultural work were dug. After leaving the post of governor, 'Umar served as a simple soldier in the army of the caliphate. At this time, his uncle Suleiman ibn 'Abdul-Malik, the ruler of the caliphate, sensing the approach of death, decided to bequeath power to his beloved nephew. Fearing that 'Umar would give up power, the Caliph hid his will from him. When after the death of the caliph Suleiman, with a large gathering of people, a will was announced, 'Umar wanted to give up power, but all those present unanimously swore an oath to the new caliph. So 'Umar continued a worthy series of righteous caliphs: Abu Bakr,' Umar, 'Usman,' Ali and Al-Hassan ibn 'Ali. He became the ruler of a huge power, stretching from the eastern part of Asia to the south of Europe.

Umar b. Abd al-Aziz invited three learned ascetics and asked for advice. A scientist by the name of Salim said: “If you want salvation, then observe fasting and abstinence in relation to all worldly charms and beauties, and only let death be your conversation.” The second, named Ibn Kaab, said: “If you want to be saved from the punishment of Allah Almighty, then let the eldest of the Muslims be like a father to you, the middle one is like a brother, and the younger one is like your child. Honor your father, respect your brother and pity your child. ” A third named Raja said: “If you want to avoid God's punishment, then love for people what you love for yourself. And do not wish for them that which you do not wish for yourself. And then you can die. That is my advice. Verily, I am greatly alarmed for you regarding the day when it will be difficult to resist. ”

All the events of the reign of Umar are described by classical Arab historians as if in two parallel lines: military-political and spiritual-ascetic. Dating the events of the reign of Umar in all sources from the early Khalifa and Yakubi to the late at-Tabari and al-Kufi exists only within the year of the Hijra, and therefore there are difficulties even with the correlation of the order of events of his reign.

Umar became the ruler of a huge power , which included Arabia , Egypt , North Africa , the lands of present-day Pakistan , Afghanistan , Central Asia , Iran , Iraq , Transcaucasia and Spain completely unexpectedly. The Caliphate led an active military expansion: Arabs invaded northern China , the North Caucasus , and the south of France . The governors, due to the separate aspirations of the provinces and the repressive policies of al-Walid and Suleiman , were in no way connected with the local elites, but they were obliged to the caliph who personally appointed them. But the Caliphate had two main problems: firstly, the growth of tax oppression generated discontent among the population, which turned into rebellion (this was manifested most clearly in the sabotage of the Mawla sailors during the Second Siege of Constantinople ). Secondly, the Caliphate became so large that the number of non-Arab population was equal to the number of Arabs outside Arabia - and therefore any split, lack of unity within the Arab minority posed a threat to stability. Umar’s failures in the treasury, riots and heresies reinforced the idea that Umar was personally responsible for returning the Muslim community to the true path and the obligation to become a model of an ideal ruler.

Return to Early Islam

Having become a caliph, Umar abandoned his former luxurious lifestyle. He left the magnificent palace of the Umayyads and donated his huge fortune to the treasury of the caliphate. Fun feasts with poets, conversations about women and culinary delights gave way to sedate conversations about saving the soul, at which the caliph shared his modest meal - bread with lentils and garlic ^{[2] [3]} . The wife of the caliph Fatima, following the example of her husband, handed over her jewelry to the treasury. The apogee of self-denial of Umar b. Abdul-Aziz was the rejection of clan estates, which in his opinion were illegally acquired by his father and grandfather, including from the lands in Khaibar (donated by Muhammad Fatima and appropriated by Marwan b. al-Hakam ). These possessions were returned to their rightful owners, curses against Ali were canceled ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

During the reign of 'Umar ibn' Abdul-Aziz justice triumphed and abundance appeared. People got the opportunity to rise out of poverty. He helped insolvent debtors repay debts, and those who could not get married because of poverty, helped with money, and they got married. The well-being of the people reached such a level that those who wanted to give their wealth to the poor as alms could not find those who would take this money and be forced to look for the poor in other territories, but could not even find it.

Sufficiency and justice were so universal that both sheep and wolves could be on the same pasture. The book “Hilyatul-auliya” contains a story of one person: “I milked the sheep during the reign of the caliph 'Umar ibn' Abdul-'' Aziz and once met a shepherd who had about 30 wolves among the sheep. At first I mistook them for dogs, because before that I had never seen wolves. And I turned to this shepherd and said: “Oh, shepherd! Why do you need so many dogs? "And he answered me:" Son, and these are not dogs. These are wolves. ” I said: “Subhanallah! How amazing! Wolves are among the sheep and do not harm them! ”The shepherd replied:“ Son! When the head is healthy, then the whole body has no problems! ”

The Caliph 'Umar paid particular attention to the needs of the people. During his reign, he repaired old wells and dug new ones, and also paved many roads and built many mosques. He restored justice by forcing those nobles who were previously in power to return to the treasury the wealth that they had taken illegally. He also returned to the people what they had illegally taken.

'Umar ibn' Abdul-'' Aziz not only justly ruled the country, but at the same time he was a practicing scholar, hafiz, theologian and Mujahid. And he was the first in the community of the Prophet Mujaddid (renewal), that is, a scientist who restored strict adherence to the foundations of Sacred Kur'an and the Sunna.

The Caliph 'Umar introduced a number of good innovations, which were confirmed and supported by other Muslim scholars. For example, he began to make mihrabs in mosques - niches in the wall indicating the direction for Namaz. In his time, the Hadith began to be recorded and collected. And also the caliph 'Umar paid great attention to the dissemination of true knowledge and the support of other Muslim scholars. He encouraged and encouraged the study of the Holy Kur'an.

This man was endowed with great abilities, possessed great knowledge, a broad outlook and deep understanding. Moreover, he was very God-fearing and lived in accordance with the knowledge that he had. 'Umar always trusted in Allah, worshiped Him a lot, was humble, ascetic, repentant, and submissive to the Creator.

Ruler 'Umar was unbiased, insightful, truthful, wise and fought for the restoration of justice. He was responsible, self-critical and honest: he appointed employees, carefully studying their capabilities and job requirements.

Despite the enormous funds received at that time in the treasury, he did not take himself a dirham. The Caliph refused not only income from the treasury, but also a large court army of servants. He left only one change of clothes for himself, which from long wear was covered with patches. Sometimes the caliph even lingered, waiting for the washed clothes to dry.

Maslyama ibn 'Abdul-Malik said that when the ruler of' Umar ibn 'Abdul-' 'Aziz fell seriously ill, he went to visit him and saw that the ruler’s shirt was unclean. Then he told his wife Fatima bint 'Abdul-Malik: "Fatima, wash the shirt of the Ruler of the faithful." She replied: "Yin sha-Allah, let’s do it." But when he came to visit the ruler another time, he saw that his shirt remained as it was. Then he turned to his wife and said: “Fatima, didn’t I ask you to wash the shirt of the Muslim ruler ?! After all, people are visiting him! ”Fatima replied:“ By Allah, he has no other shirt to change and wash this one. ”

Many other cases are also known that indicate the asceticism of the Caliph 'Umar. He himself said:

And also the ruler 'Umar constantly repeated the following lines, and his eyes were filled with tears:

Before the death of 'Umar ibn' Abdul-'' Aziz repeated many times 83 Ayat Surah “Al-Qasas”:

تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا

لِلَّذِينَ لاَ يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ

وَلاَ فَسَادًا وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

This means: “ [Paradise -] is the last refuge prepared for those who in earthly life did not strive for a high position and power and did no evil. Verily, paradise will be God-fearing for all this . ”

Umar exponentially ousted the head of the treasury of Egypt, Osama b. Zayda - "for excessive cruelty", including for cutting off the hands of those who failed to comply with his orders. It was significant that he was not just mixed, but sentenced to imprisonment in chains that were removed only for the duration of the prayer. In this form, Usman was first held for a year in the prisons of Egypt, and then for another year in the prison of each county (jund) of Syria. The governor Abdalmalik b was also displaced. Reef '. For a similar reason, the governor of Ifrikiya Yazid b. Abu Muslim. Yazid's bias b. al-Muhallaba, the actual ruler of the entire eastern half of the Caliphate, went much more difficult - but not because Umar decided to divide this vast region among several governors. A consequence of the policies of al-Walid and Suleiman, the appointment of governors, all obligated personally to the caliph, was that Yazid was not obliged to Usman and did not want to give money and palaces. In order to prevent military clashes, a whole play was played: Yazid was invited to meet in Basra, but along the way he "accidentally discovered" that there was already a galley in Ma'kil with Ambassador Adi b. Artom. Yazid, who traveled around his possessions without a large army, could not refuse the offer to board the galley of the caliph's messenger - where he was presented with a notice of loss of post and a demand to pay all debts. Since Yazid was arrested and tortured more than once by order of al-Hajjaj , the new threats did not scare him. Out of fear of escape or the help of local troops, a powerful ex-governor of the Euphrates was escorted, followed by deportation to Damascus - however, even there, Yazid, already a deep old man, did not recognize debts. It was about millions of dirhams ^[6] .

The most detailed description of Umar’s struggle for the purity of Islam is the struggle against those who distorted in his view the norms established by the Prophet and the first two caliphs. All Umar's orders were of a point-like character; the Caliph addressed each governor with separate messages. It was in the reign of Umar Ibn Abdul-Aziz at the state level that orders “followed the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet” sounded, bans on playing musical instruments (especially weddings), bans on mourning the dead, and a number of other, less important, but extremely strict bans ^[7] . Economic decisions also followed from religious orders, the most famous of which were the following: a ban on the governor to cut off the hands of the debtor and crucify criminals without the permission of the caliph; a ban on introducing new (not prescribed in the Quran) taxes; the prohibition to establish a single haraj for lands with different fertility; the prohibition to collect haraj with weighty coins. In continuation of the same practice of reviving the norms of early Islam, the tax inviolability of the clergy and religious institutions was restored; Christians and Jews as people of Scripture were allowed to make wills in favor of co-religionists; foreigners illegally captured were returned to their homeland ^{[8] [9]} . Umar’s decrees reached the smallest detail: the weight limit of a camel pack was set, it was forbidden to beat animals with a whip with a metal tip, it was forbidden to plant trees on the banks of the Nile (so as not to interfere with pulling the towline), it was forbidden to write documents in a big way (in order to save papyrus) ^[10] .

Separately, there is a question about Umar's charity: early historians like Khalifa and Yakubi describe this sparingly (increase in payments by 10 dirhams, the maintenance of the capital leper colony of the times of al-Valid, repairs of roads of the times of al-Walid), but later ones gradually raise the bar for charity. And if not too late historians at-Tabari and al-Kufi point to the caliph’s order to forgive the debts of the poor and ruined, as well as peculiar receptions in the style of the “open day” of the caliph, then later historians elevate Umar's charity to absolute. It was as if the debts of all Caliphate residents were repaid from a special fund created personally by Usman, so that there were no beggars at all, bureaucratic arbitrariness disappeared completely, and anyone who was offended could personally come to Umar's reception any day — and the caliph carefully listened to all complaints of this nature . As with the description of the Righteous Caliphs , here traditional Arab medieval historians praise the “righteous ruler” in a clearly hypertrophied form. Umar b. Abdul al-Aziz was pious and devout, but strictly within the framework of the 8th century. AD

Warfare

In the early summer of 719 A.D. Umar recalled the army besieging Constantinople for the last two years. The war with the Empire passed into the usual framework of summer raids on enemy territory with the subsequent departure for the winter in the lands of the Caliphate. After the completion of the conquests of Kutaiba, the situation in Maverannahr remained stable: no campaigns were undertaken, except for separate expeditions against the small-town rulers of the oases, who at times refused to pay tribute.

But after only two years, Umar suddenly died at the age of 40. According to one of the main versions, the caliph was poisoned by his close ones from the Umayyad family. The Caliph’s puritan lifestyle, his scrupulous attitude to the treasury, and reforms prevented their greed.

Opposition

In Khorasan since 100 the creation of clandestine cells of the Abbasids began under the leadership of Muhammad b. Ali and Bukaira b. Mahana. Propaganda among the population - even inside the Merv oasis and Merv itself - looked like ordinary conversations of disgruntled villagers, but it was at that time that the foundation for future Abbasid uprisings was laid.

The open opposition of Umayyadam, the Kharijits , acted directly. in the same 100 gh a group of 80 people under the command of Bistam b. Murrah al-Shawzaba. The conflict was embarrassing: the demands to follow the Book and the Sunnah of the Prophet were put forward by both the government in the person of Umar and the opposition in the person of the Kharijites. Umar went to negotiations - however, a fundamental contradiction was immediately revealed here. Caliphs have always believed that any rebellion is a violation of the Prophet’s covenants and that only a Quraishite can be a caliph - while any leader of even the smallest Kharijit squad began to call himself the Amir of the faithful and invariably called any Umayyad a usurper and tyrant. Negotiations with any opposition have reached an impasse. Since Umar b. Abdul al-Aziz positioned himself as a righteous caliph, opposition representatives lost all hope of a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The caliph’s state of health has worsened in recent years - from any food (especially from lentils) abdominal pains began, Umar began to lose weight dramatically, his complexion turned gray. The 36-year-old caliph probably ate cancer. In anticipation of death, Umar moved to the monastery of Simeon the Pillars (Deir Sim'an) and bought a small plot for the grave. The Caliph died on 1 Rajab 101 of the Hijra (01/17/720 AD). Before his death, he asked those present to sit next to him. After prayer and repentance, he looked somewhere closely. People told him: "Oh, lord of the faithful, your eyes are severe." “I see those present here, but these are not people and not genies,” and with these words he lost his breath.

• Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz at the Rodovod . Tree of ancestors and descendants
• Belyaev E.A. Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate in the Early Middle Ages. M., 1965.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110317172205/http://crimean.org/islam/meshur.asp?id=16