Istanbul’s Iconic Hagia Sophia To Be Turned Back Into Mosque
Let’s take a moment to remember OUR forgotten hero. Not Ertugrul, but… The Great Hazrat Umer ‎ (رضي الله عنه)! Perhaps the answer would become crystal clear on its own 😊 It’s time to revisit some snippets of 10 years of Hazrat Umer’s Caliphate, which for the most part belonged to great Muslim conquests, so we truly understand what it means to propagate Islam in the world. Attitude towards minorities: At the time when the Muslims first conquered Jerusalem, the Jews had long been banned from Jerusalem and the surrounding areas by the Christian rulers. However, when Muslim rule conquered, Umar (رضي الله عنه) invited 70 Jewish families from Tiberias to settle in Jerusalem. He allowed nonmuslims to reconstruct their demolished worship places and said: “Their worship places should not be demolished, used for habitation, no injury shall be done to them, or to their Cross, nor shall there be compulsion on them in matter of religion.” Similar message was also part of his LAST sermon. The last words of any man are considered ones of utmost importance to him. If a Muslim used only absusive language with a nonmuslim, he was punished! Once Governor Umair of Hims lost his temper and said to a nonmuslim “May Allah bring you disgrace”. As a result, he was brought infront of Hazrat Umer (RA) and was so ashamed that he had to resign! Hazrat Umer (RA) refrained from praying in churches. He explained, “Had I prayed inside the church, the Muslims coming after me would take possession of it, saying that I had prayed in it.” Tradition has it that he picked up a stone, threw it outside and prayed at the spot it landed. Encyclopedia Britannica quotes him by saying it is impossible to define a better function of state than Umer (RA) did, who said: “By God, he that is weakest among you shall be strongest “in my sight”, until I vindicated for him his rights; but him that is strongest will I treat as the weakest, until he compiled with the law!” The lives and properties of Dhimmis (nonmuslim living in Muslim states) were put to on SAME level with those of Muslims. If a Muslim murdered a Dhimmi, he had to pay for the crime through his life. Zakat, public treasury & rights of Non Muslims living in a Muslim state: Muslims had to pay Zakat, while Non Muslims paid Jizyah, which was much lower than Zakat. However, in case a nonmuslim was poor or needy, he was not only forgiven Jizya, but was allowed to be given Zakat! Hazrat Umer (RA) clarified the verse in Holy Quran for Muslims as such: “Charities were for the poor and “the needy” which meant the poor among the Christians and Jews.” The condition was that nonmuslim must be living in a Muslim state. Education and Religion propagation: He built several primary schools that taught Holy Quran, with enforcement of the religious laws, however the spiritual part of religion, namely devotion to Allah, prayer, purity of heart were NOT things brought up under administration as they were personal and cannot be taught as part of states administrative machinery. His rule strongly stood by “no compulsion in religion”. The most potent weapon used to propagate Islam among non Muslims was to model example of Islamic life, which should draw them towards faith. Islam had spread most quickly in Umer’s time, because when people mixed with Muslims they found truth, sincerity, and SIMPLE living. For example, during conquest of Syria, ambassador George was so impressed when he mixed with the Muslim troops that he cut himself off from his people and family and entered Islam. Similarly, the Bishop of Damascus embraced Islam! Just a Snippet of Al -Farooq (The Distinguisher between right & wrong) 🙏