From the mosque Umar was carried home. When he regained
consciousness he asked who his murderer was. He was told that his murderer was
the Persian slave Firoz. Thereupon Umar said, "Praise be to God that I
have not been murdered by a Muslim".
The physician administered him date cordial and milk. These
could not be digested and gushed out of his wounds. That indicated that the
wounds were fatal and that he could not survive for long.
The people around him praised him for his virtues and
sterling qualities. He asked them not to praise him. He said:
"All praise is to Allah. If all the treasures of this
world were to be at my disposal, I would offer them as a ransom to be saved
from the trial at the Day of Judgment."
He then recited the Arabic verse:
"I have been unjust to my soul,
Except that I am a Muslim,
Say my prayers and fast."
Umar asked his son Abdullah to wait on Ayesha and beg her
permission for his burial by the side of the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr. Ayesha
wept as she came to know that Umar was about to die. She said, "I had
reserved this place for my own burial, but I give Umar precedence over myself.
Let him be buried there". When Umar was told that Ayesha had given the
permission, he felt happy and said, "God bless Ayesha. She has fulfilled
my greatest wish. Now I can die in peace."
Then he asked his son to estimate the debt that he had to
pay. He was told that the debt amounted to eighty six thousand dirhams. This
included the salary that he had drawn from the Baitul Mal during the period of
his caliphate. He instructed that the debt should be paid by the sale of his
property. Thereafter Umar gave detailed instructions to his son regarding his
funeral. He said:
"Be moderate in the expenses of my shroud, for verily
if there is anything of good with God in my favour, He will give me in exchange
what is better than it, and if I have been otherwise, He will strip me of all
that I have. And be moderate in the grave that you dig for me, for verily if
there be anything of good with God in my favour, He will widen it for me, and
if I have been otherwise, He will make it narrow for me to squeeze my body. And
let no woman go with my funeral. Praise me not for that which is not in me, for
the Lord knows best what I am. Therefore when you carry me to the grave, hasten
in your going for if there is anything of good with God in my favour you will
speed me to that which is good, and if I have been otherwise, you will cast
from your necks an evil that you bear."
Thereafter Umar turned his face to the Qibla and breathed
his last. There was serene smile on his face as he lay dead.
Original source: Hadrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, Ali (RadiyAllah anhu) 4
Vol. Set by Professor Masud-ul-Hasan
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