✦ The Caliphate of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله: A Shining Example of Justice ✦
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amonpuri
❖ The Question
What do the scholars say regarding the era of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله?
❖ The Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله was a just ruler from the Umayyad dynasty. The great imams have counted him among the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn. All scholars have praised and extolled him.
❀ The historian of Islam, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774H), said:
أطبق الأئمة على شكره وعلى مدحه، وعدوه من الخلفاء الراشدين ، وأجمع الناس قاطبة على عدله ، وأن أيامه كانت من أعدل الأيام
“The imams unanimously expressed gratitude for him, praised him, and counted him among the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn. The people collectively agreed upon his justice, and it is established by consensus that his era was among the most just and fair after the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.”
(al-Bidāyah wa-al-Nihāyah, 9/287; 12/696)
❖ Conclusion
The reign of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz رحمه الله is universally recognized as an era of justice, fairness, and piety. His short caliphate shone as a continuation of the legacy of the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn, making him a model of righteous leadership in Islamic history.
✿ ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب ✿
