❖ The Story of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA) and the Girl Who Refused to Mix Water in Milk ❖
By: Shaykh al-Ḥadīth ʿAllāmah Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amrīnpūrī ḥafiẓahullāh
Narrated by Aslam Mawlā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA):
One night, I was with the Amīr al-Muʾminīn, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA), as he patrolled the streets of Madīnah. After a long walk, he leaned against a wall to rest. Suddenly, we heard a woman’s voice from inside a house saying to her daughter:
❝My daughter, get up and mix water in the milk.❞
The daughter replied:
❝Mother, do you not know that the Amīr al-Muʾminīn has forbidden mixing water with milk?❞
The mother asked:
❝What order did ʿUmar give?❞
The daughter said:
❝He commanded the caller to announce that mixing water in milk is prohibited.❞
The mother then said:
❝Mix the water in the milk—ʿUmar is not watching, nor is his caller.❞
But the daughter answered:
❝By Allah! I will not obey him in public and disobey him in private.❞
ʿUmar (RA), who was listening to all this, said to Aslam:
❝Mark this door and remember its location.❞
In the morning, ʿUmar (RA) asked Aslam to investigate the identity and marital status of the girl and her mother. It was found that the girl was unmarried. ʿUmar (RA) then gathered his sons and said:
❝Does anyone among you wish to marry? I would marry this girl myself if I were at the right age.❞
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) said:
❝I am already married.❞
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar (RA) also said:
❝I too have a wife.❞
Then ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar (RA) replied:
❝Father, I am unmarried. You may marry me to her.❞
Thus, ʿUmar (RA) arranged the marriage between his son ʿĀṣim and the God-fearing girl.
From this noble marriage, a daughter was born to ʿĀṣim, and through her lineage came ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, the righteous Umayyad Caliph known for his piety and justice.
References:
Akhbār ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (al-Ājurī, pp. 48–49),
Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir (70/253),
Manāqib ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (Ibn al-Jawzī, pp. 7–8),
Musnad al-Fārūq (Ibn Kathīr, 2/129)
– Chain is ḥasan (reliable).
According to Imām Ibn ʿAsākir, the correct position is:
❝The mother of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was Umm ʿĀṣim, the daughter of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb**, not his granddaughter.❞
Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir (70/253)
This narration includes ʿAbdullāh ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, regarding whom the majority of scholars have affirmed his reliability.
✔ Scholars who authenticated him:
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal,
Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī,
ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī,
al-Bukhārī,
Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā,
Ibn Saʿd,
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī,
al-Bayhaqī,
Ibn Shāhīn,
Ibn Khalafūn
✖ Scholars who weakened him:
Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn,
Abū Zurʿah,
al-Nasāʾī,
Ibn ʿAdī,
al-Sājī,
al-Jawzajānī,
Ibn Ḥibbān
Conclusion:
The chain is ḥasan (good) and the story is acceptable for reflection and teaching.
This story beautifully illustrates the virtues of:
✔ Honesty in secrecy
✔ God-consciousness (taqwā)
✔ Accountability and justice
✔ Upright character leading to generational blessings
By refusing to commit a small act of dishonesty, this young girl became the grandmother of one of Islam’s most just caliphs—ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (RA).
"Whoever fears Allah, He will make a way for him and provide from where he does not expect."
(Al-Ṭalāq: 2–3)
By: Shaykh al-Ḥadīth ʿAllāmah Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amrīnpūrī ḥafiẓahullāh
✿ An Incident of Accountability, God-Fearingness, and Honesty
Narrated by Aslam Mawlā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA):
One night, I was with the Amīr al-Muʾminīn, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA), as he patrolled the streets of Madīnah. After a long walk, he leaned against a wall to rest. Suddenly, we heard a woman’s voice from inside a house saying to her daughter:
❝My daughter, get up and mix water in the milk.❞
The daughter replied:
❝Mother, do you not know that the Amīr al-Muʾminīn has forbidden mixing water with milk?❞
The mother asked:
❝What order did ʿUmar give?❞
The daughter said:
❝He commanded the caller to announce that mixing water in milk is prohibited.❞
The mother then said:
❝Mix the water in the milk—ʿUmar is not watching, nor is his caller.❞
But the daughter answered:
❝By Allah! I will not obey him in public and disobey him in private.❞
ʿUmar (RA), who was listening to all this, said to Aslam:
❝Mark this door and remember its location.❞
✿ Investigation and Proposal for Marriage
In the morning, ʿUmar (RA) asked Aslam to investigate the identity and marital status of the girl and her mother. It was found that the girl was unmarried. ʿUmar (RA) then gathered his sons and said:
❝Does anyone among you wish to marry? I would marry this girl myself if I were at the right age.❞
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) said:
❝I am already married.❞
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar (RA) also said:
❝I too have a wife.❞
Then ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar (RA) replied:
❝Father, I am unmarried. You may marry me to her.❞
Thus, ʿUmar (RA) arranged the marriage between his son ʿĀṣim and the God-fearing girl.
✿ Birth of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz
From this noble marriage, a daughter was born to ʿĀṣim, and through her lineage came ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, the righteous Umayyad Caliph known for his piety and justice.
References:Akhbār ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (al-Ājurī, pp. 48–49),
Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir (70/253),
Manāqib ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (Ibn al-Jawzī, pp. 7–8),
Musnad al-Fārūq (Ibn Kathīr, 2/129)
– Chain is ḥasan (reliable).
✿ Who Was the Mother of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz?
According to Imām Ibn ʿAsākir, the correct position is:
❝The mother of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was Umm ʿĀṣim, the daughter of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb**, not his granddaughter.❞
Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir (70/253)✿ Narrator’s Reliability
This narration includes ʿAbdullāh ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, regarding whom the majority of scholars have affirmed his reliability.
✔ Scholars who authenticated him:
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal,
Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī,
ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī,
al-Bukhārī,
Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā,
Ibn Saʿd,
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī,
al-Bayhaqī,
Ibn Shāhīn,
Ibn Khalafūn
✖ Scholars who weakened him:
Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn,
Abū Zurʿah,
al-Nasāʾī,
Ibn ʿAdī,
al-Sājī,
al-Jawzajānī,
Ibn Ḥibbān
Conclusion:The chain is ḥasan (good) and the story is acceptable for reflection and teaching.
✿ Moral and Lesson
This story beautifully illustrates the virtues of:
✔ Honesty in secrecy
✔ God-consciousness (taqwā)
✔ Accountability and justice
✔ Upright character leading to generational blessings
By refusing to commit a small act of dishonesty, this young girl became the grandmother of one of Islam’s most just caliphs—ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (RA).
"Whoever fears Allah, He will make a way for him and provide from where he does not expect."(Al-Ṭalāq: 2–3)
