same time. Yet he would not stop even his lowest subjects from rebuking him in public. It is reported that an ordinary citizen once interrupted him repeatedly. “Fear God, O ‘Umar!” said the man; and when others wanted to stop him, ‘Umar himself intervened, saying: “Let him say so; of what use are these people if they do not tell me such things?” This monarch of four kingdoms visited a famine-stricken camp at night incognito, and finding a woman with no food to give to her children, he rushed back to Madīnah, a distance of three miles, and took a sack of flour on his back to feed the distressed woman and her children. When a servant offered his services to carry the load, he said: “In this life you might carry my burden, but who will carry my burden on the day of judgment?” Yet when this great servant of the people was lying on his death-bed and a young man lauded his great services, he said: “Enough, young fellow! It is sufficient if the evil I may have done in the exercise of authority is neutralized by any good that I have done”. It is such a mental attitude alone which can make men fit for ruling their fellow beings. But such a mentality is created only by a strong faith in God and a feeling of one’s responsibility to God.
It was such a responsible Government that Islām created, a government by men who realized that above all other things they were responsible to God for everything they did. The men to be honoured—and entrusting a man with command was certainly doing him honour—were those who paid the greatest regard to their duties. It was such men that were to be placed in authority over others. “Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to those worthy of them,” (4:58).2 Every one who was entrusted with any authority was told that he was a ruler in his own sphere and that he was responsible to God for those placed under his trust: “Everyone of you is a ruler and everyone shall be questioned about his subjects; the king is a ruler and he shall be questioned about his subjects; and the man is a ruler over the people of his house and he shall be questioned about those under his care; and the woman is a ruler over the house of her husband and she shall be questioned about those under her care; and the servant is a ruler so far as the property of the master is concerned and he shall be questioned about that which is entrusted to him” (Bu. 11:11). The ruler or head of the state is, thus, along with all those
2 The whole section of ch.4. in which this verse appears, deals with granting of kingdom to Muslims, who are here required to entrust the affairs of State to people who are worthy of this responsibility. The words that follow—”and that when you judge between people, you judge with justice”—corroborate this significance of the word amānāt “(positions of) trust”, the whole verse stating the reciprocal duties of the governed and the governors. Explaining the word amānāt, I’Ab said that it meant duties. The Holy Prophet himself has explained the word amānat (sing.of amānāt) as meaning Government or affairs of State. The Holy Prophet said: When the amānat is wasted, wait for the doom. It was said: “How will the amānat be wasted, O Messenger of Allāh? He said: when Government is entrusted to those unworthy of it, then wait for the doom” (Bu. 81:35).