What was the sermon that Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, delivered when he assumed the caliphate, in which he set out his approach to governing?
Reporters have differed regarding the first sermon of Umar ibn al-Khattab when he assumed the Caliphate. It was said that he stated: "O Allah, I am stern, so soften me; and I am weak, so strengthen me; and I am stingy, so make me generous." And it was said: "Indeed, Allah has tested you through me and tested me through you, after my companion..." It was also reported that when he assumed the Caliphate, he ascended the pulpit, praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: "Recite the Quran to know it, and act upon it to be among its people. Weigh yourselves before you are weighed, and adorn yourselves for the Greatest Display on the Day you are presented before Allah, when no hidden thing of yours will be concealed. Indeed, the right of one who has a right does not extend to being obeyed in disobedience to Allah. Behold, I have placed myself concerning the wealth of Allah in the position of the guardian of an orphan: if I am well-off, I will refrain; and if I am in need, I will partake with moderation." It is possible to reconcile these narrations by understanding that Umar delivered his sermon before a gathering of people, and some of them remembered parts that others did not.
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Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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