Reforms of Hazrat Umar RA

Introduction:

Hazrat Umar was the second muslim Caliph and reigned during 634 to 644 CE. Hazrat Umar undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw pu lic policy! esta lishing an advanced administration for newly con"uered lands! including several new ministries and ureaucracies! as well as ordering a census of all the #uslim territories. $uring his reign! the garrison cities of %asrah and al&'fah were founded or expanded. In 638, he extended and renovated the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina. He also e!an the process of codif"in! Isla#ic law.

Political Reforms:
Hazrat Umar was a political genius! he not only e(panded his empire at an unprecedented rate ut also uildup its political structure on firm and sound ases. Hazrat Umar was very acute in the appointment of his provincial governors called )ali or amir. )henever a governor was appointed y Hazrat Umar! a man was sent with him that would read pu licly his powers and *urisdictions. $uring the reign of Caliph + u %akr! the state was economically weak! while during Hazrat Umar,s reign ecause of increase in revenues and other sources of income! the state was on its way to economic prosperity. Hence Hazrat Umar felt it necessary that the officers e treated in strict way as to prevent the possi le greed of money that may lead them to corruption. $uring his reign! at the time of appointment! every officer was re"uired to make the oath.hat he would not ride a .urkic horse. .hat he would not wear fine clothes. .hat he would not eat sifted flour.

.hat he would not keep a porter at his door. .hat he would always keep his door open to the pu lic. Hazrat Umar was first to esta lish a special department for the investigation of complaints against the officers of the /tate. .his department acted as +dministrative court! where the legal proceedings were personally led y Hazrat Umar.012 .he $epartment was under the charge of #uhammad i n #aslamah! one of Hazrat Umar3s most trusted man. 4n important cases #uhammad i n #aslamah was deputed y Hazrat Umar to proceed to the spot! investigate the charge and take action. /ometimes an 4n"uiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. 5n occasions the officers against whom complaints were received were summoned to #edina! and charged in Hazrat Umar3s administrative court. Hazrat Umar was known for this intelligence service through which he made his officials accounta le .his service was also said to have inspired fear in his su *ects. 5n discovery of any scandal on the part of any official! an investigation through a special department of accounta ility headed y #uhammad i n #aslamah would e carried out and if the official would prove guilty he was immediately deposed from his office and his punishment was vary from pu licly humiliating punishments to flogging. %efore appointment! all financial assets and details of the political officer used to e recorded and were checked each year. 4t was due to Umar3s strong commitment to eradicate corruption and ri ery.

Military Reforms:
Caliph Umar organized the army as a /tate department. .his reform was introduced in 636 +.$. + eginning was made with the 7uraish and the +nsars and the system was gradually e(tended to the whole of +ra ia and to #uslims of con"uered lands. + register of all adults who could e called to war was prepared! and a scale of salaries was fi(ed. +ll men registered were lia le to military service. .hey were divided into two categories! namely.hose who formed the regular standing army8 and .hose that lived in their homes! ut

were lia le to e called to the colors whenever needed. 9:; .he pay was paid in the eginning of the month of #uharram. .he allowances were paid during the harvesting season. .he armies of the Caliphs were mostly paid in cash salaries. 4n contrast to many post&<oman polities in Europe! grants of land! or of rights to collect ta(es directly from the payers! were of only minor importance. + ma*or conse"uence of this was that the army directly depended on the state for its su sistence which! in turn! meant that the military had to control the state apparatus. =romotions in the army were made on the strength of the length of service or e(ceptional merit. 5fficership was an appointment and not a rank. 5fficers were appointed to command for the attle or the campaign8 and once the operation was concluded! they could well find themselves in the ranks again. >eave of a sence was given to army men at regular intervals. .he troops stationed at far off places were given leave after four months. Each army corps was accompanied y an officer of the treasury! an +ccountant! a 7adi! and a num er of interpreters esides a num er of =hysicians and /urgeons. E(peditions were undertaken according to seasons. E(peditions in cold countries were undertaken during the summer! and in hot countries in winter. Hazrat Umar esta lished military cantonments on strategic positions throughout the empire to deal with any emergency efficiently and "uickly. .he garrison towns of 'ufa! %usra and ?ustat were founded y Umar. .hey were also provincial capitals of their respective provinces.

Judicial
Hazrat Umar stressed the independence of the *udiciary and declared it a sovereign state organ that could proceed without any pressure of state. @o one was e(empt from the law! not even the Caliph himself. $uring early years of his rule he also acted as a chief *ustice of #adinah ut later due to increasing urden of work he was left with no option ut to assign his office to some other person! he accordingly appointed + u $ardah! a well known /aha i! though he didn3t resign completely from the office and + u $ardah only acted as his secondary. Hazrat Umar was the founder of ?i"h 94slamic *urisprudence;. #ore than one thousand *uristic pronouncements of Hazrat Umar are on record and are followed y four /unni schools of law in 4slamic *urisprudence. 4n addition to this he also

laid down the principle of 7iyas or logical deduction and also enunciated numerous rules a out inference and generalization of laws which form the asis of 4slamic *urisprudence. 4n his instructions to his *udicial officers Hazrat Umar is reported to have saidA )hen you do not find a *udgment on an issue in the 7uran or Hadith and you are B 93;

in dou t a out it! ponder over the "uestion and ponder again. .hen look for dicta on like and similar issues! and decide accordingly

Hazrat Umar was very keen in appointing "azis 94slamic term for Chief Custice;. .o all the ma*or provincial cities! Hazrat Umar would personally appointed *udges. Hazrat Umar entrusted the office of *ustice only to those selected persons who could fulfill his criteria for this office! some of which are as follow #ust e well reputed for his morals! modesty! and interpersonal relations. #ust e intelligent! and astute in *udicial decisions and en*oy his own personal view regarding all social issues that could ena le them in the formulation of precedent or case law. He must e highly "ualified in fi"h #ust e socially a powerful and influential personality so that he might not come under pressure of any powerful perpetrator. +ppointment of *udges in districts and small towns were made y his appointed provincial )$li %Governors&. Hazrat '#ar appointed (ud!es with ver" hi!h salaries and for lifelon! tenure this as in #odern ti#es, was to #a)e sure that (ud!es could not e drawn to wards ri er" and a non pre(udice and un iased verdicts could e reach. Hazrat '#ar also held that in the court the *ud!e should not e praised and that all acts should e (ud!ed accordin! to the test of pu lic interest. He also !ave a !eneral law that an" act which did not har# an" one and was otherwise not for idden under law was per#issi le.

Social Reforms:

+ne of Hazrat '#ar,s #ost re#ar)a le refor# was esta lish#ent of Isla#ic calendar. Hazrat '#ar held the startin! point of calendar to e the "ear of Hi(ra rou!hl" correspondin! the "ear 6--, when Moha##ad #i!rated to Madinah fro# Mecca. Hazrat '#ar prohi ited the sale of wine and drun)ers were punished with 8. lashes. Hazrat '#ar held that a slave wo#an who ore children to her #aster should e set free. It was a practice a#on! /ra poets to #ention the na#e of so#e wo#en in their poetr" to #a)e it attractive while other !lorif" their love affair with so#e !irl #entionin! her na#e in the poetic verses, it was a heinous practice and wo#an,s #odest" was directl" tar!eted in it, Hazrat '#ar put a an on this practice and declared it unlawful and a punish#ent was ruled out for the offenders. 0i#ilarl" '#ar also anned written satires and la#poons. Hazrat '#ar esta lished a #ore exact s"ste# of calculation of the inheritance. 'nder Hazrat '#ar,s rule, for first ti#e in histor", state intervention to control the price of #erchandise was practiced. Hazrat '#ar esta lished a sta les for the lost ca#els. Hazrat '#ar started salar" for I#a#s, Muadhans %1allers to pra"er& teachers and pu lic lectures. He also esta lished an effective Postal service. /nnuall" 2a)at was char!ed fro# Musli#s, while fro# non3Musli#, (i2"a was char!ed, it was char!ed fro# non3Musli#s adult #ales onl" and was usuall" - dirha#s per head auunall", which was far too less than the tax char!ed " 4astern 5o#an e#pire and 0assanid Persian 4#pire, a reason that pleased the non3Musli# su (ects. In addition to this non3Musli#s were also exe#pted fro# #ilitar" services. the" were free to follow an" reli!ion the" want. '#ar,s territorial do#ains includin! so#e of the world,s #ost strate!ic places for trade caravans. 6rade tax that Hazrat '#ar char!ed was far less than the tax char!ed " 5o#an and other e#pires. More over for the prosperous trade and tradin! incentives for #erchants and for their co#forts Hazrat '#ar esta lished special chain of state3owned !uest house and Guilds for certain trades. Hazrat '#ar held census in the e#pire and esta lished an institution of 7iwa,an %literar" #eans re!ister&, a depart#ent of re!istration which had na#es of all the population #entioned in it. 6he provincial and district headquarter had their own copies of diwa,an. 8a#e of ever" new orn a " was entered in 7iwa,an, parents were responsi le to re!ister their infants, the incentive was the handso#e allowance that was started in 69:, when Hazrat '#ar esta lished ;a"t al3#al or pu lic treasur". It was a financial institution, responsi le for the ad#inistration of allowance,

taxes, *i2"a and war spoil. /nnual allowance was !iven to all Musli# population of the e#pire, #en, wo#en children and new orn infants. 6he hi!hest a#ount of allowance was set for the wives of Moha##ad which was :-,... dirha#s. <or adults the lowest allowance was 3.. dirha#s that was usuall" !iven to desert ;edouins. 6he allowance of infants was :.. dirha#s. 6he re!isters where the na#es of the receivers of allowance were #entioned were usuall" in the re!ional ;a"t al3#al, which were in #a(or cities li)e =ufa, ;usra, 7a#ascus and <ustat etc. or in the district headquarter where the a#ir resides or with respective tri al chiefs. /llowance in Madinah and near " villa!es was usuall" personall" distri uted " Hazrat '#ar. Hazrat '#ar,s purpose of !ivin! allowance was soarin! the econo#ical condition of Musli#s. Hazrat '#ar is reported to have express his views re!ardin! the allowance in his fa#ous sa"in!> ? @6he one who have wealth should invest it in profita le wor)s, and if so#e one

have fertile land he should cultivate it, ecause soon those rulers will co#e who will #one" onl" to those who# he wills to.@ 94; Hazrat '#ar is also quoted sa"in!> ? @/#on! ;edouin %poor no#ads& who so ever will receive the allowance, he #ust A 94;

purchase so#e !oats when he receives allowance next "ear, he should sell those !oats and alon! with the #one" of allowance should purchase cattle.

6his was a re#ar)a le exertion to i#prove the livin! standard of the co##on #an. Hazrat '#ar,s these efforts however wor)ed, and " the ti#e of Hazrat '#ar,s successor 1aliph 'th#an, Musli# population was prosperin!. Hazrat '#ar, a "ear later, when Musli#,s allowance was started, Hazrat '#ar also issued orders for the allowance for the poor and under privile!ed non3Musli#s throu!hout the e#pire. 6he concepts of welfare and pension were introduced in earl" Isla#ic law as for#s of Ba)at %charit"&, one of the <ive Pillars of Isla#, under '#ar in the Cth centur". 6he taxes %includin! Ba)at and *i2"a& collected in the treasur" of an Isla#ic !overn#ent were used to provide inco#e for the need", includin! the poor, elderl", orphans, widows, and the

disa led. /ccordin! to the Isla#ic (urist /l3Gha2ali %/l!a2el, :.D8E::::&, the !overn#ent was also expected to stoc)pile food supplies in ever" re!ion in case a disaster or fa#ine occurred. 9D; 6he 1aliphate can thus e considered the world,s first #a(or welfare state.

Conclusion:
4n highlighting some of the political! social! civil and economic reforms undertaken y the second <ightly&Euided Caliph Umar! this essay has provided a compelling perspective that such reforms had ena led the functioning of the 4slamic state along the characteristics of the ideal Ummah as proposed y the =rophet and in accordance with the 7ur,an and /unnah. %oth Hazrat Umar,s character and his stance towards these reforms reassert his commitment to the ideal 4slamic state8 and he remains a figure that inspires contemporary #uslim leaders to govern in the way of 4slam.

References:
1. /hadi Hamid 9+ugust :FF3;! G+n 4slamic +lternativeH E"uality! <edistri utive Custice! and the )elfare /tate in the Caliphate of UmarG! <enaissance- #onthly 4slamic Cournal p. 1 :. 4 id p. 6 3. 4 id p. 1: 4. http-IIu"reln13F1.wordpress.comI:F1FIFJI14Ithe&life&and&legacy&of&umar&i n&al& khatta &umar&the&greatI D. http-IIhikm.wordpress.comI:FF6IF1I:6Ithe&reforms&of&umar& in&khatta I