Ideal Islamic Society

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Ideal Islamic Society

• How Umar bin Abdul Aziz established an ideal
  Islamic Society.

By Sadiah Faray, Zuwairah Baba and Hawa Tufa VCE
Religion and Society Presentation 2003 Teacher
Mr Salifu Baba
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CONTENTS

• Background
• Education and Achievements
• Period before Umars Caliphate
• Period of Umars Caliphate
• Revival of Islam

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BACKGROUND

• Born approximately 50 years after Prophet
  Muhammed (SAW)s death
• His mother was the grand daughter of Hadhrat
  Umar ibn al-Khattab (the 2nd Caliph)
• Born of a royal family, father was an important
  figure in the Egyptian provinces
• Earning 50 000 pounds annually

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BACKGROUND

• Umar lived like a grandee
• His food, dress and habits were that of a
  princes
• His lifestyle at the time did not hint any of the
  tasks he would undertake in his later years

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EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Training in Hadith and Fiqh
• First-rate Muhaddith
• Authority on Fiqh

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What impelled Umar to act

• Umar was confronted with obstacles of un-Islam
  brought about by his own immediate family elders
• A general moral degeneration had set in all the
  Muslim countries involving all classes of
  society.

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What impelled Umar to act

• The collective life of the people did not bear
  any impression of the guidance of the Quran and
  the Sunnah
• The lives of luxury led by the ruling few and
  greed had caused many people a grave economic
  set-back and the levying of undue taxes had made
  their lives all the more miserable.

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What impelled Umar to act

• Such were the conditions when Umar iinherited
  the throne when he was 37 years old.

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Processes involved in establishing an ideal
  Islamic society by Umar ibn Abdul Aziz

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• He declared that people were not bound, but free
  to elect anybody they pleased as their Caliph.
• The people were only willing to elect him as
  their leader
• Straight away he dismissed the false ruling
  pride, court practices of worldly kings and
  pledged himself to a simple life of a Caliph

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Levelled the royal household to that of the
  common Muslims
• All estates in the possession of the royal
  family, including his own, were returned to the
  public treasury
• Unlawfully seized property was returned to their
  rightful owners

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Umars annual income of 50 000 pounds was reduced
  to 200 pounds
• He rejected all monetary reward for his services
  as Caliph
• After setting the house hold affairs in order, he
  turned to reform the government system

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• He removed unjust governors and launched a search
  for righteous men to replace them
• Obliged all despotic government officials to
  adhere to justice and peace
• He abolished all unlawful taxes and re-organised
  the system of collecting Zakat

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Granted non-Muslims their rights and privileges
  under the Shariah
• He enforced the Islamic principles of equity and
  fair-paly over the shadows of the unjust royal
  influence
• He revived the true spirit of practising the
  Shari'ah

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Arranged for education of the masses
• Drew attention to Qur'an sciences, Hadith and
  Fiqh
• As a result, he succeeded in generating a
  powerful intellectual movement and eventually
  produced the four great Imams

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• He enforced total prohibition and discouraged all
  ease-loving tendencies left from the rule of the
  monarch
• Thus he achieved the purpose for which Islam
  endeavours to establish its rule
• When we give them authority in the earth, they
  strive to establish Salat, make arrangements for
  the collection of Zakat, enforce good and forbid
  evil. (2241)

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• It is related that during the reign of Waleed,
  people would meet and talk about buildings and
  gardens, under Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik their
  main interest was sex, but when Umar bin Abdul
  Aziz became Caliph, conditions quickly changed
  and Salat, Fasting and the Quran became the
  popular subjects for conversation.

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Non-Muslims were so impressed that they embraced
  Islam in thousands
• Even the neighbouring non-Muslims willingly
  embraced Islam
• In those days, the Roman Empire was at arms with
  Islam for a century or so

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Even they (Romans) were so impressed with the
  high morality displayed by Umar that when Umar
  died the Roman Emperor is reported to have said
• I should not be the least surprised if a monk
  renounces the world and busies himself in worship
  behind closed doors. But I am simply amazed at
  this man who had a vast empire at his feet, but
  he rejected it and lived the life of a monk

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was the first Mujaddid of
  Islam and did work for more than two and a half
  years to revolutionise life in all its various
  aspects
• The Umayyads felt threatened by this man that
  they conspired against him to his death by
  poisoning him at the young age of 39

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UMARS CHALIPHATE

• He cleansed the social life of the Muslims of the
  evil influence left by the Umayyads and prepared
  them morally and intellectually to burden the
  responsibilities of leadership and revival,
• Umar covered every aspect in reviving Islam,
• However he remained deficient in one area he
  could not abolish monarchy.

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GROUP WORK

• Identify and discuss the features of an ideal
  school.
• Can Minaret College be turned into an ideal
  Islamic school? If yes, please go to the next
  question. If your answer is no, please explain
  why.
• What are the processes involved in establishing
  such a school?