Omer

“ When these young men grew to manhood they espoused the cause of their father, raised an army, attacked the forces of Jared by night, and utterly routed them. Jared obtained his life by renouncing his rights to the throne, and Omer was reinstated in the kingly authority. Jared, greatly chagrined at the loss of the royal power, entered into secret combination with Akish, a friend of Omer, to assassinate the king and restore Jared to the throne. ”

“ Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat." 16:16 This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent." 16:17 The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less. 16:18 When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating. ”

“ Omer, who, along with 17 other French knights, in 1119 formed themselves into a brotherhood, taking vows of chastity and poverty, for the purpose of convoying, in safety from attacks of Saracens and infidels, pilgrims to the Holy Land. King Baldwin II. of Jerusalem granted them a residence in a portion of his palace, built on the site of the Temple of Solomon, and close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which became the special object of their protection. Hence their assumption of the name "Templars." The order rapidly increased in numbers, and drew members from all classes. ”

“ Omer, was sent in 1621 for his higher course to the English College of the jesuits at Valladolid. He was professed of the four vows 25 March 1645. For twenty years (1631–51) he served the missions in the ‘residence of St. Stanislas,’ which included Devonshire and Cornwall, and subsequently he was appointed professor of moral theology and controversy at Liège. Returning to this country he died in London on 26 Nov. 1667.
He wrote: 1. ‘Lapis Lydius Controversiarum modernarum Catholicos inter et Acatholicos,’ Liège, 1656, 24mo, pp. 466. 2. ‘Pia Exercitatio Divini Amoris,’ Liège, 1656, 12mo. ”

“ But Omar was a philosopher and astronomer. He peered into the infinite depths of endless space, and could see only moving, whirling worlds like ours, and could find no place for heaven or hell. What the mysteries of astronomy could not reveal, the theories of life left equally in the dark. While he refused to be moved by a literal heaven and hell, he yet felt a deep meaning attached to these old religious views. The humane, progressive thinkers of to-day have scarcely gone beyond this old seer, who lived eight centuries ago and pondered the same problems over which our theologians wrangle now. ”

“ Where the name of Slave and Sultán scarce is known,
And pity Sultán Máhmúd on his Throne.
Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
And Wilderness is Paradise enow!
[Pg 8]
And in the lines of Omar:—
In a thousand places on the road I walk, thou placest snares.
Thou sayest: “I will catch thee if thou steppeth into them,”
In no smallest thing is the world independent of thee,
Thou orderest all things—and callest me rebellious! ”

“ About the same time, 'Omar appointed another early convert of singular religious merit, 'Abdallah ibn Mas'ud, who had in early days, like 'Ammar, been a slave at Mecca to a post at Al-Kufa, for which, however, he was better fitted,—the charge of the treasury. He had been the body-servant of the Prophet, who was used to call him "light in body, but weighty in faith."1 He was learned in the Kor'an, and had a "reading" of his own, to which as the best text, he held persistently against all recessions. ”

“ Omar, with his native vehemence, was about to speak, when Abu Bekr bade him to be silent, and anticipated him, as Omar used in after days to say, with the same arguments he himself had thought of, and even better. ‘Every word,’ said Abu Bekr, calmly and firmly, ‘which the Citizens had uttered in their own praise was true, but in noble birth and influence the Coreish were paramount, and to none but them would Arabia yield obedience.’ ‘Then,’ cried the men of Medîna, ‘let there be one chief from amongst you and one from amongst us.’ ‘Away with you!’ exclaimed Omar; ‘two cannot stand together’ ”

“ His choice was fixed on Omar; but willing to fortify his own conviction by the sense of others, he first consulted Abd al Rahmân, who praised Omar as the fittest man, but withal inclined to be severe.—‘Which,’ responded the dying Caliph, ‘is because he saw me soft and tender-hearted; when himself the Master, he will forego much of what thou sayest. I have watched him narrowly. If I were angry with one, he would intercede in his behalf; if over lenient, then he would be severe.’ Othmân, too, confirmed his choice. ‘What is hidden of Omar,’ he said, ‘is better than that which doth appear. ”

“ Among the killed we meet not a few names familiar to us in the annals of the Prophet’s life. The carnage amongst the Readers—those who had the Corân by heart—was so great, as to suggest to Omar the first design of collecting the sacred text, ‘lest any part should be lost therefrom.’ At the death of his favourite brother Zeid, who had shared with him the dangers of the first battles of Islam, Omar was inconsolable. ‘Thou art returned home,’ he said to his son [46] Abdallah, ‘safe and sound; and Zeid is dead. Wherefore wast not thou slain before him? ”

“ Like dying flute-tones, the night-winds whispered round Omar; his bosom heaved happily and pantingly, his eye was drunk with splendour, his ear with heavenly harmony; and from amid the effulgence stepped forth a form of light, and stood before the enraptured one; it was Asrael, the radiant angel of God.
"Mount with me in these beams to the abodes of the blessed," cried the same sweet voice, "for thou hast deserved by thy nobleness of soul to view the blessedness of Paradise."
"My Lord," said the trembling Omar, "how can I, a mortal, follow thee? My earthly body is not taken from me yet." ”

“ When Omar understood the cause of it, he asked the poor people what they had to say for themselves? They answered, that they were not able. Upon which he said, “Let them alone, and do not compel them to more than they are able to bear; for I heard the apostle of God say, Do not afflict men; for those who afflict men in this world, God shall punish them in hell-fire at the day of judgment.” ”

“ Then ʾOmar wept, and said inwardly, "O ʾOmar! every one is better acquainted with the Divine law than thou, even old women. Alas, O ʾOmar!" Then he said to her, "O handmaid of Allâh! for how much will you sell me the injustice you have received from ʾOmar? ”

“ Saïd thanked him for his advice; adding, that if he followed it he should be saved. “And now,” says Saïd, “as you have advised me, so let me advise you.” “Speak on,” says Omar. “I bid you then (added the other) fear God more than men, and not the contrary; and love all the Mussulmans as yourself and your family, as well those at a distance as those near you. And command that which is praiseworthy, and forbid that which is otherwise.” Omar, all the while he spoke, stood looking stedfastly upon the ground, leaning his forehead upon his staff. ”

“ At first the emir and his courtiers began to dance and sing wildly, they knew not wherefore, while in the wood far away Oberon heard the sound. ‘Huon, my friend, has great need of me,’ he thought to himself, ‘and his ill-doings have been punished enough, so I will pardon him, for there is not in all the world so noble a man. Therefore I wish myself at his side, with a thousand men behind me.’ And in another moment, no man could tell how, Oberon and his men were within the walls of Babylon. The guards of the palace fell before them on every hand, till at last they reached the emir himself. ”

“ And this, O Son of Shapur, is the secret of Omar’s alchemy: To gather something from every one thou passest on the highway, and from every experience fate sends thee, as Omar gathered from the heart of every rose, and out of the wide knowledge thus gained of human weaknesses and human needs, to distil in thine own heart the precious oil of Sympathy. That is the attar [Page 36] that shall win for thee a welcome wherever thou goest. And no man fills his crystal vase with it until he has first been pricked by the world’s disappointments, and bowed by its tasks. ”

“ To fill a vacancy requiring unusual skill, experience, and power 'Omar unwisely appointed 'Ammar, who, as a persecuted slave and confessor in the first days of Islam, was second to none in the faith; but a man of no ability, and now advanced in years.1 The citizens of Al-Kufa were not long in finding out his incapacity; and, at their desire, 'Omar transferred Abu Musa from Al-Basra to rule over them. But it was no easy work for him to curb the factious populace. ”

“ The king answered, the young prince his son. “Ah, Sir,” said the dervise, “a house that changes its inhabitants so often, and receives such a perpetual succession of guests, is not a palace, but a caravansary.”
OMAR’S PLAN OF LIFE.
Omar, the son of Hassan, had passed seventy-five years in honour and prosperity. The favour of three successive califs had filled his house with gold and silver; and whenever he appeared, the benedictions of the people proclaimed his passage.
Terrestrial happiness is of short continuance. The brightness of the flame is wasting its fuel ”

“ If they refuse, expel them from the city. I am the Roaring Lion of the desert, and will devour them up.’ ‘The Lord destroy thee!’ cried Omar; and Hobâb returned the words. The altercation gaining in heat and bitterness, Abu Bekr saw that it must be stopped at any risk; so stepping forward he said: ‘Ye see these two’—and he pointed to Omar and Abu Obeida—‘Choose ye now whichever of them ye will, and salute him as your Chief.’ ‘Nay,’ cried both at once, ‘Thou hast already, at the Prophet’s bidding, led the prayers; thou art our Chief. ”

“ Now Omri was no way different from those kings that reigned before him, but that he grew worse than they, for they all sought how they might turn the people away from God by their daily wicked practices; and oil that account it was that God made one of them to be slain by another, and that no one person of their families should remain. This Omri also died in Samaria and Ahab his son succeeded him. ”

“ He was watching the spectacled old Turk, who sat all day in the court of the Pigeon Mosque, writing for those who did not know how. Omar had been to school, where, sitting on straw mats with the other boys, weaving his body to and fro as they recited in unison, he had learned parts of the Koran by heart; but he had never learned to write. If the fat merchant who was dictating to the scribe could not write his own letters, why should Omar? And if every one knew this art, how would the old man earn his living? ”

“ Then the Apostle of God said, "What, O ʿOmar, incited thee to act as thou didst?" He replied, "O Apostle of God, by my father and my mother, didst thou send Abú Hurairah with thy shoes to inform whomsoever he met, and that bare witness from the heart that there is no God but Alláh, that he should give him good tidings of heaven?" He said, "Yes." ʿOmar said, "Then do not do so; for I fear that men will depend upon this alone. Therefore leave them alone to perform their works." Then the Apostle of God said, "Leave them alone."'—Muslim. ”

“ I tear my hair—I storm—I swear, and yet,
'Tis only to dear Omar she pays Heed.
[16]
XVI
"Some for the Glories of this world; and some
Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to Come;"
The greatest Boon I ask for is, I may
Supplant this Interloper as a Chum.
[17]
XVII
Now all the Years that we have Wedded been,
Not once had Demon Jealousy crept in
Until this Omar—dead eight Hundred Years,
Did come and her Affection from me Win.
[18]
XVIII
I feel chagrined to Think, at this late Date,
A Man so long since Dead can alienate
The fond Devotion that's been mine alone. ”

“ Why would you stay till the roof of the house falls upon your head?” Upon Omar’s replying, “I come hither that I may believe in God and his apostle,” the apostle gave praise to God, and thus was completed the conversion of Omar.
And now, finding he made such progress, the Koreishites cruelly persecuted the followers of Mohammed. On this account he gave leave to as many of them as had no family to hinder it, to leave Mecca, which they did, to the number of eighty-three men and eighteen women, with their little ones. ”

“ Omar used to say that there was no man for whom the people would more readily have laid down their life. They gave him the sobriquet of ‘the Sighing,’ because of his tender-heartedness. Excepting the solitary case in which he committed a traitor-brigand to the flames, no single act of cruelty stands against him; and for that he expressed his sorrow. It was one of the three things, he used to say, which he would wish undone. The others were, that he had pardoned Asháth, who deserved death; and that when he transferred Khâlid to Syria, he had not at the same time sent Omar to Irâc. ”

“ Omar then recited the Fathah again, and we rose and gave the servants a few foddahs—the saint takes no notice of this part of the proceeding—but he asked me to send him twice my hand full of rice for his dinner, an honour so great that there was a murmur of congratulation through the whole assembly. I asked Omar how a man could be a saint who neglected all the duties of a Muslim, and I found that he fully believed that Sheykh Seleem could be in two places at once, that while he sits there on the shore he is also at Mecca, performing every sacred function and dressed all in green. ”

“ Again, “Will they desire any other than God’s religion, to whom everything in heaven and earth [53] submits itself.” [54] And then, “The religion of Abraham your father: he gave you the name of Mussulmans.” [55] The rabbi, convinced with so many pregnant texts, that the Mohammedan religion was no other than that of Abraham and the patriarchs, repeated instantly, “La Ilaha,” &c. “There is but one God, and Mohammed is his apostle.” Omar was very well pleased with his new proselyte, and invited him to go along with him to Medina, to visit the prophet’s tomb, to which he consented. ”