Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a) says;
Once I was with Umar (r.a) during his final days, he seemed lost in thoughts when suddenly he took such a deep and painful breath that I felt he might die of pain. Then I heard his sorrowful voice saying that he wanted to pass on the caliphate to someone who is not stubborn / inflexible but at the same time nothing can distract him from FIRMLY following Islamic principles, just like a silk thread that is soft to hold in hands but can’t be broken easily. His leniency is not due to weakness/ lack of mental strength but because of sincerity/kindness. He should be generous but one who doesn’t throw away money lavishly. He should prevent expenditure of money not because of miserliness but to prevent its wrong usage and wastage. After Umar (r.a) finished, it came to my mind that actually Umar (r.a) himself possessed all these qualities.
From the Lectures of Maulana Ehsan
