Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was the revivalist of the first century after Hijrah. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was the first person to declare him as such, and there was no disagreement among the Muslim scholars on this matter.
During the rule of Banu Umayyah, the succession of power was hereditary, and was thus confined in the Banu Umayyah family, until Sulayman took power. Upon appointing his successor, Sulayman sought the advice of the sons of the Prophet’s companions. They advised him to choose Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz. When Umar was chosen, the people carried him over their shoulders to the pulpit. He thanked Allah and said: “O people! This matter has befallen on me without my knowledge, nor have I asked for it, nor have I been consulted about it, and I am now resigning, so choose a Khalifah among yourselves.” The people shouted with one voice: “We have chosen you O Umar, and have accepted you as our Khalifah!”
That was Umar’s first act of revival: to change the succession of power from being hereditary to become subject to consultation, where the Muslims choose their ruler. Umar earnestly started the revival movement. He abolished the luxuries that the rulers before him had for their use, and all the privileges enjoyed by the ruler’s family and relatives. He asked his wife to choose between staying with him or keeping the wealth her father gave her. She chose to stay with him, and took her jewelry to the state treasury.
Next, he made sweeping changes in the government. He appointed jurist scholars known for their righteousness and piety, and dismissed the corrupt ones. He abolished taxes and distributed the wealth with justice. He organized the collection and distribution of Zakat so well that there was a time when no one came to ask for it, and the Zakat distributors could not find anybody to take it.
Then he worked toward the purification of the Muslims’ souls and of the social and moral environment. For this reason, he encouraged the scholars to spread the true Islamic knowledge among the Muslims, and to call the disbelievers to Islam. He fought the deviations and innovations inherited from those before him. He gave back to the people of the book the rights that the Qur’an prescribed. He appointed scholars to record by writing the hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the quotations of his companions, radhiallahu anhum. It was in fact the first organized movement to record the hadith.
These reforms had a deep impact on the Muslim ummah and that it why Umar ibn Abdul Aziz deserves to be called the revivalist of the first century.
