Salman Al-Farsi
11-01-06, 10:23 PM
Crisis Management - Compare and Contrast
When Umar bin Khattab (RA) became the Khalifah it was reported that he gave the following address:
“Oh people know that I have been appointed to govern your affairs, so realise now that my roughness (severity) is now weaker, but I will still be rough and hard on the people of oppression and transgression. But to those who seek safety, religion and good will, I shall be more lenient than each of them to the others. I will never allow anybody to oppress another, or be aggressive to him; for, then, I will put his cheek to the ground and set my foot on the other cheek until they give the people what is due to them. And I will put my cheek to the ground for those who are virtuous and righteous. And I will promise a few things which you can hold me accountable to:
I promise I will take nothing of your Kharaj, and I will take nothing from the spoils of war that you get except that which is rightfully taken according to the book of Allah (SWT). And that money I will only spend it in according to the Law of Allah. I promise I will increase your salaries and your provisions and I promise I will protect your borders. It is incumbent on me not to throw you into destruction, and I will not keep the soldiers away from their families for extended periods of time. When I send you out for Jihad I will be the father of your children and the caretaker of your wives until you come back. Therefore, fear Allah, Oh servants of Allah."
Umar (RA) made pledges to the people and asked them to hold him to account. First he mentioned about the taxes and revenues of the state, he made a pledge that he will not take money from them except that which is due and that he will spend it in accordance with the law of Allah SWT. This is in contrast with the Muslim rulers today. They take taxes from the people, like income tax and VAT, which Allah did not permit and they spend it upon themselves. They privatise the natural resources (oil, gas, gold etc…) which belong to the Ummah and siphon the money to their private Swiss bank accounts. Umar (RA) promised to increase their provisions and grants from the state treasury, if the state had sufficient funds. Today we find the immense wealth in the Gulf States is invested abroad in Europe and US and the people live in poverty. In 2001 a conservative estimate of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the US was $900 billion and yet there are people who live in poverty in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia in 2005 had a record budget surplus of 57 billion dollars, so the rulers decided to spend $26 billion on building a new city with seaside resorts and an 18 - hole golf course in the middle of a desert. At the same time it gave a measly $130 million for the Pakistan Earthquake i.e. about 0.2%, it seems the golf course is more important than helping the Muslim Ummah. While Musharraf and his government have immense wealth stashed away in foreign bank accounts, they take on an additional $4 billion debt disguised as Aid with the pretence of helping the victims of the Earth Quake.
Umar (RA) made a promise that he will not throw them into destruction, i.e. when they go out for Jihad he would ensure that the risks were minimized by having sufficient reconnaissance preformed before hand. To him the safety of the ummah was paramount. He also made a pledge to protect their borders, i.e. to protect them from external or internal threats. Today the rulers are not concerned about the Ummah, they will use the police force and the military to protect themselves. In fact in the war on terror they will hand over any Muslim to be tortured in the secret prison or in the ‘Gulag’ of today Guantanamo. When Musharraf, Abdullah or the Iraqi rulers visit any area they have the roads cleared and employ look a like decoys, they also have a massive police and military presence. While it is well known that Umar (RA) used to roam the streets in the night and day by himself without one security guard making sure that thing are in order. Today the rulers fight the people, Alawi sent the US troops to bomb the Muslims in Fallujah and Musharrf bombed his own people in Waziristan and Balouchistan. Both in Pakistan and Iraq it was reported they used chemical weapons against the civilian population, white phosphorous in Falluja and napalm in Balouchistan.
The final promise that Umar (RA) made was that when he sends the soldier out for Jihad he will be the father of their children and the caretaker of their families. This gave the soldiers tranquillity when they went out for Jihad. This pledge shows how Umar (RA) viewed the responsibility of the ruler that is to take care of the Ummah and to put their needs first. His concern for the Ummah was demonstrated in the year of the famine in Madina. Due to the famine certain items of food were not available in the market, such as meat, butter and milk. People were eating bread dipped in oil. He made a promise that he will not eat something that the Muslims were unable to buy. When it did first become available it was very expensive, so his servant went and bought him some butter and milk and he paid 40 dinars to buy it. He came to Umar (ra) and said Allah SWT has fulfilled your oath and he will reward you greatly for what you have done now there is milk and butter in the market so I bought you some and it cost 40 dinars. Umar bin Al Khattab said that is too expensive and viewed that as Israf excess. He further added, "How can I be concerned about my subjects if I am not going through what they are going through, how can I feel for them if I am not going through the same hunger and thirst that they feel. As a leader I will not be just and fair with my subjects If don’t put myself in their shoes."
Contrast this to the response of our rulers to two disaster the Ummah suffered in 2005, the Tsunami and the Pakistan Earth Quake. The question we need to ask is what sacrifice the rulers of Indonesia and Pakistan made to help the Ummah in their time of need. In fact these disasters exposed the treachery of these rulers, especially the response of Musharraf.
The Pakistan senators exposed the criminal regime of Musharraf – in Nov 2005 reported in the Nation (www.nation.com.pk (http://www.nation.com.pk)) Senator Anwer Baig “He questioned that why the 50 thermal cameras possessed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) were not utilised during the rescue work while only 4 cameras brought in by the foreign rescue teams to save at least 600 lives in quake-hit areas … “Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan said that on one the government has a fleet of over 100 Mercedes for VVIPs but on the other hand the country is lacking in disaster or crisis management equipment to deal with calamity-like situation such as October 8 earthquake”.
While the Muslims are struggling in the harsh winter condition where snow has hindered the Aid effort by independent Muslim organisations the Government of Musharraf has not shifted a single Pakistani soldier from the 70,000 stationed on the Pakistan Afghan border fighting the Muslims in America’s War on terror. In Balochistan he has waged war against the Muslims. He has shifted four helicopters, which were deployed on quake relief work in the Kashmir, to Balochistan for use against the Marris and the Bugtis tribes. In addition to the five American Bases shown below, he has also allowed the US military to establish a presence in Kashmir.
When Umar bin Khattab (RA) became the Khalifah it was reported that he gave the following address:
“Oh people know that I have been appointed to govern your affairs, so realise now that my roughness (severity) is now weaker, but I will still be rough and hard on the people of oppression and transgression. But to those who seek safety, religion and good will, I shall be more lenient than each of them to the others. I will never allow anybody to oppress another, or be aggressive to him; for, then, I will put his cheek to the ground and set my foot on the other cheek until they give the people what is due to them. And I will put my cheek to the ground for those who are virtuous and righteous. And I will promise a few things which you can hold me accountable to:
I promise I will take nothing of your Kharaj, and I will take nothing from the spoils of war that you get except that which is rightfully taken according to the book of Allah (SWT). And that money I will only spend it in according to the Law of Allah. I promise I will increase your salaries and your provisions and I promise I will protect your borders. It is incumbent on me not to throw you into destruction, and I will not keep the soldiers away from their families for extended periods of time. When I send you out for Jihad I will be the father of your children and the caretaker of your wives until you come back. Therefore, fear Allah, Oh servants of Allah."
Umar (RA) made pledges to the people and asked them to hold him to account. First he mentioned about the taxes and revenues of the state, he made a pledge that he will not take money from them except that which is due and that he will spend it in accordance with the law of Allah SWT. This is in contrast with the Muslim rulers today. They take taxes from the people, like income tax and VAT, which Allah did not permit and they spend it upon themselves. They privatise the natural resources (oil, gas, gold etc…) which belong to the Ummah and siphon the money to their private Swiss bank accounts. Umar (RA) promised to increase their provisions and grants from the state treasury, if the state had sufficient funds. Today we find the immense wealth in the Gulf States is invested abroad in Europe and US and the people live in poverty. In 2001 a conservative estimate of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the US was $900 billion and yet there are people who live in poverty in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia in 2005 had a record budget surplus of 57 billion dollars, so the rulers decided to spend $26 billion on building a new city with seaside resorts and an 18 - hole golf course in the middle of a desert. At the same time it gave a measly $130 million for the Pakistan Earthquake i.e. about 0.2%, it seems the golf course is more important than helping the Muslim Ummah. While Musharraf and his government have immense wealth stashed away in foreign bank accounts, they take on an additional $4 billion debt disguised as Aid with the pretence of helping the victims of the Earth Quake.
Umar (RA) made a promise that he will not throw them into destruction, i.e. when they go out for Jihad he would ensure that the risks were minimized by having sufficient reconnaissance preformed before hand. To him the safety of the ummah was paramount. He also made a pledge to protect their borders, i.e. to protect them from external or internal threats. Today the rulers are not concerned about the Ummah, they will use the police force and the military to protect themselves. In fact in the war on terror they will hand over any Muslim to be tortured in the secret prison or in the ‘Gulag’ of today Guantanamo. When Musharraf, Abdullah or the Iraqi rulers visit any area they have the roads cleared and employ look a like decoys, they also have a massive police and military presence. While it is well known that Umar (RA) used to roam the streets in the night and day by himself without one security guard making sure that thing are in order. Today the rulers fight the people, Alawi sent the US troops to bomb the Muslims in Fallujah and Musharrf bombed his own people in Waziristan and Balouchistan. Both in Pakistan and Iraq it was reported they used chemical weapons against the civilian population, white phosphorous in Falluja and napalm in Balouchistan.
The final promise that Umar (RA) made was that when he sends the soldier out for Jihad he will be the father of their children and the caretaker of their families. This gave the soldiers tranquillity when they went out for Jihad. This pledge shows how Umar (RA) viewed the responsibility of the ruler that is to take care of the Ummah and to put their needs first. His concern for the Ummah was demonstrated in the year of the famine in Madina. Due to the famine certain items of food were not available in the market, such as meat, butter and milk. People were eating bread dipped in oil. He made a promise that he will not eat something that the Muslims were unable to buy. When it did first become available it was very expensive, so his servant went and bought him some butter and milk and he paid 40 dinars to buy it. He came to Umar (ra) and said Allah SWT has fulfilled your oath and he will reward you greatly for what you have done now there is milk and butter in the market so I bought you some and it cost 40 dinars. Umar bin Al Khattab said that is too expensive and viewed that as Israf excess. He further added, "How can I be concerned about my subjects if I am not going through what they are going through, how can I feel for them if I am not going through the same hunger and thirst that they feel. As a leader I will not be just and fair with my subjects If don’t put myself in their shoes."
Contrast this to the response of our rulers to two disaster the Ummah suffered in 2005, the Tsunami and the Pakistan Earth Quake. The question we need to ask is what sacrifice the rulers of Indonesia and Pakistan made to help the Ummah in their time of need. In fact these disasters exposed the treachery of these rulers, especially the response of Musharraf.
The Pakistan senators exposed the criminal regime of Musharraf – in Nov 2005 reported in the Nation (www.nation.com.pk (http://www.nation.com.pk)) Senator Anwer Baig “He questioned that why the 50 thermal cameras possessed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) were not utilised during the rescue work while only 4 cameras brought in by the foreign rescue teams to save at least 600 lives in quake-hit areas … “Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan said that on one the government has a fleet of over 100 Mercedes for VVIPs but on the other hand the country is lacking in disaster or crisis management equipment to deal with calamity-like situation such as October 8 earthquake”.
While the Muslims are struggling in the harsh winter condition where snow has hindered the Aid effort by independent Muslim organisations the Government of Musharraf has not shifted a single Pakistani soldier from the 70,000 stationed on the Pakistan Afghan border fighting the Muslims in America’s War on terror. In Balochistan he has waged war against the Muslims. He has shifted four helicopters, which were deployed on quake relief work in the Kashmir, to Balochistan for use against the Marris and the Bugtis tribes. In addition to the five American Bases shown below, he has also allowed the US military to establish a presence in Kashmir.