Words from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb That Fall Upon the Heart
The wisdoms of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb are a selection of brief sayings that touch the human heart, character, and inner discipline. Although each saying may seem like a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental issues such as the discipline of the nafs (the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (proper conduct), and maturity of the qalb (the heart).
01
"Learn your religion correctly, otherwise you will think what you live is religion."
02
"Know death to be under your pillow when you lie down, and at the tip of your nose when you rise!"
03
"Call yourselves to account before you are called to account. Weigh your deeds before they are weighed."
04
"I love the elderly who perform prayer, but I am enamored of the youth who perform prayer."
05
"Rather suffer loss in worldly matters than in matters of the Hereafter. That is better for you."
06
"Stay away from people with whom your qalb (the heart) does not warm."
07
"I do not worry about my supplication (dua) not being accepted. I worry about not having the desire to supplicate within me."
08
"He who abandons prayer has no share in Islam."
09
"If you do not live as you believe, you will begin to believe as you live."
10
"A multitude of friends is a support and help against the calamities of time."
11
"If a wolf were to eat a sheep on the banks of the Tigris, Allah's justice would come and ask me, ʿUmar, about it."
12
"It does not matter if no one knows me, as long as my Lord knows! No matter what anyone says to me, it is enough that my Lord calls me 'My servant'!"
13
"Whoever exceeds his bounds with arrogance and pride, Allah, the Exalted, will cast him down from the earth to the ground."
14
"As an admonisher, death is sufficient."
15
"What I fear most for this ummah is people who are scholars with their tongues but ignorant in their qalb (the heart)."
16
"ʿUmar grabbed the arm of a child running quickly to the mosque and said: 'You are still young, why such haste?' The child replied: 'Yesterday, someone even younger than me died.'"
17
"If you reduce your debt, you will live free; if you reduce your sins, you will be at ease."
18
"Without justice, governance is of no benefit. Without adab (proper conduct), nobility is of no benefit. Without generosity, wealth is of no benefit. Without trust, joy is of no benefit. Without contentment, poverty is of no benefit. Without humility, elevation is of no benefit. Without Allah's granting of success, effort is of no benefit."
19
"If you do not put Allah first in your qalb (the heart), you will lose both Allah and those you put first."
20
"Sabr (patient endurance) is not submission, but struggle."
21
"A person's friend is the guide of his intellect."
22
"Four things never return: the spoken word, the shot arrow, the past life, and the missed opportunity."
23
"When your spouse is angry, you be calm. When one of you is fire, the other should be water."
24
"What I fear most for this ummah is people who are scholars with their tongues and words, but ignorant in their qalb (the heart)."
25
"Sit with those who repent (make tawba), for their hearts are soft."
26
"The best thing given to a person after iman (faith) is a righteous woman."
27
"I have never cared about my days of hardship or ease, because I do not know which is better for me."
28
"The most ignorant of people is the one who sells his Hereafter for another's world."
29
"Do not burn your Hereafter for anyone's world!"
30
"If you reduce your debt, you will live free; if you reduce your sins, you will die at ease."
31
"The most secret witness of an evil deed is the conscience."
32
"The one who has ḥayāʾ (modesty) hides himself. The one who hides himself is cautious, and the one who is cautious is protected by Allah."
33
"Allah has honored us with His religion; seeking honor outside of it is futile."
34
"The qalb (the heart) of the one who loses his sense of shame dies."
35
"Learn your religion correctly, otherwise you will think what you live is religion!"
36
"The adab (proper conduct) of the qalb (the heart) is called adab."
37
"As for me, I admire the person who knows both his Lord and his limits."
38
"A man who performs prayer with his wife is like a Muslim man who draws a sword against Satan and severs his head."
39
"The worst of people is the one who sells his Hereafter for his world. Even worse is the one who sells his Hereafter for another's world."
40
"Do you fast? No. Do you perform prayer? No. Then from which part of this life do you expect good?"
41
"In order to correct others, we must first correct ourselves."
42
"What astonishes me most is a person who knows Allah and yet disobeys Him; who knows Satan and yet obeys him; and who knows the world and yet inclines toward it."
43
"He who abandons excessive laughter is given dignity. He who abandons excessive speech is given wisdom. He who abandons excessive eating is given the sweetness of worship. He who abandons jesting is given grace. He who abandons love of the world is given love of the Hereafter."
44
"Justice is the foundation of sovereignty."
45
"May the mercy of Allah, the Exalted, be upon the one who tells me my faults and shortcomings."
46
"We used to abandon nine-tenths of what is lawful out of fear of falling into the unlawful."
47
"Beware of gluttony, for gluttony is a burden in this world and a foul odor after death."
48
"Do not be deceived by a person's fame and appearance; do not look at his prayer and devotions, but look at his intellect and truthfulness."
49
"Prayer brings you halfway along the path, fasting brings you to the door of the King, and charity brings you into the presence of the King."
50
"The beginning of humility is that if you meet a Muslim on the road, you are the first to greet him; that you are content to sit at the back in a gathering; and that you avoid fame."
51
"Guarding the gaze from the unlawful is the finest veil for desire."
52
"Whoever sits in the mosque is as if he is in the presence of Allah, the Exalted."
53
"Rather suffer loss in worldly matters than in matters of the Hereafter. That is better for you."
54
"Allah, the Exalted, does not show mercy to the one who does not show mercy to others, does not forgive the one who does not forgive, and does not accept the excuse of the one who does not accept excuses."
55
"The honor of humanity is with his intellect, his nobility is with his religion, and his personality is with his character."
56
"The purpose of tawba (repentance) is to know the sin and not commit it. The purpose of performing righteous deeds is not to admire oneself. The purpose of shukr (gratitude) is to confess one's incapacity and know one's servanthood."
57
"Whoever jokes with everyone becomes small in their eyes and loses dignity."
58
"Pay attention to the words of the great ones who obey Allah. For through them, realities are manifested and they speak them."
59
"Be strong and powerful without being harsh; be gentle without showing weakness."
60
"The most virtuous of deeds is to perform the obligatory acts, avoid the forbidden, and have a sincere intention with Allah."