The Story of the Poor, Pious Milkmaid

𝑼𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝑰𝒃𝒏 𝑨𝒍 𝑲𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃 (𝒓𝒂) 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔. It had been another busy day patrolling Medina’s streets late into the night, under a star strewn sky that lit the earth below. As he closed his eyes, voices drifted out from the window of a house on the other side of the wall breaking in on the stillness of the night.

“O my daughter, get up and mix that milk with some water,” ordered the voice of a woman.

“O Mother, did you not hear the decree of Amir al-Mu’minin today?” replied the daughter in surprise. “The town crier proclaimed milk should not be mixed with water,” she gently explained, knowing well they were as poor as mice, barely able to make ends meet; still her mother continued none the less.

“Get up and mix the milk with water; you are in a place where Umar cannot see you.”

“Mother he may not, but Allah(swt) sees us. I cannot obey Allah in public and disobey Him in private,” came the daughter’s resolute voice that carried high over the wall to reach Umar’s ears.

Umar(ra) turned to his trusted servant Aslam, always beside him, who listened too.

 “O Aslam go see who this girl is and the woman with her; find out if they’ve menfolk in their household.”

Aslam disappeared into the shadows with Umar(ra) remaining behind in pensive mood. Aslam soon returned to tell him the girl was a maiden, her mother an old widow.

Later, Umar(ra) called his sons Abdullah, Abd al-Rahman and Asim before him.

“Are any of you in need of a wife; I can arrange it? Had I the wish to marry, I would have been the first to consider this young woman,” recommended Umar(ra).

“I do not have a wife, so let me marry her,” said Asim.

By her honesty in not cheating others, by upholding her faith even in the face of a difficult hardship, a young woman’s reward came to her by an unimaginable source. From His vast bounty did Allah(swt) raise her from a poor, humble milkmaid to becoming the dignified, daughter in-law of Amir al Mu’mineen. Umar(ra) arranged for her marriage to his son Asim; to whom she gave a daughter who grew up to be the mother of a future pious Caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, known as Umar al-Thani (the second Umar)

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙃𝙞𝙢, 

𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 (𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙮). 

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 (𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨) 𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚. 

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢…”

[𝙏𝙈𝙌 65 : 2-3]