—the Islamic community—after its Prophet ﷺ and after the first caliph, for ʿUmar was the second caliph.

He was renowned for his justice toward his subjects and for his humility before the truth, to the point that a woman might remind him of a single verse from the Book of Allah and he would stop at it and proceed no further. ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn—one of the leading men of his tribe—once came before him and said, “Hey there, son of al-Khaṭṭāb!” an expression of censure and rebuke. He went on, “You neither grant us ample provision nor rule us with fairness.”

Look at this man addressing, in such terms, a caliph famed for his justice, even though—as Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, said—“his companions were the Qurʾān-reciters.” Those reciters from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—whether elders, middle-aged, or youth—would sit with him; he would consult them and submit to their counsel. This is how every ruler or caliph ought to be: his inner circle should be the righteous. If he is surrounded by unrighteous companions, he will perish and bring the community to ruin; but if Allah grants him righteous companions, the community will benefit through him. It is therefore incumbent upon the leader to choose, for his close associates, people of knowledge and faith. Among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, the reciters were the scholars, for they would not go beyond ten verses until they had learned them together with the knowledge and practice they contained.

When the man said to ʿUmar, “You do not give us generous provision, and you do not judge us with justice,” ʿUmar became so angry that he almost laid hands on him—that is, he was about to strike or harm him.

But ʿUyaynah’s nephew, al-Ḥurr ibn Qays, said to him, “O Commander—”