Sir William Muir (1819 – 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India.
It must be noted by the reader that William Muir was not at all supporter of Islam instead his work is characterized by deep hatred and bitterness for Islam, Prophet Muhammad and the Arabs. Even then he has to acknowledge their moral, spiritual and administrative excellence.
We are reporting his words about Hazrat Umar, the second Caliph of Islam.
William Muir says:
“Omar’s life requires but few lines to sketch. Simplicity and duty were his guiding principles, impartiality and devotion the leading features of his administration.
Responsibility so weighed upon him that he was heard to exclaim:
‘O that my mother had not borne me; would that I had been this stalk of grass instead!‘
His sense of justice was strong.
The choice of his captains and governors was free from favouritism…
The various tribes and bodies in the empire, representing diverse interests, reposed in his integrity implicit confidence, and his strong arm maintained the discipline of law and empire.
Whip in hand, he perambulated the streets and markets of Medina ready to punish the offenders on the spot; and so the proverb….’ Omar’s whip is more terrible than another’s sword.
But with all this he was tender-hearted, and numberless acts of kindness are recorded of him, such as relieving the wants of the widow and the fatherless”1
1. The Caliphate, Rise, Decline and Fall, pp. 190-91, 1924 edition