Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was very keen on fulfilling his duties as ruler towards his subjects, so as not to be questioned about any negligence before his Lord. Caliph Omar was keen on that even if he had to exert too much effort, and so was the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions.

On a very hot day, Companion Othman ibn Affan saw a man driving two camels in the scorching heat, and so he felt pity for him. Othman sent his servant to invite the man to rest in the shade. When the servant approached the man, he found out that he was Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab, so he asked, "Why are you out at such time?" Omar replied, "Two charity camels escaped from the pasture. I was worried they might get lost and Allah would question me about them." Othman invited Omar to rest in the shade and drink some water, but Omar said, "Return to your shade and water, Othman. By Allah, if a goat stumbled as far as in Yemen, I will be called into account before Allah because I did not pave the road for it." Omar drove the camels back in the scorching heat while Othman looked at him and said, "Whoever wants to look at a ruler who is strong and trustworthy, let him look at Omar ibn Al-Khattab."

On the same occasion, Ali saw Omar running after the two camels and figured out what he was doing, so he said, "You have made it very hard for your successors, Omar!" Omar replied, "By Allah, if an animal perished at the furthest part of the Muslim land, I will be held responsible for that on the Day of Judgment."

This shows how modest, diligent and caring for his subjects Omar was. Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab treated Christian and Jewish citizens equal to Muslims; he was merciful to the weak and cared for the poor among non-Muslims.

One day, Omar found an old man begging, so he asked him about his conditions. The old man said he was a Jew. Omar asked why he needed to beg for a living and the man said that was because of taxes, need and old age. Omar ordered that the old man be exempted from taxes and receive an allowance from the treasury. Then the just Caliph Omar sent to the governors of Muslim provinces ordering them to take care of old people, adding it would be unfair if they serve the state in their youth and the state lets them down in old age.

The decree didn't specify citizens of any religion because Omar cared for all his subjects. This teaches a lesson in respecting adherents of other religions, not to mention followers of other Islamic doctrines. Back then, no ruler was so tolerant and caring for adherents of different religions as much as the Muslim rulers.

Omar ibn Al-Khattab used to choose from among the Companions the scholars who were most trusted and who attended the Prophet most. Ali ibn Abi-Talib was one of those scholars. Omar used to say, "The ones I love most among you are those who present me with my drawbacks."

Would modern Muslims and Arabs be that weak and divided, had they followed in the guidance of the Companions who had such great moral values and strong faith, were keen on consulting trusted scholars and wise people regarding all matters, willingly accepted opposing opinions for the greater benefit of the nation and bravely admitted and corrected their mistakes for the sake of the state?

Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab enjoyed the company of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Despite their age difference, they were very close friends. Omar used to say, "The best judge among us all is Ali." Whenever Omar came across a hard case that he was not sure about and he couldn't find Ali to give a judgment, he would say, "Such a case, and Abi Al-Hassan [Ali] is not here to solve it!" How many times did Omar say, "May I never live in a land where Abi Al-Hassan [Ali] does not live!"

Ali ibn Abi Talib harbored the same amount of respect and appreciation for Omar. He narrated several Hadiths of the Prophet about the merits of Omar. Ali used to say, "The best of people next to the Prophet are Abi Bakr and Omar." In several occasions, Ali talked about Omar's modesty and about how much he loved Omar. He said, "We did not consider it