Hazrat Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Ahnaf bin Qais (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We were sitting at the door of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when suddenly a slave girl came out. We said to her: Umar’s slave girl, to which she replied: I am not Umar’s slave girl, nor am I lawful for Umar. I am the property of Allah. The narrator says: Then we began to discuss among ourselves what is lawful for Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) from the property of Allah. When this conversation reached Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he sent a messenger to call us and asked: What were you talking about? We replied: A slave girl came to us, so we said to her: Umar’s slave girl, upon which she said that she is not Umar’s slave girl, nor is she lawful for Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), indeed she is the property of Allah. Then we began to discuss how much of Allah’s property is lawful for you (may Allah be pleased with him). He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will tell you how much of Allah’s property I have considered lawful for myself: one set of clothes for summer and winter, the mount on which I perform Hajj and the one on which I perform Umrah, and the ration for my family which is equal to that of an average man of the Quraysh—not like the wealthy among the Quraysh nor like their poor. And I am also one of the Muslims; whatever needs they have, I have the same needs.

Hazrat Muharib bin Dithar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Ahnaf bin Qais (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We were sitting at the door of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when suddenly a slave girl came out to us. One of the people asked her: "Has the Commander of the Faithful had intercourse with you?" She replied: "Indeed, I am not lawful for him." By this, the slave girl meant that she was from the spoils of war (khums). Just then, Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also came out and said: "Do you know how much of this fay’ wealth I have considered lawful for myself? One mount on which I perform Hajj and Umrah, and two sets of clothes—a set for winter and a set for summer—and the ration for the family of Umar, equal to the ration for the family of an average man from the Quraysh, who is neither very wealthy nor very poor."

Hazrat Haritha bin Mudrib Al-Abdi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Certainly, I have considered myself in regard to Allah’s wealth as one who is entrusted with the wealth of an orphan. If I am independent of it, I refrain from wrongdoing. And if I am in need of it, then I take only what is permissible.

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with some camels from the charity camels. The Prophet (peace be upon him) took a little wool from the back of one camel and said: "Even this much is not lawful for me from your spoils of war, except for the fifth (khums). And that too is returned to you."

The Prophet (peace be upon him), may Allah have mercy on him, says that Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bought two camels and left them among the camels of charity. Then both of them became very healthy and large, and their condition became very good. The narrator says: Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw those camels and found their condition strange and asked: Whose camels are these? People replied: They belong to Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sell both of them and take your original amount. And whatever extra amount there is, return it to the treasury (Bayt al-Mal).

Hazrat Abu Uthman (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when Hazrat Utbah (may Allah have mercy on him) came to Azerbaijan, halwa was brought to him. He tasted it and found it sweet. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If you prepare some of this for the Commander of the Faithful, it would be very good. So they prepared two large baskets for him (may Allah be pleased with him), then loaded them onto a camel and sent them with two men to Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When they both reached Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What is this? They said: This is halwa. He (may Allah be pleased with him) tasted it and also found it sweet and delicious. He (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Have all the Muslims in their caravan been satisfied with this? They replied: No! He (may Allah be pleased with him) returned both baskets and then wrote a letter to them: After praise and salutations, indeed, this is neither due to your father's effort nor your mother's effort. Satisfy the Muslims present in your caravan with the same thing with which you are satisfied.

Hazrat Qais bin Abi Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Utbah bin Farqad Al-Sulami (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I brought large baskets filled with halwa to Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). I had never seen halwa more plentiful and delicious than this. He (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What is this? I replied: I have brought this food for you (may Allah be pleased with him), because you are a person who spends the early part of the day fulfilling the needs of the people, and when you return, you are tired because of this. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Remove the cloth from the basket. The narrator says: I removed it. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I swear you must, when you return, give a share from this basket to all the Muslims. I said: By the One who has kept you, O Commander of the Faithful, on the right path! Even if I spend all the wealth of Banu Qais, it will not reach this quantity. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have no need for it. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) called for a bowl in which there was tharid made of unsifted flour and tough meat. He (may Allah be pleased with him) was eating it with me with great liking. I reached for a white piece, thinking it was part of the hump. When I chewed it, it turned out to be halwa made of pumpkin. I took a piece of meat, chewed it, but it would not go down my throat. When he (may Allah be pleased with him) was a little inattentive to me, I placed that piece between the bowl and the dining cloth. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Utbah! Surely, every day we slaughter a camel. Its fat and good parts are for those Muslims who have come from far away, and its neck is for Umar!

Hazrat Zaid bin Wahb (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I passed by while people were eating tharid and meat. Then Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) invited me to his meal. He (may Allah be pleased with him) was eating coarse bread and oil. I said: Was it not you who forbade me from eating tharid with the people, and now you are inviting me to it? He replied: I have only invited you to my food. And the food of the Muslims is that.

The son of Hazrat Khuzaymah bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed someone as a governor, he would make a group of the Ansar and other Muslims witnesses over him and would say: I have not appointed you as a leader over the lives and honors of the Muslims, but I have appointed you as a leader over them so that you may distribute among them with justice, and establish prayer among them. And he (may Allah be pleased with him) would stipulate as a condition that he would not eat bread made from sifted flour, nor wear fine clothes, nor ride a horse of noble breed. And at the time of people's needs, he would not close his door to them.

Hazrat Abu Firas (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon and said: Beware! By Allah, I have not sent governors to you so that they may beat you or seize your wealth. Rather, I have sent them to you so that they may teach you your religion and the Sunnah of your Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم . If anyone is treated in any other way, let him present this matter before me. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I will surely take retribution on his behalf.

At this, Hazrat Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: O Commander of the Faithful! What is your opinion if a man from among the Muslims is appointed as a leader over a group and he disciplines someone from his subjects—will you also take retribution on his behalf? He (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Yes! By the One in Whose hand is Umar’s soul, I will surely take retribution on his behalf as well. And I said, can I take retribution on his behalf when I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taking retribution on his own behalf? Beware! Do not beat the Muslims in such a way that you humiliate them. And do not withhold their rights from them so that you force them to bow before you. And do not send them to the frontiers and then prevent them from returning home, lest you put them into trial. And do not settle them in places with dense gardens so that they become scattered and thus you cause them to be lost.