Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was the revivalist of the first century after Hijrah. Imam Ahmad
ibn Hanbal was the first person to declare him as such, and there was no disagreement
among the Muslim scholars on this matter.
During the rule of Banu Umayyah, the succession of power was hereditary, and was
thus confined in the Banu Umayyah family, until Sulayman took power. Upon appointing
his successor, Sulayman sought the advice of the sons of the Prophet’s companions.
They advised him to choose Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz. When Umar was chosen, the people
carried him over their shoulders to the pulpit. He thanked Allah and said: “O people!
This matter has befallen on me without my knowledge, nor have I asked for it, nor
have I been consulted about it, and I am now resigning, so choose a Khalifah among
yourselves.” The people shouted with one voice: “We have chosen you O Umar, and
have accepted you as our Khalifah!”
That was Umar’s first act of revival: to change the succession of power from being
hereditary to become subject to consultation, where the Muslims choose their ruler.
Umar earnestly started the revival movement. He abolished the luxuries that the
rulers before him had for their use, and all the privileges enjoyed by the ruler’s
family and relatives. He asked his wife to choose between staying with him or keeping
the wealth her father gave her. She chose to stay with him, and took her jewelry
to the state treasury.
Next, he made sweeping changes in the government. He appointed jurist scholars known
for their righteousness and piety, and dismissed the corrupt ones. He abolished
taxes and distributed the wealth with justice. He organized the collection and distribution
of Zakat so well that there was a time when no one came to ask for it, and the Zakat
distributors could not find anybody to take it.
Then he worked toward the purification of the Muslims’ souls and of the social and
moral environment. For this reason, he encouraged the scholars to spread the true
Islamic knowledge among the Muslims, and to call the disbelievers to Islam. He fought
the deviations and innovations inherited from those before him. He gave back to
the people of the book the rights that the Qur’an prescribed. He appointed scholars
to record by writing the hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, and
the quotations of his companions, radhiallahu `anhum. It was in fact the first organized
movement to record the hadith.
These reforms had a deep impact on the Muslim ummah and that it why Umar ibn Abdul
Aziz deserves to be called the revivalist of the first century.