Hadhrat Umar Farooq Radhiallahu anho. "Anecdotes"

Hadhrat Umars constand and abundant crying formed 2 dark stripes down his cheeks. He would cry so much in salaat for the fear of Allah, that his sobbing could be heard by three rows of musalis (followers of the imam in salat). At tmes while engaged in tilawat of the Holy Quran he would cry so profusely that his breathing would become difficult. Sometimes he would fall down. Sometimes he would lament:

"I wish I was a goat which could be slaughtered and eaten."

Sometimes he would hold in his a blade of grass and sigh "I wish I was this grass."

Sometimes he said," I wish my mother had not given birth to me."
He would say to people:
"better then your life in the Akhirat (hereafter) be suffering is tha your worldly life suffers."

In the beinning there was a considerable harshness in him. Precisely for this reason people did people void coming ot of their homes in the initial period of his khalifat. Observing this he delivered a lengthy khutbah inwhich he said:

"People! I was hard until there was among you there was kind and beneficient men such as Rasulullah Salallahu alayhi wasalam and Abubakr Radhiallahu anho. The combination of my hardness and thier softness has brought about moderation. But, now I shall not be harsh on you. My hardness will be for only the oppressors, O people! If I oppose the sunnat of the Prophet of Allah and the way of ABu Bakr what will you do?"

After he posed this question several times, a man stood up brandishing a sword and indicated with it that he would sever his (umar's) neck. The audacity did not anger him in the least. On the contrary , this answer pleased him .

When he journeyed to the land of shaam he was clad in worn out garments which had a number of patches. It was said to him that high ranking priests of the Yahood (jews) and Nasara (christians) would be visiting him. What will they think of the muslims leader clad so shabberly? Hadhrat Umar Responded:

" We are a people whom Allah elevated by means of Islam. "
In other words honour and respect are not by means of garments.

Inspite of him having been gven the glad tidings of Jannah, the degree of his fear was overwhelming. And, despite his piety and so much fear for Allah he would ask Hadhrat Hudhaifah Radhaiallahu anho whether Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasalam had not perhaps mentioned his name too in the list of munafiqeen (hyporcrites) whose name Rasulluallah saw had revealed to Hadhrat Huzaifah ra.