A Caliph Who Cried at Night

Say: My prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Some people whisper their prayers like secrets shared between lovers. Others recite with the steady rhythm of familiar conversation.

But then there was Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), whose night prayers sounded less like worship and more like a spiritual war being waged in the darkness.

The Prophet ﷺ was making his way through the quiet streets of Madinah during the night, listening for the sounds of his companions' voluntary prayers.

It was during these peaceful patrols that he would check on the spiritual pulse of his community, taking note of who was awake seeking Allah's closeness in the blessed hours before dawn.

One night, he paused outside Abu Bakr's (RA) home, straining to hear. The recitation was there, but barely audible.

A soft murmur that spoke of intimate conversation with the Divine.

"Abu Bakr," the Prophet ﷺ gently suggested the next day, "why is your voice so low during night prayer?" Abu Bakr's (RA) response was poetry in its humility: "The One who needed to hear me heard me." To him, prayer was a private audience with Allah, requiring no volume beyond what was necessary for divine communication.

The Prophet ﷺ smiled and advised: "Raise your voice a little."

But then there was the polar opposite experience. When the Prophet ﷺ walked anywhere near Umar's (RA) house during the night, there was no straining to hear, no careful listening required. Umar's (RA) voice boomed through the darkness deep, resonant, and utterly impossible to ignore.

When asked about his approach, Umar's (RA) explanation revealed everything about his mindset: "I was reading loudly so I could make the shayateen flee." While Abu Bakr (RA) saw night prayer as intimate conversation, Umar (RA) treated it as spiritual warfare.

His recitation wasn't just worship. It was a declaration of war against every force of darkness that might be lurking in the shadows. Umar (RA) possessed what might have been the deepest voice among all the companions.

This wasn't just a man who spoke loudly. This was someone whose natural tone carried such weight that even his attempts at whispering would cut through silence. The companions recognized this unique gift.

When the Prophet ﷺ was dying and they needed someone to lead prayers, their first instinct was: "Let Umar lead, everyone will hear him." But this powerful voice came with an interesting challenge: Umar (RA) literally couldn't hide his emotions during prayer.

Those same neighbors who could hear Umar's (RA) booming recitation throughout the night could also hear something else.

The sound of his weeping. His crying during night prayer was so frequent, so intense, that it's said he had developed two visible channels under his eyes, like tunnels carved by constant streams of tears.

The Prophet's ﷺ response to Umar (RA): "Lower your voice a bit."

Not because there was anything wrong with Umar's (RA) approach, but because even spiritual warfare needed some consideration for sleeping neighbors.

To Abu Bakr (RA): Raise your voice slightly. To Umar (RA): Lower, yours a touch.

The Prophet ﷺ would calibrate guidance perfectly for completely different spiritual temperaments, honoring both while gently refining each. This story isn't just the volume of Umar's (RA) prayer, but the combination of strength and vulnerability it revealed.

This was the same man whose very presence made hypocrites scatter, whose judgment could determine the fate of nations, whose word could launch armies or establish peace.

Yet alone with Allah in the night, he became something else entirely. A servant so overwhelmed by divine beauty and power that his tears carved permanent channels in his face.

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👶 SunnahStories

Beneath the tree so broad and high,

A wise man watched the drifting sky.

His heart was full, his mind at rest,

And sleep soon laid him on its chest.

Through silent air, his soul took flight,

On wings so soft, so pure, so light.

"How free I am!" he laughed with glee,

"A butterfly so wild and free!"

He danced on petals, kissed the air,

No pain, no weight, no world to bear.

The sun was bright, the breeze was kind,

Till suddenly—**he woke in mind.**

The tree still stood, the wind still played,

Yet something deep inside him swayed.

"Was I a man who dreamed to fly?

Or now a dream that walks the sky?"

He walked in thought to rivers wide,

Where wisdom flowed in endless tide.

A scholar paused, then smiled with grace,

"Your dream was real, yet time gives place."

"For all is known to Him alone—"

"The Knower of the vast unknown."

"So dream or wake, O traveler wise,

"True sight is found in Allah’s eyes."

The river moved, the leaves still swayed,

And Yunus bowed his head and prayed.

"My Lord, I trust in what You keep,"

"For this world too is but a sleep."

Reflection Questions:

1️⃣ Why did Yunus feel confused when he woke from his dream?

2️⃣ What did the scholar mean when he said reality is what Allah knows?

3️⃣ How does Islam teach us about the unseen and the temporary nature of this world?

4️⃣ What can we learn from the river always moving yet always being there?

5️⃣ Have you ever had a dream that felt real? What do you think it meant?

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🍉 WatermelonWatch: Day 669 + 670

🇵🇸 121 Palestinians killed incl. 75 aid seekers killed in Gaza in 2 days

🇵🇸 13 Palestinians killed by malnutrition in 48 hours

🇵🇸 IOF aid attack on new 'Morag Axis' in Khan Younis (south) killed 30+ people + IOF fired on aid seekers near aid trap in Rafah, killing 5 people; fired on aid-seekers in north Gaza, killing 15+ people & wounding 100+; shelling of aid workers in Gaza City (north) kills 6 people

🇵🇸 IOF shelling on Palestinians in al-Karama kills 6 people; airstrike on tower in Gaza City kills 5 people, injures others

🚚 180 aid trucks enter Gaza in 2 days, majority got looted

🇺🇳 IOF bombs UNRWA clinic-turned-shelter in Gaza City (north), 10 mins after expulsion order

⛑️ IOF targeted PRCS HQ in Khan Younis again, shelling hit 8th floor

🚩 Hamas: fired grenade at IOF bulldozer in Tuffah (Gaza City); bombed IOF forces in Khan Younis; joint Hamas & al-Quds Brigades op on IOF positions in Khan Younis

🇵🇸 IOF expulsion orders for 9 areas in Zeitoun in Gaza City (north)

🚚 Jordan says settlers attacked Gaza-bound aid convoy, 2nd such incident in days

West Bank:

🇸🇮 Slovenia 1st in Europe to ban all imports from Israeli settlements in WB

🇷🇺 Settlers attack Russian diplomatic vehicle near colony

🕌 IOF 6-month ban on Mufti of Jerusalem from Al-Aqsa Mosque for condemning starvation of Gaza

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