Picture Umar (RA) walking through Madinah during one of his regular evening rounds, when the sound of Quranic recitation drifted through the night air.

This wasn't unusual; many companions (RA) would recite during their night prayers.

But something about this particular recitation stopped Umar (RA) in his tracks.

The reciter was going through Surah At-Tur, and when he reached the verses describing Allah's punishment.

As the verses about divine punishment filled the air, Umar (RA) didn't hear them as general warnings for humanity.

Instead, with the intensity that characterized everything about his relationship with Allah, he felt them pierce directly into his soul.

"By the Lord of the Kaaba," he whispered, "He's talking to me. Allah is talking to me."

And then this tower of strength collapsed under the weight of those words.

What happened next confused everyone around him.

Umar (RA) fell sick.

He was bedridden for days, and when concerned companions (RA) came to visit, they couldn't understand what had caused this sudden weakness in their seemingly invincible leader.

They were looking for physical causes—food poisoning, exhaustion, injury.

None of them suspected that Umar (RA) had been felled by the sheer force of divine words hitting a heart that was completely open to receiving them.

Understand that Umar RA’s harshness with others was only a fraction of the harshness he directed at himself.

His night prayers weren't just loud enough to chase away demons from his neighborhood, they were sessions of intense self-accountability.

When Umar (RA) corrected someone's behavior, when he established a new policy, when he held people to high standards, there was never any ego involved because he was holding himself to even higher standards in private.

Everyone loves to reference Umar (RA)'s firmness, his uncompromising stance on justice, and his ability to command respect through strength.

But here's the problem: people want to use "Umar's stick" without having "Umar's tahajjud."

It's become almost fashionable to justify harshness by saying, "Well, Umar (RA) was like this," or "Don't you know how Umar (RA) dealt with people?"

But the foundation of Umar (RA)'s authority wasn't his ability to be tough.

It was his ability to be tougher on himself than anyone else.

Think about what it does to people when they know their leader works harder than they do, prays more than they do, holds themselves to higher standards than they expect from others.

It creates a completely different dynamic than leadership based on position or power.

When Umar (RA) pushed people to be better, they knew it was coming from someone who pushed himself relentlessly.

When he corrected their mistakes, they knew it was coming from someone who was even harsher on his own shortcomings.

When he demanded excellence, they knew it was from someone who demanded even more from himself.