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Historians have eloquently described this miraculous revolution in the life and conduct of Umar II.
Umar IFs Service to Islam
Before Umar II, the Umayyad rulers did not deem it their duty to strive for the rejuvenation of Muslim society, to propagate Islamic teachings and to promote reform. They were embroiled in mundane politics and cared least about advising their people in religious affairs. This function had devolved on the Ulama and the traditionists. Contrary to the established practice, Caliph Umar sent letters and decrees to the provincial authorities and other officers. In these, he spoke about the precepts of Islam, religious reform and the moral values to be considered while conducting administration. He thought that an efficient and just government would be possible only when the officers and governors reformed their own personal behaviour and private lives. He laid emphasis on the congregational prayers because they promoted cooperation through association and mutual understanding. He instructed the governments of the provinces that they should meticulously follow the traditions of the Holy Prophet and the pious Caliphs. The functionaries of the commonwealth were charged with the responsibility of propagating Islam. Evil was to be nipped in the bud and good encouraged and popularised. The judges were to be lenient while administering the law. A host of other reforms which have been partly quoted by Abul Hasan Ali, were introduced to bring the society in the tune with earlier times.
Like the righteous Caliphs, Umar II was very anxious to preserve the cosmopolitan wealth contained in the sayings of the Holy Prophet. He ordered that the study of the religious sciences be encouraged. He wrote to one of the distinguished luminaries of Islam, Abu Bakr bin Hazm: ”Reduce to writing whatever traditions of the Holy Prophet you can get at, for I fear that after the traditionists have gone to meet their Lord, the knowledge will also go,” Circulatory letters were despatched to Walis and Scholars ”to collect all the traditions of the Holy Prophet of Islam wherever these could be found.” Those who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the Job were given regular stipends and those who possessed collections, such as Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, were requested to assist and cooperate in the noble work. Umar was himself a savant and could authoritatively interpret the sayings of the Holy Prophet. He once wrote:
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If God keeps me alive, I shall teach you the fundamentals of the Faith and shall make you follow these. But if I die earlier, I shan’t care, for I am not all eager for your company.
Umar II had a deep understanding of the principles of the faith. There was in him not ”the least trace of Pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah or the stamp of Umayyad royalty.” He would, therefore, condemn every un-Islamic practice such as the reviving of the pagan custom of entering into clannish alliances, and the Umayyad aristocratic practice of ”calling to one another in the name of tribal solidarity during their fights and forays.”
The enforcement of the Shari’ah and the reform of the Muslims community was not the only function to which Umar confined himself. He also attended to the mission of propagating Islam in the countries to which its light had not reached. According to al-Balazuri, the author of Futuh al-Buldan, Umar addressed himself to a number of Indian rulers asking them to accept the faith. He pledged to them that ”he would guarantee continued existence of their kingdoms and their rights and that their obligations would be the same as those of the other Muslims.” These rulers, having already known about the virtues of Islam and the great qualities of the caliph himself, embraced the teachings of the Arabian Holy Prophet and adopted Muslim names.