ALL ARE EQUAL IN THE EYES OF LAW
Everyone must Stand Trial
AN Egyptian once came to the second Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. “O Commander of the Faithful,” he said, “I have come to you to seek shelter from oppression.” Umar told him that his request was granted.
“I had a race against Muhammad ibn Amr ibn aI-Aas, the son of the governor of Egypt,” the man protested. “I overtook him and he got angry. He started whipping me, telling me at the same time: Take that, I come from a noble family.” When Umar heard this, he immediately wrote to Amr ibn al-Aas, directing him to bring his son to Madinah at once. When they arrived, Umar called the Egyptian, gave him a whip and told him to whip the young man. Umar kept on saying: “Take that, member of a noble family,” as he was whipped.
When he had finished whipping Muhammad ibn Amr ibn aI-Aas, Umar told him to whip the boy’s father as well, for the son had only acted because of his father’s authority. “I have whipped the one who whipped me”, the Egyptian replied. “Now I don’t need to whip anybody else”. “If you had whipped him, we would not have stopped you,” Umar told him. “But if you let him go yourself, that is another matter.” Then, addressing Amr ibn aI-Aas, he said, “Since when have you enslaved people who were born free?”
Man would do well to remember that prince or a pauper, everyone is under trial in this world. Everyone will be held accountable before the Lord.
This statement was echoed in the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Man would do well to remember that prince or a pauper, everyone is under trial in this world. Everyone will be held accountable before the Lord. One must be ready to receive the same treatment that he has meted out to others.