Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was once seated with a group of people when he addressed them and asked them the following question, “Tell me what desire you people have!”
One person said: “The desire which I have is that this entire room be filled with dirhams (silver coins) and that I spend all of them in the path of Allah Ta‘ala.”
Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then addressed the people and asked for a second time, “Tell me what desire you people have!”
Another person said: “The desire which I have is that this entire room be filled with gold coins and that I spend all of them in the path of Allah Ta‘ala.”
Once again Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) addressed the people and posed the same question, “Tell me what desire you people have!”
A third person said: “The desire which I have is that this entire room be filled with precious stones and that I spend all of them in the path of Allah Ta‘ala.”
Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) put forth the same question for the fourth time asking if anyone else had any desire, but they replied that they did not desire anything else.
Thereupon, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) expressed his desire saying: “The desire which I have is that this room be filled with such men, who are like Abu Ubaidah, Mu‘aaz bin Jabal and Huzaifah bin Yamaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) so that I could use each one of them in the obedience of Allah Ta’ala (i.e. I could use them to serve Deen and to spread Deen in the world). (At-Taareekhus Sagheer vol. 1, pg. 79)
