When Omar ben Abdulaziz[FN#50] succeeded to the Khalifate， he went to his own house and laying hands on all that his family and household possessed， put it into the public treasury. So the Ommiades[FN#51] betook themselves for aid to his father"s sister，Fatimeh， daughter of Merwan， and she sent to Omar， saying， "I must needs speak with thee." So she came to him by night， and when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down， he said to her， "O aunt， it is for thee to speak first， since it is at thine instance that we meet； tell me， therefore， what thou wouldst with me." "O Commander of the Faithful，" replied she， "it is thine to speak first， for thy judgment perceives that which is hidden from the senses." Then said the Khalif， "Of a verity God sent Mohammed as a mercy to some and a punishment to others； and He chose out for him what was with him and withdrew him to Himself， leaving the people a river， whereof the thirsty of them might drink. After him he made Abou Bekr the Truth-teller Khalif and he left the river in its pristine state， doing what was pleasing to God. Then arose Omar and worked a work and furnished forth a strife， of which none might do the like When Othman came，he diverted a stream from the river， and Muawiyeh in his turn sundered several streams from it. In like manner， Yezid and the sons of Merwan， Abdulmelik and Welid and Suleiman[FN#52]， ceased not to take from the river and dry up the main stream， till the commandment devolved upon me， and now I am minded to restore the river to its normal condition." When Fatimeh heard this，she said， "I came， wishing only to speak and confer with thee，but if this be thy word， I have nothing to say to thee." Then she returned to the Ommiades and said to them， "See what you have brought on you by allying yourselves with Omar ben Khettab." [FN#53] When Omar was on his deathbed， he gathered his children round him， and Meslemeh[FN#54] ben Abdulmelik said to him， "O Commander of the Faithful， wilt thou leave thy children beggars and thou their protector？ None can hinder thee from giving them in thy lifetime what will suffice them out of the treasury； and this indeed were better than leaving it to revert to him who shall come after thee." Omar gave him a look of wrath and wonder and replied， "O Meslemeh， I have defended them all the days of my life， and shall I make them miserable after my death？
My sons are like other men， either obedient to God the Most High or disobedient： if the former， God will prosper them， and if the latter， I will not help them in their disobedience. Know， O Meslemeh， that I was present， even as thou， when such an one of the sons of Merwan was buried， and I fell asleep by him and saw him in a dream given over to one of the punishments of God， to whom belong might and majesty. This terrified me and made me tremble， and I vowed to God that， if ever I came to the throne， I would not do as the dead man had done. This vow I have striven to fulfil all the days of my life， and I hope to be received into the mercy of my Lord." Quoth Meslemeh， "A certain man died and I was present at his funeral. I fell asleep and meseemed I saw him，as in a dream， clad in white clothes and walking in a garden full of running waters. He came up to me and said， "O Meslemeh， it is for the like of this that governors （or men who bear rule） should work."" Many are the instances of this kind， and quoth one of the men of authority， "I used to milk the ewes in the Khalifate of Omar ben Abdulaziz， and one day， I met a shepherd， among whose sheep were wolves. I thought them to be dogs， for I had never before seen wolves； so I said to the shepherd， "What dost thou with these dogs？" "They are not dogs， but wolves，" replied he.
Quoth I， "Can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them？" "When the head is whole，" replied he， "the body is whole also."" Omar ben Abdulaziz preached once from a mud pulpit， and after praising and glorifying God the Most High， said three words and spoke as follows， "O folk， make clean your hearts， that your outward lives may be clean to your brethren， and abstain from the things of the world. Know that from Adam to this present， there is no one man alive among the dead. Dead are Abdulmelik and those who forewent him， and Omar also will die， and those who come after him." Quoth Meslemeh （to this same Omar， when he was dying）， "O Commander of the Faithful， shall we set a pillow behind thee， that thou mayest lean on it a little？" But Omar answered， "I fear lest it be a fault about my neck on the Day of Resurrection." Then he gasped for breath and fell back in a swoon； whereupon Fatimeh cried out，saying， "Ho， Meryem！ Ho， Muzahim！ Ho， such an one！ Look to this man！" And she began to pour water on him， weeping， till he revived， and seeing her in tears， said to her， "O Fatimeh， why dost thou weep？" "O Commander of the Faithful，" replied she， "I saw thee lying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostration before God the Most High in death and of thy departure from the world and separation from us. This is what made me weep."
