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Less than a century after the Prophet Sallallu al-a-a-u-slam had passed away,

the Islamic Empire had become unrecognizable under Umayadruh.

Gone were the days of humble living and accountability.

In its place stood palaces dripping with gold and swords soaked innocent blood.

The Ummah was in crisis, a crisis of the soul.

Then comes along, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.

He was an Umayyid prince through and through.

He was the grandson of a caliphah.

He was born into luxury.

He was raised in palaces known throughout the empire for wearing the finest clothes, smelling of expensive

perfumes, and living the life of polished aristocracy.

But when he took the throne, he rejected the lavish life of his predecessors, and he strove

to return the Ummah to what made it great in the beginning, and that is following the book of

Allah and the messenger, Sallu al-a-u-sallem, and in barely two years he transformed the

empire, not through force, not through purges, not through bloodshed, not through executions of political opponents,

but rather through sincerity, through his own personal, a ch'lach and example.

And in this day and age, where materialism and status have replaced the spiritual purity of Islam, his example,

and the lessons we can learn from it are more relevant than ever.

The famous scholar, Abul-Hassan Ali Nadewi, writes how the first dynasty of Islam

enabled the return of discredited customs from the pre-Islamic past.

Hence, overall, there was a strong feeling that political reform was necessary

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