Manners in Speech

Not being offended when criticized When Umar ibn Khattab became Caliph, he removed Khalid ibn Walid from the leadership of the Muslim forces in Syria. According to Nashirah ibn Sahmi, Umar gave a sermon in Jabiya, explaining his decision to remove Khalid from his post. “It was my command that wealth should be kept for poor emigrants but he distributed it among people who were high in status and refined in speech. That is why I relieved him of his duties and appointed in his place Abu Ubaydah ibn Jarrah.” A relative of Khalid, Abu Amr ibn Hafs, who was present at the time, promptly sprang to his feet and said to Umar, “By God, this is no justification for removing one who was appointed by the Prophet himself, nor is it any reason to sheath a sword already drawn by the Prophet, nor lay low a banner raised by him. You have treated your own kinsman with vindictiveness.” Umar listened to everything that Abu Amr had to say. Finally, he replied in a gentle tone: “You are a relative of Khalid and still young; you have taken offence on behalf of this man simply because he is your uncle’s son.” (AHMAD, MUSNAD)