When the man remarked that Abdullah’s father had prohibited it...

When the man remarked that Abdullah’s father had prohibited it, he answered: “If my father has forbidden something which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, permitted, should we abandon the Sunnah of the Prophet and follow my father?” (6) Ibn Kathir similarly records in his history: “Abdullah b. ‘Umar was told that his father had prohibited the mut’ah pilgrimage. He said in reply: ‘I fear that a stone will fall on you from the heavens.

Are we to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet or the Sunnah of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab?'” (7) During the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) as well as the caliphate of Abu Bakr and the first three years of the caliphate of ‘Umar, if anyone were to divorce his wife three times on a single occasion, it counted as a single repudiation and was not therefore final.

However, ‘Umar said: “If such a repudiation is made, I will count it as a threefold (and therefore final) repudiation.” (8) The Shi’ah believe that such a repudiation ( talaq ) counts only as a single repudiation, and Shaykh Mahmud al-Shaltut, the erstwhile rector of the Azhar, regarded Shi’i jurisprudence ( fiqh ) superior in this respect as well as many others. (9) No one has the right to tamper with revealed ordinances, for they are divine and immutable, not even the Prophet himself.

The Qur’an says: Were Muhammad to attribute lies to Us, with Our powerful hand We would seize him and cut his jugular vein. (10) However, we see that unfortunately some of the awarded themselves the right of exercising independent judgement ( ijtihad ) with respect to certain ordinances, changing and modifying divine law in accordance with their own notions.

The second Caliph introduced class differences into Islamic society during the time of his rule, increasing racial tensions between the Arabs and the Persians.

(11) He established a discriminatory system of distributing public monies, awarding more to those who accepted Islam early than to those who embraced it later; more to Qurayshite Migrants than to non-Qurayshite Migrants; more to the Migrants than to the Helpers; more to the Arabs than to the non-Arabs; and more to masters than to their clients.

(12) Toward the end of his life, ‘Umar himself came to recognize the negative effects of his policy and he said: “If I remain alive this year, I will establish equality in Islamic society and abolish discrimination.