Umar took Abdurrahmans hand and said to him...

Umar took Abdurrahmans hand and said to him: This is the house of Rabeea bin Umayya. They are drinking wine now. What do you think to do? Abdurrahman said: I think that we have done what Allah has prohibited; we have spied. Then Umar went away and left them alone.[2] Tawoos said: One night Umar went out patrolling. He passed by a house, in which there were some people drinking wine. He shouted at them (from outside): Are you committing sins?

Some of them said to him: Allah has forbidden you from doing this! He went back and left them alone.[3] Abu Qulaba said: Umar narrated that Abu Mihjan ath-Thaqafi drank wine in his house with his friends. One day Umar broke into Abu Mihjans house. Abu Mihjan said to him: O Ameerul Momineen, this is not permissible to you. Allah has forbidden you from spying. Umar asked Zayd bin Thabit and Abdurrahman bin al-Arqam and they said to him: He is right, O Ameerul Momineen.

Umar went out and let him alone.[4] He, who followed the traditions about Umars spying, will find clearly that spying has been a part of his policy. As if he thought that legal penalties would be annulled when the ruler committed mistakes; therefore he did not punish any one of those sinful people. Yet he did not harm any one of them. We do not know how he was satisfied to finish his spying in this way without any effect on those [1] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 tradition no.3694.

[2] Narrated by Abdurrazaq, Abd bin Hameed and al-Kharaity in Makarim al-Akhlaq, Kanzol Ummal, vol.2 tradition no.3693, Mustadrak of al-Hakim, vol.4 p.377, Talkhees of ath-Thahabi. [3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p.141. [4] Ibid. sins! He encouraged the sinners to commit more sins when they saw this leniency of their imam!!

Legislating a limit to womens dowries The dowry of a woman must be from among what a Muslim man has possessed; such as material properties, religious things or some kinds of services. Deciding that belongs to the spouses themselves whether it is much or little on condition that it has not to be too little that it may have no value such as a grain of wheat for example.

It is desirable that it has not to be more than the expense of a year which is about five hundred dirhams.[1] Once Umar decided to prohibit the excessiveness in womens dowries in order to make marriages easy to keep the youths away from adultery and sins. One day he made a speech on this matter.