**He turned off the lamp—not because the conversation had ended, but because it had changed.**
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) was known for his remarkable caution regarding the wealth of the Muslims. Historical reports describe how he distinguished between what was used for public affairs and what was for his personal needs.
When his work concerned the affairs of the Muslims, he used the lamp belonging to the public treasury. When the matter became personal, he would extinguish it and use his own light.
This story is preserved in the historical literature, including **Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam's *Sīrat ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz***. Another report in the same work describes Umar extinguishing a state-funded candle when a messenger finished discussing public affairs and began asking about Umar's personal affairs.
**Important:** This is a historical report, **not a hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ**, so we do not label it as Sahih or attribute it to a hadith collection.
May Allah grant us the same sense of **amanah (trust)** and accountability.
### References
* **ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, *Sīrat ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz*** — reports concerning Umar's use of public and personal lamps. ([Wikisource][1])
* See also the historical discussion of this practice in later works. ([Islamic Civilization][2])
#Islam #UmarIbnAbdulAziz #IslamicHistory #Amanah #SwordsOfIslam
Comments