Caliph Omar was a leader in the city of Madina, in Saudi Arabia. At night he would walk around the city to see if everything was okay or if something was wrong. He would try to fix things so that everybody would be okay. One night, he went in a costume so that people wouldn't know it was him. (He did it all the time.) He went with a friend named Ibn Abbas, and they went to all parts of the city, and finally to a neighborhood where very poor people lived.
When he was walking by a very small house, he heard a mother telling her daughter to put water in the milk to sell it so that they would get more money. The daughter told her mom that she did that before they were Muslims, but now that they are Muslim, they cannot add things to the milk. The mother told her to put water in the milk. The daughter said, "No. The Caliph said that we should not add things to the milk."
The mother said, "We are too poor. It is the only way we can get money for even some bread. The Caliph has forgotten us, and he won't know what we did."
The daughter said, "But it is against the law, and I won't break the Caliph's rules, and fool other Muslims."
The daughter wouldn't let her mother put water in the milk because, she knew in her own heart that it was wrong, and she knew that Allah would know.
The mother did not say anything so they both went to sleep.
The next day, Caliph Umar sent a man to buy milk from the girl. The milk didn't have water added to it. The girl did what she knew was right.
Caliph Umar said to his friend, "The girl stayed strong even when her mother wanted her to do something wrong. She deserves a reward. What reward should I give her?'
"She should be paid some money," said lbn Abbas.
Caliph Umar said, "A girl like her would be a great mother. She doesn't stop doing what is right even if she will get money for it. Because she is so good, she should be given the greatest gift in the nation, because everyone in the nation should learn how to be good like her."
The Caliph sent for the girl and her mother to come to his court. The mother shivered because she was afraid when she stood before the mighty ruler, but the girl stood boldly and without fear. She was beautiful, and she stood straight and tall.
Then, in front of everyone, Caliph Umar told how he had overheard the mother and the daughter talking about adding water to the milk, and how the girl had done what was right, even when her mother told her not to.
Someone said that the mother should be punished, but the Caliph said that usually he would, but he had forgiven her because her daughter was so good. Then he turned to the girl and said, "Islam needs daughters like you and as a Caliph of Islam, it is my job to reward you, and I would like to reward you by having you as my daughter."
Then the Caliph called his sons and said to them, "Here is a wonderful girl who would make a great mother. I want one of you to take this girl as a wife. I don't know a better bride than this girl who is so good."
Abdullah and Abdur Rhaman, the oldest sons of the Caliph were already married. Asim, the third son wasn't married yet, and he offered to marry the girl. When the girl and her mother agreed, Asim married the girl and the milkmaid became the daughter-in-law of the Caliph.
Source:
Stories from Around the World, written in the words of Aisha, Bilal and Omer Choudhry - ages 9, 7 and 7 :)
