From the Twenty-Fifth Discourse—page 544-545
in Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master, by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi, trans. Muhtar Holland. An Ashki Book of Amity House, Warwick: 1988.
A Pious Girl, Whose Grandson Would Be An Illustrious Caliph
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allāh be pleased with him, was the father-in-law of our blessed Master, and the second Caliph of Islam. One night he was walking along a street in Medina the Illumined, together with his two sons. As they passed in front of a certain house, they overheard a conversation between two women who were apparently mother and daughter. The daughter had been milking the cows and the mother was telling her to mix a little water with the milk, but the girl said: “I could never do such a thing, for I fear Allāh.”
The Caliph and his son listened to this conversation with keen interest. The mother was insisting: “You listen to what I tell you. No harm will come of adding a little water. The daughter was quite adamant. “no,” she said, “it is impossible; what would become of me if the Caliph should hear about it?
“How could the Caliph find out that you had put water in the milk at this hour of the night?” said the mother.
“Even if the Caliph did not see, I fear Allāh who sees and knows all things. I shall not water the milk.” On hearing these words, the venerable ‘Umar turned to his sons and asked: “To which of you shall I marry this righteous girl?” The one named ‘Āsim asked for her immediately, without having seen her face.
The venerable ‘Umar did in fact marry that girl to his son ‘Āsim. That pious lady gave birth to a daughter.
This daughter eventually married ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Marwān, the Umayyad, and their marriage produced a son. They gave this child the blessed name of his great grandfather, the venerable ‘Umar. He was to become the famous Caliph, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Azīz, whose name is inscribed in letters of gold on the pages of history. The Umayyad dynasty produced two rightly guided Caliphs. One of them was this noble individual, whose exploits will be recounted until the end of time. The splendid life of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz