Scrupulous Muslim Rulers

The standard of piety set by the great Muslim rulers was indeed lofty and rare. Due to the fear of Allah (Glory be He, Most High) and accountability in the divine court, they displayed extreme caution. Public property was regarded as a trust in their hands and they took care of it prudently.
Once, some musk (perfume) came to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiallahu anhu) from Bahrain. He asked for someone who would weigh it carefully, so that it may be equally distributed among the Muslims. His wife, Atikah, volunteered, but ‘Umar (radiallahu anhu) refused to give it to her. When she inquired why, he replied,

“I fear that, while weighing it, some of it may rub-off onto your hand and body. This will give me an unfair advantage over the other Muslims.”

A similar incident is related about ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz (rahmatullahi alayhi). While he was Khalifah, Musk belonging to the Bait-ul-Mal (Public treasury) was brought to him. He closed his nostrils, saying,

“The benefit derived from musk is its fragrance.”

He would only light the state lamp when he dealt with the affairs of the Muslims. When he had seen to their needs and had some private matters to attend to, he would light his own lamp.