name	Umar ibn al-Khattab
title	Al-Farooq
reign	23 August 634–7 November 644
predecessor	Abu Bakr
successor	Uthman
birth date	586–590
birth place	Mecca, Arabia
death date	7 November 644
death place	Medina, Arabia
buried	Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Madinah
other titles	Al-Farooq }}

Umar ibn al-Khattab (, c. 586–590 644) c. 2 Nov. (Dhu al-Hijjah 26, 23 Hijri), was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death.

Converting to Islam in the 6th year after Muhammad's first revelation, he spent 18 years in companionship of Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr on 23 August 634, and played a significant role in Islam. Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate, controlling the whole territory of the former Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. He was assassinated by a Persian captive.

Muslims view him as the Second Rashidun and know him as Farooq the great and Hero of Islam.

Early life

Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitrations among the tribes. His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Hantammah daughter of Khattab, from the tribe of Banu Makhzum. He was the nephew of Khalid ibn al-Walid, a general who would play an important role later in his life, and during a wrestling match between the two, Umar had his leg broken. He is said to have belonged to a middle class family. In his youth he used to tend to his father’s camels in the plains near Mecca. His father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe. He was a middle class merchant and is believed to be a ruthless man and emotional polytheist who often treated Umar badly. As obvious from Umar's own statement regarding his father during his later political rule, Umar said, "My father Al-Khittab was a ruthless man. He used to make me work hard; if I didn't work he used to beat me and he used to work me to exhaustion."

Despite literacy being uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia, Umar learned to read and write in his youth. Though not a poet himself, he developed a love for poetry and literature. According to the tradition of Quraish, while still in his teenage years, Umar learned martial arts, horse riding and wrestling. He was tall and physically powerful and was soon to became a renowned wrestler. Umar was also a gifted orator, and due to his intelligence and overwhelming personality, he succeeded his father as an arbitrator of conflicts among the tribes.

In addition, Umar followed the traditional profession of Quraish. He became a merchant and had several journeys to Rome and Persia, where he is said to have met various scholars and analyzed the Roman and Persian societies closely. However, as a merchant he is believed to have never been successful.

During Muhammad's era

Umar's hostility to Islam

In 610 Muhammed started delivering the message of Islam. Umar, alongside others in Makkah, opposed Islam and threatened to kill Muhammad. He resolved to defend the traditional, polytheistic religion of Arabia. He was most adamant and cruel in opposing Muhammad and very prominent in persecuting the Muslims. Umar was the first man who resolved that Muhammad had to be murdered in order to finish Islam. Umar firmly believed in the unity of the Quraish and saw the new faith of Islam as a cause of division and discord among the Quraish.

Due to the persecution at the hands of the Quraish, Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Abyssinia. As a small group of Muslims migrated Umar felt worried about the future unity of the Quraish and decided to have Muhammad assassinated.

Conversion

Umar converted to Islam in 616, one year after the Migration to Abyssinia. The story was recounted in Ibn Ishaq's ''Sīrah'': On the way to murder Muhammad, Umar met his best friend Nu'aim ibn Abdi 'Allah who had secretly embraced Islam but he did not tell Umar anything about it. When Umar told him that he was going to kill Muhammad he was afraid. He knew Umar will attempt what he said. So just to divert his attention he told him to set his own house in order first, as his sister and her husband had converted to Islam. Umar was taken aback to know this. Upon arriving at her house, Umar found his sister and brother-in-law Saeed bin Zaid (Umar's cousin), reciting the verses of the Qur'an (Surah ''Ta Ha''). He started quarreling with his brother-in-law . When his sister came to rescue her husband, he also started quarreling with her. Yet still they kept on saying "you may kill us but we will not give up Islam". Upon hearing these words, Umar slapped his sister so hard that she fell to the ground bleeding from her mouth. When he saw what he did to his sister now, out of guilt he calmed down and asked his sister to give him what she was reciting. She gave him the paper on which was written the verses of the chapter ''Ta-Ha''. He was so struck by the beauty of the verses that he became a Muslim that day. He then went to Muhammad with the same sword he intended to kill him with and converted in front of him and his companions. Umar was 27 when he became Muslim. Following his conversion, Umar went to inform the chief of Quraish, Amr ibn Hishām, about his conversion. According to one account, Umar thereafter openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraish chiefs, Amr ibn Hishām and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, reportedly watched in anger. This further helped the Muslims to gain confidence in practicing Islam openly. At this stage Umar even challenged anyone who dared to stop the Muslims from praying, although no one dared to interfere with Umar when he was openly praying.

Umar’s conversion to Islam gave power to the Muslims and the faith in Mecca. It was after this that Muslims offered prayers openly in ''Masjid al-Haram'' for the first time. Abdullah bin Masoud said:

All these things earned Umar the title of Farooq, meaning he who distinguishes truth from falsehood.

Umar's Title of Al Farooq

Mujahid, on the authority of Ibn Abbas related that he had asked 'Umar bin Al-Khattab why he had been given the epithet of Al-Farooq (he who distinguishes truth from falsehood), he replied: After I had embraced Islam, I asked the Prophet : 'Aren't we on the right path here and Hereafter?' The Prophet answered: 'Of course you are! I swear by Allâh in Whose Hand my soul is, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.' I, therefore, asked the Prophet 'Why we then had to conduct clandestine activism. I swear by Allâh Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.' We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the ''Masjid Al Haram'' in broad daylight. When the polytheists of Quraish saw us, their faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful. On that very occasion, the Prophet attached to me the epithet of ''Al-Farooq''.

Migration to Medina

In 622 due to the growing popularity of Islam in the city of Yathrib (''later renamed Al-Madīnah Al-Munawwarah, the enlightened city, or simply Medina'') Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Medina. Muslims usually migrated at night due to fear of Quraish's resistance to that migration, but Umar is reported to have migrated openly during the day time. Ibn Asakir narrated that Ali said: I don’t know of anyone who didn’t emigrate in secret except for Umar ibn al-Khattab; because when he wanted to emigrate he strapped on his sword, put his bow over his shoulder, carried his arrows in his hand, and came to the Ka‘bah where the nobles of Quraysh were in the courtyard. He performed seven circuits, and then prayed two raka‘at at the Station (of Ibrahim). Then he approached their circle one step at a time and said, "Whoever wishes to bereave his mother, orphan his children and widow his wife then let him meet me behind this valley." Not one of them followed him. Umar migrated to Medina accompanied by his cousin and brother-in-law Saeed ibn Zaid.

Life in Medina

Medina became the new center of Islam and the religion spread rapidly across Arabia. When Muhammad arrived in Medina, he paired off each immigrant ''(Muhajir)'' with one of the residents of the city ''(Ansari)'', joining Muhammad ibn Maslamah with Umar making them brothers in faith. Later in Umar's reign as caliph Muhammad ibn Muslamah would be assigned the office of chief inspector of Accountability. Muslims remained in peace in Medina for approximately a year before the Quraish raised an army to attack them. In 624 Umar participated in the first Battle between Muslims and Quraish of Mecca i.e. Battle of Badr. In 625 he participated in the Battle of Uhud. In the second phase of Battle when Khalid ibn Walid's Cavalry attacked Muslims at the rear changing the victory of Muslims to defeat, rumors of Muhammad’s death were spread. Many Muslim were warriors routed from the battle field, Umar too was initially routed but hearing that Muhammad was still alive he went to Muhammad at the mountain of Uhud and prepared for the defenses of the hill to keep the Quraishi army down the hill. Later in the year Umar was a part of campaign against the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir. In 625 Umar’s daughter Hafsah was married to Muhammad. Later in 627 he participated in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Battle of Banu Qurayza. In 628 Umar participated in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and was made one of the witness over the pact. In 628 he was a part of Muslims' campaign to Khaybar. In 629 Muhammad sent Amr ibn al-A’as to Zaat-ul-Sallasal from where he called for reinforcement and Muhammad sent Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah with reinforcement, serving under him were Abu Bakr and Umar, they attacked and defeated the enemy. In 630 when Muslim armies rushed for the Conquest of Mecca he was part of that army. Later in 630 he was part of Battle of Hunayn and Siege of Ta'if. He was part of Muslim's army that went for the campaign of Tabuk under Muhammad's command and he was reported to have given half of his wealth for the preparation of this expedition. He also participated in a farewell Hajj of Muhammad in 631.

Death of Muhammad

Muhammad died on 8 June 632. Umar was full of grief upon hearing the news of demise of Muhammad. Umar, the devoted disciple, could not accept the reality that the "Messenger of God" has died. According to the Qur'an, "Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed away before", i.e. died or killed. It is said that Umar promised to strike the head of any man who would say that Muhammad died. At this point Abu Bakr is reported to have come out to the Muslim community and gave his famous speech which included:

Abū Bakr then recited these verses from the Qur'an:

Hearing this from Abu Bakr, the most senior disciple of Muhammad, Umar then fell down on his knees in great sense of sorrow and acceptance of the reality. ''Sunni'' Muslims say that this denial of Muhammad's death was occasioned by his deep love for him.

Caliph Abu Bakr's era

During Abu Bakr's reign as caliph, during which he remained occupied with Ridda wars, Umar was one of his chief advisers and secretary. Umar along with Khalid ibn Walid, probably was the architect and main strategist behind the collapse of rebellion in Arabia. Though at the beginning due to the apprehensive situation in Arabia Umar was opposing the military operations against the rebel tribes, it was to enjoy their support in case of any possible foreign invasion by Romans or Persian, but later he seemed to agree with Abu Bakr's warlike strategies to crush rebellion. Khalid ibn Walid by late 632 had successfully united Arabia after consecutive victories against rebels. Later during his own reign, Umar would mostly adopt the policy of avoiding wars and consolidating his power in the conquered land rather than expanding his empire through continuous warfare. Prior to Battle of Yamamah, Umar pressured Abu Bakr to call back Khalid, who had killed Malik ibn Nuwayrah, a rebel chief who was a state criminal. Umar was reportedly misguided by Malik's brother that Malik was a Muslim and Khalid killed him because he wanted to marry his wife Layla bint al-Minhal, a renowned beauty in Arabia. While Abu Bakr refused to accept Umar's opinion and Umar continued insisting for Khalid's disposal even after Khalid's conquest of Iraq. It was Umar who advised Abu Bakr to compile Quran in the form of a book, after the death of 300 memorizers of Quran in Battle of Yamamah. Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor prior to his death in 634. He was confirmed in the office thereafter.

Appointment as a Caliph

Due to his strict and autocratic nature, Umar was not a very popular figure among the notables of Madinah and members of Majlis al Shura, accordingly succession of Umar was initially discouraged by high ranking companions of Abu Bakr. When Abu Bakr was close to death, he nominated Umar to succeed him as the next Caliph .

Umar was still well known for his extraordinary will power, intelligence, political astuteness, impartiality, justice and care for poor and underprivileged people. Abu Bakr is reported to have said to the high-ranking advisers:

Abu Bakr was fully aware of Umar's power and ability to succeed him. Succession of Umar was thus not as troublesome as any of the others. His was perhaps one of the smoothest transitions to power from one authority to another in the Muslim lands. Abu Bakr before his death called Uthman to write his will in which he declared Umar his successor. In his will he instructed Umar to continue the conquests on Iraq and Syrian fronts. Abu Bakr's decision would prove to be crucial in the strengthening of the nascent Islamic empire.

Reign as Caliph

On 22 August Caliph Abu Bakr died. The same day Umar assumed the office of Caliphate. After the assumption of office as the Caliph, Umar addressed the Muslims in his Inaugural address as:

Initial challenges

Umar was already not an endearing figure in Medina. Although almost all of the Muslims had given pledge of loyalty to him, nevertheless he was rather more feared than loved. The first challenge for Umar was to win out his subjects and members of Majlis al Shura. Umar was a gifted orator, and he would use his ability to get a soft corner in the hearts of people. On Friday prayers Umar addressed the people as follows:

Umar's addresses greatly moved the people. Next time he addressed the people as:

The following are the historic words of Umar, over which he laid foundation of his rule:

Umar's stress was on the well being of poor and underprivileged people. As this class made a bulk of any community, the people were soundly moved by Umar's speeches and his popularity grew rapidly and continuously over the period of his reign. In addition to this Umar, in order to improve his reputation and relation with Banu Hashim, the tribe of Prophet Muhammad and Ali, delivered to him his disputed estates in Khayber. Though he followed Abu Bakr's decision over the dispute of land of Fidak, continued its status as a state property. In Ridda wars, thousands of prisoners from rebel and apostate tribes were taken away as slaves during the expeditions. Umar ordered the general amnesty for the prisoners, and their immediate emancipation. This made Umar quite a popular leader among the budoiene tribes. With necessary public support with him, Umar took a bold decision of retrieving Khalid ibn Walid from supreme command on Roman front.

Political and civil administration

The government of Umar was more or less a unitary government, where the sovereign political authority was the Caliph. The empire of Umar was divided into provinces and some autonomous territories like in some regions Azerbaijan and Armenia, that had accepted the suzerainty of the Caliphate. The provinces were administered by the provincial governors or ''Wali''. The selection of which was made personally by Umar, who was very fastidious in it. Provinces were further divided into districts, there were about 100 districts in the empire. Each district or main city was under the charge of a junior governor or Wali, usually appointed by Umar himself, but occasionally they were also appointed by the provincial governor. Other officers at the provincial level were:

#''Katib'', the Chief Secretary. #''Katib-ud-Diwan'', the Military Secretary. #''Sahib-ul-Kharaj'', the Revenue Collector. #''Sahib-ul-Ahdath'', the Police chief. #''Sahib-Bait-ul-Mal'', the Treasury Officer. #''Qadi'', the Chief Judge.

In some districts there were separate military officers, though the Governor (Wali) was in most cases the Commander-in-chief of the army quartered in the province. Every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the conduct of Governors. On assuming office, the Governor was required to assemble the people in the main mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them.

Umar's general instructions to his officers were:

Various other strict code of conducts were to be obeyed by the governors and state officials. The principal officers were required to come to Mecca on the occasion of the Hajj, during which people were free to present any complaint against them. In order to minimize the chances of corruption, Umar made it a point to pay high salaries to the staff. Provincial governor received as much as five to seven thousand dirham annually besides their shares of the spoils of war (''if they were also the commander in chief of the army of their sector''). Under Umar the empire was divided into the following provinces.

#Arabia was divided into two provinces, Mecca and Medina; #Iraq was divided into two provinces, Basra and Kufa; #In the upper reaches of the Tigris and the Euphrates, Jazira was a province; #Syria was a province; #Umar divided Palestine in two provinces Aylya and Ramallah; #Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt; #Persia was divided into three provinces, Khorasan; Azarbaijan and Fars.

Umar was first to established a special department for the investigation of complaints against the officers of the State. This department acted as Administrative court, where the legal proceedings were personally led by Umar. The Department was under the charge of Muhammad ibn Maslamah, one of Umar's most trusted men. In important cases Muhammad ibn Maslamah was deputed by Umar to proceed to the spot, investigate the charge and take action. Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. On occasions the officers against whom complaints were received were summoned to Medina, and charged in Umar's administrative court. One of Umar's most powerful department was his intelligence department of secret services. Umar's iron fist rule on his empire, is often credited to this institution . His agents were everywhere, in the army, in the bureaucracy and in the enemy land. For the officials of Umar it was said to be the most fearsome department.

Umar was a pioneer in some affairs:

# Umar was the first to introduce the public ministry system, where the records of officials and soldiers were kept. He also kept a record system that had the messages he sent to Governors and heads of states. # He was the first to appoint police forces to keep civil order. # He was the first to discipline the people when they became disordered.

Reforms

Umar is regarded as one of the greatest political geniuses in history. While under his leadership, the empire was expanding at a unprecedented rate, he also began to build the political structure that would hold together the vast empire that was being built. He undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy. He established an advanced administration for the newly conquered lands, including several new ministries and bureaucracies, and ordered a census of all the Muslim territories. During his rule, the garrison cities (amsar) of Basra and Kufa were founded or expanded. In 638, he extended and renovated the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina. Umar also ordered the expulsion of the Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar allowing them to reside in Syria or Iraq. He issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the equivalent land in their new settlements. Umar also forbade non-Muslims to reside in the Hejaz for longer than three days. He was first to establish army as a state department. Umar was founder of Fiqh, the Islamic jurisprudence. He is regarded by Sunni Muslims to be one of the greatest Faqih. Umar as a jurist started the process of codifying Islamic Law. In 641, he established Bayt al-mal, a financial institution and started annual state sponsored allowance for the poor Muslims in Makkah and Al Madinah. A year later he also started allowance for the poor, underprivileged and old non-Muslim citizens of the empire. As a leader, 'Umar was known for his simple, austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims were poor and persecuted. In 639, his fourth year as caliph and the seventeenth year since the Hijra, he decreed that the Islamic calendar should be counted from the year of the Hijra of Muhammad from Mecca to Madinah.

Military expansion

It is widely believed that Umar stressed more on consolidating his power and political influence in the conquered land, rather than pursuing conquests. Nevertheless under Umar, The Islamic empire grew at an unprecedented rate. In 638, after the conquest of Syria, Umar dismissed Khalid, his most successful general due to his every growing fame and influence. Later however Umar regretted this decision. The military conquest were partially terminated between 638–639 during the years of great famine and plague in Arabia and Levant respectively. During his reign the Levant, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, Fezzan, Eastern Anatolia, almost the whole of the Sassanid Persian Empire including Bactria, Persia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Caucasus and Makran were annexed to Islamic Empire. According to one estimate more than 4050 cities were captured during these military conquest. Prior to his death in 644, Umar had ceased all military expeditions apparently to consolidate his rule in Egypt and the newly conquered Sassanid Empire (642–644). At his death in November 644, the domain of his rule extended from present day Libya in west to the Indus river in east and the Oxus river in north.

The great famine

In the year 638, Arabia fell into severe drought followed by a famine. Bedouin people began to die because of hunger and epidemic disease. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over Arabia gathered at Madinah where food was rationed. Soon the reserves of food at Madinah began to decline, and Umar wrote to the provincial governors of Syria, Palestine and Iraq for aid. A state of emergency was declared in Madinah and Arabia. The timely aid of Umar's governors saved the lives of thousands of people throughout Arabia. The first governor to respond was Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, the governor of Syria and supreme commander of Rashidun army. He sent a historic letter to Umar saying

Later, Abu Ubaidah paid a personal visit to Madinah and acted as an officer of Disaster management cell, which was headed personally by Umar. Once an adequate supply of rations reached Madinah, Umar dispatched his men to the routes of Iraq, Palestine and Syria to take the supply caravans to the desert settlements deeper into Arabia, which in turn saved millions from starvation. For internally displaced people, Umar hosted a dinner every night at Madinah, which according to one estimate had attendance of more than hundred thousand people. By early 639 conditions began to improve. Arabia received precipitation and as soon as the famine ended, Umar personally supervised the rehabilitation of the displaced people. They were given adequate amounts of rations and were exempted from payment of zakat for that year and the next year.

The great plague

While famine was ending in Arabia, many districts in Syria and Palestine were devastated by plague. While Umar was on his way to visit Syria, at Elat, he was received by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, governor of Syria, who informed him about plague and its intensity and he was suggested to go back to Madinah. Umar tried to persuade Abu Ubaidah to come with him to Madinah but he declined to leave his troops in that critical situation. Abu Ubaidah died in 639 due to plague, which also cost the life of 25,000 Muslims in Syria. After the plague had weakened in late 639 Umar visited Syria for political and administrative re-organization, as most of the veteran commanders and governors had died of plague.

Marriage to Ali bin Abu Talib's daughter Umm Kulthum

It is accepted by Sunni sources that Umar bin Khattab married Ali bin Abu Talib's daughter Umm Kulthum, whereas Shi'ah believe that the wife of Umar was Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr. In Sunni sources it is mentioned that Umar asked for her hand because of a hadith he heard from Muhammad, "Every lineage and means will be severed on the Day of Judgment except my lineage and my means." Umar wanted to be closer to Muhammad, therefore he requested for Ali's daughter, which Ali accepted.

Taraweeh

Taraweeh, the night prayers during Ramadan, were institutionalized during Umar's reign as Caliph. Once when visiting the mosque, he saw different groups of people performing prayers, and suggested to them to join together in performing the prayers. A majority of Sunni Muslims have followed the same practice since then. The Shia do not give credence to the institutionalization of this prayer during Umar's caliphate.

Assassination

In 644, at zenith of his power, Umar was assassinated. His assassination was carried out by a Persian, in response to the Muslim conquest of Persia. The assassination was planned several months earlier. In October 644 Umar went for Hajj in Mecca, the assassins started the hoopla of Umar's possible death that year, and the massive crowd of the congregation was used by the conspirators as a veil to hide themselves. It is related that when Umar stood at Mount Arafat he heard a voice saying:

A companion of Umar, Jabir bin Mutaam is reported to have said:

During one of rituals of Hajj, the Ramy al-Jamarat (''stoning of the Devil''), some one threw a stone on Umar that wounded his head, a voice was heard that Umar will not attend the Hajj ever again. Amongst the conspirators was: # Hormuzan, the alleged mastermind of the plot. He was Persian Commander in Chief and was captured and brought to Umar at Madinah where to save his life he apparently converted to Islam. # One of Umar's advisors, Ka'ab al-Ahbar, a former Jewish Rabbi, who apparently had converted to Islam, but his conversion is generally doubted by the Shi'ite scholars. # ''Jafinah'', the Christian Arab from Iraq, who was also a foster brother of Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, former governors of Busra. # Piruzan, popularly known as ''Abu Lulu'', he was slave of Mughira ibn Shu'ba the then governor of Busra.

It was Abu Lulu who was assigned the mission of assassinating Umar. According to the plan, before the Fajrprayers (''the morning prayers before the dawn'') Abu Lulu will enter Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the main mosque of Madinah where Umar led the prayers and will attack Umar during the prayers, and will flee or will mix with the congregation at mosque.

Abu Lulu brought a conjectural complaint to Umar about the high tax charged from him by his master Mughirah. Umar wrote to Mughirah and inquired about the tax. Mughirah's reply was satisfactory. Umar held that the tax charged from Abu Lulu was reasonable, owning to his daily income. Umar then is reported to have asked Abu Lulu:

On 3 November 644, Umar was attacked, while leading the morning prayers, Abu Lulu stabbed him six times in the belly and last on the navel, that proved fatal. Umar was left profusely bleeding while Abu Lulu tried to flee but people from all sides rushed to capture him, he in his efforts to escape is reported to have wounded twelve other people, six or nine of them later died. At last he was captured but committed suicide from the same dagger. Umar died of the wounds three days later on Sunday, 7 November 644. Umar is reported to have left the following testament:

As per Umar's will, he was buried next to Al-Masjid al-Nabawi alongside Muhammad and Caliph Abu Bakr by the permission of Aisha.

Aftermaths

On his death bed Umar vacillated to appoint his successor, however it has been reported that he said that if Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Khalid ibn Walid or Salim, the mawali and freed Persian slave, were alive he would have appointed one of them his successor. Umar finally appointed a committee of six persons comprising, #Ali ibn Abi Taleb #Saad ibn Abi Waqqas #Talha ibn Ubaidullah #Uthman ibn Affan #Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf #Zubayr ibn al-Awwam

Their task was to chose a caliph from amongst them. Umar appointed a band of fifty armed soldiers to protect the house where the meeting was proceeding. Until the appointment of the next caliph Umar appointed a notable Sahabi, a mawali, Suhayb ar-Rumi (''Suhayb the Roman'') as a caretaker Caliph. While the historic meeting for selection of caliph was preceding, Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr and Abdur Rahman bin Awf revealed that they saw the dagger used by Abu Lulu, the assassin of Umar. A night before Umar's assassination, reported Abdur Rahman bin Awf, he saw Hormuzan, Jafina and Abu Lulu, while they were suspiciously discussing some thing, bewildered by his presence, the dagger fell, it was the same two sided dagger used in the assassination. Abudulrehman ibn Abu Bakr, son of late caliph Abu Bakr also confirmed that a few days before Umar's assassination, he once saw this dagger with Hurmazan. After the mystery of assassination got uncovered by the two of the most notable governmental figures, it seemed clear that the assassination was planned by the Persians residing in Medina. Infuriated by this Umar's younger son Ubaidullah ibn Umar sought to kill all the Persians in Madinah. He killed Hormuzan, Jafinah, and daughter of Umar's assassin Abu Lulu, who is believed to be a Muslim. Ubaidullah was intercepted by the people of Madinah and withholding him from the massacre. Amr ibn al-Aas is said to have intercepted him, convinced him to hand over his sword. The murder of Jafinah, enraged Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, his foster brother, and he assaulted Ubaidullah ibn Umar and again the companions intervened. It is also believed that Umar's daughter Hafsa bint Umar provoked Ubaidullah to take the punitive action. When Umar was informed about the incident, he ordered that Ubaidullah should be imprisoned and the next Caliph should decide his fate. Umar died on 7 November 644; on 11 November Uthman succeeded him as the Caliph. After prolonged negotiations the tribunal decided to give blood money to the victims and released Umar's son Ubaidullah, on the ground that after the tragic incident of Umar's assassination people will be further infuriated by execution of his son the very next day.

Legacy

name	Saint Umar the Great
titles	Rightly-Guided Caliph, ''Al-Farooq'', Martyr, Disciple of Muhammad
birth date	c. 586 C.E.
birth place	Mecca
death date	c. 644 C.E.
death place	Medina
venerated in	Sunni Islam
influences	Muhammad
influenced	Sunni Muslims
major shrine	''Tomb of Umar'' in Mosque of the Prophet, Medina, Arabia }}

Umar is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Islamic history. He was in a true sense the architect of the Islamic Empire. As a leader, 'Umar was known for his simple, austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims were poor and persecuted. 'Umar was vigorous, robust and a very tall man, in markets he would tower above the people. The front part of his head was bald, always ''A'sara Yusran'' (working with two hands), both his eyes are black, with yellow skin, however, ibn Sa'ad in his book ''The Book of the Major Classes'' (''Tabaqat al-Kubra'') stated that he never knew that 'Umar had yellow skin, except if the people took into criterion a certain part of his life where his color changed because he always ate oil at that part of his life, Others say he has reddish-white skin. His teeth were ''ashnabul asnan'' (very white shining). He would always color his beard and take care of his hair using a type of plant.

Humility

In his book ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Mufti Muhammad Mukarram Ahmed describes his journey to Jerusalem to take control of the city from the Byzantine Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius:

In ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Gibbon refers to Umar in the following terms:

Political legacy

Umar is considered as a political genius, as an architect of Islamic Empire he is regarded as 52nd most influential figure in history. Umar remained politically stagnant during Prophet Mohammad's era, however after his death, it was Umar's political brilliance that Abu Bakr was elected Caliph, despite of massive initial confrontations at Saqifah, Umar successfully broke the alliance of the tribes of Madinah who claim Caliphate to be their right, paving the way for the succession of Abu Bakr. During Abu Bakr's era, he actively participated as his secretary and main adviser. After succeeding Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar won over the hearts of Bedouin tribes by emancipating all their prisoners and slaves taken during Ridda wars, his excellent oratory skills helped him gain broader support among the poor and the underprivileged. He proved himself as a excellent manager during the year of the great Famine when his dynamic abilities saved millions from starvation. He is best known to build up an efficient administrative structure of the empire, that held together his vast realm. He organized an effective network of intelligence, partly a reason for his strong grip on his bureaucracy. His judicial reforms were fairly modern and advance in nature when compared to contemporary systems of his era. He opposed the construction of present day Suez Canal, as it posed threat to the security of Madinah. Twelve hundred years later Great Britain opposed the construction of the canal for the same reason as it then posed threat to its colonies in Indian Subcontinent. One of the reason of the compactness of his political rule in the conquered lands is reputed to his policy of tolerance to their religious beliefs and imposition of far lower taxes on them as compared to the Sassanid Persian empire and the Byzantine empire. Their local administration was kept un-touched and several of the former Byzantine and Persian official were retained on their services under Umar's governors. Umar was very painstaking in every matter. His meticulousness was evident from his appointment of governors and judges that never let him lose his grip on the government. He never appointed governors for more than two years, for they might get influence in their county. He dismissed his most successful general Khalid ibn Walid, due to his immense popularity and growing influence he feared that the Muslims might think it was Khalid who gave them victory not God. Rather than tenacious conquest he stressed more on consolidating his rule in the conquered land, a fact that saved Byzantine empire from complete disappearance. Umar is reported to have wished an official tour across his domain to personally examine the condition of his subjects. In 641, before the conquest of the Persian empire, Umar is reported to have said:

At the time, Umar made this statement, Persia was not yet conquered (''conquest of Persia begun in 642''). He would walk the streets of Medina with a whip in his hand, and it is said that Umar's whip was feared more than the sword of another man. He is famous for covert night tours of the city to know the secret life of his domain, a tradition that was later followed by some of the Abbasid Caliphs and even Mughul rulers of Indian Subcontinent.

Social justice and accountability

Saeed M Mohtsham cites from Caliph Umar's rule in his research paper ''Vision and Visionary Leadership – An Islamic Perspective'':

Military legacy

It has been reported that Umar was a champion wrestler of his time, and though not distinguished as a swordsman, he would later attain prominence as a master strategist. Along with Khalid, he is said to be one of the key figures in the collapse of the Arabian rebellion, the greatest triumph of Abu Bakr. One of his greatest strategic marvels was his brilliant fission of Persio-Roman alliance in 636, when Emperor Heraclius and Emperor Yazdegerd III allied against their common enemy Umar. He was lucky in that the Persian Emperor Yazdegerd III couldn't synchronize with Heraclius as planned. Umar fully availed the opportunity and successfully tackled the minefield by straining the Byzantines to jump in the battle. This was contrary to the orders of Empreror Heraclius, who presumably wanted a coordinated attack along with the Persians. Umar did this by sending reinforcements to the Roman front with instructions that they should appear in the form of small bands, one after the other, giving the impression of a continuous stream of reinforcements that finally lured the Byzantines to an untimely battle. On the other hand Yazdegerd III of Persia was engaged in negotiations that further gave Umar time to transfer his troops from Syria to Iraq. These troops proved decisive in the Battle of Qadisiyyah. Both the battles thus fought proved decisive and are noted as two of the most decisive battles in history.

His strategic dimensions were the prime reason of Muslim victory at 2nd Battle of Emesa in 638. Where the pro-Byzantine Christian Arabs of Jazira, aided by Byzantine Emperor, making an unexpected flanking movement and laid siege to Emesa (Homs). Umar's brilliance was behind this Muslim victory and was achieved without firing a single shot.

Umar's orders to invade the very homeland of the Christian Arab forces besieging Emesa, the Jazirah. A three prong attack against Jazirah was launched from Iraq. To further pressurize the Christian Arab armies, Umar instructed Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, commander of Muslim forces in Iraq, to sent reinforcement to Emesa, Umar himself led a reinforcement from Madinah and marched towards Emesa. Under this unprecedented press-gang, Christian Arabs retreated from Emesa before Muslims reinforcement could reach their. This incursion from Byzantines however resulted in Muslim annex Mesopotamia and parts of Byzantine Armenia.

Nonetheless the greatest triumph of Umar remained Conquest of Persian empire. After years of non-offensive policy according to which Umar wished the Zagros Mountains to be the frontiers between Muslims and Persians, after Battle of Nahavand Umar launched a whole scale invasion of Sassanid Persian Empire. The invasion was a series of well coordinated multi-prong attacks that was based on the principle of isolating and then destroying the target. Umar launched the invasion by attacking the very heart of Persia aiming to isolate Azerbaijan and eastern Persia. It was immediately followed by simultaneous attacks on Azerbaijan and Fars. In the final secession Sistan and Kirman and captured thus isolating the stronghold of Persian, the Khurasan. The final expedition was launched against Khurasan where after Battle of Oxus river Persian empire ceased to exist, and emperor Yazdegerd III fled to Central Asia. He founded the city of Cairo, conquered 36,000 cities or castles, and built 1400 mosques.

Religious legacy

Sunni views

Sunnis Muslims view him as the Second Rashidun and know him as Farooq the great. He did not seek advancement for his own family, but rather sought to advance the interests of the Muslim community, the ''ummah''. The general Sunni sentiment for Umar is summarized by one of Muhammad's companions, Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud:

Shia views

Umar is viewed very negatively in Shi'a literature and is regarded as a traitor to Muhammad, a usurper of Ali's rights, and a murderer. According to shia, his role during Muhammad's lifetime is questioned as he was not assigned to any civil or military authority. Some Shi'a writers have accused him of killing Muhammad's daughter Fatimah (see Fatimah's death). According to Shia Muslims,and also according to Ibn Abi Shaya,a prominent scholar of hadith and one of the teachers of al-Bukhari,Ibn Qutayba,al-Baladhuri,al-Tabari,Sulaym b. Qays,al-Mas'udi,Ibn Rabboh,Tarikh al-Ya'kubi,Shahrastani Fatimah, wife of Ali and daughter of Muhammad, was physically abused by him. These sources report that the event caused her to miscarry her child and eventually led to her death soon after. (see Umar at Fatimah's house).

Western views

In his book ''Mahomet and His Successors'', Washington Irving estimates the achievements of Umar in the following terms:

In his book ''The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall'' Sir William Muir says as follows about Umar:

In ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Gibbon refers to Umar in the following terms:

In his book ''History of the Arabs'' Professor Philip Khuri Hitti has assessed the achievements of Umar in the following terms:

''Encyclopedia Britannica'' remarks about Umar:

On the other hand, David Samuel Margoliouth offers this assessment of Umar:

"Yet we have no record of any occasion on which Omar displayed remarkable courage, though many examples are at hand of his cruelty and bloodthirstiness; at the battle of Hunain he ran away, and on another occasion owed his life to the good nature of an enemy." (''Mohammed and the Rise of Islam'', pg 164)"

However, in contrast to Margoliouth's assertion, Shahid Ashraf in his literary work ''Encyclopaedia of Holy Prophet and Companions'' celebrates Umar as amongst the firmest companions who remained with the Prophet Muhammad at his most critical juncture during the battle of Hunain when others fled during ther disarray:

This view of Umar's courageous commitment at the Battle of Hunayn is also shared by Mufti Muhammad Mukarram Ahmed, the famed Ibn Ishaq in his ''Sīrat rasūl Allāh'', Masudul Hasan in ''Hadrat Ali Murtada''. In fact, the famed Ibn Sa'd's ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'', one of the most reliable works of Islamic history, it is reported: ''"On that day (Battle of Hunayn) those (few) who remained firm were al-Abbas, Ali ibn Abi Talib, ... ''

Umar's miracle

Though these are not authenticated but a few follower believe

Al-Bayhaqi and Abu Nu‘aym narrated, both of them in [books that they each called] Dala’il an-Nubuwwah, and al-Lalka’i in Sharh as-Sunnah, ad-Dayr‘aquli in his Fawa’id, Ibn al-A‘rabi in his Karamat al-Awliya and al-Khateeb in Ruwat Malik ‘an Nafi‘ ‘an Ibn ‘Umar that Ibn ‘Umar said: ‘Umar sent an army and he put at the head of them a man called Sariyah. While ‘Umar was delivering the khutbah he began to cry out, ‘Sariyah, the mountain!’ three times. Then later the messenger of the army came and he told ‘Umar, ‘Amir al-Mu’minin, we were being defeated and in that situation we heard a voice crying out, “Sariyah, the mountain!” three times. We put the mountain to our rear, and then Allah defeated them.’ Someone said to ‘Umar, ‘You cried out with those words.’ That mountain, where Sariyah was, is close to Nahawand in the land of the non-Arabs (Persian Iraq). Ibn Hajar said in al-Isabah: Its isnad is good.

Ibn Mardawayh narrated by way of Maymun ibn Mihran that Ibn ‘Umar said: ‘Umar was delivering the khutbah on the day of Jumu‘ah and then he turned aside during his khutbah and said, ‘Sariyah, the mountain! He who asks the wolf to be a shepherd will be wronged.’ People looked about, one to another. Then ‘Ali said to them, ‘Let him explain what he meant.’ When he had finished they asked him and he said, ‘It occurred to me in my mind that the idolaters were defeating our brothers who were passing by a mountain, and that if they were to turn towards it, they would fight on one front only, but if they passed by it they would be destroyed. So there came out of me that which you claim you heard.’ He said: The messenger came a month later and mentioned that they had heard the voice of ‘Umar on that day, and he said, ‘We turned towards the mountain, and Allah gave us victory.

Family

Umar married a total of nine women in his lifetime and had fourteen children, ten sons and four daughters.

The details are as follow:

::Wife: Zaynab bint Mazh'un (at the time of ''Jahiliyyah'' [Days of Ignorance]) :::Son: Abdullah ibn Umar :::Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (The Older) :::Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar :::Daughter: Hafsa bint Umar :::Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar ::Wife: Quraybah bint Abi Umayyah al-Makhzumi (divorced, married by Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr) ::Wife: Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham (after her husband, a former ally of 'Umar and a companion Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl was killed in Battle of Yarmouk, later divorced but al-Madaini says he did not divorce her) :::Daughter: Fatima bint 'Umar ::Wife: Jamilah bint Ashim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah (from the tribe of Aws) :::Son: Asim ibn Umar ::Wife: Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nifayl (cousin of Umar and former wife of Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr married 'Umar in the year twelve AH and after 'Umar was murdered, she married az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam) :::Son: Iyaad ibn 'Umar ::Wife: Luhyah (a woman from Yemen (Yaman) who's marital status with 'Umar is disputed, al-Waqidi said that she was Umm Walad, meaning a slave woman) :::Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (the youngest Abdulrehman while some say the middle Abdulrehman from Luhyah) ::Wife: Fukayhah (as Umm Walad) :::Daughter: Zaynab bint 'Umar (the smallest child of 'Umar from Fukayhah) ::Wife: Umm Kulthum bint Ali :::Son: Zayd bin Umar Another son is, az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, called ''Abu Shahmah'', though from which wife is unknown.

See also

Rashidun Caliphate

* Abu Bakr

* Uthman

* Ali

Ridda wars

Qallu

Sahaba

* List of Sahaba

* Sunni view of the Sahaba

Dhikr

Al Haleem

Notes

References

Donner, Fred, ''The Early Islamic Conquests'', Princeton University Press, 1981.

Guillaume, A., ''The Life of Muhammad'', Oxford University Press, 1955.

Hourani, Albert, ''A History of the Arab Peoples'', Faber and Faber, 1991.

Madelung, Wilferd, ''The Succession to Muhammad'', Cambridge University Press, 1997.

"G.LeviDellaVida and M.Bonner "Umar" in ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' CD-ROM Edition v. 1.0, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands 1999"

Al-Faruq by Shibli Nomani

Previte-Orton, C. W (1971). ''The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

How Many Companions Do You Know? By Ali Al-Halawani

External links

Excerpt from ''The History of the Khalifahs'' by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti

Sirah of Amirul Muminin Umar Bin Khattab (r.a.a.) by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Husayni Al-Ninowy.

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:588 births Category:644 deaths Category:644 crimes Category:Converts to Islam Category:Arab people Category:Rashidun Category:Sahaba Category:Assassinated caliphs Category:7th-century caliphs

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playername	Umar Akmal
country	Pakistan
fullname	Umar Akmal
living	true
dayofbirth	26
monthofbirth	5
yearofbirth	1990
placeofbirth	Lahore, Punjab
countryofbirth	Pakistan
batting	Right hand bat
role	Batsman
columns	3
column1	Test
matches1	15
runs1	988
bat avg1	36.59
100s/50s1	1/6
top score1	129
deliveries1	–
wickets1	–
bowl avg1	–
fivefor1	–
tenfor1	–
best bowling1	–
catches/stumpings1	12/–
column2	ODI
matches2	43
runs2	1249
bat avg2	37.84
100s/50s2	1/8
top score2	102*
deliveries2	–
wickets2	–
bowl avg2	–
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	–
best bowling2	–
catches/stumpings2	18/–
column3	T20I
matches3	22
runs3	571
bat avg3	31.72
100s/50s3	0/4
top score3	64
deliveries3	–
wickets3	–
bowl avg3	–
fivefor3	–
tenfor3	–
best bowling3	–
catches/stumpings3	18/1
date	20 August
year	2011
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/317273.html Cricinfo }}

Umar Akmal (}}, born 26 May 1990 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer. He made his ODI debut on 1 August 2009 against Sri Lanka and made his Test debut against New Zealand on 23 November 2009.

Personal life

Umar is the youngest brother of Adnan Akmal and Kamran Akmal who are also cricketers. While his brothers are wicket keepers, he is a right-handed batsman and a part time spinner.

Early career

Umar represented Pakistan in the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. After his success at the U-19 level he earned himself a first class contract and played the 2007-08 season of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, representing the Sui Southern Gas team. He is considered a future asset for Pakistan cricket. He is an aggressive style cricketer. In only his sixth first class match he smashed 248 off just 225 deliveries, including four sixes. He followed that up with an unbeaten 186 in his 8th first class match, off just 170 balls. He fared less well in his second season of first class cricket, with a string of low scores batting at number 3. He found form in the final few matches of the 2008/09 season and then in the RBS T20 tournament thus getting the selectors nod to play for Pakistan A side on their tour to Australia A.

Australia A tour

Umar came to prominence during the Australia A tour in June/July 2009. In the two Test matches he recorded scores of 54, 100*, 130, 0. In the ODI series that followed Umar continued his fine form with a century in the opening ODI encounter off just 68 deliveries. These performances made him gather considerable praise from the media who were there to witness him and calls began to grow about his inclusion in the ODI series for the main Pakistan side against Sri Lanka.

Test career

Umar made his Test debut against New Zealand at Dunedin on 23 November 2009. On the third day of his debut test, Umar Akmal hit 129 runs from 160 balls becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home after Fawad Alam. This feat also made him the first Pakistani batsman to score both his maiden Test and ODI century away from home, following his ODI century against Sri Lanka. The innings was noted as special due to Pakistan's tough position in the match and the hundred partnership which Akmal was involved in alongside his elder brother Kamran. He followed up the century in the first innings with a fifty in the second innings.

In only his second Test match he was moved up the order to the crucial spot of number 3, where he struggled initially but managed to counter-attack the hostile bowling with his natural flair, making 46 before he was undone by an inswinger by Daryl Tuffey. In the second innings he was moved down the order to his usual batting spot of number 5 as captain Mohammed Yousuf chose to bat at number 3 himself, and Akmal looked his usual aggressive self throughout his innings of 52 which came off only 33 balls. He had his first failure in the first innings of the third test at Napier where he was caught in the gully for a duck but scored a rearguard 77 in the second, promoting him to the leading run scorer of the series. Akmal finished the tour with 400 runs at an average of 57.14.

ODI and Twenty20 career

In an interview, Umar said "My own dream is to one day play for Pakistan alongside Kamran Bhai (Brother) and I'm working hard to try and achieve that goal". Akmal was selected in Pakistan's squad for the One Day International Series against Sri Lanka in July/August 2009. Having missed out on the first ODI Umar made his debut in the second match of the series replacing Mohammad Yousuf in the middle order. In only his second career ODI Umar scored his maiden ODI fifty. Umar followed up his maiden fifty by scoring a century in the very next match. For this match winning effort he was awarded his first career Man of the Match award. His exploits in Sri Lanka earned him a place in Pakistan's champions trophy squad. He played two good innings. His 41 not out against West Indies was a match winning knock and landed him his second career Man of the Match award. His next big innings came in the semi final against New Zealand, where he scored a brisk 55 in a losing effort, before he was wrongly given out by umpire Simon Taufel, who later apologized. Despite the fact that Umar Akmal is not a wicket-keeper he kept wicket for Pakistan temporarily in the third ODI against England in 2010 from the 27th Over onwards because his elder brother Kamran was being diagnosed for an injury to his finger. Umar Akmal cracked 71 runs in 52 balls including 8 boundaries and 1 six in his debut World Cup match, he was also announced Player Of the match.

Twenty20 International fifties

3 51 56* 64

Twenty20 International 50's of Umar Akmal
style="width:40px;"	# !! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Match !! style="width:125px;"|Against !! style="width:175px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year !! style="width:50px;"|Result
[1]	56*	|		Dubai, UAE	DSC Cricket Stadium	2009	Won
[2]	|	11		Gros Islet, St. Lucia	Beausejour Stadium	2010	Won
[3]	|	12		Gros Islet, St. Lucia	Beausejour Stadium	2010	Lost
[4]	|	13		Birmingham, England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground>Edgbaston	2010	Won

Controversy

Umar Akmal's early success was briefly tarnished by a controversy during Pakistan's 2009-10 tour of Australia. It was widely reported that Umar had feigned an injury to protest the dropping of older brother Kamran for the final Test match against Australia. Umar denied such rumors and played in the final match without his brother. He was later fined 2-3 million rupees by the PCB for breaching his contract and speaking to the media without approval.

References

External links

Cricinfo profile

Category:Living people Category:Pakistani Muslims Umar Category:Pakistani cricketers Category:Pakistan Test cricketers Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:Pakistan One Day International cricketers Category:Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers Category:1990 births Category:People from Lahore Category:Pakistani wicket-keepers Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup

fr:Umar Akmal mr:उमर अक्मल ur:عمر اکمل

playername	Brad Haddin
country	Australia
fullname	Brad James Haddin
nickname	BJ
living	true
dayofbirth	23
monthofbirth	10
yearofbirth	1977
placeofbirth	Cowra, New South Wales
countryofbirth	Australia
heightm	1.80
batting	Right-hand bat
bowling	None
role	Wicketkeeper-Batsman
international	true
testdebutdate	22 May
testdebutyear	2008
testdebutagainst	West Indies
testcap	400
lasttestdate	3 January
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	30 January
odidebutyear	2001
odidebutagainst	Zimbabwe
odicap	144
lastodidate	22 August
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
odishirt	57
t20idebutdate	9 January
t20idebutyear	2006
t20idebutagainst	South Africa
t20icap	16
lastt20idate	8 August
lastt20iyear	2011
lastt20iagainst	Sri Lanka
club1	Australian Capital Territory
year1	1997–1999
club2	New South Wales
year2	1999–present
club3	Kolkata Knight Riders
year3	2011–present
club4	Sydney Sixers
year4	2011–present
deliveries	balls
hidedeliveries	true
columns	4
column1	Tests
matches1	32
runs1	1,904
bat avg1	39.66
100s/50s1	3/8
top score1	169
deliveries1	–
wickets1	–
bowl avg1	–
fivefor1	–
tenfor1	–
best bowling1	–
catches/stumpings1	118/3
column2	ODIs
matches2	90
runs2	2,466
bat avg2	32.02
100s/50s2	2/15
top score2	110
deliveries2	–
wickets2	–
bowl avg2	–
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	–
best bowling2	–
catches/stumpings2	124/8
column3	FC
matches3	130
runs3	7,712
bat avg3	40.80
100s/50s3	13/42
top score3	169
deliveries3	–
wickets3	–
bowl avg3	–
fivefor3	–
tenfor3	–
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column4	List A
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deliveries4	–
wickets4	–
bowl avg4	–
fivefor4	–
tenfor4	–
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date	24 August
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/5560.html Cricinfo }}

Bradley James Haddin (born 23 October 1977 in Cowra, New South Wales) is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper.

Haddin was selected in the first ever Mercantile Mutual Cup season of 1997–98 for the Canberra Comets, with whom he began his professional cricketing career. In the 1999–2000 season, he began playing for the New South Wales Blues to pursue further cricketing opportunities. Since then, he has produced several memorable batting innings, including a top score of 133 against Victoria.

In September 2003, he replaced Simon Katich as captain of New South Wales, while Katich was on international duty, and he since been acting-captain on numerous occasions. He has also captained Australia A.

For most of his career he was Australia A wicketkeeper but was drafted into the Australian squad as wicketkeeper if Adam Gilchrist was injured or rested. He made his international debut in a One Day International on 30 January 2001 against Zimbabwe in Hobart. He made one stumping and made 13 runs. He was demoted from second choice wicketkeeper for Australia in 2001 by Wade Seccombe and later Ryan Campbell, but reclaimed this position in late 2004.

On 18 September 2006, playing against West Indies at Kuala Lumpur in the DLF Cup, Haddin and Australian captain Mike Hussey put on 165, which at that time was a world-record stand for the sixth wicket in ODIs.

He finally made his Test debut on 22 May 2008 against the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, becoming Australia's 400th Test cricketer, after Adam Gilchrist retired.

Haddin was involved in a controversy relating to the dismissal of Neil Broom in an ODI in Perth in February 2009. Broom was given out bowled but replays clearly showed that Haddin's gloves had disturbed the bails. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori expressed his dissatisfaction with Haddin's actions in not calling Broom back to the wicket. His comment led to an angry retort from Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Ponting defended his team mate saying that Haddin was convinced the ball hit the stumps.

On 15 February 2009, Haddin became acting Australian captain for the Twenty20 against New Zealand after Ricky Ponting was rested and Michael Clarke was injured.

There is a debate as to who would be the successor of Haddin, but Graham Manou and Tim Paine are the frontrunners having already had international experience.

On 9 March 2010, in the third match of the 2009–10 Chappell-Hadlee One Day International series against New Zealand, Haddin scored his second ODI hundred, hitting 110 off 121 balls opening the Australian innings.

He was ruled out of the 2010 ODI series in England due to an elbow injury, which he claims flared up when he smashed that century against New Zealand in March.

On 27 November 2010, in the opening match of the The Ashes series 2010–11 at The Gabba, Brisbane, Haddin scored 136, his third test hundred, in a valuable innings that helped Australia to a commanding first innings lead. He went on in the series to collect 360 runs at an average of 45.00.

He was dropped for Australia's Twenty20 series against England in January 2011 in favour of Tim Paine, leaving him shocked and angry about his departure.

In the 2011 Indian Premier League season, Haddin was contracted by Kolkata Knight Riders for US$325,000.

References

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Australia Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australian wicket-keepers Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:New South Wales cricketers Category:ACT cricketers Category:People from Cowra, New South Wales

fr:Brad Haddin mr:ब्रॅड हड्डिन pl:Brad Haddin ta:பிராட் ஹாடின்

playername	Adnan Akmal
country	Pakistan
fullname	Adnan Akmal
living	true
dayofbirth	13
monthofbirth	3
yearofbirth	1985
placeofbirth	Lahore, Punjab
countryofbirth	Pakistan
batting	left-handed
role	Wicket-keeper
family	Kamran Akmal (brother), Umar Akmal (brother)
testdebutdate	15 January
testdebutyear	2011
testdebutagainst	New Zealand
testcap	203
club1	SNGPL
year1	2007-present
club2	Lahore Ravi
year2	2006-2007
club3	ZTBL
year3	2003-2007
club4	Multan
year4	2005-2006
club5	Lahore Blues
year5	2004-2005
club6	Lahore
year6	2003-2004
deliveries	balls
hidedeliveries	true
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	4
runs1	95
bat avg1	23.75
100s/50s1	0/0
top score1	44
deliveries1	–
wickets1	–
bowl avg1	–
fivefor1	–
tenfor1	–
best bowling1	–
catches/stumpings1	16/1
column2	ODI
matches2	-
runs2	-
bat avg2	-
100s/50s2	-
top score2	-
deliveries2	–
wickets2	–
bowl avg2	–
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	–
best bowling2	–
catches/stumpings2	-
column3	FC
matches3	80
runs3	2569
bat avg3	22.73
100s/50s3	2/8
top score3	125
deliveries3	–
wickets3	–
bowl avg3	–
fivefor3	–
tenfor3	–
best bowling3	–
catches/stumpings3	294/7
column4	LA
matches4	56
runs4	719
bat avg4	21.14
100s/50s4	0/2
top score4	70
deliveries4	–
wickets4	–
bowl avg4	–
fivefor4	–
tenfor4	–
best bowling4	–
catches/stumpings4	69/21
date	11 November
year	2010
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/39038.html Cricinfo }}

Adnan Akmal (}}), born March 13, 1985, is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who plays for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd Cricket Team and has represented his country at U-17 level. Most recently, he was called up for Pakistan's tour against South Africa in the UAE, as a replacement for the first choice keeper, Zulqarnain Haider. His brothers, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal, both have central contracts with the Pakistan Cricket Board, and are regular fixtures in the national side. Adnan made his Test debut against South Africa on November 12, 2010.

International career

Adnan was added to the Pakistan Test squad in place of Zulqarnain Haider, who announced his retirement from international cricket after allegedly receiving threats from bookies. In the series against New Zealand he performed well to occupy his place in the future.

References

Adnan Akmal Profile at Cricinfo.com

Adnan Akmal's Statistics

References

Category:Pakistani people Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Lahore cricketers Adnan Category:Pakistani wicket-keepers Category:Sui Gas Corporation of Pakistan cricketers

ur:عدنان اکمل

playername	Umar Gul
country	Pakistan
fullname	Umar Gul
living	true
dayofbirth	14
monthofbirth	4
yearofbirth	1984
placeofbirth	Peshawar
countryofbirth	Pakistan
heightm	1.91
batting	Right hand bat
bowling	Right arm fast medium
role	Bowler
international	true
testdebutdate	20 August
testdebutyear	2003
testdebutagainst	Bangladesh
testcap	175
lasttestdate	29 July
lasttestyear	2010
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	3 April
odidebutyear	2003
odidebutagainst	Zimbabwe
odicap	145
lastodidate	22 September
lastodiyear	2010
lastodiagainst	England
t20idebutdate	September 4
t20idebutyear	2007
t20idebutfor	Pakistan
t20idebutagainst	Kenya
club1	Peshawar
year1	2003–
club2	Habib Bank Limited
year2	2006–
club3	Western Australia
year3	2008–2009
club4	North-West Frontier Province
year4	2008
club5	Pakistan International Airlines
year5	2001–2006
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	32
runs1	454
bat avg1	11.64
100s/50s1	0/1
top score1	65*
deliveries1	6,690
wickets1	112
bowl avg1	35.54
fivefor1	4
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	6/135
catches/stumpings1	7/–
column2	ODI
matches2	75
runs2	244
bat avg2	9.03
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	33
deliveries2	3,617
wickets2	115
bowl avg2	26.86
fivefor2	2
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	6/42
catches/stumpings2	9/–
column3	T20I
matches3	32
runs3	56
bat avg3	8.00
100s/50s3	0/0
top score3	16
deliveries3	667
wickets3	47
bowl avg3	14.65
fivefor3	1
tenfor3	n/a
best bowling3	5/6
catches/stumpings3	10/–
column4	F-C
matches4	63
runs4	897
bat avg4	13.38
100s/50s4	0/1
top score4	65*
deliveries4	12,329
wickets4	253
bowl avg4	28.40
fivefor4	14
tenfor4	1
best bowling4	8/78
catches/stumpings4	15/-
date	20 November
year	2010
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/43524.html Cricinfo }}

Umar Gul (Pashto: ) (born 14 April 1984 in Peshawar) is a Pakistani right arm fast medium bowler in cricket who has played Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani cricket team. He has gained fame as one of the most successful bowlers in Twenty20 cricket finishing as the leading wicket taker and bowler in both the 2007 and 2009 Twenty20 World Championship tournaments.

Personal life

Gul was born in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan he was born in a middle-class family and frequently played tape-ball cricket. People on the street encouraged Gul to become an international cricketer as they saw his superb bowling. On October 2010 Gul's family announced that he was to wed a Dubai Doctor. The doctor is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and she was born there as well

Career

Early career

Gul was first called up for the team in April 2003, playing four one-day matches at the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets, and he was in and out of the one-day team after that tournament. However, he played the whole of the 2003–04 home series against Bangladesh, making his Test debut and taking 15 wickets in the three Tests, and took the second-most wickets of any Pakistani bowler in the series, behind Shabbir Ahmed with 17. However, Shoaib Akhtar, who took 13 in third place, only played two of the Tests.

Gul was retained for the ODIs against Bangladesh, taking a List A best five for 17 in nine overs in the third match, and ended with 11 wickets in the 5–0 series win. However, he could still not command a regular spot, playing three of Pakistan's nine next ODIs before finally getting dropped after one for 36 against New Zealand.

Test matches

He was recalled and played two Tests after that taking four wickets in a drawn Test against New Zealand before coming in as replacement for Shabbir Ahmed in the second Test of the three-Test series against India. After coming on as first-change bowler, Gul dismissed Virender Sehwag in his second over, and then bowled unchanged for 12 overs either side of lunch to take five Indian top order wickets - including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who both had Test batting averages above 50, as did Sehwag. Gul finished with five for 31 in his spell, earning him commendation from Cricinfo journalist Dileep Premachandran, who praised his "control of line and length", and he was also named Man of the Match despite conceding runs at five an over in the second innings in a nine-wicket win.

After a length injury lay-off, which kept him out of international cricket for nearly two years, Gul returned to the Pakistan fold in 2006. Firstly with quiet away series against Sri Lanka then followed by a tour to England in 2006. Gul was quickly made the lead bowler in the side due to the injuries to other front line bowlers. Gul to 18 wickets in four tests, justifying the selectors faith in him.

Later in 2006, against West Indies at home, Gul had perhaps his most successful test series. He took 16 wickets in 3 tests, including notable spells of reverse swing bowling. He was responsible for breaking Ramnaresh Sarwan's toe with a dipping yorker.

Test appearances however remained few and far between due to injuries and lack of test cricket for Pakistan.

In February 2009, Gul recorded his best test figures in the Pakistan team, taking 6 for 135 on an otherwise flat pitch.

In July 2010, Pakistan faced England at Trent Bridge and were 147/9 in their first innings. Gul scored 30* before the day was called off due to bad light. He returned the next day with Mohammad Asif and batted with intent to add another 35 runs in five overs. This saw Pakistan avoid the follow-on against England and therefore survive an innings defeat.

Gul then suffered a hamstring injury in the second test when he was touring England in 2010 he was ruled out for three weeks that meant he would miss the remaining two tests. However Gul managed to recover and became fit enough to play in the fourth test However they decided to rest Gul for the final test match despite the fact that he had recovered quicker than expected.

His next chance to play test cricket came against South Africa in November 2010 when he took 3 wickets in a first innings and triggered a South African collapse of 380 on a flat wicket. He took the crucial wicket with an excellent inswinger against AB de Villiers

Twenty20

With injuries limiting Gul's test cricket participation, he made a distinct change to his bowling set-up. Making a focus on bowling in the late overs of T20. He got his opportunity with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa. He was generally used by Pakistan from the 13th over onwards and finished the tournament with 13 wickets, making him the leading wicket taker ahead of Shahid Afridi and RP Singh.

In the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he performed excellently, earning the mantle from at least one pundit of "the outstanding seam bowler of the World Twenty20". His five-wicket haul for just six runs when Pakistan dismantled New Zealand won especial acclaim. The spell made him the first bowler in history to take a five wickets in a Twenty20 international, and he held the record of best T20I bowling figures until 8 August 2011, when surpassed by Ajantha Mendis (6/16). Mutterings were made about a possible correlation between ball tampering and the exorbitant amounts of reverse-swing he was able to extract, but he denied them categorically: "Whenever an Asian bowler performs and uses the reverse-swing, the Western cricketing countries raise the issue of ball-tampering against them."

He was also part of the Pakistan team that lifted the trophy at Lord's while also finishing as the leading wicket taker of the tournament for the second consecutive time.

He gained a lot of wickets bowled, in particular with late reverse swinging yorkers, which dip late to slide under the bat and leave little room for batsmen to maneuver the ball. Consequently he has also an excellent economy rate in this format of the game.

In February 2008, Gul signed with the Indian Premier League and was drafted by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for US $150,000. He played in six matches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 15.33, including a player of the match award in Kolkata's final game in which Gul took 4-23 and scored 24 runs from 11 balls.

In December 2008 Gul signed with the Western Warriors to compete in the Australian domestic 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash tournament. He performed very well in his debut match for the Warriors, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs in a losing side. He was amongst the most successful bowlers in the competition despite not being available for the entire tournament he finished second top wicket taker with 12 wickets.

Internationally, Gul has taken 47 wickets in just 32 games at an average of 14.65, a truly outstanding statistic. He is the second leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals behind fellow teammate Shahid Afridi

One Day Internationals

Gul appeared in all three of Pakistan's group matches in the 2007 World Cup taking four wickets with an economy rate of 3.13, only Shane Bond of those to deliver 100 balls was more economical. He also appeared in all of Pakistan's matches at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 taking 3/15 of 4 overs in the semi-final victory over New Zealand. He took three wickets in the final to finish as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

Batting-skills

Despite the fact that Gul is a bowler he can perform well as a lower order batsman and has proved that he has the ability to score runs quickly he finest moment with the bat came in a test match vs England in August 2010 when Pakistan were at 103/7 and Gul came into bat he scored 29 of 30 delieveries when play was ended on that day however two more wickets had fallen and the team were at 148/9 by night-time Pakistan would need 11 runs to avoid the follow-on. Gul then came and with his number 10 partner Mohammad Asif; Gul scored 34 runs in just 11 deliveries however his partner Mohammad Asif was run out at the other end and Gul ended on 65*.

Injuries

However, Gul was then ruled out of the third Test with a back injury which kept him out of cricket for an entire year. He returned to play two games at the 2004–05 Twenty-20 Cup, and played some matches for Pakistan A and a Pakistan XI in warm-up games before the Test matches against England the following season, but he was not selected for the matches and has instead played three matches with Peshawar at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Gul had signed a one year contract with Gloucestershire to play in 2007, but the Pakistan Cricket Board failed to give them their permission.

Shortly after making a six-month come-back from a shoulder injury in July 2010 Gul picked up a hamstring injury against England in August but it wasn't too serious and he only missed the two test matches.

Five-wicket hauls

Umar Gul, after taking five-for in Twenty20 International Cricket, became the first ever bowler to own five wickets haul in all international formats of the game.

ODI Five-wicket hauls

{|class="wikitable" align="center" ! width="40"| !! width="50"|Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="100"|Against !! width="150"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year |- | 1 || 5/17 || 10 || Bangladesh || Lahore, Pakistan || Gaddafi Stadium || 2003 |- | 2 || 6/42 || 72 || England|| London, England || The Oval || 2010 |}

Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

{|class="wikitable" align="center" ! width="40"| !! width="50"|Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="100"|Against !! width="150"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year |- | 1 || 5/6 || 18 || New Zealand || London, England || The Oval || 2009 |- |}

Test cricket Five-wicket hauls

{|class="wikitable" align="center" ! width="40"| !! width="50"|Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="100"|Against !! width="150"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year |- | 1 || 5/31 || 5 || India || Lahore, Pakistan || Gaddafi Stadium || 2004 |- | 2 || 5/123 || 9 || England|| Leeds, England || Headingley || 2006 |- | 3 || 5/65 || 11 || West Indies|| Lahore, Pakistan || Gaddafi Stadium || 2006 |- | 4 || 6/135 || 16 || Sri Lanka|| Karachi, Pakistan || National Stadium || 2009 |}

References

External links

Category:Pakistani cricketers Category:Pakistan One Day International cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:Pakistan Test cricketers Category:Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Pakistan International Airlines cricketers Category:Peshawar cricketers Category:North-West Frontier Province cricketers Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Pashtun people Category:Kolkata cricketers Category:Western Australia cricketers

mr:उमर गुल ta:உமர் குல் ur:عمر گل