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, and became the second Muslim Khalifa after Muhammad's death and ruled for 10 years.
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 as the second Caliph, and played a significant role in Islam. Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole 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 multi-prong 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 killed 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 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 the 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.
Embracing Islam
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 accepted Islam that day. He then went to Muhammad with the same sword he intended to kill him with and accepted Islam in front of him and his companions. Umar was 27 when he accepted Islam. Following his conversion, Umar went to inform the chief of Quraish,
Amr ibn Hishām, about his acceptance of Islam. 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.
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 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. Just before the death, there was a group of companions of Muhammad near him when Muhammad asks that he wants to write a will and hence requires a pen and paper. Umar said that Muhammad is seriously ill and his brain is not working fully. Abu Bakar also agreed on that. When Muhammad heard that, he ordered both to leave the room. 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.
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. This became a major issue between Abu Bakr and Umar and a spacious chapter in Islamic history.
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.
Nevertheless, Abu Bakr decided to make Umar, his successor. According to some books, it was Umar who asked Abu Bakr to make him as successor.
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.
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 begun 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 suggest to go back to Madinah. Umar tried to persuade Abu Ubaidah to come with him to Madinah but he denied 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, 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 requested Ali's daughter, which he 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
, Medina. The first window from the right gives a view of Umar's grave.]]
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 than 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. Infuriate 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 handover 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 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
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,
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, 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 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, ... Abu Bakr, Umar, ..."
Umar's miracle
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.
:::Son: Ubaidullah ibn Umar
:::Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar
:::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)
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
Hadiths on virtues of Abu Bakr
Hadiths on virtues of Umar bin Khattab
Hadiths on virtues of Uthman bin Affan
Hadiths on virtues of Ali bin Abu Talib
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.
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