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Umar

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Arabic: عُمَرْ بِنْ ٱلْخَطَّابْ, romanizedʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb, also spelled Omar, c. 582/583 – 644) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. Umar was a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was also an expert Muslim jurist known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the epithet Al-Fārūq ("the one who distinguishes (between right and wrong)"). The title Amir al-Mu'minin was held by Umar ibn Khattab who was also the first one to be given this title.

‘Umar
عُمَر
Calligraphic seal featuring Umar's name, on display in the Hagia Sophia
2nd Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate
Reign23 August 634 – 3 November 644
PredecessorAbu Bakr
SuccessorUthman
Bornc. 582 or 583 CE
Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia (present-day KSA)
Diedc. November 644 CE (Dhu al-Hijjah 23 or Muharram 24 AH) (aged 60–61)
Medina, Hejaz, Rashidun Caliphate (present-day KSA)
Burial
Spouse
Issue
(among others)
TribeQuraysh (Banu Adi)
FatherAl-Khattab ibn Nufayl
MotherHantamah bint Hisham
ReligionIslam
Signature
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)ʿUmar
Patronymic (Nasab)ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Nufayl ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā ibn Rāz ibn ʿAdiyy ibn Kaʿab ibn Luʿayy ibn Ghālib ibn Fihr ibn Mālik
Teknonymic (Kunya)Abul Hafs
Epithet (Laqab)Al-Fārūq ("the distinguisher (between right and wrong)")

Umar initially opposed Muhammad, his distant Qurayshite kinsman and later son-in-law. Following his conversion to Islam in 616, he became the first Muslim to openly pray at the Kaaba. Umar participated in almost all battles and expeditions under Muhammad, who bestowed the title al-Fārūq upon him, for his judgements. After Muhammad's death in June 632, Umar pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) as the first caliph and served as the closest adviser to the latter until August 634, when the dying Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor.

Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire.[3] His attacks against the Sasanian Empire resulted in the conquest of Persia in less than two years (642–644). According to Jewish tradition, Umar set aside the Christian ban on Jews and allowed them into Jerusalem and to worship.[4] Umar was assassinated by the Persian slave Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz in 644.

Umar is generally viewed by historians to be one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history.[5] He is revered in the Sunni Islamic tradition as a great just ruler and paragon of Islamic virtues,[6] and some hadiths identify him as the second greatest of the Sahabah after Abu Bakr.[7][8] He is viewed negatively in the Twelver Shia tradition.[9]

Early life

Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitration among the tribes.[10] His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Hantama bint Hisham, from the tribe of Banu Makhzum. In his youth he used to tend to his father's camels in the plains near Mecca. His merchant father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe.[11] Umar himself said: "My father, al-Khattab, 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."[12]

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.[13] According to the tradition of Quraish, while still in his teenage years, Umar learned martial arts, horse riding and wrestling. He was tall, physically powerful and a renowned wrestler.[13][14] He was also a gifted orator who succeeded his father as an arbitrator among the tribes.[15]

Umar became a merchant and made several journeys to Rome and Persia, where he is said to have met various scholars and analyzed Roman and Persian societies. As a merchant he was unsuccessful.[13][16] Like others around him, Umar was fond of drinking in his pre-Islamic days.[17]

Early military career

Opposition to Islam

In 610, Muhammad started preaching the message of Islam. However, like many others in Mecca, Umar opposed Islam and even threatened to kill Muhammad. He resolved to defend the traditional polytheistic religion of Arabia. He was adamant and cruel in opposing Muhammad, and very prominent in persecuting Muslims.[18] He recommended Muhammad's death.[19] He firmly believed in the unity of the Quraish and saw the new faith of Islam as a cause of division and discord.[18]

Due to persecution, Muhammad ordered some of his followers to migrate to Abyssinia. When a small group of Muslims migrated, Umar became worried about the future unity of the Quraish and decided to have Muhammad assassinated.[20]

Conversion to Islam and service under Muhammad

Umar converted to Islam in 616, one year after the Migration to Abyssinia. The story was recounted in Ibn Ishaq's Sīrah. On his way to murder Muhammad, Umar met his best friend Nu'aym ibn Abd Allah who had secretly converted to Islam but had not told Umar. When Umar informed him that he had set out to kill Muhammad, Nu'aym said, “By God, you have deceived yourself, O Umar! Do you think that Banu Abd al-Manaf would let you run around alive once you had killed their son Muhammad? Why don't you return to your own house and at least set it straight?"[21]

Nuaimal Hakim told him to inquire about his own house where his sister and her husband had converted to Islam. Upon arriving at her house, Umar found his sister and brother-in-law Saeed bin Zaid (Umar's cousin) reciting the verses of the Quran from sura Ta-Ha.[22] 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, he calmed down out of guilt and asked his sister to give him what she was reciting. His sister replied in the negative and said "You are unclean, and no unclean person can touch the Scripture." He insisted, but his sister was not prepared to allow him to touch the pages unless he washed his body. Umar at last gave in. He washed his body and then began to read the verses that were: Verily, I am Allah: there is no God but Me; so serve Me (only), and establish regular prayer for My remembrance (Quran 20:14). He wept and declared, "Surely this is the word of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." On hearing this, Khabbab came out from inside and said: "O, Umar! Glad tidings for you. Yesterday Muhammad prayed to Allah, 'O, Allah! Strengthen Islam with either Umar or Abu Jahl, whomsoever Thou likest.' It seems that his prayer has been answered in your favour."[23]

Umar 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 39 years old when he accepted Islam.[24]

According to one account, after his conversion to Islam Umar openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraish chiefs, Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan, reportedly watched in anger.[25] 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 granted power to the Muslims and to the Islamic faith in Mecca. It was after this event that Muslims offered prayers openly in Masjid al-Haram for the first time. Abdullah ibn Masud said,

Umar's embracing Islam was our victory, his migration to Medina was our success, and his reign a blessing from Allah. We didn't offer prayers in al-Haram Mosque until Umar had accepted Islam. When he accepted Islam, the Quraysh were compelled to let us pray in the Mosque.[26]

Migration to Medina

In 622 CE, due to the safety offered by Yathrib (later renamed Medīnat an-Nabī, or simply Medina), Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Medina. Most Muslims migrated at night fearing Quraish resistance, but Umar is reported to have left openly during the day saying: "Any one who wants to make his wife a widow and his children orphans should come and meet me there behind that cliff."[27][28] Umar migrated to Medina accompanied by his cousin and brother-in-law Saeed ibn Zaid.[24]

Life in Medina

During Umar's reign as caliph Muhammad ibn Muslamah was 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., the Battle of Badr. In 625, he took part in the Battle of Uhud. In the second phase of the battle, when Khalid ibn Walid's cavalry attacked the Muslim rear, turning the tide of battle, rumours of Muhammad's death were spread and many Muslim warriors were routed from the battlefield, Umar among them. However, hearing that Muhammad was still alive, he went to Muhammad at the mountain of Uhud and prepared for the defence of the hill.[29] Later in the year Umar was a part of a campaign against the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir. In 625, Umar's daughter Hafsah was married to Muhammad.[30] Later in 627, he participated in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Battle of Banu Qurayza.[31] In 628, Umar witnessed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.[31] In 628, he fought in the Battle of Khaybar. In 629, Muhammad sent Amr ibn al-A’as to Zaat-ul-Sallasal, after which, Muhammad sent Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah with reinforcements, including Abu Bakr and Umar, whereupon they attacked and defeated the enemy.[32] In 630, when Muslim armies rushed for the conquest of Mecca, he was part of that army. Later in 630, he fought in the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta'if. He was part of the Muslim army that contested the Battle of Tabouk 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 the farewell Hajj of Muhammad in 632.[33]

Death of Muhammad

When Muhammad died on 8 June 632 Umar initially disbelieved that he was dead.[34] It is said that Umar promised to strike the head of any man who would say that Muhammad died. Umar said: "He has not died but rather he has gone to his lord just as Moses went, remaining absent from his people for forty nights after which he has returned to them. By Allah, the messenger of Allah will indeed return just as Moses returned (to his people) and he will cut off the hands and legs of those men who claimed he has died."[35] Abu Bakr then publicly spoke to the community in the mosque, saying:

"Whoever worshiped Muhammad, let them know that Muhammad has died, and whoever worshiped Allah, let them know that Allah is alive and never dies."

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

"Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him. If, then, he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heel?"

[36] Hearing this, Umar fell on his knees in sorrow and acceptance. Sunni Muslims say that this denial of Muhammad's death was occasioned by his deep love for him.[34]

Foundation of the caliphate

Umar's political capacity first manifested as the architect of the caliphate after Muhammad died on 8 June 632.[37] While the funeral of Muhammad was being arranged a group of Muhammad's followers who were natives of Medina, the Ansar (helpers), organised a meeting on the outskirts of the city, effectively locking out those companions known as Muhajirs (The Emigrants) including Umar.[37] Umar found out about this meeting at Saqifah Bani Saadah, and, taking with him two other Muhajirs, Abu Bakr and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, proceeded to the meeting, presumably to head off the Ansars' plans for political separation. Arriving at the meeting, Umar was faced with a unified community of tribes from the Ansar who refused to accept the leadership of the Muhajirs.[37] However, Umar was undeterred in his belief the caliphate should be under the control of the Muhajirs.[38] Though the Khazraj were in disagreement, Umar, after strained negotiations lasting one or two days, brilliantly divided the Ansar into their old warring factions of Aws and Khazraj tribes. Umar resolved the divisions by placing his hand on that of Abu Bakr as a unity candidate for those gathered in the Saqifah. Others at the Saqifah followed suit, with the exception of the Khazraj tribe and their leader, Sa'd ibn 'Ubada, who were ostracized as a result. The Khazraj tribe is said to have posed no significant threat as there were sufficient men of war from the Medinan tribes such as the Banu Aws to immediately organize them into a military bodyguard for Abu Bakr.[37]

Wilferd Madelung summarises Umar's contribution:[39]

Umar judged the outcome of the Saqifa assembly to be a falta [translated by Madelung as 'a precipitate and ill-considered deal'[40]] because of the absence of most of the prominent Muhajirun, including the Prophet's own family and clan, whose participation he considered vital for any legitimate consultation (shura, mashwara). It was, he warned the community, to be no precedent for the future. Yet he also defended the outcome, claiming that the Muslims were longing for Abu Bakr as for no one else. He apologized, moreover, that the Muhajirun present were forced to press for an immediate oath of allegiance since the Ansar could not have been trusted to wait for a legitimate consultation and might have proceeded to elect one of their own after the departure of the Mekkans. Another reason for Umar to censure the Saqifa meeting as a falta was no doubt its turbulent and undignified end, as he and his followers jumped upon the sick Khazraji leader Sa'd bin Ubada in order to teach him a lesson, if not to kill him, for daring to challenge the sole right of Quraysh to rule. This violent break-up of the meeting indicates, moreover, that the Ansar cannot all have been swayed by the wisdom and eloquence of Abu Bakr's speech and have accepted him as the best choice for the succession, as suggested by Caetani. There would have been no sense in beating up the Khazraji chief if everybody had come around to swearing allegiance to Umar's candidate. A substantial number of the Ansar, presumably of Khazraj in particular, must have refused to follow the lead of the Muhajirun.[39]

According to various Twelver Shia sources and Madelung,[41][42] Umar and Abu Bakr had in effect mounted a political coup against Ali at the Saqifah.[37] According to one version of narrations in primary sources, Umar and Abu Bakr are also said to have used force to try to secure the allegiance from Ali and his party. It has been reported in mainly Persian historical sources written 300 years later, such as in the History of al-Tabari, that after Ali's refusal to pay homage, Abu Bakr sent Umar with an armed contingent to Fatimah's house where Ali and his supporters are said to have gathered. Umar is reported to have warned those in the House that unless Ali succumbed to Abu Bakr, he would set the House on fire[38][page needed] and under these circumstances Ali was forced to capitulate. This version of events, fully accepted by Shia scholars, is generally rejected by Sunni scholars who, in view of other reports in their literature, believe that Ali gave an oath of alliance to Abu Bakr without any grievance. But then other Sunni and Shia sources say that Ali did not swear allegiance to Abu Bakr after his election but six months later after the death of his wife Fatimah putting into question al-Tabari's account. Either way the Sunni and the Shia accounts both accept that Ali felt that Abu Bakr should have informed him before going into the meeting with the Ansar and that Ali did swear allegiance to Abu Bakr.

Western scholars tend to agree that Ali believed he had a clear mandate to succeed Muhammad,[citation needed] but offer differing views as to the extent of use of force by Umar in an attempt to intimidate Ali and his supporters. For instance, Madelung discounts the possibility of the use of force and argues that:

Isolated reports of use of force against Ali and Banu Hashim who unanimously refused to swear allegiance for six months are probably to be discounted. Abu Bakr no doubt was wise enough to restrain Umar from any violence against them, well realizing that this would inevitably provoke the sense of solidarity of the majority of Abdul Mannaf whose acquiescence he needed.[43] His policy was rather not isolating Banu Hashim as far as possible.

According to Tom Holland, Umar's historicity is beyond dispute.[44] An Armenian bishop writing a decade or so after Qadisiyya describes Umar as a "mighty potentate coordinating the advance of the sons of Ismael from the depths of the desert".[44][45] Tom Holland writes "What added incomparably to his prestige, was that his earth-shaking qualities as a generalissimo were combined with the most distinctive cast of virtues. Rather than ape the manner of a Caesar, as the Ghassanid kings had done, he drew on the example of a quite different kind of Christian. Umar's threadbare robes, his diet of bread, salt and water, and his rejection of worldly riches would have reminded anyone from the desert reaches beyond Palestine of a very particular kind of person. Monks out in the Judaean desert had long been casting themselves as warriors of God. The achievement of Umar was to take such language to a literal and previously unimaginable extreme."[44]

Abu Bakr's era

Due to the delicate political situation in Arabia[vague], Umar initially opposed military operations against the rebel tribes there,[citation needed] hoping to gain their support in the event of an invasion by the Romans or the Persians. Later, however, he came to agree with Abu Bakr's strategy to crush the rebellion by force. By late 632 CE, Khalid ibn Walid had successfully united Arabia after consecutive victories against the rebels. During his own reign later, Umar would mostly adopt the policy of avoiding wars and consolidating his power in the incorporated lands rather than expanding his empire through continuous warfare.[46]

Umar advised Abu Bakr to compile the Quran in the form of a book after 300 huffāẓ (memorizers) of the Quran died in the Battle of Yamamah.[47]

Appointment as a caliph

Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor before dying in 634 CE.[48] Due to his strict and autocratic nature, Umar was not a very popular figure among the notables of Medina and members of Majlis al Shura; accordingly, high-ranking companions of Abu Bakr attempted to discourage him from naming Umar.[49][50] Nevertheless, Abu Bakr decided to make Umar his successor. Umar was well known for his extraordinary willpower, intelligence, political astuteness, impartiality, justice, and care for the poor.[51] Abu Bakr is reported to have said to the high-ranking advisers:

His (Umar's) strictness was there because of my softness when the weight of Caliphate will be over his shoulders he will remain no longer strict. If I will be asked by God to whom I have appointed my successor, I will tell him that I have appointed the best man among your men.[52]

Abu Bakr was aware of Umar's power and ability to succeed him. His was perhaps one of the smoothest transitions of power from one authority to another in the Muslim lands.[53] Before his death, Abu Bakr called Uthman to write his will in which he declared Umar his successor. In his will he instructed Umar to continue the conquests on Iraqi and Syrian fronts.[citation needed]

Caliphate

Initial challenges

Even though almost all of the Muslims had given their pledge of loyalty to Umar, he was feared more than loved. According to Muhammad Husayn Haykal, the first challenge for Umar was to win over his subjects and the members of Majlis al Shura.[54]

Umar was a gifted orator, and he used his ability to improve his reputation among the people.[55]

Muhammad Husayn Haykal wrote that Umar's stress was on the well-being of the poor and underprivileged.[56] In addition to this, Umar, in order to improve his reputation and relation with the Banu Hashim, the tribe of Ali, delivered to the latter his disputed estates in Khayber. He followed Abu Bakr's decision over the disputed land of Fidak, continuing to treat it as state property. In the Ridda wars, thousands of prisoners from rebel and apostate tribes were taken away as slaves during the expeditions. Umar ordered a general amnesty for the prisoners, and their immediate emancipation.[57] This made Umar quite popular among the Bedouin tribes. With the necessary public support on his side, Umar took the bold decision of recalling Khalid ibn Walid from supreme command on the Roman front.[58]

Political and civil administration

The government of Umar was a unitary government, where the sovereign political authority was the caliph.[citation needed] The empire of Umar was divided into provinces and some autonomous territories, e.g., Azerbaijan and Armenia, that had accepted the suzerainty of the caliphate.[citation needed] The provinces were administered by the provincial governors or Wali, personally and fastidiously selected by Umar. Provinces were further divided into about 100 districts. Each district or main city was under the charge of a junior governor or Amir, usually appointed by Umar himself, but occasionally also appointed by the provincial governor. Other officers at the provincial level were:

  1. Katib, the Chief Secretary.
  2. Katib-ud-Diwan, the Military Secretary.
  3. Sahib-ul-Kharaj, the Revenue Collector.
  4. Sahib-ul-Ahdath, the Police chief.
  5. Sahib-Bait-ul-Mal, the Treasury Officer.
  6. Qadi, the Chief Judge.

In some districts there were separate military officers, though the Wali was, in most cases, the Commander-in-chief of the army quartered in the province.[citation needed]

Every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the Wali's conduct. On assuming office, the Wali was required to assemble the people in the main mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them.[59]

Umar's general instructions to his officers were:

Remember, I have not appointed you as commanders and tyrants over the people. I have sent you as leaders instead, so that the people may follow your example. Give the Muslims their rights and do not beat them lest they become abused. Do not praise them unduly, lest they fall into the error of conceit. Do not keep your doors shut in their faces, lest the more powerful of them eat up the weaker ones. And do not behave as if you were superior to them, for that is tyranny over them.[citation needed]

Various other strict codes of conduct were to be obeyed by the governors and state officials. The principal officers were required to travel 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.[citation needed] Provincial governors 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).[citation needed] Under Umar the empire was divided into the following provinces:

  1. Mecca (Arabia)
  2. Medina (Arabia)
  3. Basra (Iraq)
  4. Kufa (Iraq)
  5. Jazira, in the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates
  6. Syria
  7. Iliyā' (إلياء) (Palestine)
  8. Ramlah (Palestine)
  9. Upper Egypt
  10. Lower Egypt
  11. Khorasan (Persia)
  12. Azerbaijan (Persia)
  13. Fars (Persia)

Umar was first to establish a special department for the investigation of complaints against the officers of the State. This department acted as the Administrative court, where the legal proceedings were personally led by Umar.[60] 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 occasion, the officers against whom complaints were received were summoned to Medina, and charged in Umar's administrative court. Umar was known for this intelligence service through which he made his officials accountable.[61] This service was also said to have inspired fear in his subjects.[62]

Umar was a pioneer in some affairs:

  1. 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 for messages he sent to Governors and heads of state.
  2. He was the first to appoint police forces to keep civil order.
  3. He was the first to discipline the people when they became disordered.[63]

Another important aspect of Umar's rule was that he forbade any of his governors and agents from engaging in any sort of business dealings whilst in a position of power. An agent of Umar by the name of Al Harith ibn K'ab ibn Wahb was once found to have extra money beyond his salary and Umar enquired about his wealth. Al Harith replied that he had some money and he engaged in trade with it. Umar said: By Allah, we did not send you to engage in trade! and he took from him the profits he had made.[64]

Canals

Since Medina, with a rapidly growing population, was at risk of recurring famines when crops were lacking, Umar sought to facilitate the import of grain. He ordered the building of a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea and an improvement of port infrastructure on the Arabian coast. When Basra was established during Umar's rule, he started building a nine-mile canal from the Tigris to the new city for irrigation and drinking water.[65] Al-Tabari reports that Utba ibn Ghazwan built the first canal from the Tigris River to the site of Basra when the city was in the planning stage.[citation needed] After the city was built, Umar appointed Abu Musa Ashaari (17-29/638 – 650) as its first governor.[citation needed] He began building two important canals, the al-Ubulla and the Ma'qil, linking Basra with the Tigris River. These two canals were the basis for the agricultural development for the whole Basra region and used for drinking water. Umar also adopted a policy of assigning barren lands to those who undertook to cultivate them. This policy continued during the Umayyad period and resulted in the cultivation of large areas of barren lands through the construction of irrigation canals by the state and by individuals.[66]

Reforms

Under Umar's leadership, the empire expanded; accordingly, he began to build a political structure that would hold together the vast territory. He undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy, establishing 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 al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina.[citation needed]

Umar also ordered the expulsion to Syria and Iraq of the Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar. He also permitted Jewish families to resettle in Jerusalem, which had previously been barred from all Jews.[67] He issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the equivalent amount of land in their new settlements. Umar also forbade non-Muslims from residing in the Hejaz for longer than three days.[68][page needed][69] He was first to establish the army as a state department.

Umar was founder of Fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence.[70] He is regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the greatest Faqih, and, as such, he started the process of codifying Islamic Law.[citation needed]

In 641, he established Bayt al-mal, a financial institution and started annual allowances for the Muslims. 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.[citation needed] In 638, 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 Medina.

Visit to Jerusalem in 637 CE

Umar's visit to Jerusalem is documented in several sources. A recently discovered Judeo-Arabic text has disclosed the following anecdote:[67]

"Umar ordered Gentiles and a group of Jews to sweep the area of the Temple Mount. Umar oversaw the work. The Jews who had come sent letters to the rest of the Jews in Palestine and informed them that Umar had permitted resettlement of Jerusalem by Jews. Umar, after some consultation, permitted seventy Jewish households to return. They returned to live in the southern part of the city, i.e., the Market of the Jews. (Their aim was to be near the water of Silwan and the Temple Mount and its gates). Then the Commander Umar granted them this request. The seventy families moved to Jerusalem from Tiberias and the area around it with their wives and children."

It is also reported in the name of the Alexandrian Bishop Eutychius (932–940 CE) that the rock known as the Temple Mount had been a place of ruins as far back as the time of the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who built churches in Jerusalem. "The Byzantines," he said, "had deliberately left the ancient site of the Temple as it was, and had even thrown rubbish on it, so that a great heap of rubble formed." It was only when Umar marched into Jerusalem with an army that he asked Kaab, who was Jewish before he converted to Islam, "Where do you advise me to build a place of worship?" Kaab indicated the Temple Rock, now a gigantic heap of ruins from the temple of Jupiter.[71] The Jews, Kaab explained, had briefly won back their old capital a quarter of a century before (when Persians overran Syria and Palestine), but they had not had time to clear the site of the Temple, for the Rums (Byzantines) had recaptured the city. It was then that Umar ordered the rubbish on the Ṣakhra (rock) to be removed by the Nabataeans, and after three showers of heavy rain had cleansed the Rock, he instituted prayers there. To this day, the place is known as ḳubbat es ṣakhra, the Dome of the Rock.

According to lexicographer David ben Abraham al-Fasi (died before 1026 CE), the Muslim conquest of Palestine brought relief to the country's Jewish citizens, who had previously been barred by the Byzantines from praying on the Temple Mount.[72]

Military expansion

The military conquests were partially terminated between 638 and 639 during the years of great famine in Arabia and plague in the Levant. 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 the Rashidun Caliphate. According to one estimate more than 4,050 cities were captured during these military conquests.[73] Prior to his death in 644, Umar had ceased all military expeditions apparently to consolidate his rule in recently conquered Roman Egypt and the newly conquered Sassanid Empire (642–644). At his death in November 644, his rule extended from present day Libya in the west to the Indus river in the east and the Oxus river in the north.

Great famine

In 638 CE, Arabia fell into severe drought followed by a famine. Soon after, the reserves of food at Medina began to run out. Umar ordered caravans of supplies from Syria and Iraq, and personally supervised their distribution. His actions saved countless lives throughout Arabia.[74] The first governor to respond was Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, the governor of Syria and supreme commander of the Rashidun army.[75]

Later, Abu Ubaidah paid a personal visit to Medina and acted as an officer of disaster management, which was headed personally by Umar. For internally displaced people, Umar hosted a dinner every night at Medina, which according to one estimate, had attendance of more than a hundred thousand people.[76]

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 the plague and its intensity, and suggested that Umar go back to Medina. Umar tried to persuade Abu Ubaidah to come with him to Medina, but he declined to leave his troops in that critical situation. Abu Ubaidah died in 639 of the plague, which also cost the lives 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 the plague.[77]

Welfare state

To be close to the poor, Umar lived in a simple mud hut without doors and walked the streets every evening. After consulting with the poor, Umar established the first welfare state, Bayt al-mal.[78][79][80] The Bayt al-mal aided the Muslim and non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years, from the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century through the Umayyad period (661–750) and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also introduced a child benefit and pensions for the children and the elderly.[81][82][83][84]

Free trade

Local populations of Jews and Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.[85][86] As new areas were attached to the Caliphate, they also benefited from free trade, while trading with other areas in the Caliphate (to encourage commerce, in Islam trade is not taxed, but wealth is subject to the zakat).[87] Since the Constitution of Medina, drafted by Muhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Caliphate and had their own judges.[88][89][90]

Assassination

 
Early 20th-century depiction of Abd al-Rahman (ibn Awf or ibn Abi Bakr) witnessing the purported conspiracy of Abu Lu'lu'a, Hurmuzān, and Jufayna (wrongly depicted here as a woman; the depiction of the murder weapon may also be wrong)[91]
 
Tombstone of caliph Umar, in the Green Dome in al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Medina. The first window from the right gives a view of Umar's grave.

In 644, Umar was assassinated by a Persian slave named Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz. His motivation for the assassination is not clear, but medieval sources attribute it to a tax dispute with his Arab master al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba.[92]

According to some historical accounts, Abu Lu'lu'a was a Zoroastrian from Nahavand (Iran), though other reports describe him as a Christian.[93] A highly skilled joiner and blacksmith,[94] Abu Lu'lu'a was probably taken captive by his master al-Mughira in the Battle of Nahavand (642) and subsequently brought to Arabia, where he may also have converted to Islam.[95] Other historical sources report that he was rather taken captive by al-Mughira in the Battle of al-Qadisiyya (636), or that he was sold to al-Mughira by Hurmuzān, an ex-Sassanid military officer who had been working for Umar as an adviser after his own capture by the Muslims.[96] Although Medina was generally off-limits to the ʿajam (non-Arabs) under Umar's reign, Abu Lu'lu'a was exceptionally allowed to enter the capital of the early caliphate, being sent there by al-Mughira to serve the caliph.[97]

When al-Mughira forced Abu Lu'lu'a to pay a kharāj tax of two dirhams a day,[98] Abu Lu'lu'a turned to Umar to protest this tax. However, Umar refused to lift the tax, thus provoking Abu Lu'lu'a's rage.[99] Although this is the reason given by most historical accounts for Abu Lu'lu'a's assassination of Umar,[100] Umar's biased policies against non-Arab captives may also have played a prominent role.[101] One day when Umar was leading the congregational prayer in the mosque of Medina, Abu Lu'lu'a stabbed him with a double-bladed dagger.[102] There are different versions of how this happened: according to one version, he also killed Kulayb ibn al-Bukayr al-Laythi who was behind Umar,[103] while in another version he stabbed thirteen people who tried to restrain him.[104] According to some accounts, the caliph died on the same day, while other accounts maintain that he died three days later.[94] In any case, Umar died of his wounds on Wednesday 26 Dhu al-Hijja of the Islamic year 23 (6 November 644 according to the Gregorian calendar).[105]

Some historical sources report that Abu Lu'lu'a was taken prisoner and executed for his assassination of Umar, while other sources claim that he committed suicide.[94] After Abu Lu'lu'a's death, his daughter was killed by Ubayd Allah ibn Umar, one of Umar's sons. Acting upon the claim of one man (either Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf or Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr) that they had been seen conspiring with Abu Lu'lu'a while he was holding the double-bladed dagger, Ubayd Allah also killed Hurmuzān (Umar's Persian military adviser), and Jufayna, a Christian man from al-Hira (Iraq) who had been taken to Medina to serve as a private tutor to a family in Medina.[106] After Ubayd Allah was detained for these murders, he threatened to kill all foreign captives residing in Medina, as well as some others. Although Ubayd Allah may have been encouraged by his sister Hafsa bint Umar to avenge their father's death, his murder of Hurmuzān and Jufayna was likely the result of a mental breakdown rather than of a true conspiracy. It was regarded by his peers as a crime rather than as a legitimate act of retaliation.[107]

In early 20th-century scholarship it was sometimes supposed that Abu Lu'lu'a had really been an instrument in the hands of a conspiracy, though not a conspiracy led by Hurmuzān, but rather one led by Ali, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah. These men, who according to the historical sources were appointed by Umar himself as members of the council who would elect the next caliph, were thought by scholars to have conspired to overthrow Umar's reign and to put Ali in his place.[108] This hypothesis, however, is rejected by more recent scholars.[109] Nevertheless, while Ubayd Allah was subsequently acquitted of his crimes by Umar's successor Uthman (r. 644–656), who considered the execution of Ubayd Allah an excessive measure in view of his father's recent assassination,[110] Ali, among others, did protest against this and vowed to apply the regular punishment for murder if he were ever to be caliph.[111]

Umar was buried at the Green Dome in al-Masjid al-Nabawi alongside Muhammad and the caliph Abu Bakr, by the permission of Aisha given to his son Abdullah ibn Umar on Umar's request.[112]

Aftermath

On his deathbed, Umar vacillated on his succession. However, it has been reported that he said that if Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Khalid ibn Walid or Salim, the mawla and freed Persian slave, were alive he would have appointed one of them his successor.[citation needed] Umar finally appointed a committee of six persons to choose a caliph from amongst them: Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, Talha ibn Ubaidullah, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.[113]

All six are among the ten to whom Paradise was promised according to Sunnis.[114] The only one out of the 'famous ten' left out of the committee who was still alive at the time was Saeed ibn Zaid, the cousin and brother-in-law of Umar. He was excluded on the basis of being related by blood and of the same tribe as Umar. Umar had a policy of not appointing anyone related to him to a position of authority even if they were qualified by his standards.[115]

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 and mawla, Suhayb ar-Rumi (Suhayb the Roman), as a caretaker caliph.[citation needed] While the meeting for selection of a caliph was proceeding, Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr and Abdur Rahman bin Awf revealed that they saw the dagger used by Abu Lu'lu'a, the assassin of Umar. A night before Umar's assassination, reported Abdur Rahman bin Awf, he saw Hurmuzan, Jafina and Abu Lu'lu'a, while they were suspiciously discussing something.[citation needed] Surprised by his presence, the dagger fell; it was the same two-sided dagger used in the assassination. Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr, son of the late caliph Abu Bakr, confirmed that, a few days before Umar's assassination, he saw this dagger in Hurmuzan's possession. After this revelation, it seemed clear that it had been planned by the Persians residing in Medina. Infuriated by this, Umar's younger son Ubaidullah ibn Umar sought to kill all the Persians in Medina.[citation needed] He killed Hurmuzan, Jafinah, and the daughter of Umar's assassin Abu Lu'lu'a, who is believed to have been a Muslim. Ubaidullah was intercepted by the people of Medina, who prevented him from continuing the massacre. Amr ibn al-Aas is said to have intercepted him and 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; again the companions intervened. When Umar was informed about the incident, he ordered Ubaidullah imprisoned, and that the next caliph should decide his fate.[116]

Umar died on 3 November 644; on 7 November Uthman succeeded him as 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 tragedy of Umar's assassination, people would be further infuriated by the execution of his son the very next day.

Physical appearance

Umar was strong, fit, athletic and good at wrestling. He is said to have participated in the wrestling matches on the occasion of the annual fair of Ukaz.[117] From first hand accounts of his physical appearance Umar is said to be 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),[118] both his eyes were black, with yellow skin; however, ibn Sa'ad in his book stated that he never knew that Umar had yellow skin, except for a certain part of Umar's life where his color changed due to his frequent consumption of oil.[119] Others[who?] say he had reddish-white skin.[citation needed] 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.[119][120]

The early Muslim historians Ibn Saad and al-Hakim mention that Abu Miriam Zir, a native of Kufa, described Umar as being "advanced in years, bald, of a tawny colour – a left handed man, tall and towering above the people".[117] Umar's eldest son Abdullah described his father as "a man of fair complexion, a ruddy tint prevailing, tall, bald and grey".[citation needed] Historian Salima bin al-Akwa'a said that "Umar was ambidextrous, he could use both his hands equally well". On the authority of Abu Raja al-U'taridi, Ibn Asakir records that "Umar was a man tall, stout, very bald, very ruddy with scanty hair on the cheeks, his moustaches large, and the ends thereof reddish".[117]

Assessments and legacy

Political legacy

Umar was the first caliph to adopt the title amir al-mu'minin.[121] Umar was one of Muhammad's chief advisers. After Muhammad's passing, it was Umar who reconciled the Medinan Muslims to accept Abu Bakr, a Meccan, as the caliph.[122] During Abu Bakr's era, he actively participated as his secretary and main adviser.[123] After succeeding Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar won over the hearts of Bedouin tribes by emancipating all their prisoners and slaves taken during the Ridda wars.[124]

He built up an efficient administrative structure that held together his vast realm. He organized an effective intelligence network, one of the reasons for his strong grip on his bureaucracy.[125]

Umar never appointed governors for more than two years, for they might amass too much local power. He dismissed his most successful general, Khalid ibn Walid, because he wanted people to know that it is Allah who grants victory, and to counter the cult of personality that had built up around Khalid, for the sake of the Muslim faith.[126]

He would patrol the streets of Medina with a whip in his hand, ready to punish any offenders he might come across. It is said that Umar's whip was feared more than the sword of another man. But with all of this, he was also known for being kindhearted, answering the needs of the fatherless and widows.[127]

Umar's swift imposition of justice against his governors for misdeeds made even powerful governors such as Muawiyah scared of him. Ali ibn Abu Talib, during the later rule of Uthman ibn Affan, wanted Uthman to be more strict with his governors, saying, "I adjure you by God, do you know that Mu'awiyah was more afraid of Umar than was Umar's own servant Yarfa?"[128]

Under Umar's rule, in order to promote strict discipline, Arab soldiers were settled outside of cities, between the desert and cultivated lands in special garrison towns known as "amsar". Known examples of such settlements are Basra and Kufa, in Iraq, and Fustat south of what would later become Cairo. His soldiers were forbidden to own land outside of Arabia. There were restrictions on their right to seize buildings and other immovable things usually thought of as prizes of war. Movable spoils were shared with the people of the umma, regardless of their social stratum.[129]

A modern researcher writes about this:[130]

He used to monitor public policy very closely, and had kept the needs of the public central to his leadership approach. As second caliph of Islam, he refused to chop off the hands of thieves because he felt he had fallen short of his responsibility to provide meaningful employment to all his subjects. As a ruler of a vast kingdom, his vision was to ensure that every one in his kingdom should sleep on a full stomach.

If a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates, Umar will be responsible for dereliction of duty.

— (Umar)

He also knew that just having a vision is not enough unless it is supported by effective strategies. He didn't only have a vision; he truly transformed his vision into actions. For example, to ensure that nobody sleeps hungry in his empire, he used to walk through the streets almost every night to see if there is any one needy or ill.

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

"Yet the abstinence and humility of Umar were not inferior to the virtues of Abubeker; his food consisted of barley bread or dates; his drink was water; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places; and a Persian satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Medina."[131]

His rule was one of the few moments in the history of Islam where Muslims were united as a single community. Abdullah ibn Masʿud would often weep whenever the subject of Umar was brought up. He said: "Umar was a fortress of Islam. People would enter Islam and not leave. When he died, the fortress was breached and now people are going out of Islam".[132] Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah before Umar died famously said: "If Umar dies, Islam would be weakened". People asked him why and his reply was "You will see what I am speaking about if you survive."[132] His greatest achievement from a religious perspective was the compilation of the Qur'an.[133] This had not been done during the time of Muhammad. However, during the Battle of Yamama a great number of the memorizers of the Quran perished in the battle. On the advice of Umar, Abu Bakr tasked Zayd ibn Thabit with the momentous task of compiling the Quran into a single Book.[47]

Military legacy

Along with Khalid ibn Walid, Umar was influential in the Ridda wars.[134]

One strategic success was his sundering of the Byzantine-Sassanid alliance in 636, when Emperor Heraclius and Emperor Yazdegerd III allied against their common enemy.[citation needed] He was lucky in that the Persian Emperor Yazdegerd III couldn't synchronize with Heraclius as planned. Umar fully availed himself of the opportunity by inducing the Byzantines to act prematurely.[citation needed] This was contrary to the orders of Emperor Heraclius, who presumably wanted a coordinated attack along with the Persians. Umar did this by sending reinforcements to the Roman front in the Battle of Yarmouk, 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.[citation needed] On the other hand, Yazdegerd III 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.[citation needed]

His strategy resulted in a Muslim victory at the Second Battle of Emesa in 638, where the pro-Byzantine Christian Arabs of Jazira, aided by the Byzantine Emperor, made an unexpected flanking movement and laid siege to Emesa (Homs).[citation needed]

Umar issued an order to invade the very homeland of the Christian Arab forces besieging Emesa, the Jazirah. A three-pronged attack against Jazirah was launched from Iraq. To further pressure the Christian Arab armies, Umar instructed Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, commander of Muslim forces in Iraq, to send reinforcements to Emesa. Umar himself led reinforcements there from Medina. Under this unprecedented pressure, the Christian Arabs retreated from Emesa before Muslim reinforcements could arrive. The Muslims annexed Mesopotamia and parts of Byzantine Armenia.[citation needed]

After the Battle of Nahavand, Umar launched a full-scale invasion of the Sassanid Persian Empire. The invasion was a series of well-coordinated multi-pronged attacks designed to isolate and destroy their targets. Umar launched the invasion by attacking the very heart of Persia, aiming to isolate Azerbaijan and eastern Persia.[citation needed] This was immediately followed by simultaneous attacks on Azerbaijan and Fars. Next, Sistan and Kirman were captured, thus isolating the stronghold of Persia, the Khurasan. The final expedition was launched against Khurasan, where, after the Battle of Oxus River, the Persian empire ceased to exist, and Yazdegerd III fled to Central Asia.[citation needed]

Religious legacy

Sunni views

Umar is remembered by Sunnis as a rigid Muslim of a sound and just disposition in matters of religion; a man they title Fārūq, meaning "leader, jurist and statesman", and the second of the rightly guided caliphs. He patched his clothes with skin, took buckets on his two shoulders, always riding his donkey without the saddle, rarely laughing and never joking with anyone. On his ring is written the words "Enough is Death as a reminder to you O' Umar".[135] He did not seek advancement for his own family, but rather sought to advance the interests of the Muslim community, the ummah. According to one of Muhammad's companions, Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud:

Umar's submission to Islam was a conquest, his migration was a victory, his Imamate (period of rule) was a blessing, I have seen when we were unable to pray at the Kaabah until Umar submitted, when he submitted to Islam, he fought them (the pagans) until they left us alone and we prayed.

— Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, [136]

Shia views

Umar is viewed very negatively in the literature of Twelver Shi'a (the main branch of Shia Islam[137][138]) and is often regarded as a usurper of Ali's right to the Caliphate. After the Saqifah assembly chose Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar marched with armed men to Ali's house in order to get the allegiance of Ali and his supporters. Sources indicate that a threat was made to burn Ali's house if he refused, but the encounter ended when Fatimah, wife of Ali, intervened.[139] According to the majority of Twelver scholar writings, Fatimah was physically assaulted by Umar, that this caused her to miscarry her child, Muhsin ibn Ali, and led to her death soon after.[140] (see Umar at Fatimah's house). However, some Twelver scholars, such as Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, reject these accounts of physical abuse as a "myth",[141] although Fadlallah mentioned that his speech is a probability, and not a certain reason to reject that event.[142][better source needed][143][better source needed]

Another Shia sect, the Zaidiyyah followers of Zaid ibn Ali, generally has two views about that. Some branches, such as Jaroudiah (Sarhubiyya), don't accept Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs. For instance, Jarudiyya believes that Muhammad appointed Ali and believes that the denial of the Imamate of Ali after Muhammad's passing would lead to infidelity and deviation from the right path.[citation needed] The other view accepts Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs, albeit inferior to Ali.[144] According to al-Tabari (and Ibn A'tham),[145] when asked about Abu Bakr and Umar, Zayd ibn Ali replied: "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them...when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah."[146][147]

Family

Umar married nine women in his lifetime and had fourteen children: ten sons and four daughters.[citation needed]

Wives

The known wives of Umar are:

Sons

The sons of Umar are:[citation needed]

  • Abd Allah, son of Zaynab bint Maz'un.
  • Abd al-Rahman, son of Zaynab bint Maz'un.
  • Zayd, son of Umm Kulthum bint Ali.[155]
  • Ubayd Allah, son of Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal.
  • Zayd, son of Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal.
  • Asim, son of Jamila bint Thabit.
  • Iyad, son of Atiqa bint Zayd.
  • Abd al-Rahman Abu'l-Mujabbar
  • Abd al-Rahman "Abu Shahmah" ibn Umar
  • Abd Allah
Daughters

The daughters of Umar are:[citation needed]

  • Hafsa, daughter of Zaynab bint Maz'un.
  • Fatima, daughter of Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham.
  • Ruqayya, daughter of Umm Kulthum bint Ali.
  • Zaynab

Archeological evidence

 
Rock inscription, thought to be an autograph of Umar's signature

In 2012, an inscription was found on a rock in al-Murakkab (Saudi Arabia) which is thought to be an autograph of Umar's signature.[156]

See also

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Notes

Bibliography

External links

  • Excerpt from The History of the Khalifahs by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti
  • by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya al-Husayni al-Ninowy.
  • "Omar" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
Umar
Cadet branch of the Quraysh
Born: c. 584 Died: 3 November 644
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Caliph of Islam
Rashidun Caliph

23 August 634 – 3 November 644
Succeeded by

umar, omar, redirects, here, other, people, with, name, omar, name, other, uses, omar, disambiguation, khaṭṭāb, arabic, ٱل, اب, romanized, khaṭṭāb, also, spelled, omar, second, rashidun, caliph, ruling, from, august, until, assassination, succeeded, bakr, seco. Omar redirects here For other people with the name see Omar name For other uses see Omar disambiguation ʿUmar ibn al Khaṭṭab Arabic ع م ر ب ن ٱل خ ط اب romanized ʿUmar bin al Khaṭṭab also spelled Omar c 582 583 644 was the second Rashidun caliph ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644 He succeeded Abu Bakr r 632 634 as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634 Umar was a senior companion and father in law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad He was also an expert Muslim jurist known for his pious and just nature which earned him the epithet Al Faruq the one who distinguishes between right and wrong The title Amir al Mu minin was held by Umar ibn Khattab who was also the first one to be given this title Umarع م رAmir al Mu mininCalligraphic seal featuring Umar s name on display in the Hagia Sophia2nd Caliph of the Rashidun CaliphateReign23 August 634 3 November 644PredecessorAbu BakrSuccessorUthmanBornc 582 or 583 CE Mecca Hejaz Arabia present day KSA Diedc November 644 CE Dhu al Hijjah 23 or Muharram 24 AH aged 60 61 Medina Hejaz Rashidun Caliphate present day KSA BurialProphet s Mosque MedinaSpouseZaynab bint Maz unUmm Kulthum bint JarwalQurayba bint Abi UmayyaJamila bint ThabitAtiqa bint ZaydUmm Hakim bint HarithUmm Kulthum bint Ali 1 2 Issue among others HafsaAbdullahUbaydullahAsimZaydTribeQuraysh Banu Adi FatherAl Khattab ibn NufaylMotherHantamah bint HishamReligionIslamSignatureArabic namePersonal Ism ʿUmarPatronymic Nasab ʿUmar ibn al Khaṭṭab ibn Nufayl ibn ʿAbd al ʿUzza ibn Raz ibn ʿAdiyy ibn Kaʿab ibn Luʿayy ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr ibn MalikTeknonymic Kunya Abul HafsEpithet Laqab Al Faruq the distinguisher between right and wrong Umar initially opposed Muhammad his distant Qurayshite kinsman and later son in law Following his conversion to Islam in 616 he became the first Muslim to openly pray at the Kaaba Umar participated in almost all battles and expeditions under Muhammad who bestowed the title al Faruq upon him for his judgements After Muhammad s death in June 632 Umar pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr r 632 634 as the first caliph and served as the closest adviser to the latter until August 634 when the dying Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor Under Umar the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the Sasanian Empire and more than two thirds of the Byzantine Empire 3 His attacks against the Sasanian Empire resulted in the conquest of Persia in less than two years 642 644 According to Jewish tradition Umar set aside the Christian ban on Jews and allowed them into Jerusalem and to worship 4 Umar was assassinated by the Persian slave Abu Lu lu a Firuz in 644 Umar is generally viewed by historians to be one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history 5 He is revered in the Sunni Islamic tradition as a great just ruler and paragon of Islamic virtues 6 and some hadiths identify him as the second greatest of the Sahabah after Abu Bakr 7 8 He is viewed negatively in the Twelver Shia tradition 9 Contents 1 Early life 2 Early military career 2 1 Opposition to Islam 2 2 Conversion to Islam and service under Muhammad 2 2 1 Migration to Medina 2 2 2 Life in Medina 2 2 3 Death of Muhammad 3 Foundation of the caliphate 4 Abu Bakr s era 4 1 Appointment as a caliph 5 Caliphate 5 1 Initial challenges 5 2 Political and civil administration 5 3 Canals 5 4 Reforms 5 5 Visit to Jerusalem in 637 CE 5 6 Military expansion 5 7 Great famine 5 8 Great plague 5 9 Welfare state 5 10 Free trade 6 Assassination 6 1 Aftermath 7 Physical appearance 8 Assessments and legacy 8 1 Political legacy 8 2 Military legacy 8 3 Religious legacy 8 3 1 Sunni views 8 3 2 Shia views 9 Family 10 Archeological evidence 11 See also 12 References 13 Notes 14 Bibliography 15 External linksEarly lifeUmar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan which was responsible for arbitration among the tribes 10 His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Hantama bint Hisham from the tribe of Banu Makhzum In his youth he used to tend to his father s camels in the plains near Mecca His merchant father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe 11 Umar himself said My father al Khattab 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 12 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 13 According to the tradition of Quraish while still in his teenage years Umar learned martial arts horse riding and wrestling He was tall physically powerful and a renowned wrestler 13 14 He was also a gifted orator who succeeded his father as an arbitrator among the tribes 15 Umar became a merchant and made several journeys to Rome and Persia where he is said to have met various scholars and analyzed Roman and Persian societies As a merchant he was unsuccessful 13 16 Like others around him Umar was fond of drinking in his pre Islamic days 17 Early military careerOpposition to Islam In 610 Muhammad started preaching the message of Islam However like many others in Mecca Umar opposed Islam and even threatened to kill Muhammad He resolved to defend the traditional polytheistic religion of Arabia He was adamant and cruel in opposing Muhammad and very prominent in persecuting Muslims 18 He recommended Muhammad s death 19 He firmly believed in the unity of the Quraish and saw the new faith of Islam as a cause of division and discord 18 Due to persecution Muhammad ordered some of his followers to migrate to Abyssinia When a small group of Muslims migrated Umar became worried about the future unity of the Quraish and decided to have Muhammad assassinated 20 Conversion to Islam and service under Muhammad Umar converted to Islam in 616 one year after the Migration to Abyssinia The story was recounted in Ibn Ishaq s Sirah On his way to murder Muhammad Umar met his best friend Nu aym ibn Abd Allah who had secretly converted to Islam but had not told Umar When Umar informed him that he had set out to kill Muhammad Nu aym said By God you have deceived yourself O Umar Do you think that Banu Abd al Manaf would let you run around alive once you had killed their son Muhammad Why don t you return to your own house and at least set it straight 21 Nuaimal Hakim told him to inquire about his own house where his sister and her husband had converted to Islam Upon arriving at her house Umar found his sister and brother in law Saeed bin Zaid Umar s cousin reciting the verses of the Quran from sura Ta Ha 22 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 he calmed down out of guilt and asked his sister to give him what she was reciting His sister replied in the negative and said You are unclean and no unclean person can touch the Scripture He insisted but his sister was not prepared to allow him to touch the pages unless he washed his body Umar at last gave in He washed his body and then began to read the verses that were Verily I am Allah there is no God but Me so serve Me only and establish regular prayer for My remembrance Quran 20 14 He wept and declared Surely this is the word of Allah I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah On hearing this Khabbab came out from inside and said O Umar Glad tidings for you Yesterday Muhammad prayed to Allah O Allah Strengthen Islam with either Umar or Abu Jahl whomsoever Thou likest It seems that his prayer has been answered in your favour 23 Umar 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 39 years old when he accepted Islam 24 According to one account after his conversion to Islam Umar openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraish chiefs Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan reportedly watched in anger 25 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 granted power to the Muslims and to the Islamic faith in Mecca It was after this event that Muslims offered prayers openly in Masjid al Haram for the first time Abdullah ibn Masud said Umar s embracing Islam was our victory his migration to Medina was our success and his reign a blessing from Allah We didn t offer prayers in al Haram Mosque until Umar had accepted Islam When he accepted Islam the Quraysh were compelled to let us pray in the Mosque 26 Migration to Medina In 622 CE due to the safety offered by Yathrib later renamed Medinat an Nabi or simply Medina Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Medina Most Muslims migrated at night fearing Quraish resistance but Umar is reported to have left openly during the day saying Any one who wants to make his wife a widow and his children orphans should come and meet me there behind that cliff 27 28 Umar migrated to Medina accompanied by his cousin and brother in law Saeed ibn Zaid 24 Life in Medina During Umar s reign as caliph Muhammad ibn Muslamah was 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 the Battle of Badr In 625 he took part in the Battle of Uhud In the second phase of the battle when Khalid ibn Walid s cavalry attacked the Muslim rear turning the tide of battle rumours of Muhammad s death were spread and many Muslim warriors were routed from the battlefield Umar among them However hearing that Muhammad was still alive he went to Muhammad at the mountain of Uhud and prepared for the defence of the hill 29 Later in the year Umar was a part of a campaign against the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir In 625 Umar s daughter Hafsah was married to Muhammad 30 Later in 627 he participated in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Battle of Banu Qurayza 31 In 628 Umar witnessed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah 31 In 628 he fought in the Battle of Khaybar In 629 Muhammad sent Amr ibn al A as to Zaat ul Sallasal after which Muhammad sent Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah with reinforcements including Abu Bakr and Umar whereupon they attacked and defeated the enemy 32 In 630 when Muslim armies rushed for the conquest of Mecca he was part of that army Later in 630 he fought in the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta if He was part of the Muslim army that contested the Battle of Tabouk 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 the farewell Hajj of Muhammad in 632 33 Death of Muhammad When Muhammad died on 8 June 632 Umar initially disbelieved that he was dead 34 It is said that Umar promised to strike the head of any man who would say that Muhammad died Umar said He has not died but rather he has gone to his lord just as Moses went remaining absent from his people for forty nights after which he has returned to them By Allah the messenger of Allah will indeed return just as Moses returned to his people and he will cut off the hands and legs of those men who claimed he has died 35 Abu Bakr then publicly spoke to the community in the mosque saying Whoever worshiped Muhammad let them know that Muhammad has died and whoever worshiped Allah let them know that Allah is alive and never dies 36 Abu Bakr then recited these verses from the Qur an Muhammad is but a messenger messengers the like of whom have passed away before him If then he dies or is killed will you turn back on your heel 36 Hearing this Umar fell on his knees in sorrow and acceptance Sunni Muslims say that this denial of Muhammad s death was occasioned by his deep love for him 34 Foundation of the caliphate nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Letter to Usama bin Zaid Umar s political capacity first manifested as the architect of the caliphate after Muhammad died on 8 June 632 37 While the funeral of Muhammad was being arranged a group of Muhammad s followers who were natives of Medina the Ansar helpers organised a meeting on the outskirts of the city effectively locking out those companions known as Muhajirs The Emigrants including Umar 37 Umar found out about this meeting at Saqifah Bani Saadah and taking with him two other Muhajirs Abu Bakr and Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah proceeded to the meeting presumably to head off the Ansars plans for political separation Arriving at the meeting Umar was faced with a unified community of tribes from the Ansar who refused to accept the leadership of the Muhajirs 37 However Umar was undeterred in his belief the caliphate should be under the control of the Muhajirs 38 Though the Khazraj were in disagreement Umar after strained negotiations lasting one or two days brilliantly divided the Ansar into their old warring factions of Aws and Khazraj tribes Umar resolved the divisions by placing his hand on that of Abu Bakr as a unity candidate for those gathered in the Saqifah Others at the Saqifah followed suit with the exception of the Khazraj tribe and their leader Sa d ibn Ubada who were ostracized as a result The Khazraj tribe is said to have posed no significant threat as there were sufficient men of war from the Medinan tribes such as the Banu Aws to immediately organize them into a military bodyguard for Abu Bakr 37 Wilferd Madelung summarises Umar s contribution 39 Umar judged the outcome of the Saqifa assembly to be a falta translated by Madelung as a precipitate and ill considered deal 40 because of the absence of most of the prominent Muhajirun including the Prophet s own family and clan whose participation he considered vital for any legitimate consultation shura mashwara It was he warned the community to be no precedent for the future Yet he also defended the outcome claiming that the Muslims were longing for Abu Bakr as for no one else He apologized moreover that the Muhajirun present were forced to press for an immediate oath of allegiance since the Ansar could not have been trusted to wait for a legitimate consultation and might have proceeded to elect one of their own after the departure of the Mekkans Another reason for Umar to censure the Saqifa meeting as a falta was no doubt its turbulent and undignified end as he and his followers jumped upon the sick Khazraji leader Sa d bin Ubada in order to teach him a lesson if not to kill him for daring to challenge the sole right of Quraysh to rule This violent break up of the meeting indicates moreover that the Ansar cannot all have been swayed by the wisdom and eloquence of Abu Bakr s speech and have accepted him as the best choice for the succession as suggested by Caetani There would have been no sense in beating up the Khazraji chief if everybody had come around to swearing allegiance to Umar s candidate A substantial number of the Ansar presumably of Khazraj in particular must have refused to follow the lead of the Muhajirun 39 According to various Twelver Shia sources and Madelung 41 42 Umar and Abu Bakr had in effect mounted a political coup against Ali at the Saqifah 37 According to one version of narrations in primary sources Umar and Abu Bakr are also said to have used force to try to secure the allegiance from Ali and his party It has been reported in mainly Persian historical sources written 300 years later such as in the History of al Tabari that after Ali s refusal to pay homage Abu Bakr sent Umar with an armed contingent to Fatimah s house where Ali and his supporters are said to have gathered Umar is reported to have warned those in the House that unless Ali succumbed to Abu Bakr he would set the House on fire 38 page needed and under these circumstances Ali was forced to capitulate This version of events fully accepted by Shia scholars is generally rejected by Sunni scholars who in view of other reports in their literature believe that Ali gave an oath of alliance to Abu Bakr without any grievance But then other Sunni and Shia sources say that Ali did not swear allegiance to Abu Bakr after his election but six months later after the death of his wife Fatimah putting into question al Tabari s account Either way the Sunni and the Shia accounts both accept that Ali felt that Abu Bakr should have informed him before going into the meeting with the Ansar and that Ali did swear allegiance to Abu Bakr Western scholars tend to agree that Ali believed he had a clear mandate to succeed Muhammad citation needed but offer differing views as to the extent of use of force by Umar in an attempt to intimidate Ali and his supporters For instance Madelung discounts the possibility of the use of force and argues that Isolated reports of use of force against Ali and Banu Hashim who unanimously refused to swear allegiance for six months are probably to be discounted Abu Bakr no doubt was wise enough to restrain Umar from any violence against them well realizing that this would inevitably provoke the sense of solidarity of the majority of Abdul Mannaf whose acquiescence he needed 43 His policy was rather not isolating Banu Hashim as far as possible According to Tom Holland Umar s historicity is beyond dispute 44 An Armenian bishop writing a decade or so after Qadisiyya describes Umar as a mighty potentate coordinating the advance of the sons of Ismael from the depths of the desert 44 45 Tom Holland writes What added incomparably to his prestige was that his earth shaking qualities as a generalissimo were combined with the most distinctive cast of virtues Rather than ape the manner of a Caesar as the Ghassanid kings had done he drew on the example of a quite different kind of Christian Umar s threadbare robes his diet of bread salt and water and his rejection of worldly riches would have reminded anyone from the desert reaches beyond Palestine of a very particular kind of person Monks out in the Judaean desert had long been casting themselves as warriors of God The achievement of Umar was to take such language to a literal and previously unimaginable extreme 44 Abu Bakr s eraDue to the delicate political situation in Arabia vague Umar initially opposed military operations against the rebel tribes there citation needed hoping to gain their support in the event of an invasion by the Romans or the Persians Later however he came to agree with Abu Bakr s strategy to crush the rebellion by force By late 632 CE Khalid ibn Walid had successfully united Arabia after consecutive victories against the rebels During his own reign later Umar would mostly adopt the policy of avoiding wars and consolidating his power in the incorporated lands rather than expanding his empire through continuous warfare 46 Umar advised Abu Bakr to compile the Quran in the form of a book after 300 huffaẓ memorizers of the Quran died in the Battle of Yamamah 47 Appointment as a caliph Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor before dying in 634 CE 48 Due to his strict and autocratic nature Umar was not a very popular figure among the notables of Medina and members of Majlis al Shura accordingly high ranking companions of Abu Bakr attempted to discourage him from naming Umar 49 50 Nevertheless Abu Bakr decided to make Umar his successor Umar was well known for his extraordinary willpower intelligence political astuteness impartiality justice and care for the poor 51 Abu Bakr is reported to have said to the high ranking advisers His Umar s strictness was there because of my softness when the weight of Caliphate will be over his shoulders he will remain no longer strict If I will be asked by God to whom I have appointed my successor I will tell him that I have appointed the best man among your men 52 Abu Bakr was aware of Umar s power and ability to succeed him His was perhaps one of the smoothest transitions of power from one authority to another in the Muslim lands 53 Before his death Abu Bakr called Uthman to write his will in which he declared Umar his successor In his will he instructed Umar to continue the conquests on Iraqi and Syrian fronts citation needed CaliphateInitial challenges Even though almost all of the Muslims had given their pledge of loyalty to Umar he was feared more than loved According to Muhammad Husayn Haykal the first challenge for Umar was to win over his subjects and the members of Majlis al Shura 54 Umar was a gifted orator and he used his ability to improve his reputation among the people 55 Muhammad Husayn Haykal wrote that Umar s stress was on the well being of the poor and underprivileged 56 In addition to this Umar in order to improve his reputation and relation with the Banu Hashim the tribe of Ali delivered to the latter his disputed estates in Khayber He followed Abu Bakr s decision over the disputed land of Fidak continuing to treat it as state property In the Ridda wars thousands of prisoners from rebel and apostate tribes were taken away as slaves during the expeditions Umar ordered a general amnesty for the prisoners and their immediate emancipation 57 This made Umar quite popular among the Bedouin tribes With the necessary public support on his side Umar took the bold decision of recalling Khalid ibn Walid from supreme command on the Roman front 58 Political and civil administration The government of Umar was a unitary government where the sovereign political authority was the caliph citation needed The empire of Umar was divided into provinces and some autonomous territories e g Azerbaijan and Armenia that had accepted the suzerainty of the caliphate citation needed The provinces were administered by the provincial governors or Wali personally and fastidiously selected by Umar Provinces were further divided into about 100 districts Each district or main city was under the charge of a junior governor or Amir usually appointed by Umar himself but occasionally 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 Wali was in most cases the Commander in chief of the army quartered in the province citation needed Every appointment was made in writing At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the Wali s conduct On assuming office the Wali was required to assemble the people in the main mosque and read the instrument of instructions before them 59 Umar s general instructions to his officers were Remember I have not appointed you as commanders and tyrants over the people I have sent you as leaders instead so that the people may follow your example Give the Muslims their rights and do not beat them lest they become abused Do not praise them unduly lest they fall into the error of conceit Do not keep your doors shut in their faces lest the more powerful of them eat up the weaker ones And do not behave as if you were superior to them for that is tyranny over them citation needed Various other strict codes of conduct were to be obeyed by the governors and state officials The principal officers were required to travel 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 citation needed Provincial governors 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 citation needed Under Umar the empire was divided into the following provinces Mecca Arabia Medina Arabia Basra Iraq Kufa Iraq Jazira in the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates Syria Iliya إلياء Palestine Ramlah Palestine Upper Egypt Lower Egypt Khorasan Persia Azerbaijan Persia Fars Persia Umar was first to establish a special department for the investigation of complaints against the officers of the State This department acted as the Administrative court where the legal proceedings were personally led by Umar 60 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 occasion the officers against whom complaints were received were summoned to Medina and charged in Umar s administrative court Umar was known for this intelligence service through which he made his officials accountable 61 This service was also said to have inspired fear in his subjects 62 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 for messages he sent to Governors and heads of state He was the first to appoint police forces to keep civil order He was the first to discipline the people when they became disordered 63 Another important aspect of Umar s rule was that he forbade any of his governors and agents from engaging in any sort of business dealings whilst in a position of power An agent of Umar by the name of Al Harith ibn K ab ibn Wahb was once found to have extra money beyond his salary and Umar enquired about his wealth Al Harith replied that he had some money and he engaged in trade with it Umar said By Allah we did not send you to engage in trade and he took from him the profits he had made 64 Canals Since Medina with a rapidly growing population was at risk of recurring famines when crops were lacking Umar sought to facilitate the import of grain He ordered the building of a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea and an improvement of port infrastructure on the Arabian coast When Basra was established during Umar s rule he started building a nine mile canal from the Tigris to the new city for irrigation and drinking water 65 Al Tabari reports that Utba ibn Ghazwan built the first canal from the Tigris River to the site of Basra when the city was in the planning stage citation needed After the city was built Umar appointed Abu Musa Ashaari 17 29 638 650 as its first governor citation needed He began building two important canals the al Ubulla and the Ma qil linking Basra with the Tigris River These two canals were the basis for the agricultural development for the whole Basra region and used for drinking water Umar also adopted a policy of assigning barren lands to those who undertook to cultivate them This policy continued during the Umayyad period and resulted in the cultivation of large areas of barren lands through the construction of irrigation canals by the state and by individuals 66 Reforms Main articles Reforms of Umar s era and Covenant of Umar I Under Umar s leadership the empire expanded accordingly he began to build a political structure that would hold together the vast territory He undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy establishing 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 al Masjid al Nabawi Mosque of the Prophet in Medina citation needed Umar also ordered the expulsion to Syria and Iraq of the Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar He also permitted Jewish families to resettle in Jerusalem which had previously been barred from all Jews 67 He issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the equivalent amount of land in their new settlements Umar also forbade non Muslims from residing in the Hejaz for longer than three days 68 page needed 69 He was first to establish the army as a state department Umar was founder of Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence 70 He is regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the greatest Faqih and as such he started the process of codifying Islamic Law citation needed In 641 he established Bayt al mal a financial institution and started annual allowances for the Muslims 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 citation needed In 638 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 Medina Visit to Jerusalem in 637 CE Umar s visit to Jerusalem is documented in several sources A recently discovered Judeo Arabic text has disclosed the following anecdote 67 Umar ordered Gentiles and a group of Jews to sweep the area of the Temple Mount Umar oversaw the work The Jews who had come sent letters to the rest of the Jews in Palestine and informed them that Umar had permitted resettlement of Jerusalem by Jews Umar after some consultation permitted seventy Jewish households to return They returned to live in the southern part of the city i e the Market of the Jews Their aim was to be near the water of Silwan and the Temple Mount and its gates Then the Commander Umar granted them this request The seventy families moved to Jerusalem from Tiberias and the area around it with their wives and children It is also reported in the name of the Alexandrian Bishop Eutychius 932 940 CE that the rock known as the Temple Mount had been a place of ruins as far back as the time of the Empress Helena mother of Constantine the Great who built churches in Jerusalem The Byzantines he said had deliberately left the ancient site of the Temple as it was and had even thrown rubbish on it so that a great heap of rubble formed It was only when Umar marched into Jerusalem with an army that he asked Kaab who was Jewish before he converted to Islam Where do you advise me to build a place of worship Kaab indicated the Temple Rock now a gigantic heap of ruins from the temple of Jupiter 71 The Jews Kaab explained had briefly won back their old capital a quarter of a century before when Persians overran Syria and Palestine but they had not had time to clear the site of the Temple for the Rums Byzantines had recaptured the city It was then that Umar ordered the rubbish on the Ṣakhra rock to be removed by the Nabataeans and after three showers of heavy rain had cleansed the Rock he instituted prayers there To this day the place is known as ḳubbat es ṣakhra the Dome of the Rock According to lexicographer David ben Abraham al Fasi died before 1026 CE the Muslim conquest of Palestine brought relief to the country s Jewish citizens who had previously been barred by the Byzantines from praying on the Temple Mount 72 Military expansion Main article Military conquests of Umar s era The military conquests were partially terminated between 638 and 639 during the years of great famine in Arabia and plague in the Levant 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 the Rashidun Caliphate According to one estimate more than 4 050 cities were captured during these military conquests 73 Prior to his death in 644 Umar had ceased all military expeditions apparently to consolidate his rule in recently conquered Roman Egypt and the newly conquered Sassanid Empire 642 644 At his death in November 644 his rule extended from present day Libya in the west to the Indus river in the east and the Oxus river in the north Great famine In 638 CE Arabia fell into severe drought followed by a famine Soon after the reserves of food at Medina began to run out Umar ordered caravans of supplies from Syria and Iraq and personally supervised their distribution His actions saved countless lives throughout Arabia 74 The first governor to respond was Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah the governor of Syria and supreme commander of the Rashidun army 75 Later Abu Ubaidah paid a personal visit to Medina and acted as an officer of disaster management which was headed personally by Umar For internally displaced people Umar hosted a dinner every night at Medina which according to one estimate had attendance of more than a hundred thousand people 76 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 the plague and its intensity and suggested that Umar go back to Medina Umar tried to persuade Abu Ubaidah to come with him to Medina but he declined to leave his troops in that critical situation Abu Ubaidah died in 639 of the plague which also cost the lives 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 the plague 77 Welfare state To be close to the poor Umar lived in a simple mud hut without doors and walked the streets every evening After consulting with the poor Umar established the first welfare state Bayt al mal 78 79 80 The Bayt al mal aided the Muslim and non Muslim poor needy elderly orphans widows and the disabled The Bayt al mal ran for hundreds of years from the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century through the Umayyad period 661 750 and well into the Abbasid era Umar also introduced a child benefit and pensions for the children and the elderly 81 82 83 84 Free trade Local populations of Jews and Christians persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine Sassanid Wars often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests 85 86 As new areas were attached to the Caliphate they also benefited from free trade while trading with other areas in the Caliphate to encourage commerce in Islam trade is not taxed but wealth is subject to the zakat 87 Since the Constitution of Medina drafted by Muhammad the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Caliphate and had their own judges 88 89 90 AssassinationMain article Abu Lu lu a Firuz nbsp Early 20th century depiction of Abd al Rahman ibn Awf or ibn Abi Bakr witnessing the purported conspiracy of Abu Lu lu a Hurmuzan and Jufayna wrongly depicted here as a woman the depiction of the murder weapon may also be wrong 91 nbsp Tombstone of caliph Umar in the Green Dome in al Masjid al Nabawi Medina The first window from the right gives a view of Umar s grave In 644 Umar was assassinated by a Persian slave named Abu Lu lu a Firuz His motivation for the assassination is not clear but medieval sources attribute it to a tax dispute with his Arab master al Mughira ibn Shu ba 92 According to some historical accounts Abu Lu lu a was a Zoroastrian from Nahavand Iran though other reports describe him as a Christian 93 A highly skilled joiner and blacksmith 94 Abu Lu lu a was probably taken captive by his master al Mughira in the Battle of Nahavand 642 and subsequently brought to Arabia where he may also have converted to Islam 95 Other historical sources report that he was rather taken captive by al Mughira in the Battle of al Qadisiyya 636 or that he was sold to al Mughira by Hurmuzan an ex Sassanid military officer who had been working for Umar as an adviser after his own capture by the Muslims 96 Although Medina was generally off limits to the ʿajam non Arabs under Umar s reign Abu Lu lu a was exceptionally allowed to enter the capital of the early caliphate being sent there by al Mughira to serve the caliph 97 When al Mughira forced Abu Lu lu a to pay a kharaj tax of two dirhams a day 98 Abu Lu lu a turned to Umar to protest this tax However Umar refused to lift the tax thus provoking Abu Lu lu a s rage 99 Although this is the reason given by most historical accounts for Abu Lu lu a s assassination of Umar 100 Umar s biased policies against non Arab captives may also have played a prominent role 101 One day when Umar was leading the congregational prayer in the mosque of Medina Abu Lu lu a stabbed him with a double bladed dagger 102 There are different versions of how this happened according to one version he also killed Kulayb ibn al Bukayr al Laythi who was behind Umar 103 while in another version he stabbed thirteen people who tried to restrain him 104 According to some accounts the caliph died on the same day while other accounts maintain that he died three days later 94 In any case Umar died of his wounds on Wednesday 26 Dhu al Hijja of the Islamic year 23 6 November 644 according to the Gregorian calendar 105 Some historical sources report that Abu Lu lu a was taken prisoner and executed for his assassination of Umar while other sources claim that he committed suicide 94 After Abu Lu lu a s death his daughter was killed by Ubayd Allah ibn Umar one of Umar s sons Acting upon the claim of one man either Abd al Rahman ibn Awf or Abd al Rahman ibn Abi Bakr that they had been seen conspiring with Abu Lu lu a while he was holding the double bladed dagger Ubayd Allah also killed Hurmuzan Umar s Persian military adviser and Jufayna a Christian man from al Hira Iraq who had been taken to Medina to serve as a private tutor to a family in Medina 106 After Ubayd Allah was detained for these murders he threatened to kill all foreign captives residing in Medina as well as some others Although Ubayd Allah may have been encouraged by his sister Hafsa bint Umar to avenge their father s death his murder of Hurmuzan and Jufayna was likely the result of a mental breakdown rather than of a true conspiracy It was regarded by his peers as a crime rather than as a legitimate act of retaliation 107 In early 20th century scholarship it was sometimes supposed that Abu Lu lu a had really been an instrument in the hands of a conspiracy though not a conspiracy led by Hurmuzan but rather one led by Ali al Zubayr ibn al Awwam and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah These men who according to the historical sources were appointed by Umar himself as members of the council who would elect the next caliph were thought by scholars to have conspired to overthrow Umar s reign and to put Ali in his place 108 This hypothesis however is rejected by more recent scholars 109 Nevertheless while Ubayd Allah was subsequently acquitted of his crimes by Umar s successor Uthman r 644 656 who considered the execution of Ubayd Allah an excessive measure in view of his father s recent assassination 110 Ali among others did protest against this and vowed to apply the regular punishment for murder if he were ever to be caliph 111 Umar was buried at the Green Dome in al Masjid al Nabawi alongside Muhammad and the caliph Abu Bakr by the permission of Aisha given to his son Abdullah ibn Umar on Umar s request 112 Aftermath On his deathbed Umar vacillated on his succession However it has been reported that he said that if Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah Khalid ibn Walid or Salim the mawla and freed Persian slave were alive he would have appointed one of them his successor citation needed Umar finally appointed a committee of six persons to choose a caliph from amongst them Abdur Rahman bin Awf Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Talha ibn Ubaidullah Uthman ibn Affan Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zubayr ibn al Awwam 113 All six are among the ten to whom Paradise was promised according to Sunnis 114 The only one out of the famous ten left out of the committee who was still alive at the time was Saeed ibn Zaid the cousin and brother in law of Umar He was excluded on the basis of being related by blood and of the same tribe as Umar Umar had a policy of not appointing anyone related to him to a position of authority even if they were qualified by his standards 115 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 and mawla Suhayb ar Rumi Suhayb the Roman as a caretaker caliph citation needed While the meeting for selection of a caliph was proceeding Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr and Abdur Rahman bin Awf revealed that they saw the dagger used by Abu Lu lu a the assassin of Umar A night before Umar s assassination reported Abdur Rahman bin Awf he saw Hurmuzan Jafina and Abu Lu lu a while they were suspiciously discussing something citation needed Surprised by his presence the dagger fell it was the same two sided dagger used in the assassination Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr son of the late caliph Abu Bakr confirmed that a few days before Umar s assassination he saw this dagger in Hurmuzan s possession After this revelation it seemed clear that it had been planned by the Persians residing in Medina Infuriated by this Umar s younger son Ubaidullah ibn Umar sought to kill all the Persians in Medina citation needed He killed Hurmuzan Jafinah and the daughter of Umar s assassin Abu Lu lu a who is believed to have been a Muslim Ubaidullah was intercepted by the people of Medina who prevented him from continuing the massacre Amr ibn al Aas is said to have intercepted him and 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 again the companions intervened When Umar was informed about the incident he ordered Ubaidullah imprisoned and that the next caliph should decide his fate 116 Umar died on 3 November 644 on 7 November Uthman succeeded him as 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 tragedy of Umar s assassination people would be further infuriated by the execution of his son the very next day Physical appearanceUmar was strong fit athletic and good at wrestling He is said to have participated in the wrestling matches on the occasion of the annual fair of Ukaz 117 From first hand accounts of his physical appearance Umar is said to be 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 118 both his eyes were black with yellow skin however ibn Sa ad in his book stated that he never knew that Umar had yellow skin except for a certain part of Umar s life where his color changed due to his frequent consumption of oil 119 Others who say he had reddish white skin citation needed 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 119 120 The early Muslim historians Ibn Saad and al Hakim mention that Abu Miriam Zir a native of Kufa described Umar as being advanced in years bald of a tawny colour a left handed man tall and towering above the people 117 Umar s eldest son Abdullah described his father as a man of fair complexion a ruddy tint prevailing tall bald and grey citation needed Historian Salima bin al Akwa a said that Umar was ambidextrous he could use both his hands equally well On the authority of Abu Raja al U taridi Ibn Asakir records that Umar was a man tall stout very bald very ruddy with scanty hair on the cheeks his moustaches large and the ends thereof reddish 117 Assessments and legacyPolitical legacy Umar was the first caliph to adopt the title amir al mu minin 121 Umar was one of Muhammad s chief advisers After Muhammad s passing it was Umar who reconciled the Medinan Muslims to accept Abu Bakr a Meccan as the caliph 122 During Abu Bakr s era he actively participated as his secretary and main adviser 123 After succeeding Abu Bakr as caliph Umar won over the hearts of Bedouin tribes by emancipating all their prisoners and slaves taken during the Ridda wars 124 He built up an efficient administrative structure that held together his vast realm He organized an effective intelligence network one of the reasons for his strong grip on his bureaucracy 125 Umar never appointed governors for more than two years for they might amass too much local power He dismissed his most successful general Khalid ibn Walid because he wanted people to know that it is Allah who grants victory and to counter the cult of personality that had built up around Khalid for the sake of the Muslim faith 126 He would patrol the streets of Medina with a whip in his hand ready to punish any offenders he might come across It is said that Umar s whip was feared more than the sword of another man But with all of this he was also known for being kindhearted answering the needs of the fatherless and widows 127 Umar s swift imposition of justice against his governors for misdeeds made even powerful governors such as Muawiyah scared of him Ali ibn Abu Talib during the later rule of Uthman ibn Affan wanted Uthman to be more strict with his governors saying I adjure you by God do you know that Mu awiyah was more afraid of Umar than was Umar s own servant Yarfa 128 Under Umar s rule in order to promote strict discipline Arab soldiers were settled outside of cities between the desert and cultivated lands in special garrison towns known as amsar Known examples of such settlements are Basra and Kufa in Iraq and Fustat south of what would later become Cairo His soldiers were forbidden to own land outside of Arabia There were restrictions on their right to seize buildings and other immovable things usually thought of as prizes of war Movable spoils were shared with the people of the umma regardless of their social stratum 129 A modern researcher writes about this 130 He used to monitor public policy very closely and had kept the needs of the public central to his leadership approach As second caliph of Islam he refused to chop off the hands of thieves because he felt he had fallen short of his responsibility to provide meaningful employment to all his subjects As a ruler of a vast kingdom his vision was to ensure that every one in his kingdom should sleep on a full stomach If a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates Umar will be responsible for dereliction of duty Umar He also knew that just having a vision is not enough unless it is supported by effective strategies He didn t only have a vision he truly transformed his vision into actions For example to ensure that nobody sleeps hungry in his empire he used to walk through the streets almost every night to see if there is any one needy or ill In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Gibbon refers to Umar in the following terms Yet the abstinence and humility of Umar were not inferior to the virtues of Abubeker his food consisted of barley bread or dates his drink was water he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places and a Persian satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Medina 131 His rule was one of the few moments in the history of Islam where Muslims were united as a single community Abdullah ibn Masʿud would often weep whenever the subject of Umar was brought up He said Umar was a fortress of Islam People would enter Islam and not leave When he died the fortress was breached and now people are going out of Islam 132 Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah before Umar died famously said If Umar dies Islam would be weakened People asked him why and his reply was You will see what I am speaking about if you survive 132 His greatest achievement from a religious perspective was the compilation of the Qur an 133 This had not been done during the time of Muhammad However during the Battle of Yamama a great number of the memorizers of the Quran perished in the battle On the advice of Umar Abu Bakr tasked Zayd ibn Thabit with the momentous task of compiling the Quran into a single Book 47 Military legacy Along with Khalid ibn Walid Umar was influential in the Ridda wars 134 One strategic success was his sundering of the Byzantine Sassanid alliance in 636 when Emperor Heraclius and Emperor Yazdegerd III allied against their common enemy citation needed He was lucky in that the Persian Emperor Yazdegerd III couldn t synchronize with Heraclius as planned Umar fully availed himself of the opportunity by inducing the Byzantines to act prematurely citation needed This was contrary to the orders of Emperor Heraclius who presumably wanted a coordinated attack along with the Persians Umar did this by sending reinforcements to the Roman front in the Battle of Yarmouk 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 citation needed On the other hand Yazdegerd III 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 citation needed His strategy resulted in a Muslim victory at the Second Battle of Emesa in 638 where the pro Byzantine Christian Arabs of Jazira aided by the Byzantine Emperor made an unexpected flanking movement and laid siege to Emesa Homs citation needed Umar issued an order to invade the very homeland of the Christian Arab forces besieging Emesa the Jazirah A three pronged attack against Jazirah was launched from Iraq To further pressure the Christian Arab armies Umar instructed Saad ibn Abi Waqqas commander of Muslim forces in Iraq to send reinforcements to Emesa Umar himself led reinforcements there from Medina Under this unprecedented pressure the Christian Arabs retreated from Emesa before Muslim reinforcements could arrive The Muslims annexed Mesopotamia and parts of Byzantine Armenia citation needed After the Battle of Nahavand Umar launched a full scale invasion of the Sassanid Persian Empire The invasion was a series of well coordinated multi pronged attacks designed to isolate and destroy their targets Umar launched the invasion by attacking the very heart of Persia aiming to isolate Azerbaijan and eastern Persia citation needed This was immediately followed by simultaneous attacks on Azerbaijan and Fars Next Sistan and Kirman were captured thus isolating the stronghold of Persia the Khurasan The final expedition was launched against Khurasan where after the Battle of Oxus River the Persian empire ceased to exist and Yazdegerd III fled to Central Asia citation needed Religious legacy Sunni views Main article Sunni view of Umar Umar is remembered by Sunnis as a rigid Muslim of a sound and just disposition in matters of religion a man they title Faruq meaning leader jurist and statesman and the second of the rightly guided caliphs He patched his clothes with skin took buckets on his two shoulders always riding his donkey without the saddle rarely laughing and never joking with anyone On his ring is written the words Enough is Death as a reminder to you O Umar 135 He did not seek advancement for his own family but rather sought to advance the interests of the Muslim community the ummah According to one of Muhammad s companions Abd Allah ibn Mas ud Umar s submission to Islam was a conquest his migration was a victory his Imamate period of rule was a blessing I have seen when we were unable to pray at the Kaabah until Umar submitted when he submitted to Islam he fought them the pagans until they left us alone and we prayed Abd Allah ibn Mas ud 136 Shia views Main article Shia view of Umar Umar is viewed very negatively in the literature of Twelver Shi a the main branch of Shia Islam 137 138 and is often regarded as a usurper of Ali s right to the Caliphate After the Saqifah assembly chose Abu Bakr as caliph Umar marched with armed men to Ali s house in order to get the allegiance of Ali and his supporters Sources indicate that a threat was made to burn Ali s house if he refused but the encounter ended when Fatimah wife of Ali intervened 139 According to the majority of Twelver scholar writings Fatimah was physically assaulted by Umar that this caused her to miscarry her child Muhsin ibn Ali and led to her death soon after 140 see Umar at Fatimah s house However some Twelver scholars such as Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah reject these accounts of physical abuse as a myth 141 although Fadlallah mentioned that his speech is a probability and not a certain reason to reject that event 142 better source needed 143 better source needed Another Shia sect the Zaidiyyah followers of Zaid ibn Ali generally has two views about that Some branches such as Jaroudiah Sarhubiyya don t accept Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs For instance Jarudiyya believes that Muhammad appointed Ali and believes that the denial of the Imamate of Ali after Muhammad s passing would lead to infidelity and deviation from the right path citation needed The other view accepts Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs albeit inferior to Ali 144 According to al Tabari and Ibn A tham 145 when asked about Abu Bakr and Umar Zayd ibn Ali replied I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur an and the Sunnah 146 147 FamilyMain article Family tree of Umar Umar married nine women in his lifetime and had fourteen children ten sons and four daughters citation needed WivesThe known wives of Umar are Zaynab bint Maz un she was the mother of Hafsa Abd Allah and Abd al Rahman al Akbar Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal she was divorced by Umar She was the mother of Ubayd Allah and Zayd al Asghar Qurayba bint Abi Umayya divorced by Umar in 628 Jamila bint Thabit She married Umar about between May 627 and May 628 148 They had one son Asim 149 150 151 148 152 Atiqa bint Zayd she was married to Umar and had a son named Iyad Umm Hakim bint al Harith ibn Hisham She was married to Umar 153 in 634 and was mother of Fatima Umm Kulthum bint Ali from this marriage Umar had a son named Zayd and a daughter named Ruqayya This is however the Sunni view The Shi a do not accept that such a marriage took place In fact even some Sunnis scholars maintain that Umar s wife Umm Kulthum was actually Abu Bakr s daughter who was raised in Ali s house 154 SonsThe sons of Umar are citation needed Abd Allah son of Zaynab bint Maz un Abd al Rahman son of Zaynab bint Maz un Zayd son of Umm Kulthum bint Ali 155 Ubayd Allah son of Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal Zayd son of Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal Asim son of Jamila bint Thabit Iyad son of Atiqa bint Zayd Abd al Rahman Abu l Mujabbar Abd al Rahman Abu Shahmah ibn Umar Abd AllahDaughtersThe daughters of Umar are citation needed Hafsa daughter of Zaynab bint Maz un Fatima daughter of Umm Hakim bint al Harith ibn Hisham Ruqayya daughter of Umm Kulthum bint Ali ZaynabArcheological evidence nbsp Rock inscription thought to be an autograph of Umar s signatureIn 2012 an inscription was found on a rock in al Murakkab Saudi Arabia which is thought to be an autograph of Umar s signature 156 See alsoAl Farooq modern biography about Umar Omar ibn al Khattab Mosque is a historic mosque in Dumat al Jandal in northern Arabia it was built by Umar Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque mosque named for him in Dubai Sahaba Farooqi Omar TV series Pact of Umar Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Waqid al Umari 7th century in Lebanon Ṣaḥaba who have visited LebanonReferences Majlisi Muhammad Baqir Mir at ul Oqool Vol 21 p 199 Al Tusi Nasir Al Din Al Mabsoot Vol 4 p 272 Hourani 1991 p 23 Dubnow Simon 1968 History of the Jews From the Roman Empire to the Early Medieval Period Vol 2 Cornwall Books p 326 ISBN 978 0 8453 6659 2 Ahmed Nazeer Islam in Global History From the Death of Prophet Muhammad to the First World War American Institute of Islamic History and Cul 2001 p 34 ISBN 0 7388 5963 X Bonner M Levi Della Vida G Umar I b al K h aṭṭab In P Bearman Th Bianquis C E Bosworth E van Donzel W P Heinrichs eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Vol 10 Second ed Brill p 820 Hadith Book of Companions of the Prophet Sahih al Bukhari Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم Sunnah com Hadith Book of Companions of the Prophet Sahih al Bukhari Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم Sunnah com Bonner M Levi Della Vida G Umar I b al K h aṭṭab In P Bearman Th Bianquis C E Bosworth E van Donzel W P Heinrichs eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Vol 10 Second ed Brill p 820 Shi i tradition has never concealed its antipathy to Umar for having thwarted the claims of Ali and the House of the Prophet Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 1 archive org Qazi Moin Umar Al Farooq Man and Caliph Notion Press ISBN 9789352061716 Muhammad Husayn Haykal 1944 Al Farooq Umar Chapter 1 p 45 a b c Haykal 1944 Chapter 1 Muhammad ibn Jarir al Tabari History of the Prophets and Kings Haykal 1944 Chapter 1 pp 40 41 Tabqat ibn Sa ad Chapter Umar ibn Khattab Haykal 1944 Chapter 1 p 47 a b Haykal 1944 Chapter 1 p 51 Armstrong p 128 sfnp error no target CITEREFArmstrong help Haykal 1944 Chapter 1 p 53 Umar s Conversion to Islam Al Islam org 10 November 2013 Retrieved 4 August 2016 as Suyuti The History of Khalifahs Who Took The Right Way London 1995 pp 107 108 Al Mubarakpury Safi ur Rahman 2002 Ar Raheeq Al Makhtum The Sealed Nectar Darussalam pp 130 131 ISBN 9960 899 55 1 a b Tartib wa Tahthib Kitab al Bidayah wan Nihayah by ibn Kathir published by Dar al Wathan publications Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1422 Anno hegirae 2002 compiled by Muhammad ibn Shamil as Sulami p 170 ISBN 978 9960 28 117 9 Armstrong p 35 sfnp error no target CITEREFArmstrong help Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq Mohammad Allias Aadil p 30 Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq Mohammad Allias Aadil p 119 Armstrong p 152 sfnp error no target CITEREFArmstrong help Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq Mohammad Allias Aadil pp 40 41 Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq Mohammad Allias Aadil p 42 Sahih al Bukhari a b Tabqat ibn al Saad book of Maghazi p 62 Sahih al Bhukari book of Maghazi Ghazwa Zaat ul Sallasal Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq Mohammad Allias Aadil p 56 a b as Suyuti The History of Khalifahs Who Took The Right Way London 1995 pp 54 61 The Biography of Abu Bakr As Siddeeq archive org 2007 a b Hadith Book of Companions of the Prophet Sahih al Bukhari Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم Sunnah com 26 April 2012 Retrieved 29 January 2019 a b c d e Madelung 1997 p page needed a b The History of al Tabari State University of New York Press 1990 a b Madelung 1997 p 33 Madelung 1997 p 22 Dr Paul E Walker Institute of Ismaili Studies Archived from the original on 3 July 2015 Retrieved 7 April 2023 Wilfred Madelung macmillan com Archived from the original on 26 June 2013 Retrieved 7 April 2023 Madelung 1997 p 43 a b c Holland Tom 2013 In the shadow of the sword The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World Abacus pp 381 382 ISBN 978 0 349 12235 9 Sebeos 139 Medieval Islamic political thought Patricia Crone p 18 a b Hadith Book of Judgments Ahkaam Sahih al Bukhari Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم Sunnah com The Biography of Abu Bakr As Siddeeq archive org 2007 Serat i Hazrat Umar i Farooq by Mohammad Allias Aadil pp 58 59 K Y Blankinship The History of al Tabari vol XI p 157 Early caliphate Muhammad Ali Muḥammad Yaʿqub K h an p 85 Umar Farooq i Azam Mohammad Hussain Haikal chapter 4 pp 112 113 K Y Blankinship The History of al Tabari vol XI p 145 153 Haykal 1944 Chapter 5 p 119 Modern Islamic political thought Hamid Enayat p 6 Haykal 1944 Chapter 5 p 130 Haykal 1944 Chapter 5 p 135 Haykal 1944 Chapter 5 p 140 The Cambridge History of Islam ed P M Holt Ann K S Lambton and Bernard Lewis Cambridge 1970 Commanding right and forbidding wrong in Islamic thought M A Cook p 79 Al Buraey Muhammad 2002 Administrative Development An Islamic Perspective Routledge pp 248 249 ISBN 978 0 7103 0333 2 Essid Yassine 1995 A Critique of the Origins of Islamic Economic Thought Brill pp 24 67 ISBN 978 90 04 10079 4 The Precious Pearls by Muhammad Ayub Sipra Darussalam publishers and distributors 2002 p 57 Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 2 Koehler Benedikt 17 June 2014 Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism Lexington Books p 78 ISBN 9780739188835 History Of Science And Technology In Islam History science technology com Retrieved 29 January 2019 a b Simha Assaf Meqorot u Meḥqarim be Toldot Yisrael Jerusalem 1946 pp 20 21 Hebrew and Judeo Arabic Giorgio Levi Della Vida and Michael Bonner Encyclopaedia of Islam Madelung 1997 p 74 The origins of Islamic jurisprudence Harald Motzki Marion The History of al Tabari vol XII Albany State University of New York Press 2007 pp 194 195 Al Fasi D 1936 Solomon L Skoss ed The Hebrew Arabic Dictionary of the Bible Known as Kitab Jamiʿ al Alfaẓ Agron in Hebrew Vol 1 New Haven Yale University Press p xxxix xl Introduction OCLC 745093227 Medieval Islamic Civilization Josef W Meri Jere L Bacharach p 844 Numani Shibli Numani Muhammad Shibli 6 November 2004 Umar Makers of Islamic Civilization I B Tauris pp 44 45 ISBN 9781850436706 Life and Works of 2nd Caliph Umar Al Khattab PDF Langat Singh College MUZAFFARPUR India Haykal 1944 Chapter 22 Haykal 1944 Chapter 21 Ahmad Abdul Basit 6 September 2017 Umar bin Al Khattab The Second Caliph of Islam Darussalam ISBN 9789960861081 via Google Books Khalid Khalid Muḥammad 1 February 2005 Men Around the Messenger The Other Press ISBN 9789839154733 via Google Books Ali Maulana Muhammad 16 April 2015 The Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad ISBN 9781934271223 Al Buraey Muhammad 6 September 1985 Administrative Development An Islamic Perspective KPI ISBN 9780710303332 via Google Books The challenge of Islamic renaissance By Syed Abdul Quddus Al Buraey Muhammad 6 September 1985 Administrative Development An Islamic Perspective KPI ISBN 9780710300591 via Google Books Akgunduz Ahmed Ozturk Said 2011 Ottoman History ISBN 9789090261089 Esposito 2010 p 38 sfnp error no target CITEREFEsposito2010 help Hofmann 2007 p 86 sfnp error no target CITEREFHofmann2007 help Islam An Illustrated History By Greville Stewart Parker Freeman Grenville Stuart Christopher Munro Hay p 40 R B Serjeant Sunnah Jami ah pacts with the Yathrib Jews and the Tahrim of Yathrib analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the so called Constitution of Medina Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 1978 41 1 42 Cambridge University Press Watt Muhammad at Medina and R B Serjeant The Constitution of Medina Islamic Quarterly 8 1964 p 4 Madinah Peace Treaty via Scribd Madelung 1997 p 404 refers to Jufayna as al Naṣrani indicating that he was a man Moreover while the murder weapon seems to be depicted here as a split blade sword like Zulfiqar El Hibri 2010 p 109 describes it as a unique dagger having two pointed sharp edges with a handle in the middle The picture is taken from Tarikhuna bi uslub qaṣaṣi Our History in a Narrative style a popular history book first published in Iraq in 1935 Pellat 2011 Pellat 2011 Modern authors also take different views Levi Della Vida amp Bonner 2000 merely state that he was a Christian slave whereas Madelung 1997 p 75 note 67 finds the sources claiming he was Christian unreliable Ishkevari amp Nejad 2008 mention that according to the Mujmal al tawarikh wa l qiṣaṣ an anonymous work written c 1126 CE Abu Lu lu a came from Fin a village near Kashan a b c Pellat 2011 This is the view of Madelung 1997 p 75 note 67 See the sources cited by El Hibri 2010 pp 108 109 cf also p 112 Pellat 2011 cf Madelung 1997 p 75 note 64 Other sources speak of three dirhams a month see Pellat 2011 Pellat 2011 Levi Della Vida amp Bonner 2000 As pointed out by Pellat 2011 other accounts rather maintain that Abu Lu lu a s was angry about the caliph s raising a kharaj tax on his master al Mughira Levi Della Vida amp Bonner 2000 This is the hypothesis of Madelung 1997 p 75 El Hibri 2010 p 109 describes the dagger as unique having two pointed sharp edges with a handle in the middle Smith G Rex ed 1994 The History of al Ṭabari Volume XIV The Conquest of Iran A D 641 643 A H 21 23 SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies Albany New York State University of New York Press p 90 ISBN 978 0 7914 1293 0 Cf El Hibri 2010 p 109 See also Caetani 1905 1926 vol V p 216 El Hibri 2010 p 109 Levi Della Vida amp Bonner 2000 Pellat 2011 Madelung 1997 p 69 cf p 404 where Madelung refers to him as Jufayna al Naṣrani Madelung 1997 p 69 Caetani 1905 1926 vol V pp 40 51 as reported by Madelung 1997 pp 68 70 Madelung 1997 pp 68 70 Levi Della Vida amp Bonner 2000 Pellat 2011 Madelung 1997 p 70 Madelung 1997 pp 69 70 Fayda amp Kocak 2007 p 46 Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 2 archive org Hadith Book of Model Behavior of the Prophet Kitab Al Sunnah Sunan Abi Dawud Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم Sunnah com Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 2 archive org Haykal 1944 Chapter Death of Umar a b c Hadrat Umar Farooq by Masud Ul Hasan Lisan al Arab 4 196 a b ibn Sa ad 3 324 History of the Prophets and Kings Tarikh ar Rusul wa al Muluk 4 196 by Muhammad ibn Jarir al Tabari Madelung 1997 p 49 Umar I Muslim caliph Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 22 August 2017 Umar ibn al Khattab jewishvirtuallibrary org Retrieved 22 August 2017 Crawford Peter 16 July 2013 The War of the Three Gods Romans Persians and the Rise of Islam Pen and Sword p 119 ISBN 9781473828650 Islamic Imperialism Efraim Karsh p 25 Lock 2003 p 70 Ramadani Veland Dana Leo Paul Gerguri Rashiti Shqipe Ratten Vanessa 2 September 2016 Entrepreneurship and Management in an Islamic Context Springer p 27 ISBN 9783319396798 History of al Tabari Vol 15 The Crisis of the Early Caliphate The Reign of Uthman A D 644 656 A H 24 35 SUNY Press 16 June 2015 ISBN 9781438407289 via Google Books Goldschmidt Arthur Jr Boum Aomar 7 July 2015 A Concise History of the Middle East Avalon Publishing pp 48 49 ISBN 9780813349633 Mohtsham Saeed M Vision and Visionary Leadership An Islamic Perspective Gibbon Edward 1833 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume III Harper p 410 a b Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 2 Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 1 archive org Umar Ibn Al Khattab His Life and Times Volume 2 archive org Tartib wa Tahthib Kitab al Bidayah wa al Nihayah by ibn Kathir published by Dar al Wathan publications Riyadh Saudi Arabia 1422 AH 2002 compiled by Muhammad ibn Shamil as Sulami p 168 as Suyuti The History of the Khalifas Who Took the Right Way p 112 Shia Islam s Holiest Sites 25 April 2017 The World Factbook 2010 sfnp error no target CITEREFThe World Factbook2010 help Momen Moojan 1985 An Introduction to Shiʿi Islam The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiʿism p 19 ISBN 978 0 300 03531 5 The Conference of Baghdad s Ulema p 45 ISBN 9781605067087 Walbridge Linda S 30 August 2001 The Most Learned of the Shiʿa The Institution of the Marjaʿ Taqlid Oxford University Press p 211 ISBN 9780195137996 تدلیس شبکه وهابی در سخنان آقای محمد حسین فضل الله آپارات شایعات کلیپ رد هجوم به منزل حضرت زهرا س توسط آیت الله سید حسین فضل الله شایعه 0717 shayeaat ir 11 March 2017 permanent dead link Ruthven Malise 20 April 2006 Islam in the World Oxford University Press p 186 ISBN 9780195305036 Ali Shiri 1991 Kitab al Futuḥ by Aḥmad ibn Aʿtham al Kufi Vol 8 1st ed Lebanon Dar al ḍwaʾ p 289 The waning of the Umayyad caliphate by Tabari Carole Hillenbrand 1989 pp 37 38 The Encyclopedia of Religion Vol 16 Mircea Eliade Charles J Adams Macmillan 1987 p 243 They were called Rafida by the followers of Zayd a b Tabari Fishbein vol 8 p 95 Malik ibn Anas Al Muwatta 37 6 Ibn Saad Bewley vol 3 p 204 Ibn Saad Bewley vol 8 p 236 Tabari Smith vol 14 pp 100 101 Nomani Shibli 2003 Life of Umar the Great the Al Farooq ISBN 9788174353382 Retrieved 18 January 2014 via Google Books Nawawi Tahdhib al asmaʾ wa l lughat vol 2 p 630 Muhammad ibn Saad Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir vol 3 Translated by Bewley A 2013 The Companions of Badr p 204 London Ta Ha Publishers Imbert Frederic 2019 Espaces de liberte et contraintes graphiques dans les graffiti du debut de l islam Savants amants poetes et fous Seances offertes a Katia Zakharia Beirut Presses de l Ifpo pp 161 174 doi 10 4000 books ifpo 13413 ISBN 9782351595503 S2CID 213324606 NotesBibliographyIbn Sa ad The Book of the Major Classes Tabaqat al Kubra Caetani Leone 1905 1926 Annali dell Islam 10 vols Milan Ulrico Hoepli OCLC 3423680 Guillaume A The Life of Muhammad Oxford University Press 1955 Previte Orton C W 1971 The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History Cambridge Cambridge University Press Donner Fred The Early Islamic Conquests Princeton University Press 1981 El Hibri Tayeb 2010 Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History The Rashidun Caliphs New York Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0 231 15082 8 Hourani Albert 1991 A History of the Arab Peoples Faber and Faber Madelung Wilferd 1997 The Succession to Muhammad Cambridge University Press Madelung Wilferd 15 October 1998 The Succession to Muhammad A Study of the Early Caliphate Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 52 164696 3 Levi Della Vida G amp Bonner M 2000 ʿUmar I b al Khaṭṭab In Bearman P J Bianquis Th Bosworth C E van Donzel E amp Heinrichs W P eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Volume X T U 2nd ed Leiden E J Brill pp 818 821 ISBN 978 90 04 11211 7 Lock Henry Osmond 2003 First published 1920 Conquerors of Palestine Through Forty Centuries Introduction by Edmund Allenby 1st Viscount Allenby Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0 7661 3984 0 Hart Michael H 1978 The 100 A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History Carol Publishing Group ISBN 9780806513508 Ishkevari Hasan Yusofi Nejad Saleh 2008 Abu Luʾluʾ In Madelung Wilferd Daftary Farhad eds Encyclopaedia Islamica Online Brill Online ISSN 1875 9831 Fayda Mustafa Kocak Muhsin 2007 OMER b el Hattab An article published in 34th volume of Turkish Encyclopedia of Islam in Turkish Vol 34 Istanbul TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi pp 44 53 ISBN 978 97 53 89456 2 Barnaby Rogerson 2008 The Heirs of Muhammad Islam s First Century and the Origins of the Sunni Shia Split Overlook ISBN 978 1 59 020022 3 Barnaby Rogerson 4 November 2010 The Heirs Of The Prophet Muhammad And the Roots of the Sunni Shia Schism Little Brown Book Group ISBN 978 0 74 812470 1 Pellat Charles 2011 Abu Loʾloʾa In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica External links nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Umar nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Umar Excerpt from The History of the Khalifahs by Jalal ad Din as Suyuti Sirah of Amirul Muminin Umar Bin Khattab by Shaykh Sayyed Muhammad bin Yahya al Husayni al Ninowy Omar Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed 1911 UmarBanu AdiCadet branch of the QurayshBorn c 584 Died 3 November 644Sunni Islam titlesPreceded byAbu Bakr Caliph of IslamRashidun Caliph23 August 634 3 November 644 Succeeded byUthman ibn Affan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Umar amp oldid 1187491215, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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