Umar ibn al-Khattab

Early Life

Umar ibn al-Khattab belonged to Banu Adi, one of the ten leading clans of the Quraysh. His lineage runs back through Nufayl and Abd al-Uzza to Adi ibn Ka’b — and the lines of Umar and the Prophet ﷺ meet at their common ancestor Ka’b, about the eighth degree of ascent. 1 Al-Farooq · pp. 29 — Umar's pedigree; his descent meets the Prophet's at the eighth degree. As keepers of the Ka’ba, the Quraysh divided their public offices among the clans, and Umar’s ancestor Adi held the office of diplomacy — representing Quraysh as its envoy — together with the office of arbitration (munafara). Both posts had become hereditary in his house. 2 Al-Farooq · pp. 30 — Adi headed Quraysh diplomacy and arbitration; the offices were hereditary.

Umar’s grandfather, Nufayl ibn Abd al-Uzza, upheld this tradition as a trusted judge; when a dispute over tribal leadership arose between Abd al-Muttalib (the Prophet’s grandfather) and Harb ibn Umayya, both men accepted Nufayl as arbitrator. 3 Al-Farooq · pp. 31 — Nufayl arbitrated between Abd al-Muttalib and Harb ibn Umayya. Notably, Umar’s cousin Zayd ibn Amr was among the rare hunafa who had abandoned idolatry before Islam and called his people back to the faith of Ibrahim — and his fiercest opponent was none other than Umar’s father, Khattab, who drove him from Makkah to the cave of Hira. 4 Al-Farooq · pp. 31–32 — Zayd ibn Amr, a hanif; Khattab his chief persecutor.

Acceptance of Islam

Umar was twenty-seven when the Prophet ﷺ proclaimed his mission. Islam had already touched his family: Zayd’s son Sa’id ibn Zayd was among the first to believe and was married to Umar’s sister Fatima, who embraced the faith with him. 5 Al-Farooq · pp. 41 — Umar was 27 at the Prophet's proclamation; his sister Fatima and Sa'id ibn Zayd were early converts. At first Umar was a bitter enemy of the new religion, even beating a slave-girl of his household for accepting it. Resolving to kill the Prophet ﷺ, he set out sword in hand, but on the way Nu’aym ibn Abdullah turned him toward his own home: his sister and her husband had become Muslims. 6 Al-Farooq · pp. 41–42 — Umar set out to kill the Prophet; Nu'aym redirected him to his sister's house.

Bursting into Fatima’s house, he struck his brother-in-law and then his sister until she bled — yet she declared, “Do as you will; Islam can never leave our hearts.” Moved, he asked to see what she had been reciting, read the passage of the Qur’an, and there and then pronounced the testimony of faith. 7 Al-Farooq · pp. 42–43 — Fatima's defiance; Umar reads the Qur'an and declares the shahada. He went to the Prophet ﷺ at the house of al-Arqam by the hill of Safa; though he arrived armed and the Companions feared him, Hamza bade them admit him, and when the Prophet ﷺ asked his purpose Umar answered, “I have come to accept Islam,” at which the Prophet ﷺ cried “Allahu Akbar” and the Companions echoed it through the hills of Makkah. 8 Al-Farooq · pp. 43–44 — Umar accepts Islam at the house of al-Arqam; Hamza vouches for him.

His conversion, in the sixth year of the Revelation, marked a turning point: where the forty or fifty believers — Hamza among them — had not dared worship openly, now, with Umar, the Muslims prayed together at the Ka’ba itself. 9 Al-Farooq · pp. 44–45 — After Umar's Islam the Muslims prayed openly at the Ka'ba; reported via Ibn Mas'ud in Ibn Hisham. Conversion in the 6th year of Revelation.

Major Contributions

Succeeding Abu Bakr, Umar presided over the great expansion of Islam, including the conquest of Iraq and the decisive Battle of Qadisiyya against the Persians. 10 Al-Farooq · pp. 106, 144 — Chapters on the Conquest of Iraq and the Battle and Fall of Qadisiyya. In Syria his armies, under Abu Ubayda and Khalid ibn al-Walid, broke the last Byzantine offensive at Amasia. 11 Al-Farooq · pp. 226–228 — The final Christian offensive at Amasia repelled.

He matched conquest with organisation. Umar established standing military cantonments in eight great cities, keeping four thousand cavalry saddled day and night so troops could rush to any threatened frontier at the first call, and he developed an organised intelligence service. 12 Al-Farooq · pp. 226, 230 — Eight military cantonments with ready cavalry; the intelligence department perfected under Umar. Above all he was uncompromising on public accountability: when his greatest general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, would not regularly render the army’s accounts and was found to have made a lavish grant, Umar removed him from command — not from displeasure, he wrote to the governors, but to teach that all affairs are decreed by God; the surplus in Khalid’s possession was returned to the public treasury. 13 Al-Farooq · pp. 228–232 — Deposition of Khalid (17 AH) over accountability; surplus remitted to the public treasury. When the plague of Amwas struck Syria in 18 AH, Umar travelled toward the afflicted region, took the counsel of the senior Muhajirun, and turned the army back — answering Abu Ubayda’s protest with the words that he fled “from God’s will toward God’s will.” 14 Al-Farooq · pp. 232–233 — The plague of Amwas, 18 AH; Umar's decision and his reply to Abu Ubayda. History of Islam preserves the same picture of a Caliph who ruled by consultation: when he proposed to march on Iraq in person, he deferred to the Companions — Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Ali among them — who counselled that the Caliph must not risk himself on the battlefield. 15 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 336–337 — Najeebabadi — Umar's council of war at Sirar; he defers to the Companions' advice not to lead in person.

Scrupulous Piety

Umar guarded against doubtful wealth with the same severity. Brought some milk whose taste he found strange, he asked its source; on learning it came from camels of the sadaqah (charity), he put his hand to his throat and made himself vomit all of it. 16 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 83 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Umar vomits milk taken from the sadaqah camels.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ ranked Umar so high in faith and judgement that he said of him:

لَوْ كَانَ بَعْدِي نَبِيٌّ لَكَانَ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ

”If there were to be a prophet after me, it would be Umar ibn al-Khattab.”

Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3686 · Book 49, Hadith 82 · English: Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3686 · narrated by Uqbah ibn Amir · graded Hasan (Darussalam)

He testified that even Shaytan shrank from Umar’s path:

مَا لَقِيَكَ الشَّيْطَانُ سَالِكًا فَجًّا قَطُّ إِلاَّ سَلَكَ فَجًّا غَيْرَ فَجِّكَ

”Never does Shaytan find you taking a path but he takes a path other than yours.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3683 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 33 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 32 · narrated by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (also Sahih Muslim 2396)

And he counted Umar among the divinely-inspired of this Ummah:

لَقَدْ كَانَ فِيمَا قَبْلَكُمْ مِنَ الأُمَمِ مُحَدَّثُونَ، فَإِنْ يَكُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَحَدٌ فَإِنَّهُ عُمَرُ

”Among the nations before you there were inspired men (muhaddathun); if there is one in my Ummah, it is Umar.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3689 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 39 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 38 · narrated by Abu Hurayra

Umar himself related how he once tried to outdo Abu Bakr in charity, bringing half of his wealth — only for Abu Bakr to bring all of his:

أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَوْمًا أَنْ نَتَصَدَّقَ فَوَافَقَ ذَلِكَ مَالاً عِنْدِي

”The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered us one day to give in charity… I brought half my wealth” — and, seeing Abu Bakr give everything, Umar said he would never try to surpass him again.

Sunan Abi Dawud 1678 · Book 9, Hadith 123 · narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab · graded Hasan (al-Albani)

Death & Legacy

On 26 Dhul-Hijja 23 AH (644 CE), Umar was attacked at the dawn prayer by Firoz (Abu Lu’lu’a), a Persian slave who bore a grudge after the Caliph had ruled against his complaint over a tax set by his master, Mughira ibn Shu’ba. Firoz struck him six times — one blow piercing his pelvis — and Umar drew Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf forward to complete the prayer before collapsing. 17 Al-Farooq · pp. 292–293 — The assassination at Fajr by Firoz/Abu Lu'lu'a; Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf finishes the prayer. Learning that his killer was not a Muslim, he said, “Praise be to God that I am not murdered by a Musalman.” When date-cordial and milk passed out through his wounds, it was clear he would not survive. 18 Al-Farooq · pp. 294 — Umar's relief that his killer was not a Muslim; the wound proves fatal. He sent his son Abdullah to seek Aisha’s permission to be buried beside the Prophet ﷺ, which she granted, and he entrusted the succession to a council of six — Ali, Uthman, az-Zubayr, Talha, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf — to choose the next Caliph from among themselves. 19 Al-Farooq · pp. 294–295 — Permission from Aisha for burial beside the Prophet; the six-man shura. His caliphate had lasted ten years, six months and four days. 20 Al-Farooq · pp. 292 — Duration of the caliphate, stated in the chapter on his assassination. History of Islam records the same assassination by Abu Lu’lu’a and Umar’s burial beside the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr. 21 History of Islam · Vol 1 · pp. 367–369 — Najeebabadi — the martyrdom of Umar and his burial.