Umar ibn al-Khattab

In short

In Arabic

عمر بن الخطاب

Name

Umar ibn al-Khattab ibn Nufayl

Title

al-Faruq; Amir al-Muminin, the first to be called so

Tribe

Banu Adi, of Quraysh; his line meets the Prophet's ﷺ at Ka'b ibn Luayy

Born

In Makkah, about thirteen years after the Year of the Elephant (about 584 CE)

Accepted Islam

In the sixth year of prophethood, about 616 CE

Caliph

13 to 23 AH (634 to 644 CE)

Died

Martyred at the end of Dhul Hijjah 23 AH (November 644 CE), aged 63

Buried

Beside the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr

In short: Umar was a strong and feared man of Quraysh who opposed Islam at first. The Prophet ﷺ prayed that Allah would strengthen Islam with him, and he accepted Islam in the sixth year of prophethood. From then on the Muslims prayed openly at the Kaaba. In Madinah he was one of the Prophet's ﷺ two closest advisers, and the Quran several times came down agreeing with his view. As caliph for ten years he was known for his justice and simple life. Islam reached Jerusalem, Iraq, Persia, Syria and Egypt. He was stabbed while leading the Fajr prayer and died a martyr.¹

How he accepted Islam

The Prophet ﷺ prayed: "O Allah, honour Islam with whichever of these two men is more beloved to You: Abu Jahl or Umar ibn al-Khattab." The more beloved of them to Allah was Umar.² Ibn Ishaq tells the well-known story: Umar set out with his sword to kill the Prophet ﷺ, learned that his own sister Fatimah and her husband had become Muslim, struck her, then read the opening of Surah Taha that they had been reading, and went to the Prophet ﷺ to accept Islam.³ Hadith scholars note weakness in some chains of this story, but his acceptance of Islam in Makkah and its effect are certain. Ibn Masud said:

Key events

With the Prophet ﷺ

He emigrated to Madinah and fought at Badr, Uhud, the Trench and the battles after them. His daughter Hafsah married the Prophet ﷺ. Umar said: "My Lord agreed with me in three things": taking the station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer, the verse of hijab for the Prophet's ﷺ wives, and a warning to the wives that was revealed in nearly his own words.⁴ At Hudaybiyyah he could not at first accept the terms, and later regretted his questioning.⁵

The caliphate

Named by Abu Bakr, he led the Muslims for ten years. The Persian army was defeated at al-Qadisiyyah, the Byzantine army at Yarmuk, and Jerusalem was handed over to him in person; Ibn Kathir describes him arriving dressed simply and sharing the riding with his servant.⁶ He set up the public registers (diwan) and stipends, founded the garrison towns of Basra and Kufa, and with the Companions began counting the Islamic calendar from the Hijrah.⁷ See the Islamic calendar. Historians report that he walked the streets of Madinah at night to find out who was in need.⁶

His virtues in the hadith

• The Prophet ﷺ said to him: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, Satan never meets you on a path but he takes a path other than yours".⁸
• "Among the nations before you there were people who were inspired (muhaddathun). If there is one in my ummah, it is Umar".⁹
• The Prophet ﷺ saw in a dream that he drank milk and gave what was left to Umar, and he interpreted it as knowledge.¹⁰ He also saw Umar in a long shirt that he dragged behind him, and interpreted it as religion.¹¹
• He is one of the ten promised Paradise by name,¹² and one of the "two martyrs" of the hadith of Uhud.¹³

His martyrdom

At the end of Dhul Hijjah 23 AH, as Umar began leading the Fajr prayer in the Prophet's Masjid, Abu Lulu'ah, a slave of al-Mughirah ibn Shubah, stabbed him several times with a two-bladed dagger and wounded thirteen others, seven of whom died. Umar asked who had attacked him and, on hearing it was not a Muslim, thanked Allah that his killer was not one who had prostrated to Allah. He sent his son Abdullah to ask Aishah for permission to be buried beside his two companions, and she gave it. He appointed six Companions to choose the next caliph from among themselves, and asked that his debts be paid.¹⁴ He died a few days later, aged 63,¹ and was buried beside the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr.

Lessons from his life

• No one is beyond guidance: the man who set out to kill the Prophet ﷺ became the second caliph.
• Justice is the duty of power: he held himself and his governors to account.
• Simplicity in leadership: the ruler of an empire wore patched clothes.
• Strength and gentleness together: severe against falsehood, tender to the weak.

In the seerah

Umar's life is woven into the life of the Prophet ﷺ. For the whole story in order, see the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ life timeline, and for the battles and turning points, the seerah events. More Companions are on the Sahaba page, and the meaning of the word is on Sahaba meaning.

Questions

Sources

1. Sahih Muslim 2348 and 2352: Umar died at 63.
2. Jami at-Tirmidhi 3681, from Ibn Umar, graded sahih.
3. Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, from Ibn Ishaq: the Islam of Umar.
4. Sahih al-Bukhari 402, from Umar.
5. Sahih al-Bukhari 2731 and 3182.
6. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, the caliphate of Umar.
7. Sahih al-Bukhari 3934, from Sahl ibn Sad.
8. Sahih al-Bukhari 3683; Sahih Muslim 2396, from Saad ibn Abi Waqqas.
9. Sahih al-Bukhari 3689, from Abu Hurayrah; Sahih Muslim 2398, from Aishah.
10. Sahih al-Bukhari 82, from Ibn Umar.
11. Sahih al-Bukhari 23, from Abu Said al-Khudri.
12. Jami at-Tirmidhi 3747, graded sahih.
13. Sahih al-Bukhari 3675, from Anas.
14. Sahih al-Bukhari 3700 and 1392, from Amr ibn Maymun.
15. Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, transliteration from Tanzil, English by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic is the standard wording of the collection named; gradings are given for every hadith outside al-Bukhari and Muslim.