Umar
Umar ibn al-Khattab, also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Initially, Umar opposed Muhammad, who was his distant Qurayshite kinsman. However, after converting to Islam in 616, he became the first Muslim to openly pray at the Kaaba. He participated in nearly all of Muhammad’s battles and expeditions, and Muhammad conferred upon him the title al-Fārūq for his sound judgement. After Muhammad’s death in June 632, Umar pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr as the first caliph and served as his chief adviser. In 634, shortly before his death, Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor.
During Umar’s reign, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, conquering the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire. His campaigns against the Sasanians resulted in the conquest of Persia within two years. According to Jewish tradition, Umar lifted the Christian ban on Jews entering Jerusalem and permitted them to worship there. Umar was assassinated by the Persian slave Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz in 644.
Umar is widely credited with expanding the Islamic world beyond Arabia and introducing the Hijri Calendar. Historians generally regard him as one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history. In Sunni Islamic tradition, he is revered as a just ruler and a paragon of Islamic virtues, with some hadiths identifying him as the second greatest of the Sahabah after Abu Bakr. In Twelver Shia tradition, however, he is viewed negatively.
The Conquest of Jerusalem (637)
Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim forces in 637 during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab. According to early Islamic historical sources, the inhabitants of the city agreed to surrender only on the condition that the caliph himself personally accept the submission. For this reason, Sophronius, the Byzantine Patriarch of Jerusalem, refused to hand over the city to the Muslim commanders, which led Caliph ʿUmar to travel from Medina to Jerusalem in person.According to traditional accounts, ʿUmar entered Jerusalem in an extremely modest manner, accompanied by only a single servant. It is reported that during the journey they took turns riding the camel, and that upon arriving at the city, ʿUmar himself was leading the animal. In Islamic historiography, this conduct has been interpreted as a symbolic demonstration of his humility, sense of justice, and ethical approach to leadership.
Following the peaceful surrender of the city, Caliph ʿUmar issued a document known in historical sources as the “Pact of ʿUmar” or the “Covenant of Jerusalem.” This agreement guaranteed the safety of the lives and property of Jerusalem’s inhabitants, ensured the protection of places of worship, and explicitly prohibited forced religious conversion. The status of churches was preserved, and Christians were permitted to continue their religious practices without interference. The pact is widely regarded as an early and significant example of religious tolerance and the protection of minority rights under Islamic rule.
According to Islamic narratives, some Christian clerics, upon observing ʿUmar’s conduct, stated that his characteristics corresponded to descriptions found in their own sacred texts and consequently handed over the keys of the city to him. When the time for prayer arrived, Patriarch Sophronius offered ʿUmar the opportunity to perform his prayer inside a church. ʿUmar declined this offer, explaining that if he were to pray there, future Muslims might use this act as justification to convert the church into a mosque, thereby undermining Christian freedom of worship. Instead, he performed his prayer at a location outside the church.
This attitude has been cited in historical narratives as a notable example of Caliph ʿUmar’s respect for religious spaces and his sensitivity toward safeguarding the rights of different faith communities.
Early life
Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitration among the tribes. His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl, and his mother was Hantamah bint Hisham of the Banu Makhzum tribe. In his youth, Umar tended his father's camels in the plains near Mecca. His father, a merchant, was renowned for his intelligence among his tribe. Umar later recalled: "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".Although literacy was uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia, Umar learned to read and write during his youth. While not a poet himself, he developed a love for poetry and literature. In accordance with the traditions of the Quraysh, he was trained in martial arts, horse riding, and wrestling during his adolescence. He was tall, physically powerful and a renowned wrestler. He was also recognized as a gifted orator and succeeded his father as an arbitrator among the tribes.
Umar became a merchant and made several journeys to Byzantine and Sasanian territories, where he is said to have met various scholars and analyzed Byzantine and Sasanian societies. As a merchant, he was unsuccessful. Like others around him, Umar was fond of drinking in his pre-Islamic days.
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. He recommended Muhammad's death. He firmly believed in the unity of the Quraysh and saw the new faith of Islam as a cause of division and discord.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 Quraysh and decided to have Muhammad assassinated.
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?"Nu'aym then told him to inquire about his own house, where his sister, Fatima bint al-Khattab, and his brother-in-law had converted to Islam and were taking lessons from Khabbab ibn al-Aratt. Upon arriving at her house, Umar found Fatima and her husband Saeed bin Zaid reciting the verses of the Quran from Surat Ta-Ha. He started quarreling with Saeed and physically attacking him. When his sister came to rescue her husband, he also started arguing with her. Yet still they kept on saying "you may kill us but we will not give up Islam". Sources differ on what happened next: While some say that upon hearing these words, Umar slapped his sister so hard that she fell to the ground, others claim Fatima was merely hit by accident and lost balance when trying to pull Umar off of Saeed. In both cases, however, his sister began to bleed from her mouth. Seeing what he had done, Umar calmed down out of guilt and asked Fatima to give him what she was reciting. She 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, and establish regular prayer for My remembrance. 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 where he was hiding 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."
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.
According to one account, after his conversion to Islam, Umar openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraysh chiefs, Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan, reportedly watched in anger. This further helped the Muslims to gain confidence in practicing Islam openly. At this stage, Umar even challenged anyone who dared to stop the Muslims from praying, although no one dared to interfere with Umar when he was openly praying.
Umar's conversion to Islam 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,
Migration to Medina
In 622, due to the safety offered by Yathrib, Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Medina. Most Muslims migrated at night fearing Quraysh resistance, but Umar is reported to have left openly during the day saying:Umar migrated to Medina accompanied by his cousin and brother-in-law Saeed ibn Zaid.
Life in Medina
Muslims remained in peace in Medina for approximately a year before the Quraysh raised an army to attack them. In 624, Umar participated in the first battle between Muslims and Quraysh 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. 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.Later in 627, he participated in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Battle of Banu Qurayza. In 628, Umar witnessed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In 628, he fought in the Battle of Khaybar. In 629, Muhammad sent Amr ibn al-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.
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.