Umar bin al-Khattab, the Second Khalifa of the Muslims
In the times of ignorance, Umar made his living as a broker. Shibli, his biographer, says that in his youth he grazed camels.
Before accepting Islam, Umar was one of the most rabid enemies of Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
When Muhammad proclaimed his mission, many people acknowledged him as the Messenger of God. Umar acknowledged him as Messenger of God after six years.
Some historians claim that Umar was a most awe-inspiring man, and when he accepted Islam, the idolaters were gripped with fear for their lives. But this is only a case of a dominant myth being in conflict with ugly facts.
When Umar accepted Islam, the idolaters remained where they were, and nothing changed for them; but it was Muhammad who was compelled to leave his home, and had to find sanctuary in a desolate ravine. He spent three years in that ravine, and during those years of exile, his life was exposed to deadly perils every day and every night. During this entire period of more than 1000 days, Umar, like many other Muslims in Makkah, was the silent spectator of the ordeals of his master. He made no attempt to bring those ordeals to an end.
Muhammad Mustafa established brotherhood among Muslims both in Makkah and in Medina. In Makkah, he made Umar the “brother” of Abu Bakr, and in Medina, he made him the “brother” of Utban bin Malik. For his own brother, Muhammad chose Ali ibn Abi Talib in both cities.
In 3 A.H., Umar's daughter, Hafsa, was married to the Apostle.
Umar was one of the fugitives of the battle of Uhud (Baladhuri). He himself said later: “When Muslim were defeated in Uhud, I ran toward the mountain.” (Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthoor).
At the siege of Khyber, Umar made an attempt to capture the fortress but failed.
Umar was one of the fugitives of the battle of Hunayn. Abu Qatada, a companion of the Prophet, says: “In Hunayn when the Muslims were fleeing, I also fled, and I saw Umar with others.” (Bukhari and Kitabul-Maghazi).
In 8 A.H. the Apostle sent Umar as a ranker with many others to report for duty to Amr bin Aas, their commanding officer, in the campaign of Dhat es-Salasil.
In 11 A.H. the Apostle of God organized the Syrian expedition and he appointed Usama bin Zayd bin Haritha as its general. He ordered Umar to serve as a ranker in the expedition.
Though Umar spent eighteen years in the company of Muhammad Mustafa, the Messenger of God, the latter never appointed him to any position of authority – civil or military.
When the Apostle of God was on his deathbed, he asked the companions to bring pen, paper and ink so he might dictate his will but Umar defied him. He did not let the Apostle dictate his will and testament.
Umar was not present at the funeral of the Prophet of Islam. He was brawling with the Ansar in the outhouse of Saqifa when the body of the Prophet was being buried.
Umar was the khalifa-maker of Abu Bakr. During Abu Bakr's khilafat, Umar was his principal adviser.
The Banu Umayya were the traditional champions of idolatry and the arch-enemies of Muhammad and his clan, the Banu Hashim. Muhammad had broken their power but Umar revived them. The central component of his policy, as head of the government of Saqifa, was the restoration of the Umayyads. He turned over Syria to them as their “fief,” and he made them the first family in the empire.
A modern student of history might find claims made on behalf of some companions of the Prophet rather extravagant and baffling. He might notice in them the clash of popular imagination with historical reality. But if he wishes to make a realistic evaluation of the roles they played in the lifetime of the Prophet, there is no better way of doing so than to turn away from rhapsody and rhetoric, and to focus attention on facts and facts alone.
Early life
Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitration among the tribes.[11] 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.[12] 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."[13]
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.[14] 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.[14][15] He was also a gifted orator who succeeded his father as an arbitrator among the tribes.[16]
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.[14][17] Like others around him, Umar was fond of drinking in his pre-Islamic days.[18]
His Conversion to Islam:
When a small group of Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, Umar (R.A.) became worried about the future unity of the Quraish and decided to have Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) assassinated. On his way to murder Prophet (S.A.W.), Umar met his best friend Nuaim bin Abdullah (R.A.) who had secretly converted to Islam but had not told Umar. He told Umar (R.A.) 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 (R.A.) reciting the verses of the Quran from SurahTaha (20th Surah of Quran). 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."
The first ray of the light of faith that touched his heart came on when he saw the women of Quraish leaving their homeland and travelling to a distant land because of the persecution that they were facing from Umar (R.A.) and other unbelievers. His conscious was moved and he felt remorse and pity for them, and he spoke kind words to them which they had never expected to hear from his person beforehand
.Hazrat ‘Umar(ra) was so anxious about the welfare of his people that he used to go around in disguise, in the city of Madina at night, to see himself if anyone was in need of help. Once, during his patrol at night, he observed a woman cooking something in a pot while her children were crying around her. He found out from woman that the children were hungry for two days and the pot was put on fire just to console them. He immediately went to the treasury, and himself brought all the necessary food items to the woman. On his way, one of his servant offered to carry the load but he stopped him saying: On the Day of Judgment you will not carry my load.
The woman, who had not seen Hazrat ‘Umar(ra) before, was so pleased that she prayed aloud for him saying, May Allah make you the Khalifah in place of ‘Umar. On hearing this Hazrat ‘Umar(ra) started crying and without saying a word left the place.
In 644 AD, Hazrat ‘Umar(ra) was stabbed by a Persian slave, while he was offering his Prayers in Mosque. This proved fatal and he passed away at the age of sixty three on 26th of Dhul Hijjah, 23 AH. He was a truly great Khalifah whose period of Khilafat was undoubtedly a golden period in the history of Islam. He was one of ten blessed ones to whom the Holy Prophet had given the glad tidings that they had been rewarded the Paradise.
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