ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
عمر بن الخطاب
- Dates
- 584–644 CE / 40 BH–23 AH
- Relation to the Prophet ﷺ
- Father-in-law through Ḥafṣah; early convert after six years of opposition
The Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ that Islam be strengthened through ʿUmar. It was answered dramatically — his conversion changed the religion's trajectory in Makkah.
Life
ʿUmar set out one day to kill the Prophet ﷺ. On the way, he heard his sister reciting the Qurʾan. He entered her house furious; left a Muslim. His conversion emboldened the community to pray openly at the Kaaba for the first time.
As the second caliph, ʿUmar expanded the Islamic state across what is now Iraq, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and parts of North Africa — in ten years. He established the Hijri calendar, created the dīwān (state register), and walked the streets of Madinah at night checking on the poor. His sternness is legendary; his humility was equal to it. He was stabbed while leading Fajr prayer by a Persian slave. He asked, dying, to be buried beside the Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr. Permission was granted.
Passages that mention ʿUmar
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"Umar then began to cry again, saying, by Allah, a night and a day of Abu Bakr are better than Umar and the family of Umar."
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"Umar said, by Allah, a night from Abu Bakr and a day are better than the entire house of Umar and the family of Umar."
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"Ata grasped Umar ibn Abdul Aziz's arm firmly and said, oh Umar, the matter is serious, so be serious."
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"The prohibition of proposing over another's proposal is agreed upon from the Hadith of Ibn Umar, which states that one should not propose to a woman if his brother has already proposed, unless the initial suitor leaves her or permits him."
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"Umar ibn Abdulaziz said, If truth aligns with desire, it is like the froth on the top of a stream, and it is not impossible for both self-interest and religious duty to be motivating together."
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"Anas continued, saying, We love the Messenger of God, Abu Bakr and Umar, but we do not act as they did, and we hope to be with them."
Also from this generation
- Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq
أبو بكر الصديق
The first man outside the Prophet's ﷺ household to accept Islam. His friendship is the single most documented companionship in Islamic history.
- ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān
عثمان بن عفان
The caliph who unified the Qurʾanic script. The standard muṣḥaf used today descends directly from his committee's edition.
- ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
علي بن أبي طالب
The first young man to accept Islam — aged 9 or 10. The Prophet ﷺ said of him: "I am the city of knowledge, and ʿAlī is its gate."