Ustādh Defender Of the Faith - Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
By Abu Eesa Niamatullah | 2026-01-10T12:30:37.9554+00:00 | Topic: Sahaba
Defender Of the Faith - Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
By Ustādh Abu Eesa Niamatullah
Opening
In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Introduction to Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
In this series of (الْأَدَبُ الْمُفْرَدْ - Al-Adab Al-Mufrad), it is the first introduction that we have seen to Umar ibn al-Khattab.
And you know, in the books of (شروح - Shuruh), there's very few commentaries to Al-Adab Al-Mufrad. But under the title of Umar, because they have the (راوي - rawi) or the narrators in a hadith, it has a little few lines to say about them. Under Umar, it said there's no need to say anything about Umar.
That's what it says in the book of commentary. And we've seen so far that we've mentioned every single companion so far, but for Umar, this is, at one time you feel happy to hear such a nice thing, and then you feel sad, alright, where am I going to get the information from? So this is what I was facing when I saw that.
But actually, the reason is because there's not a single Muslim, I don't believe, today who does not know about Umar, who does not love Umar, who for Umar is not a hero.
The Status of Umar
And actually, to try and work out his (مقام - maqam), we've already gone into detail with Ali ibn Abi Talib, and we've seen what a magnificent person he was. And if you wanted a conclusion, a one-line summary, because to try and reduce everything, how is it possible to talk about Umar ibn al-Khattab that you make CD sets of and write volumes on? How can you bring him down into one session? It's impossible.
So if you want to make one sentence, then you heard about Ali ibn Abi Talib, so he was better than Ali ibn Abi Talib. That's enough of a conclusion. And we've seen his maqam. He was second only to Abu Bakr, who we have not covered, but once you see who Abu Bakr is, and then you realise that he was second to him, Umar was, then you recognise who Umar was.
The Barakah of His Dhikr
But we should try and find out some extra information. Why? Because actually we need the (بركة - barakah) of his (ذكر - dhikr). To make dhikr, okay, of his (سيرة - seerah) is barakah for us.
To remind ourselves of his life story, as Ibn Abbas said, if you want to remember, if you want to remind yourself of justice, then make dhikr of Umar. If you want to remind yourself of Umar and his system and his life and his characteristics, then make dhikr of his seerah, and you'll be remembering Allah.
Ibn Abbas is trying to say that one of the forms of (ذِكْرِ اللهِ - dhikr Allah), make remembrance of Allah, is to make dhikr of the life story of Umar ibn Khattab. That's how perfect it is as a story from beginning to end.
It's (مبارك - mubarak) for us. And people like us, we need as much barakah as we can in these times.
The Prophet's Statement About Umar
And why not? Why not wouldn't such a person be at this kind of station when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
If there was going to be a Prophet after me, it would have been Umar Ibn Khattab, if there was going to be a Prophet.
That's an (عجیب - ajeeb) statement, especially when you see Islam and all its rulings and its belief system and how it's protected and the statements of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم warning the Jews and the Christians and the Muslims to not take people as deities and so on and so on. And we have such a (سَدّ الذِّرَائِعِ - saddu dhura'ah), this blocking and closing the door to all this possible kind of hero worship, right?
And yet here we have what is as close as possible a statement as you can to promoting hero worship of Umar. If there was going to be a Prophet, and there isn't, but if there was going to be a Prophet after me, it would have been Umar Ibn Khattab.
Divine Inspiration
And that's why in some other narrations of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, they used to say that there were some people who used to be, people who had received this (إلهام - ilham), okay? This kind of divine wisdom. Not just (فراسة - firasah), this intuition that certain believers and (أَوْلِيَاء - awliya) have, but he had this firasah, this intuition, this wisdom, but something extra. Something extra, but not enough to make him a Prophet.
We're dealing with someone extra special, and that's what you have to try and understand before we start.
Who Was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab?
And who actually is Umar Ibn Khattab when it comes to his life story? When you want to try and make a summary of who he was, he was a man who lived and died by (كِتَابُ الله - kitabullah). He stood for it, and he died for it, and he defended it to the hilt.
And he was what we would call (الْمُجَاهِدُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ - al-mujahidu fee sabeelillah). If you want to see the definition of the (الْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ الله - mujahid fee sabeelillah), look at Umar Ibn Khattab.
He was the one, as the (السّلف - Salaf) used to say, who would wake late at night, who would wake up late at night to pray, to allow the people to sleep. He would be the one who would go hungry so that the people could eat. This is his system, his approach to life.
Mu'awiyah's Description
Ibn Abbas said, Mu'awiyah رضي الله عنه said he said that Abu Bakr, he never wanted the (دُنْيَا - dunya), and the dunya never wanted him. As for Umar Ibn Khattab, the dunya wanted him, but he left the dunya. He did not want it.
His actions and everything that we see about him, his demeanor and his approach to life, as we mentioned previously before, as if he didn't have a care for the dunya. For him, it was not really important what happens. It was the goal, the (مقصد - maqsad) that he was trying to establish.
The Story of Umar's Conversion to Islam
And what's so amazing about this, as we'll see from some of the quotes of the companions, is that where did all this come from? Was he the first of the Muslims? No. Was he from the (كبار - kibar), oldest? No. Was he the first to make (هجرة - hijra)? No. Was he in any extra way related to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ? No.
If you look at his life story, he was from the (قريش - Quraysh), one of the noble people of Quraysh, one of their respected members.
The Weak Narrations
And actually the story of Umar becoming Muslim is a science in itself, right? There's so many different stories, you'll find them in children's books, and you'll find them very famously narrated amongst the Muslims, okay? And it's interesting to know that the majority of these narrations are actually weak, specifically made weak by Imam al-Hafiz, Imam al-Bukhari. But they're not of an absolute weakness to totally discount.
And we can glean some useful information, and I think the most common one that is known is the one which is narrated in its most complete sense, because it has many different variations and so on. As I said, the weak narration in its most complete sense is that narrated by Imam al-Bayhaqi in (الدلائل - Al-Dalail), one of his books, one of his very famous books.
The Journey to Kill the Prophet
And that was that he was on his way to actually kill the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Why? Because he had been, propaganda had come and spread in Mecca, and the Quraysh and the Qurayshi leaders were asking, you know, people to find him, and I'll give them so many thousand dirhams, and whoever can find and get rid of this evil for us, and so on.
And in one narration, Ibn Khattab said, are you serious? You're going to give one thousand dirhams for the one who kills Muhammad? Really? And they said, yeah, (والله - wallahi), that's the absolute truth. And in that narration, he had a dream, and in his dream, he saw himself going to do that, but then he saw himself being prevented. There's so many different narrations about how he actually set off on this journey to try and find the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to kill him.
Meeting Nu'aym ibn Abdullah
And in this narration of al-Bayhaqi, he was going and he came across a companion by the name of Nu'aym ibn Abdullah, who had just become Muslim recently. And he said, ya Umar, where are you going? He said to him, I'm going to find this man, Muhammad, and his people, and so on. You know what they've done? They've cursed our gods, and they've ruined the Quraysh, and they've split us up, and we are now, there's no more unity, and so on, and so on.
They deserve to be, you know, very angry. And Nu'aym said to him, he said to him that, you're talking about Muhammad, and I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. Why don't you start at home? Why don't you start with your brother-in-law? Why don't you look to your sister? And he's like, what? My sister? My brother-in-law? And they said, yeah, why don't you go to their house and see what's happening? So he was shocked, and angry, and he went rushing to the house of his sister.
At His Sister's House
And as he was approaching his house, inside was Fatima bint Khattab, the sister of Umar ibn Khattab, and Sa'eed ibn Zayd, the brother-in-law of Umar ibn Khattab, and Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, one of the major companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, who was teaching them Qur'an, teaching them Qur'an.
And as you know, in this narration, it was (سورة طه - Surah Taha), from a piece of paper. And as he was coming up to the house, and he heard the recitation, and he said, as he's walking up, he said, what is this? And it wasn't in a praiseworthy sense.
He goes, what is this jumble? Okay? I can't understand it. It's been recited, it doesn't make any sense, and what is it? They heard him coming. Khabbab runs and hides. He knows this is trouble. He comes in, and that mayhem then ensues. He beats Sa'eed ibn Zayd, attacking him. His sister tries to get in the way, and so on. He hits the sister. She falls, bleeds.
Reading the Qur'an
He looks at her, feels obviously remorseful, what have I done here? And then obviously now, out of his anger, to some kind of sanity, he calms down, and then he says, what is it? And then, actually what I forgot to say is that the page they were reading from was being hidden underneath Fatima. So it came out and fell down, and so he picked up, what is this? And let me read it.
And Fatima, even in this state, even in this state, because she became very upset and very angry, yes, we have become Muslims. Yes, we have followed the (دين اللهِ - deen of Allah) and His Messenger. You know, in defiance, now that it's out, it's out. But you are not going to read this unless you purify yourself, unless you make (غسل - ghusl)
So Umar Khattab then made ghusl. He didn't know what he was making ghusl for, but he said, okay, (خلاص - khalas), let's purify ourselves, let's read it. And he started to read, and he was shocked by what he read in this narration.
Khabbab's Invitation
And then what happened is that Khabbab then came out. He realized that, hold on, this isn't as bad a situation as I thought. And so he came out, and he took the opportunity in this narration. He said, Ya Umar, come on, you know that you're right for this, and you know this is good for you. And I'm telling you now, I'm going to tell you something that yesterday I heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم make a dua asking Allah to strengthen this deen with you. So why don't you go and accept Islam?
So Umar said, khalas, show me this Muhammad and I'm going to go and accept Islam. That's what he said in this narration.
Going to the Prophet
And then as it goes, as it famously goes, he then went to the house near (الصَّفَا - Safa) where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was staying with his companions. And there's Abu Bakr there, and Hamza was there, and so on, and a few other people.
And they heard, and as he was walking, he was twirling his sword, you know, like he does, big man, strong man. And he was walking very confidently and so on. And they saw him coming in the door. And they were shocked and scared. Oh my goodness, it's Umar ibn Khattab coming. What are we going to
Hamza's Famous Statement
And then Hamza says a very famous statement. He says, let him in. If he's come for (خَيْر - khayr), then we will be then the best that one can possibly be with the guest. But if he comes for (شَرّ - sharr), if he comes for any evil or any (فِتْنَة - fitna) or wants to mess around, then we'll kill him with his own sword. We'll kill him with this sword.
This is Hamza. We're not talking about some little Hamza, alright? Ibn Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We'll kill him with that sword. Don't worry, let him in. No one knew what was going to happen. Very interesting in this narration.
The Conversion
And then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that, Ya Umar, what brings you here? And so on. And he then says that I've come to accept and follow the (دِين الله - deen of Allah) and his messenger. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said (تَكْبِير - takbir), big loud takbir.
And the people of the house (أهْلُ الْبَيْتِ - Ahlul Bayt), who were there, they also became very happy and they knew that Umar ibn Khattab. Why were they happy? Because of the du'a which is narrated by Imam Bukhari. He said that in front of this (مَجْلِس - majlis), the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
O Allah, strengthen and honour this religion with one of these two men, the most beloved of one of these two men here.
Who? Abu Jahl, the leader of the Quraysh, and Umar ibn Khattab, one of them. And as the (راوي - rawi) said, the most beloved to Allah from these two was Umar ibn Khattab. So here is where the legacy starts.
The Development of Umar as a Leader
And we have the development now of Umar as one of the leaders of Islam. (أبو حفصة - Abu Hafsa), as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called him. He gave him this (كُنْيّة - kunya) of Abu Hafsa after Hafsa who was the eldest child of Umar ibn Khattab, who of course married the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as one of his beloved wives.
Al-Farooq - The One Who Distinguishes
(الفاروق - Al-Farooq) was a name that was given to him as you all know, Umar ibn Khattab, Al-Farooq. Why? He was the one who made it clear what was the (حقّ - haq) and what was the (باطل - batil). He was the one who defined what was good and what was bad.
He was the one who, the oppressors, the oppressors in Rome, the criminals in Persia, the criminal Zionists in the (جَزِيرَةُ الْعَرَب - Jazeera tul Arab) in the Arabian Peninsula. He dealt with all of these people, all the criminals who were trying and enjoying their criminality and oppression and transgression. They had seen their last day because Umar ibn Khattab when he had come and entered Islam.
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud's Statement
As Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
We have not stopped being strong and mighty and honored since the day that Umar ibn Khattab accepted Islam.
It was a turning point because then as you see from now, his little development in Mecca, now he would have to move because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was now moving to Medina and the establishment of Islam was now about to get into process.
The Hijrah
And the (هجرة - Hijrah) was a very difficult thing to do for many, many of the Muslims. Many Muslims find it very, very difficult and they hid their Islam. But as we saw with Hamza in the famous narration, with Umar ibn Khattab likewise, it was, it wasn't an issue.
He stood, he went out, they said that he dressed up in his best dress and you have to understand the political situation. The Quraysh are trying their very best, threatening any single person who wants to try and go to Medina because it's diminishing the state, right? It's diminishing the authority of the Quraysh. It's an insult, an affront to their religion to go against the one that they're opposing, they're saying this is their enemy and so on.
And you're saying that now I'm supporting him and we're taking this and we're taking our people. So they weren't allowing that. They were torturing people, killing people. As you know, the (فِتْنَة - fitna) in the time in Mecca was very difficult.
Umar's Bold Hijrah
But Umar ibn Khattab, he said that he dressed up, perfumed himself, he got his sword, put it in his scabbard, he went out into the marketplace, he stood up, he pulled his sword out, did a few moves like that. He said, right, I'm going to, I'm going to Medina, I'm on the Hijrah.
Who wants his mother to lose their son? Who wants to make orphans? Who wants to make orphans? Anyone, then come and stop me. This was the way that he came out. This was his way.
The Character of Umar
That's why in the dua, As the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to make dua, that the most merciful in this religion with the people is Abu Bakr and the most, the most strict and the most hardcore when it comes to the (دِين اللهِ - deen of Allah) and its system is Umar ibn Khattab. He was that kind of person. That was his (طبيعة - tabi'ah).
That was his character. He was strong. He was fearless. He didn't fear anyone. He did not fear the blame of the blamers. There's one thing about being scared of someone who is attacking you. What about those who are, for example, just blaming you for things, saying things about you. He didn't care about criticism of these people. It was not important.
For him, deen totally enveloped him. And that is why he became such a figure in Islam. And more importantly than that, such a figure for the Muslims at that time.
The Prophet's Statements About Umar
What's the importance of, what do I mean by that? If I say someone is good or he was a big scholar, then who am I really to say that, right? Only real scholars or people of a high level can really say about another person that they are of a certain quality or of a certain level, right? That's, you know, the people of the same level will be able to make (تزكية - tazkiyah).
So when people at the bottom say he's a great scholar, I wouldn't know what a scholar is in the first place without being able to say he's a great scholar. But when these scholars themselves, the leaders of the companions themselves, they used to say that he is the best, he is the most knowledgeable, then you realize you're dealing with a different kind of character.
And so then we see his hijrah to Medina and his establishment with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as his right-hand man after Abu Bakr. And his status has been confirmed by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in so many different beautiful ahadith that when you, you know, you can just keep, when you look at Abu al-Khattab, you can divide it into sections. His characteristics, his statements, they're just pearls of wisdom.
Categories of Umar's Legacy
Everything that he said before he took leadership and then everything that he said after he took leadership in terms of the laws and the lessons to be made because he was ruling and he, as you know, he entered Palestine and he dealt with the Christians and dealt with the Jews, he dealt with enemies who attacked him, he dealt with the political issues and establishment of policies and social issues and so on. Everything there is, then you have another category. What the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said about Umar.
Just a category by itself. And you find ahadith in the thousands. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said in ahadith:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
I was in paradise. I saw myself in paradise and I saw a huge gold palace and I thought this must be for me. So I said who is this for? This is for Umar al-Khattab. This is for Umar al-Khattab.
So, you know, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
The (أَهْلُ الدَّرَجَاتِ - ahlul darajat), the people of high status, the people of high status will look beneath them, okay, to the others like as you now look at the stars in the sky, okay, in the far horizon and know that Abu Bakr and Umar are from them and they are from the very best of them as well.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that to Ali, he said you should know that you know Abu Bakr and Umar, they are the two masters of the first and the last in paradise except for the prophets and the messengers. Don't tell them. Don't tell them, he said to Ali. Don't let them know.
The Ten Promised Paradise
And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in his ahadith about establishing Umar as how important he was and his maqam, it cannot be compared. Look at, for example, the ahadith of how many times has Umar al-Khattab been promised paradise? And straightly he would say Umar al-Khattab (فِي الْجَنَّةِ - fil jannah), just a straight statement like that. In another narration, he was with some companions and he said that here comes a man and he is from paradise and the door would open and in would walk Umar.
And then you know the ahadith of the 10 promised paradise. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
(Sunan Abi Dawud)
Abu Bakr fil jannah, Umar fil jannah, Uthman fil jannah, Ali fil jannah, Talha fil jannah, Zubair fil jannah, Abdul Rahman fil jannah, Sa'd fil jannah, Sa'eed fil jannah, Abu Ubaidah fil jannah.
The 10, the blessed, the superstars of this ummah and the only, only after Abu Bakr can we find Umar al-Khattab. His position, his maqam, look at his different characteristics, look at his different titles.
Umar and the Qur'an
They said he is the one that the Qur'an agreed with. The scholars used to differ amongst themselves of what is the best way to say this because it sounds like a dodgy statement, right, to say that Umar al-Khattab agreed with the Qur'an. You might think, hold on, the Qur'an is the (حق - haq) and so if someone agrees with it, we must all agree with it.
Okay, let's try the other way around. Then the Qur'an agrees with Umar al-Khattab. That sounds a bit dodgy, right, because how can the Qur'an come and agree with the statement of a man? But that is how the scholars, you know, they knew it was quite simple.
It was that Umar al-Khattab said something and the Qur'an came down to affirm it.
Examples of Qur'anic Confirmations
For example, the issue of the Maqam of Ibrahim. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)Umar al-Khattab said, wouldn't it be nice that we take this place of Ibrahim as a place of prayer? And then Allah (جل جلاله) as Imam Bukhari narrates and as we studied before, revealed the ayah:
And take the station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.
It was revealed. And then in the other place where Umar al-Khattab said, Ya Rasulullah, all these people are coming into your house now, okay, all these evil people, (فاسق - fasiq) people, dodgy people, they're coming in. Wouldn't it be good that we ensure that the women in the house, your wives are covered and so on? And then Allah (جل جلاله) revealed the ayah:
O Prophet of Allah, say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers, they should get from their (جلابيب - jalabeeb), their outer garments and cover themselves with it, that is going to be
easier for them. That they will become known as such and they will not become molested. And Allah جلاله is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
This is after he suggested and then when he found another occasion, when he found out that the wives of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمthat he was angry with them because of some of their actions. So he went to them and he said to them, as you know, he said, what are you doing? Don't you think that Allah جل جلاله will replace you with people better than you? Who do you think you are? This is the Messenger of Allah.
And then, you know, they got angry and they said to Umar, who do you think you are? Don't you think that the Messenger of Allah can tell us better than you? Who are you trying to be? So then Allah جل جلاله then reveals the ayah:
That maybe that the Lord will come and he will, that he will make you divorce from them and replace you with better. Replace you with better.
More Examples
And this is not just the only case. What about Badr? Where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was not sure what to do about the captives that they had taken from the Quraysh, who had been killing all the Muslims, whether to ransom them back to the Quraysh or to have them to be killed.
And Abu Bakr, as you know, they wanted them to be ransomed and so on. Abu Bakr said... But Umar said (لا، بَلْ أَقْتُلُهُمْ - No, rather kill them). Not what they've done for their crimes, they must accept capital punishment. Absolutely.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم went with, you know, he made his decision to ransom them. But Allah جل جلاله reveals the ayah to prove that Umar actually was more correct, that they should not have been ransomed.
And then, for example, the prayer of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم over Abdullah ibn Ubayy as-Sulul, the leader of the (منافقين - Munafiqeen), when he had died and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed the (جنازة - janazah) over him, wanted to pray janazah over him, Umar ibn al-Khattab held him.
You're going to pray over him, the leader of the Munafiqeen, the (رَأْسُ الْكُفَّار - raas of the kuffar), the head of the disbelievers, the leader of the hypocrites. You're going to pray over him and Allah جل جلاله reveals the ayah, making it impermissible to pray for the Munafiqeen and for the kuffar. This is, you know, do you see now why when he says:
If there was going to be a prophet after me, it would have been Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Umar's Love for Justice and Martyrdom
And, you know, where do we stop? How far do we go? His narrations, he has to keep going and going. His actions and his statements and the statements of the companions about him and his aura and his justice. As I said to you about his justice, you know, his love for justice made him absolutely devoted to (جهاد - jihad) itself.
And you know what he said? The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said when he was put on, Abu Huraira narrates in his hadith that he put on like a new kind of robe. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw him and he said, Is this (جَدِيد - jadeed) or a (غسيل - ghaseel)? Is this new or has it just been washed? And he said, It's new. So he said to him this famous story:
Sahih al-Bukhari
And you wear it anew and live a good, happy life, praiseworthy life and die as a martyr.
And this martyrdom was always on his mind. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was on top of Uhud, the Mount of Uhud. And they said that Uhud was kind of like shaking, like a little bit of tremor. And he said, Be still, Ya Uhud. On top of you now is a... And who was with him? It was Abu Bakr and Umar and Ali and they were on top of him. And he said, Be still, Ya Uhud. On top of you now is a Prophet and a (صديق - Siddiq) and two (شهیدان - shaheedan).
I'm referring to Uthman and Umar al-Khattab and Siddiq Abu Bakr, of course. And why can you see this (علاقة - ilaqa), this connection, clear connection between Umar al-Khattab and (شهادة - Shahada)? Why? Because of his love for justice. Because what is jihad but to establish justice?
And we see the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he never left the side of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in Badr and in Uhud and in al-Khandaq, in al-Fath, and the (بَيْعَةُ الرّضوان - Bay'a Ridwan) and al-Hunayn, all the battles and in so many more after the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Where does one go?
The Companions' Testimonies About Umar
Look at the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . This is, as I said before, the best way to understand the maqam of a person, the best way to understand and appreciate someone is to look to see what his peers say about him. When they said that, you know, if someone says about you, the best of people says that, you know, his Islam for us was a (فتح - fath), it was an opening for us, and his hijrah for us
was a (نصر - nasr), it was a victory for us, it was an aid for us, and his (ولاية - wilaya) was (عَدْلاً لَنَا - adlan lana), and his leadership itself, his taking over was an establishment of justice, a mercy in itself for us. This is, you know, the companions themselves speaking.
Ibn Mas'ud's Testimony
Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنهhe said about Umar al-Khattab, he said:
He was the most knowledgeable. And who is Ibn Mas'ud, by the way? We've covered Ibn Mas'ud, Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, one of the four Abdullahs, okay, in the early chapters of al-Adab al-Mufrad. Not a small figure.
The (فقيه - faqih) of the sahaba, one of the major scholars of the sahaba. He is saying, the most knowledgeable of us in terms of Allah:
the most versed in reciting the book of Allah, the most versed in reciting the book of Allah, and the most:
the most, ascetic, doesn't care a little bit about the dunya. It's not just like me and you just making up claims.
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud's Amazing Statement
And talking about making up claims, this is a really great one. Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said, you know, if you take the (علم - ilm) of Umar, and you put it into a scale, and you put the ilm of every single other person on the face of this earth, he said:
Okay? In the (میزان - mizan), it will not outweigh the ilm of Umar.
Now, listen to this. الأَعْمَش - Aamash, one of the great تابعين - tabi'een, hearing this statement, took it to one of the great كبار التابعين - kibar tabi'een, Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, one of the imams, one of the teachers of رضي الله عنه Abu Hanifa
And you know what he said to him? He said that, you know, he made (إنكار - inkar) of this statement. He goes, come on, this is now, look, he's a great man, but you're getting a bit carried away here now, right? And it's a bit of exaggeration. Okay?
And Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, he said, and exactly what do you have a problem with in this statement For Allah wallahi, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud told me something even greater than that, with an authentic سند - sanad He said that, I believe that ilm is divided into ten parts, and nine-tenths of it passed away the day that Umar ibn al-Khattab died. And you're telling me about weighing and this, that, whatever, and I'm telling you this?
And it's a beautiful statement when you see the major كبار المُحَدِّثين - kibar muhaddithin discussing amongst themselves and trying to make تخقیق - tahqiq or things which do not seem possible.
Because everyone has a frame of reference and trying to understand and appreciate what can be true, what can't be true, and you're put in your place like that. And you can see the, you know, the respect that the companions, you see, you earn respect, you can't buy respect and force respect.
The Respect He Commanded
And Umar ibn al-Khattab was seen as a hero not just by the Muslims, not just by his companions, not just by, you know, the people around him, but the people who hear about him from the non-Muslims and non-Muslim kings and so on, they'd respect him so much, they couldn't believe that this was the أمير الْمُؤْمِنِين - amir mu'mineen and how much respect and love that he commanded by his companions for him.
And, you know, when he used to speak, Talha ibn al-Shihabi, he said that, you know, we used to كُنَّا تُحَدِّتْ kunna nahaddith, we used to discuss amongst ourselves. The way that this statement, kunna nahaddith yaani, means that when we're sitting down, just chilling out and just chatting amongst ourselves, we used to say, you know, Umar ibn al-Khattab, when he used to speak, actually it was an angel speaking for him. Because we can't understand that these kind of statements can come from a man.
ذَاتِ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ وَلَكَ - Dati ala lisanihi walak, yaani, that upon his tongue is actually an angel saying all these statements. Otherwise, it can't be possible. And they had a هيبة - haybah for him.
You know, they had this awe because of his presence. He had an aura. He had this kind of, you know, like a buzz around him that they couldn't overcome.
The Shaytan Avoids Umar
And he earned that, not just through how strong and strict he was, and no doubt about that, the Prophet :told him صلى الله عليه وسلم
Sahih Muslim
that you know that shaytan, when he sees you along the path, he takes the other path. He takes the other path. He doesn't want to cross your path.
And Umar ibn al-Khattab is saying, okay then, you know, I mean, what have I done to deserve that? And he's always shocked about why are people talking about, why are they saying, I'm just a مسكين miskeen. I'm just always putting himself down, always putting himself down. But as we know, the one who puts himself down is the one who, yaani, rises amongst the eyes of the people.
The one who recognizes that he is low, he really is the good one. And the high one. And the best of them.
Umar's Approach to Leadership
The one who, he became the leader with unanimity, when they saw what he gave them, and what his position was. It was so clear he was born to be a leader. Yet he disliked leadership.
Yet he would not allow people to take, yaani, this kind of position without understanding the responsibilities of knowledge and leadership. That's why he said, yaani:
yaani, learn before you become a leader. Learn before you become a person who is put into responsibility.
And there's some great فقه - fiqh in this statement. You want to talk about the fiqh of Umar. His statements themselves are just huge and deep. Because once you become a leader, then responsibilities don't allow you to go back and learn and study.
He said that, some of the عُلَمَاء - ulama in explaining the wisdom behind it, said that when you start to learn, sorry, when you start to lead, then that person, for example, if you become a قاضي - qadi, and this is so true, subhanAllah. You want to talk about social anthropology of Muslims? This is so true.
If you become a, you know, a big figure in society, you become a qadi, you become a مفتي - mufti, all right, for the government, or become the chief or whatever, what not. Can you imagine that person then go back and then sit back in his place that he used to be in the circle under his normal teacher, where they would normally, you know, discuss and learn, whatever? No, that's it. Once you become and tasted that, then how can you, the big leader, yaani, go back and sit and so on and study like you used to do just a couple of days back? How can you go and, and of course, how can you implement and advise other people to do what you yourself have not fully understood?
This is a point, and in our Islam, and our fiqh, everyone wants to speak, everyone wants to talk, everyone wants to say and do, and we know this, we know that.
Umar's Learning of the Qur'an
You know, Ibn Amr said about him in terms of learning Qur'an, and learning Qur'an is something that we do and for example, myself, I've done Surah Al-Baqarah with our teacher, and we took it in semi kind of detail. It took us something like three odd years to cover. And our group of people, I don't think any one of them, maybe one or two, actually memorized it or learned, or remember what we actually did in them three years.
Okay? Few other people might give a bit more. Other people, they learn the Qur'an as if it's like some kind of exam textbook, right? Bang, bang, bang, and just learn something and then that's it. Don't know anything about it, so on.
Ibn Amr said that Ibn Khattab learned (سُورَةُ البَقَرَة - Surah Al-Baqarah) in 12 years. And after 12 years, once he had learned Surah Al-Baqarah, he sacrificed the camel. Big party.
Because he knew that, how much he had taken, what he had achieved, from this action of learning Surah Al-Baqarah. So when we read, you hear someone, I have learned Surah Al-Baqarah, or I know (تَفْسِيرُ الْقُرْآن - Tafsir Al-Quran). You know, I've studied the Tafsir Al-Quran.
It does really, you know, you just need to bring yourself back into reality, you know, let's just bring ourselves back down here. What do you exactly mean by I know the Qur'an or I learned the Qur'an and so on, and so on. And, actually it's very difficult.
The Respect and Awe Around Umar
I won't, I won't try and pretend that it's easy to talk about Umar. Actually, it's not easy to talk about, it's not easy to, to, to, to condense quality. You can't condense quality. How can you condense something which is not meant to be condensed? How can you try and push it down? What do you decide to leave out? What do you decide to include? And so on, and so on.
His companions around him, they used to have so much respect of him. Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه) said about him, said in a narration, there was one thing I wanted to ask Umar. And, I spent a whole year with Umar (كاستمي - Kastami). He sent it. And I stayed with him for an entire year and I could not sum up the courage to ask him.
And then I thought, this is now getting a bit, you know, this is getting crazy. So he went on (حج - Hajj) So I went on Hajj with him. And then after, you know, I found him on a path and for, I got a moment, I went up to him and I summed up my courage. I said to him, right, I would like to ask you, and this was narrated by Imam Bukhari in his, in the chapter of (تفسير - Tafsir).
And I wanted to ask him, who was it that, that angered the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) so much in the Qur'an out of his wives? And Umar al-Khattab told him, it was (عائشة - Aisha) and (حفصة - Hafsa).
And you know, I said to him, you know something? I've waited a whole year to ask this question. I just couldn't get myself around it. I just couldn't, I couldn't do it.
Umar al-Khattab got very angry. He said (سُبْحَانَ اللهِ - Subhanallah), what are you talking about? Just ask. And if I know, I will tell you. And if I don't know, then, then you know, then I'm, you know, sorry about that.
But this was what the people around him, he had this haybah, he had this aura. They used to say that a man, that a man would come to ask him for his need, come, see him, totally forget the need, go back home, realize, what did I go out for in the first place? Alright, well, we'll forget that because that's not happening.
Umar's Humility
And that was his system. Yet he himself always tried to make himself, you know, down. He would walk amongst the markets and he would walk out in clothes and people wouldn't realize it was him and asking about the people, asking about the neighbors and hiding his face and asking so that people wouldn't be, you know, he was aware that they wouldn't be scared of him, they wouldn't be whatever so that they can be honest with him.
You know, are you being treated right? Are you getting your food? Are you getting your money? And so on and so on. So they could give him a real kind of answer as opposed to, but, you know, when someone has that natural position, what can you do?
The Barber Story
In a classic narration, the (حِجّام - hijam), hijam is the one who does cupping, right? Okay? You know what cupping is when we take the blood from the, the bad blood effectively from the skin using a process of making little marks and then sucking up the, the congealed blood. What he, what he did is that he was there in this kind of place.
You can, you can, I suppose you can give it the example of modern day barber shop, right? And the barber shaving someone, right? Of course, imagine trying to shave Umar ibn Khattab. So, you know, he was giving him hijam, right? And he had these cups on him and suddenly Umar ibn Khattab, he coughed. Okay? So, he coughed and the thing went a bit wrong and a little bit of a cut, little bit, and Umar ibn Khattab didn't make anything.
But this, this, this hijam, he absolutely, he got so terrified as the (راوي - Rawi) says, narrated, I mean, by Imam al-Dhahabi, he wet himself. So, he, so he wet himself. Can you imagine? I mean, you know, you put yourself in that position and you just cut (أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِين - Amir al-Mu'minin) and Umar ibn Khattab.
And, you know, Umar ibn Khattab realized that what had happened. You know, he hadn't even thought about that but then they said and he realized that hold on, something's going wrong here. And he looked and he guys wet himself.
So, he then said, I have to now give this guy 40 dirham. I, as like a, kind of a compensation from me. He put the compensation upon himself. There's no compensation for making someone wet themselves because they're scared of you. But he did that because he, you know, this is Umar, you know, his whole life full of just beautiful anecdotes and stories and, and, you know, it's, you'll swim in his seerah. Really, you will.
And that's the same with all the mountains of Islam. Actually, the Muslims today are so lucky just, for us to be able to read about our (أَعْلام - a'alam), about our (تُبَلاء - nubula), about our great people, our noble people. It is an honor for us.
Umar's Final Days
It's an (عزّة - izzah) for the Muslims today to be connected to Umar ibn Khattab with that which he said that we, we used to be a (ذليلين - dhileen). We used to be, and humiliate people. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then enabled us with Islam.
Okay? And that's what we have become. Who are we except for our Islam? What are we except for our deen? And this is what Umar ibn Khattab spent his entire life to show and prove and establish. And his (عمل - amal), his action, something that we see and we just marvel at.
And of course, every, every beautiful story has to, of course, come to an end. And his life story, you know, indeed has an end. And when it comes to, as we said, (شَهَادَة - shahada), he made a dua and it's narrated in the sahih of Imam al-Bukhari as well, where he said:
Ya Allah, give me the shahada in your way. Give me martyrdom in your path. But make me die in the (بَلَدِ رَسُولِك - balad of rasoolik). Make me die, make me die in the land of your messenger.
The Morning of His Martyrdom
And what happened? What happened is as you, as you probably will be aware of in his final days, he was becoming old and, and, and weak anyway. And he was leading the salah (صلاة الفجر - salatul fajr), in the masjid.
And as the, Abdurrahman ibn Auf ad-Darrawi says, he went forward to, to lead the salah and he went and checked the rows as the, as the salaf and the sahaba used to do. Go through the rows, check them, straighten them, make sure all the gaps are closed. Okay? And he said, (استوا - istaw), that's what they said.
We heard istaw. And then he started. And he started reciting (سُورَةٌ يُوسُف - surah Yusuf) or (سُورَةُ النَّحْل - surah Nahl). He wasn't sure. And, and there's a real reason why he wasn't sure. The events that were to follow were of an incredible nature.
So, he started reciting surah Yusuf or Nahl. And the reason, of course, is because, as ad-Darrawi said, so that the more people would be able to, you know, a long surah, so that more people can make it to the masjid. That's the (سُنّة - sunnah) of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in those kind of prayers to allow people to come and get there.
Okay? To start the first (رَكْعَة - rak'ah) longer than the second. And so, he started. And, during the recitation, they heard a takbir (اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ - Allahu akbar). (قتلني - Qatalani). They heard the takbir.
He said, he has killed me. And in another narration, he has eaten me. (الْكَلْبُ أَكَلَنِي - Al kalb akalani). The dog has eaten me.
The Attack
And, the first, the first, the first row, the, Abdurrahman, he narrates, he said, we saw this, this person from (عجم - Ajam), this criminal from Ajam. He had stabbed Umar ibn Khattab.
And then, he went into a frenzy. Because, after stabbing him, the companions, they, they, they firmed. They strengthened their line to not allow him to escape. And as they, as he tried to escape, they couldn't go, he couldn't go left, he couldn't go right. So, he started slashing out. And in his slashing out, he attacked 15 people, 7 died.
Just at that time. Not a single person broke the, look at the salah. If you remember, at the beginning of this book, how many sessions ago, about the importance of salah. And how we consider what salah is, and what they used to consider what salah was. And he killed 7 people, and until one of them, then, just jumped on him. And, as he realized that now, he's not going to mistake, he cut his own throat, and he, and he died.
Finishing the Prayer
And Umar, and at the back, they said, that the, the lions, they didn't know what was going on. At (طرف المسجد - Taraf al-Masjid), they didn't, on the edges of the Masjid, they didn't realize what was going on. All they realized, they couldn't hear the, the voice of Umar anymore.
And Umar, semi-conscious state, he, he, he goes to the first lion, he grabs Abd al-Rahman ibn Auf, by the hand, and he pulls him forward. And, you know, to finish the prayer, to finish the prayer. I mean, just think about this, just play these events out, as if it was happening in front of you.
At the moment, then, Abd al-Rahman ibn Auf, then prayed a very quick, to the second rakah, and they finished, and he was there, you know, bleeding, and semi-conscious, and then he became unconscious. They took him home.
His Final Moments
And then, he was very ill for, you know, the next period of time, and then, he came into consciousness, out of consciousness, and they tried to feed him. And they used to say, they said, narrated by Ibn Abbas, and the other of the (كبار - Kibar), they said that, they used to give him juice, and milk, and he used to weep out of his wounds. That, it literally started to pour from him, that's how badly he was cut up. And he was on his deathbed, there was no doubt about that, and the companions recognized that.
And they said, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mas'ud said that the (حُزن - huzn), the grief, that hit Medina at that time, had not been experienced since the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That the grief, and the crying, that afflicted the people, was something which could not be imagined.
And everyone, and they used to say, that everyone would go, and meet people in the street, they would look at each other, and they'd say (لا بأس، لا بأس - laabas, labas), it's okay, no problem, this is the (حُرُون - hurun).
People, strangers in the street, would meet each other, and just say that to each other, just to console one another.
His Final Concern for Prayer
And then he regained consciousness, and Ibn Abbas narrates, that he said, did they pray? Did they pray? And he wasn't now with it, he asked now, you know, about the salah, which happened days earlier, have they prayed? Did they finish the prayer? And they sat down, they prayed. He said that:
There is no Islam, for the one who leaves the prayer. There is no Islam, for the one who leaves prayer.
In his state, he just, when people are in this kind, when people are of a different level of priorities in their mind, when these people themselves, they don't see life like we see life, and what's important, they are on a different level.
For them, you know, the reality changes. He asked for the water to be made wudu of, and he made wudu, and he prayed in his condition. And then, he weakened considerably.
The Boy's Visit
And then, then Abdullah ibn Umar was the, was the one who is letting few people in, and one boy, and just look at the way of Umar. One boy comes in, and you know, people are crying. Can you imagine a situation like that? And this boy comes in, and he says, ya (أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِين - amirul mu'minin), (أَبْشِرْ بِاللَّهِ - abshar billah), that you have glad tidings.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you glad tidings. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is happy with you, as he says in the Qur'an. And be happy, that you had the companionship of the messenger of Allah. And be happy, that you have done in Islam, what you have done. And Umar ibn Khattab, he stayed silent. And then he walked off.
He walked, he walked out of the room, and he's done his, he paid his respects. And as he's walking out, his like a (توب - thawb) is dragging along the floor. And so he said to his companions, bring that young boy back, in this state.
And the boy comes back and he says:
Lift ya (إرفع - irfa' thawbak), **لِأَنَّهَا أ