Once the Noble PropehtSAS said: If Prophethood was bestowed after me, it would have been on Umar A significant addition to the strength of Islam was the conversion of Hz UmarRZ bin Al-Khattab in Zul-Hijjah, the sixth year of Prophethood, three days following the conversion of Hz HamzahRZ . He was a man of dauntless courage and resolution, feared and respected in and around Makkah, and previously a bitter opponent of Islam. The traditional account reveals that the ProphetSAS once performed dua and said: O Allah! Give strength to Islam especially through either of two men you love more Umar bin Al-Khattab or Abu Jahl bin Hisham. Hz UmarRZ, obviously, was the one who merited that privilege. Hz Syedna UmarRZ was born in Mecca. His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl, and he is said to have belonged to a middle class family. He was literate, which by some accounts is considered to be uncommon in those times, and he was also well known for his physical strength, being a champion wrestler. Suhaib bin SinanRZ, in the same context, said that it was only after Hz Umars conversion, that we started to proclaim our call, assemble around and circumambulate the Sacred House Kaaba freely. We even dared to retaliate against some of the injustices done to harm us. In the same context, Ibn MasudRZ said: We have been strengthened a lot since UmarRZ embraced Islam. Due to persecusions by the Makkans many Muslims migrated to the city of Madina (Erstwhile Yathrib) in the silent dark of night stealthily. But not in the case of Hz Syedna UmarRZ migration, He went to the Holy Kaaba and standing in front on a high raised ground he thundered with a loud voice and openly declared his intention of migration from Makka to Madina the city of the ProphetSAS. He challenged the Makkans openly, and said those who try to create hurdles in his migration will not be spared and said, Those who want to get separated from their near and dear ones can come forward and dare stop Umar from migration with these words he started his migration towards Madina the ProphetSAS city. In the later years after the demise of the Noble ProphetSAS and Hz Syedna Abu BakrRZ the first Khalifa, he went on to become the Ameer-Ul-Momineen Hz Syedna Umar-E-FarooqueRZ, the second Khalifa of the ProphetSAS. His Caliphate lasted for 10 years and one day Amir-ul-Momineen Hz Syedna Omar-e-FarooqRZ became Shaheed (martyr) and his Urs is on the 1st of Muharram. Once the Noble PropehtSAS said: If Prophethood was bestowed after me, it would have been on Umar The Noble ProphetSAS said: Satan never crosses the path Umar takes In 625: Hz UmarRZs daughter Syedna Hafsah RZ was married to Prophet Muhammad SAS. Prophets household was not always peaceful; his wives quarreled over his favors and took sides against each other. Hz Umar RZ was much displeased when he heard this, and according to the story, he scolded her thus: O HafsaRZ, the (news) has reached me that you cause Allahs Messenger SAS trouble. You know that Allahs Messenger SAS does not love this, and had I not been (your father) he would have divorced you. (On hearing this) she wept bitterly. Historians say that this shows that he put loyalty to Prophet MuhammadSAS over the closest family ties. His appointment as Caliph: On 22nd Jamadi Al Sani 13Hijri (23 August 634AD): He was elected as 2nd Caliph of Islam. Succeeding after the death of Hz Syedna Abu BakrRZ the 1st Caliph of Islam. During `Hz Umars reign, the Islamic empire grew at an unprecedented rate, taking Mesopotamia and parts of Persia from the Sassanids (effectively ending that empire), and taking Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa and Armenia from the Byzantines. Many of these conquests followed turning point battles on both the western and eastern fronts. The Battle of Yarmuk, fought near Damascus in 636AD, saw a small Muslim army defeat a much larger Byzantine force, permanently ending the Byzantine rule south of Asia Minor. Another small Muslim army achieved victory over a larger force in the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah in 636AD, near the banks of the Euphrates River now in Iraq. During the course of the battle, Muslim general Hz Saad Bin Abi WaqasRZ, routed the Sassanid army and killed the celebrated Persian general Rostam farrokhzad. In 637AD, after a prolonged siege of Jerusalem, the Muslims took the city. According to some historians, Hz UmarRZ entered the city in humble fashion, walking beside a donkey on which his servant was sitting. He is said to have been given the keys to the city by the Orthodox Christian Patriarch Sophronius, then Hz UmarRZ led the Muslims in prayers on a site of now a mosque, the Dome of the Rock, was later built there. It is also said that Hz UmarRz and the Christians agreed to a number of pacts called the Umariyya Treaties, which set out the rights and obligations of each party. For one version of `Hz Umars speech to the people after the surrender of Jerusalem. Historically, after the siege of Jerusalem he had dinner, The reason behind Sophroniuss welcoming reception was that - according to the biblical prophecies known to the Christian church in jerusalem at that time- he learned of a time when a poor, but just and powerful man will come walking beside a donkey (because of his extremely austere lifestyle) with his right hand kept on it after a prolonged battle in Jerusalem (this description perfectly matched the image of `Hz UmarRz at the time of his arrival) and will actually prove to be a protector and an ally to the Christians of Jerusalem. In agreement with these prophecies, Hz UmarRZ - out of respect to the Christians of Jerusalem - chose to pray some distance away from the Church, so as not to endanger its status as a Christian temple and to maintain its status quo. Here, as elsewhere, developments extending over generations have been concentrated into idealised pictures associated with the revered figure of the second caliph. For indeed, Hz Umars caliphate has traditionally been regarded as the time in which nearly all the major political institutions of Islam had their origin, which cannot have been so in every instance. Hz UmarRZ undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy, establishing an advanced administration for newly conquered lands, including several new ministries and bureaucracies, as well as ordering a census of all the Muslim territories. During his reign, the garrison cities Amsar of Basra and Kufa were established or expanded. In 638H, he extended and renovated the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet SAS in Medina. He also began the process of codifying Islamic Law. Hz UmarRz also ordered the expulsion of the remaining Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar and forbade the Non-Muslims to reside in the Hijaz for longer than three days. Hz UmarRZ was known for his simple, austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims were poor and persecuted. In 639AD, his fourth year as caliph and the seventeenth year 17th since the Hijra, he decreed that the years of the Islamic era should be counted from the year of the Hijra of the Noble ProphetSAS from Mecca to Madina. Another interesting narration lies in the meeting between one of Persias leaders who previously fought against the Muslims, namely Hurmuzan (who later converted to Islam). He found Hz UmarRZ sleeping on the ground after he had sought him out for battle and was amazed of his humility and austere lifestyle he found before him. He commented on that by saying his famous phrase regarding Hz Syedna UmarRZ: You ruled by justice, therefore you became safe; only because of that, you are now able to sleep peacefully anywhere His Death: On 1st Muharram 23 Hijri (644AD) Hz UmarRz passed away, he was the victim of an assassins dagger. `Hz Umars killer (Abu-Luluah) was a non-muslim Persian slave (Magian) who is said to have held a personal grudge against Hz UmarRZ; he stabbed the Caliph six times as Hz UmarRz led the dawn prayers in the Masjid al Nabawi the ProphetSAS mosque at Medina. Hz UmarRZ died two days later, and was buried alongside Prophet MuhammadSAS and Hz Abu Bakr RZ. Hz Usman bin AffanRZ was elected as his successor the 3rd Caliph of Islam, by a group of prominent Muslims from the Ansar and Muhajirin along with the companions of the ProphetSAS appointed by `Hz UmarRZ before his death. Muslims remember Hz UmarRZ as a Farooq and it also means leader, jurist and statesman, and the second of the rightly-guided Caliphs. He did not seek advancement for his own family, but rather sought to advance the interests of the Muslim community, the ummah. An oral tradition, is also credited by some historians says that at the time of his death he was asked if he would like to nominate his son `Hz Abd-Allah bin UmarRZ as caliph to which he replied: One is enough from the Khattab (Umars) family. Michael H. Hart A christian publisher of America in his book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, ranks Hz Syedna UmarRZ in the 52nd place. The Faruqis: It is practiced in the family names Faruqi (alternative spellings, Faruqi, Farooqui, Farooqi, Faruqi, etc.) and Al-Umari are used by families claiming descent from Hz Syedna Umar-E-FarooqRZ.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:46:22 +0000
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