Sunni view of Umar

:"This is a sub-article to UmarUmar (died 644) was the second Sunni caliph, regarded by Sunnis as the second of the four Rashidun and one of the greatest personalities of the history of Islam. Sunni and Shi'a hold diametrically opposite views of `Umar, the Shi'a viewing that he and Abu Bakr usurped authority that properly belonged to Ali.

Introduction

Most Sunnis consider him a strong, wise, humble and competent ruler, the second rightly-guided Caliph. They consider him a sincere Muslim and a brave and fierce warrior. He did not seek advancement for his own family, but only to serve the Muslim community, the "ummah". One hadith, or oral tradition, credited by Sunnis says at the time of his death he was asked if he would like to nominate his son `Abd-Allah ibn `Umar as caliph and he replied: "One is enough from `Umar's family." Fact|date=January 2007.

Some Sunni take a more nuanced view of Umar. They note that even amongst the early Muslims, he had a reputation for strict militancy and conformity and was even accused by contemporaries of being harsh in religious matters. On several occasions he even opposed Muhammad when the latter wished to be merciful toward religious and political enemies Fact|date=January 2007.

Biography

The followin is Umar's biography from a Sunni perspective.

Family

Early life

Sunnis portray him as one of the nobility of Quraysh, and that he had the role of ambassador in the Pre Islamic period, that whenever war broke out among Quraysh or between Quraysh and others, they would send Umar as an ambassador, i.e. a messenger, and when someone called them to judgement often over a matter of standing or lineage then they sent Umar as a response to that History of the Caliphs by Suyuti, quoting An-Nawawi [http://www.bogvaerker.dk/Bookwright/Umar.html] ] .

His family consisted of those that were scared of him. His sister had converted and when he heard this, he went over there to beat his sister and her spouse and demand them back to the old ways. when he went there, he asked and beat the sister's husband, he asked to read what they were reading. The sister replied that he had to purify himself, so he washed up and read it. He thought that this ayat was beautiful, he demanded to see the prophet, and when he did, the companions of the time were scared and ready to fight, but he went to convert.

610 – 632: Muhammad's era

Another popular belief is that when he came to his house, His sister and her husband who were reciting the Quran were so scared that they hid the Quran by throwing it into a burning food cooker. When Umar came entered the house, he asked his sister about the quran, and started searching for it. He found the Quran untouched within burning flames, he converted after seeing that miracle Fact|date=January 2007.

Sunni state that it was only after Umar accepted Islam that Islam was shown openly in Mecca, and that the Muslims rejoiced in him History of the Caliphs by Suyuti, quoting An-Nawawi [http://www.bogvaerker.dk/Bookwright/Umar.html] ] .

*Hadith of the pen and paper

Battles

cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|An-Nawawi said: 'Umar attended, along with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, all of the battles, and he was one of those who stood firm beside him on the Day of Uhud. He was a great warrior, of defence and to fight, he defended the warrior and was a brave and couragous man.

Umar and Muhammad

Sunni quote a large number of narrations where Muhammad is quoted praising Umar.

632 – 634: Abu Bakr's era

634 – 644: Umar's era

cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|Isma'il ibn Ziyad said: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib passed by the mosques in Ramadan and in them there were lamps, so he said, 'May Allah illuminate 'Umar in his grave, as he has illuminated our mosques for us.'

Ibn Sa'd said: 'Umar appointed a meal (flour) house and put flour in it, parched barley meal, dates, raisins and necessities, in order to help the traveller whose journey was interrupted (through need or other causes), and he established between Makkah and Madinah on the road that which would be useful to travellers whose journeys were interrupted. He demolished the Mosque of the Prophet, added to it, expanded it and floored it with pebbles. He was the one who evicted the Jews from the Hijaz (and sent them) to Syria, and evicted the people of Najran (and sent them) to Kufah. He was the one who moved the Station of Ibrahim back (from the Ka'bah) to where it is today, and it used to be adjoining the House .

PresentScholar|Suyuti|15th|Sunni stats that An-Nawawi said in his Tahdhib:cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|(Umar) was the first to adopt the whip. Ibn Sa'd mentions it in the Tabaqat, and he said: It used to be said, after him, 'The whip of 'Umar is more terrible than your sword.'

He (an-Nawawi) continued: He was the first to appoint Qadis in the provinces, the first who established the provinces of (the cities of) Kufah, Basrah, and of Mesopotamia, Syria, Cairo (Egypt), and Mosul History of the Caliphs by Suyuti [http://www.bogvaerker.dk/Bookwright/Umar.html] ] .

*Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah

Legacy

Merits

Sunnis honor him as the following:
*One of the Rashidun
*One of the Ten Promised Paradise
*one of the in-laws of Muhammad
*one of the great men of knowledge of the Companions
*one of their abstinent people.

cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|Al-'Askari said:
*He was the first to be called 'Amir al-Muminin',
*the first to date events from the Hijrah,
*the first to take a bait al-mal (see the chapter on Abu Bakr),
*the first to establish as a sunnah the standing (for prayer) in the month of Ramadan,
*the first who patrolled at night,
*the first who punished satire,
*the first who punished wine-drinking with eighty (lashes),
*the first who declared al-mut'ah (temporary marriage) haram (rather the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade it on the Day of Khaybar see the Muwatta' of Imam Malik),
*the first to forbid the sale of female slaves who had borne children to their masters,
*the first to assemble for prayers over the dead with four takbirs,
*the first to have a register,
*the first to make conquests,
*the first to survey the Sawad (the cultivated land of Iraq),
*the first to convey food from Egypt upon the Aylah Sea (Gulf of 'Aqabah) to Madinah,
*the first who dedicated sadaqah (purely for the sake of Allah) in Islam,
*and the first who adjusted the division of inheritances (in cases where the calculated portions add up to more than the total inheritance),
*the first to take the zakah of horses,
*the first to say, 'May Allah lengthen your life,' (he said it to 'Ali) and
*the first to say, 'May Allah help you,' (he said it to 'Ali).

This is the end of what al-'Askari mentioned History of the Caliphs by Suyuti [http://www.bogvaerker.dk/Bookwright/Umar.html] ] .

alaf about Umar

Umar and the Qur'an

Umar and miracles

in another version:

QuoteHadith|Amr ibn al-Harith|matn=While 'Umar (ibn al-Khattab) was upon the mimbar delivering the khutbah on the day of jumu'ah suddenly he left off the khutbah and said, 'Sariyah, the mountain!' two or three times. Some of those present said, 'He has gone mad, he is insane.' 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf went in to see him and he had confidence in him and he said, 'You give them room to talk against you. While you were giving the khutbah, suddenly you cried out, "Sariyah, the mountain!" What sort of thing is this?' He said, 'By Allah, I could not control it. I saw them fighting near a mountain and they were being attacked from in front of them and from behind them. I could not stop myself from saying, "Sariyah, the mountain!" so that they would reach the mountain.' Then they waited some time until Sariyah's messenger came with his letter, 'The people met us (in battle) on the day of jumu'ah, and we fought them until, when it was time for jumu'ah, we heard someone cry out, "Sariyah, the mountain!" twice, so we reached the mountain. We continued victorious over our enemy until Allah defeated them and killed them.' Then those people who had accused him said, 'Leave this man alone, because he is in collusion with him.'

QuoteHadith|Abu Hudbah al-Himsi|matn=Umar was told that the people of Iraq had pelted their amir with pebbles and he went out angry. He performed the prayer but was forgetful in his prayer. When he had completed the prayer, he said, 'O Allah, they have made me confused, so make them confused, and hasten with the youth of (the tribe of) Thaqif who will pass judgement among them with the judgement of Jahiliyyah, who will not accept from their good-doers and he will not pass over their wrong-doers with pardon.'

I say that this indicates al-Hajjaj.

Ibn Lahi'ah said, 'Al-Hajjaj was not yet born at that time.'

particulars of Umar's biography

All of the following are from Ibn Sa'd.

All of the aforegoing are from Ibn Sa'd.

From various sources it is known that the mother of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab was Hantamah the daughter of Hisham ibn al-Mughirah and she was the sister of Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, so that Abu Jahl was his maternal uncle.

QuoteHadith
Abu Salih as-Saman|matn=Ka'b al-Ahbar said to 'Umar, 'I find you in the Tawrah killed as a martyr.' He said, 'How can I be a martyr when I am in the peninsula of the Arabs?'

Judgements

QuoteHadith|matn='Umar ibn al-Khattab went out one night to patrol Madinah and he used to do that a lot when he came upon one of the women of the Arabs whose door was bolted against her (locking her in) and she was saying:

'This night, whose stars creep slowly, is wearisome and makes me sleepless, because I have no bedfellow with whom to sport, For, by Allah, if it were not that Allah's punishments are feared, his rights would have been removed from this couch.

However, I fear a Watchful One Who is in charge of our selves and Whose recorder is not negligent for an instant.

Fear of my Lord and modesty prevent me, and I honour my husband (too much) that his noble station should be conferred (on another).' So he ('Umar) wrote to his governors about military expeditions that no-one should be absent for more than four months.

QuoteHadith|matn=Ka'b al-Ahbar said to 'Umar, 'We find you in the Book of Allah at one of the gates of Jahannam preventing people from falling into it. When you die, they will carry on plunging into it until the Day of Resurrection.'

Abu Mash'ar said: Our Shaykhs told us that 'Umar said, 'This matter will not be correct but with the severity that has no haughtiness in it, and with the gentleness that has no weakness in it.'

QuoteHadith
Hakim ibn 'Umayr|matn='Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'Let not the amir of an army or a raiding party whip anyone for a hadd punishment until he arrives at Darb (Derbe near the Cilician Gates, a mountain pass through which the Muslims passed returning from raids into Byzantine territory) so that the rage of the shaytan does not carry him to the point that he joins with the kuffar.'

QuoteHadith|Abu Imamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf|matn='Umar remained some time not eating anything at all from the property of the bait al-mal, until poverty and constriction came upon him in that. He sent for the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to seek their advice. He said, 'I have occupied myself with this command, so what is fitting for me from it?' 'Ali said, 'The midday and evening meals.' 'Umar took that.

QuoteHadith|Ibn Jarir|matn=One I trust informed me that 'Umar, while he was patrolling, heard a woman saying:

'This night stretches out and is grievous, and that I have no intimate to sport with has made me sleepless, For, if it were not for fear of Allah Whom nothing is like, his rights would have been removed from this couch.' 'Umar said, 'What is wrong with you?' She said, 'You sent my husband on an expedition some months ago, and I long for him.' He said, 'Do you mean to do wrong?' She said, '(I seek) the refuge of Allah!' He said, 'So restrain yourself; it is only (a matter of) the post to him.' He sent a message to him. Then he went to Hafsah and said, 'I want to ask you about a matter which concerns me, so dispel it for me. How long does a woman long for her husband?' She lowered her head and was shy. He said, 'Truly Allah is not shy of the truth.' She gestured with her hand, indicating three months, and if that is not possible, then four months. 'Umar wrote that armies must not be kept on service for more than four months.

QuoteHadith
Al-Hasan|matn='Umar wrote to Hudhayfah, 'Give the people their stipends and their provisions.' He wrote back to him, 'We have done that and a great deal remains.' 'Umar wrote to him, 'It is their spoils which Allah has given them. It is not 'Umar's nor 'Umar's family's. Divide it up among them.'

QuoteHadith|'A'ishah|matn=At the time of the last Hajj which 'Umar performed with the Mothers of the Believers (the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when we returned from 'Arafah, I passed by al-Muhassab and I heard a man upon his camel saying, 'Where was 'Umar, the Amir al-Muminin?' I heard another man saying, 'Here was the Amir al-Muminin.' He made the camel kneel down upon its breast, then he raised his voice in a wail saying:

'Upon you peace from an imam and may the hand of Allah bless that much-rent skin, Whoever hurries on or mounts the two wings of the ostrich, in order to overtake what you sent ahead the day before, will be outstripped.

You decided matters, then after them you left behind trials and misfortunes in their sleeves, not yet unloosed.'

That rider did not move and it was not known who he was, and we used to say that he was one of the Jinn, for 'Umar came back from that Hajj, was stabbed by the dagger and died.

Sulayman ibn Yasar related that the Jinn wailed in mourning for 'Umar .

QuoteHadith|Malik ibn Dinar|matn= A voice was heard on the mountain of Tabalah when 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was killed:

'Let him weep for Islam, whoever would weep, for they are on the point of being thrown to the ground and (their) appointed time has not been exceeded, And the world has declined and the best of it has gone, turning its back, and whoever is sure of the promise has become weary of it.'

Views on the Sunni view

Non-Muslim view

PresentScholar|Edward Gibbon|18th|non-Muslim wrote:

PresentScholar|Ali Asgher Razwy|20th|Shi'a|Twelver states:

References