Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was a strong, outspoken man of Mecca. At first he fought hard against the new faith. Then Allah (﷾) opened his heart, and he became one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) closest companions and, later, the second caliph.
This guide is about his faith: how it changed him, and what his journey can teach us today.
At a glance
- A strong-willed man of Quraysh who first opposed Islam.
- He became a Muslim in about 615, knowing his own people might kill him for it.
- His faith gave the small, persecuted community new strength.
- The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke of him as a man inspired with guidance, though not a prophet.
- He proposed that the Qur'an be written out in one volume. As caliph he cared for widows and the poor, and asked for justice for everyone.
- He feared Allah (﷾) and stayed humble to his last day.
- c. 586
Born in Mecca, into the clan of Adi of the tribe of Quraysh. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- After 610
He opposes the new faith and pressures believers, even his own sister, to leave it. Sahih al-Bukhari 3867
- c. 615
He becomes a Muslim. The believers grow stronger. Encyclopaedia BritannicaSahih al-Bukhari 3684
- 622
The Hijra: he emigrates to Medina with about twenty other believers, ahead of the Prophet (ﷺ). Sahih al-Bukhari 3925Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 632–634
After the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, he suggests to Abu Bakr that the Qur'an be written out in one volume, and Abu Bakr agrees. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
- 634–644
The second caliph. He starts the Islamic calendar, counted from the Hijra. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 644
He dies in Medina and is buried beside the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr. Sahih al-Bukhari 1392Encyclopaedia Britannica
Dates are in the Common Era. Early dates are approximate.
A fierce opponent
Umar was born in Mecca around 586, into the tribe of Quraysh. He grew into a strong, outspoken man who said what he thought. Encyclopaedia Britannica
When the Prophet (ﷺ) began to call people to worship Allah (﷾) alone, Umar set himself against the new faith. His own sister and her husband, Sa'id ibn Zayd, had become Muslims. Years later Sa'id remembered how Umar had tied them up to force them to give up Islam, before Umar himself believed. Sahih al-Bukhari 3862Sahih al-Bukhari 3867
Nobody watching him then would have guessed what was coming. Allah (﷾) guides whom He wills, and He was about to guide Umar.
The day he believed
In about 615, the man who had fought Islam became a Muslim. He knew the cost. His son Abdullah, then a boy, remembered his father at home, afraid. Umar was saying that his people had said they would kill him for becoming a Muslim. A crowd filled the valley and gathered around the house. Only when a chief of another clan declared that Umar was under his protection did they go away. Umar did not turn back. Encyclopaedia BritannicaSahih al-Bukhari 3864Sahih al-Bukhari 3865
His faith changed things for every believer. The companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said that the Muslims had been strong ever since Umar accepted Islam. The early biographies record him adding that until then they could not pray openly at the Kaaba; after Umar believed, they did. Sahih al-Bukhari 3684Ibn Ishaq, The Life of MuhammadIbn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
Loving the Prophet (ﷺ) more than himself
One day the Prophet (ﷺ) was holding Umar's hand. Umar told him, honestly, that he loved him more than everything except his own self. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that his faith would not be complete until the Prophet (ﷺ) was dearer to him than his own self. Umar answered that now, by Allah (﷾), he was dearer to him than himself. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that now he had it right. Sahih al-Bukhari 6632
His love showed in following the Prophet (ﷺ), not in honouring things. At the Kaaba, Umar kissed the Black Stone and spoke to it. He knew it was only a stone that could neither help nor harm anyone. He kissed it only because he had seen the Prophet (ﷺ) kiss it. Worship belongs to Allah (﷾) alone. Sahih al-Bukhari 1597
A heart guided to the truth
Allah (﷾) guided Umar's heart towards what is right. Umar himself said that more than once, his Lord's revelation matched what he had hoped for. Once he wished aloud that the believers would pray at the Station of Abraham, the stone where Abraham stood beside the Kaaba. Then Allah (﷾) revealed: Sahih al-Bukhari 402
and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer
This was not the Qur'an following a man: it was Allah (﷾) guiding Umar's heart towards what He had already willed to reveal. The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke of this gift. He said that in the nations before, there were people who were inspired with guidance though they were not prophets. If his community had such a person, he said, it was Umar. He also told Umar that whenever Satan saw him walking down a path, Satan would take a different path. Sahih al-Bukhari 3689Sahih al-Bukhari 3683
Once the Prophet (ﷺ) dreamed that he drank milk until he was full, and then passed what was left to Umar. Asked what it meant, he said: knowledge. Sahih al-Bukhari 3681
A leader who feared Allah (﷾)
Soon after the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed in a battle. The Qur'an was still safe: it was written down, and many others knew it by heart. But Umar wanted to make sure it could never be lost. So he suggested to Abu Bakr that it be written out in one volume, and after careful thought Abu Bakr agreed. That volume kept the Qur'an exactly as it was revealed. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986What is the Qur'an?
In 634 Umar became the second khalifah (caliph), which means successor: not a new prophet, but a leader who follows the Prophet's (ﷺ) way. He also began the Islamic calendar, which counts its years from the Hijra, the Prophet's (ﷺ) emigration to Medina. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Power did not make him proud. One day in the market, a young widow stopped him. Her husband had died, she said, and her little children had nothing to eat. Umar went to a strong camel at his house. He loaded it with two sacks of food and put money and clothes between them. Then he handed her the rope. He told her the food would last until Allah (﷾) brought her something better. When a man said he had given too much, Umar scolded him and reminded him what her family had given for Islam. Sahih al-Bukhari 4160
He asked for justice for everyone, not only Muslims. A few days before he was attacked, he spoke of his plans. If Allah (﷾) let him live, he said, he would make sure the widows of Iraq never had to depend on anyone. He told the next leader to keep every promise made to the non-Muslims living under the Muslims' protection. He told him to defend them, and never to ask more of them than they could manage. He lived by the Qur'an's command: Sahih al-Bukhari 3700Sahih al-Bukhari 3052
O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor
The Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that he was respected everywhere for his justice. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Humble to the end
In 644 Umar was attacked while leading the prayer, and he died a few days later. Encyclopaedia BritannicaSahih al-Bukhari 3700
In those last days, people reminded him of his good record. He answered that his time with the Prophet (ﷺ), and the Prophet's (ﷺ) pleasure with him, were favours from Allah (﷾), not his own doing. If he had all the gold on earth, he said, he would give it to be saved from Allah's (﷾) punishment before he met Him. He only hoped his deeds would balance out, so that he neither lost nor gained. This was not despair. It was the humility of a believer who knew that Paradise comes through Allah's (﷾) mercy, not through anyone's own record. And the Prophet (ﷺ) had already given him the good news of Paradise. Sahih al-Bukhari 3692Sahih al-Bukhari 1392Sahih al-Bukhari 3693Sahih al-Bukhari 6463
He longed to be buried beside the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr, but he would not take the place. He sent his son to ask Aisha, in whose room they lay, for her permission. He told him: if she refuses, bury me with the other Muslims. She gave up the place she had wanted for herself, and there he was buried. Sahih al-Bukhari 1392
What we can learn
Umar's journey shows how far faith can carry a person.
- No one is too far from Allah (﷾). The man who tried to stop Islam became one of its strongest believers.
- Stand firm for the truth. He believed even when his own people threatened his life.
- Love the Prophet (ﷺ) by following him. He followed the Prophet's (ﷺ) example in worship, and worshipped Allah (﷾) alone.
- Power is a trust. He fed a hungry family himself and asked for justice for everyone.
- Stay humble before Allah (﷾). After a lifetime of service, he still feared Allah (﷾) and hoped for His mercy.