Omar ibn al-Khattab

“ This is the testament of Abubeker Ebn Abu Kohafa, which he made at that time when he was just going out of this world, and entering into the other; a time in which the infidel shall believe, and the wicked person shall be assured, and the liar shall speak truth; [56] I appoint Omar Ebn Al Khattab my successor over you; therefore hearken to him, and obey him. If he does that which is right and just, it is what I think and know of him. If he does otherwise, every man must be rewarded according to his works. I intend to do for the best, but I do not know hidden things ”

“ To fill a vacancy requiring unusual skill, experience, and power 'Omar unwisely appointed 'Ammar, who, as a persecuted slave and confessor in the first days of Islam, was second to none in the faith; but a man of no ability, and now advanced in years.1 The citizens of Al-Kufa were not long in finding out his incapacity; and, at their desire, 'Omar transferred Abu Musa from Al-Basra to rule over them. But it was no easy work for him to curb the factious populace. ”

“ In this hazardous enterprise his success was beyond all expectation, for he threw Jabalah's Arabs into disorder and killed a great many, losing very few of his own men on the field, besides five prisoners, three of whom were Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian, Rafi Ebn Omeira, and Derar Ebn Al Alzwar, all men of great note. Abu Obeidah sent Abdallah Ebn Kort with an express to Omar, acquainting him with their circumstances, begging his prayers and some fresh recruits of Unitarians, a title they glory in, as reckoning themselves the only asserters of the unity of the Deity. ”

“ It was the same furious fanaticism and one-idea'd intolerance which made Caliph Omar destroy all he could find of the Alexandrian Library and prescribe burning for the Holy Books of the Persian Guebres. And the taint still lingers in Al-Islam: it will be said of a pious man, "He always studies the Koran, the Traditions and other books of Law and Religion; and he never reads poems nor listens to music or to stories." ”

“ Omar the second khalif, Sotian Souri, Ibn Shobormah, Atá and Amar-bin-Dinar. All these early legists held that the fighting was not religiously incumbent (wájib) , and that it was only a voluntary act, and that only those were to be fought against who attacked the Moslems. ”

“ Fragments are said to have existed in the days of Benjamin of Tudela, and to have been carried away by the Chalif Omar, from the mountain al Djoudi to the mosque of Gazyrat Ibn Omar.
30 To kill Muhammad. The circumstances are given in a tradition preserved ap. Weil, p. 265, note. The meaning is, that the people of Medina, who had become enriched by Muhammad's residence among them, had no better motive for disapproving the attempt upon his life. Lit. they had nothing to avenge but that, etc.
31 Prayers for the dead were customary among the Arabians before Muhammad. See Freyt. Einl. p. ”

“ As they stood in sight of the great host below, the step of men sounded near them. They were seized as spies, and hurried off to the tent of Omar.
The bright light of Omar's camp-fire revealed the white hair and flashing eye of the grim old warrior.
"By the prophet of Allah! Ye have brought in a rich prize!" exclaimed Omar, and his dagger flashed in the firelight as he drew it to plunge into Abu Sofian's bosom. But deliverance was near. Out from the darkness galloped Al Abbas, uncle of Mohammed, mounted on the prophet's white mule. ”

“ Connected by ties of the closest friendship with one of the sons of the Khalif, Omar-al-Khattah, he had received from him many particulars regarding the life and habits of Mohammed, and this intimacy contributed to increase the feeling of superiority, not unmingled with contempt, with which he regarded the horde of barbarian proselytes attracted to his banner rather by thirst for plunder than from religious zeal. His generosity endeared him to the soldiery, but his inflexible sense of right alienated the powerful officials of the Divan enriched by years of unmolested peculation. ”

“ Al-Ḥûsain ibn-al-Aswad from Ḥârithah ibn-Muḍarrib:—ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb, desiring to divide as-Sawâd among the Moslems, ordered that they be counted. Each Moslem had three peasants for his share. ʿUmar took the advice of the Prophet's Companions, and ʿAli said, "Leave them that they may become a source of revenue and aid [11] for the Moslems." Accordingly, ʿUmar sent ʿUthmân ibn-Ḥunaif al-Anṣâri who assessed on each man 48, 24, or 12 [dirhams] . ”

“ Some of them would sometimes throwstones at him. When he was through with Talbas [27] and ʿÂnât, [28] he came to an-Naʾûsah, Âlûsah [29] and Hît where he found out that ʿAmmâr ibn-Yâsir, the ʿâmil of ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb over al-Kûfah, had sent an army for the invasion of the region above al-Anbâr, under the leadership of Saʿd ibn-ʿAmr ibn-Ḥarâm al-Anṣâri. The holders of these forts had come to Saʿd and demanded peace, which he arranged with them, retaining one-half of the church of Hît. ʿUmair, therefore, kept on his way to ar-Raḳḳah. ”

“ The Omayyad dynasty was not a pious one. Men who were not religious but wished to appear so invented 420 traditions to justify their manner of life. The sectarians did not hesitate to adopt the same means of spreading their own teaching. Many Moslem writers testify to the fact that forged traditions were circulated, and that religious opinion was confused thereby. The need for some sort of authoritative collection seems to have been felt by the one pious Omayyad caliph, Omar II. (717-720) , who is said to have ordered Ibn Shihāb uz-Zuhrī to make such a collection. ”

“ Al-Ḳâsim ibn-Sallâm from az-Zuhri:—The Prophet took Khaibar by force as a result of a fight; and after taking away one-fifth, he divided the remaining four-fifths among the Moslems.
The Jews of Khaibar expelled. ʿAbd-al-Aʿla ibn-Ḥammâd an-Narsi from ibn-Shihâb:—The Prophet said: "There can be no two religions at the same time in the Arabian peninsula." [15] ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb investigated until he found it certain and assured that the Prophet had said, "There can be no two religions at the same time in the Arabian peninsula." Accordingly, he expelled the Jews of Khaibar. ”

“ Abu Bekr followed the Prophet’s example. In the great revolt of the Arabic tribes after the death of Mahomet, and in the invasion of Irak and Syria by the Moslems, the principal generals belonged to them. Omar did not deviate from that line of conduct. It was he who appointed Yazīd, the son of Abu Sofiān, and after his death, his brother Moawiya as governor of Syria, and assigned the province of Egypt to Amr-ibn-el-Ass (‘Amr b. Āṣ) . It is even surprising to find among the leading men so few of the house of Hāshim, the nearest family of the Prophet. ”

“ Rather shall we select for ourselves some other place for prayer until abu-‘Âmir [8] comes and leads our service." Now, abu-Âmir had fled from the face of Allah and his Prophet to Makkah and thence to Syria where he was converted to Christianity. Hence the text revealed by Allah: "There are some who have built a mosque for mischief and for infidelity and to disunite the 'Believers,' and in expectation of him who, in time past, warred against Allah and his Messenger"—referring to abu-‘Âmir. ”

“ Thus were ʿAmr's possessions confiscated by ʿUmar.
Al-Madâʾini from ʿÎsa ibn-Yazîd:—When Muḥammad ibn-Maslamah divided with ʿAmr ibn-al-ʿÂṣi his possessions, ʿAmr made this remark, "An age in which the son of Ḥantamah [26] treats us in this manner is certainly an evil age. ”

“ This specifying the father Affan, proves him to have been a Moslem. Abu Bakr�s father, �Kahafah,� and Omar�s �Al-Khattab,� are not mentioned by name in the Ceremonies of Visitation. [FN#16] The Christian reader must remember that the Moslems rank angelic nature, under certain conditions, below human nature. [FN#17] Osman married two daughters of the Prophet, a circumstance which the Sunnis quote as honourable to him: the Shi�ahs, on the contrary, declare that he killed them both by ill-treatment. ”

“ The story goes that 'Obeidallah offered 'Omar the government of Ar-Reiy on condition of bringing in Al-Hosein dead or alive. 'Omar wavered between duty to the grandson of the Prophet and the bribe. He yielded, and for mammon sold his soul. But all this, cum grano; for we find tradition now rising to fever heat. ”

“ Shaibân ibn-Farrûkh from as-Saffâḥ ash-Shaibâni:—ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb wanted to collect the poll-tax from the Christian tribe, banu-Taghlib; but they took to flight and some of them went to a distant land. An-Nuʿmân ibn-Zurʿah (or Zurʿah ibn-an-Nuʿmân) addressed ʿUmar saying: "I plead in Allah's name for the banu-Taghlib. They are a body of Arabs too proud to pay poll-tax, but severe in warfare. Let not thy enemy, therefore, be enriched by them to thy disadvantage." [1] Thereupon ʿUmar called them back and doubled the ṣadaḳah laid on them. ”

“ In another tradition transmitted by al-ʿAbbâs an-Narsi, Saʿd made the following petition, regarding the people of al-Kûfah: "O God, let no ruler be satisfied with them, and let them be never satisfied with a ruler!"
I was informed by al-ʿAbbâs an-Narsi that al-Mukhtâr ibn-abi-ʿUbaid, or someone else, said, "To love the people of al-Kufah is honor; and to hate them is destruction."
Al-Ḥasan ibn-ʿUthmân az-Ziyâdi from ash-Shaʿbi:—After the victory of al-Ḳâdisîyah, ʿAmr ibn-Maʿdikarib visited ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb and was asked by him about Saʿd and whether the people were satisfied with him. ”

“ Hearing this, al-Muḳauḳis said to his followers, "These people are telling the truth. They have chased our king from his kingdom as far as Constantinople. It is much more preferable, therefore, that we submit." His followers, however, spoke harshly to him and insisted on fighting. The Moslems fought fiercely against them and invested them for three months. At last, ʿAmr reduced the city [3] by the sword and plundered all that was in it, sparing its inhabitants of whom none was killed or taken captive. ”

“ When he [abu-Sufyân] got to Marr aẓ-Ẓahrân and saw the fires and the tents he said, "What is the matter with the people? They seem like the people celebrating the night of ʿArafah." Saying this, he was surrounded by the Prophet's horsemen, who took him prisoner; and he was brought before the Prophet. ʿUmar came and wanted to execute him, but al-ʿAbbâs prevented him and he [abu-Sufyân] embraced Islâm and presented himself before the Prophet. When the time for morning prayer came, the Moslems bestirred themselves for ablution before prayer. "What is the matter?" ”

“ Thus he took the fort by assault, and the Moslems considered it legal to take all that was in it. ʿAmr made its holders dhimmis, imposed a poll-tax on their person and kharâj on their land, and communicated that to ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb who endorsed it. Az-Zubair marked certain lots in Miṣr [Old Cairo] for himself [ikhtaṭṭa] and built a well-known mansion in which ʿAbdallâh ibn-az-Zubair resided when he invaded Ifrîḳiyah [5] in the company of ibn-abi-Sarḥ. The ladder which az-Zubair used is still in Miṣr. ”

“ So Omar governed in the first place, and reigned until he fell in battle against the sovereign of Wadaï. His successor, Abûl Kasim, also reigned seven years, and was killed in the same way. To him succeeded Tyrab, surnamed the Seeds of Syria, who hated war, and remained at home, occupied in the cares of government for thirty-three years. He loved boisterous amusements, and was [32] fond of dress. ”

“ In the year 23, ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb directed ʿAbdallâh ibn-Budail ibn-Warḳâʾ al-Khuzâʾi to Iṣbahân. Others assert that ʿUmar wrote to abu-Mûsa-l-Ashʿari ordering him to direct ʿAbdallâh at the head of an army to Iṣbahân, which abu-Mûsa did. ʿAbdallâh ibn-Budail conquered Jai, [2] which capitulated after a fight, agreeing to pay kharâj and poll-tax, provided the population be guaranteed the safety of their lives and all possessions with the exception of the arms in their hands. ”

“ The Prophet's special share. ʿAmr ibn-Muḥammad an-Nâḳid from Mâlik ibn-Aus ibn-al-Ḥadathân:—It was stated by 'Umar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb that the possessions of the banu-an-Naḍîr were assigned by Allah to the Prophet, the Moslems having not "pressed toward them with horse or camel." Thus they were wholly his property. The Prophet used to spend their annual income on his family and invest what was left in horses and arms to be used in the cause of Allah. ”

“ Al-Ḥusain ibn-al-Aswad from Shamir ibn-ʿAṭîyah:—ʿUmar said regarding the people of al-Kûfah, "They are the lance of Allah, the treasure of the faith, the cranium of the Arabs, who protect their own frontier forts and reinforce other Arabs."
Abu-Naṣr at-Tammâr from Salmân:—The latter said:—"Al-Kûfah is the dome of Islâm. There will be a time in which every believer will either be in it or will have his heart set upon it." ”

“ We have won for the people their right to speak in an Assembly of Notables, and we keep the ground to prevent their being cajoled or frightened out of it. In this we work not for ourselves but for our children and for those that trust us.... We soldiers are for the moment in the position of those Arabs who answered the Caliph Omar when, in old age, he asked the people whether they were satisfied with his rule, and whether he had walked straightly in the path of justice. "O son of El Khattab," said they, "thou hast indeed walked straightly and we love thee. ”

“ Then the King said, "In the name of God! and his blessing be with the prophet, upon whom the mercy and salutation of God!" and, placing his hand upon the back of the chaouch, he said, "Have a moment's patience; if I succeed you will be compensated!" He then did the same with the others, until he got upon Omar's back, to whom he also said, "O Omar, have a moment's patience with me, and I shall name you my private secretary. And, of all things do not move!" Then, placing his feet upon Omar's shoulders, the King could with his hands grasp the terrace, and crying, "In the name of God! ”