ʾUmar ibn al-Khattāb
ʾUmar ibn al-Khattāb (d. 644 (AH 23)). Second caliph (khalīfa) and main architect of the Arab Islamic empire. Originally he was an enemy of Islam, but had a sudden conversion four years before the hijra. In Madīna, ʾUmar's energy of will, piety, wisdom, and organizing ability made him second to the Prophet Muḥammad in authority and prestige. The Prophet nicknamed him faruq, ‘distinguisher’ (between truth and falsehood). As second caliph (khalīfa) he organized the Islamic conquests and the administration of the empire. Traditions reveal, however, that he was feared rather than loved, and at the height of his power he was assassinated at Madīna.
It was during ʾUmar's caliphate that Muslim religious and political institutions arose which were to be the model for future generations. Among these were: the dīwān (‘stipend register’), a form of welfare state by which annual stipends were paid to all Muslims from the public treasury; regulations for non-Muslim subjects (dhimmi); military garrisons which later became the great cities of Islam, e.g. Kūfā and Fustat; the office of qāḍi (judge); religious ordinances such as obligatory nightly prayers in the month of Ramaḍān; civil and penal codes; the hijra calendar; and the standardization of the text of the Qurʾān.
Orthodox Sunni sources praise ʾUmar for piety, justice, and make him a model for all the virtues of Islam. In contrast, Shīʿa sources retain an animus against the man who blocked the claims of ʿAlī.
It was during ʾUmar's caliphate that Muslim religious and political institutions arose which were to be the model for future generations. Among these were: the dīwān (‘stipend register’), a form of welfare state by which annual stipends were paid to all Muslims from the public treasury; regulations for non-Muslim subjects (dhimmi); military garrisons which later became the great cities of Islam, e.g. Kūfā and Fustat; the office of qāḍi (judge); religious ordinances such as obligatory nightly prayers in the month of Ramaḍān; civil and penal codes; the hijra calendar; and the standardization of the text of the Qurʾān.
Orthodox Sunni sources praise ʾUmar for piety, justice, and make him a model for all the virtues of Islam. In contrast, Shīʿa sources retain an animus against the man who blocked the claims of ʿAlī.
Omar
Omar (active c.581–644) ( Umar) Second Caliph, or ruler, of Islam. He was converted to Islam in 618, and became a counsellor of Muhammad. In 632, he chose the first caliph, Abu Bakr, and succeeded him in 634. Under his rule, Islam spread by conquest into Syria, Egypt, and Iran, and the foundations of an administrative empire were laid.
More From encyclopedia.com
Pan-islamism , Pan-Islam
Pan-Islam is the ideology that calls for the unity and cooperation of Muslims worldwide on the basis of their shared Islamic identity. Apar… Islam , Islam
The religion that God set forth for Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and muḤammad proclaimed by the latter in Arabia in the 7th century, which enjoys the… Caliphate , CALIPHATE . The office of "successor" to the prophet Muḥammad as the leader of the Muslim community is a uniquely Islamic institution. Hence the angl… Expansion , The expansion of Islam historically embraces two phenomena. The first is the expansion of Islamic states—that is, states whose ruling elite consisted… Muhammad Abduh , ʿAbduh, Muḥammad
ʿABDUH, MUḤAMMAD (ah 1266–1322/1849–1905 ce), Egyptian intellectual regarded as the architect of Islamic modernism and one of the mo… Dar Al-islam , The term dar al-islam, which literally means "the house or abode of Islam," came to signify Islamic territory in juridical discussions. For the major…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Umar