Umar bin Khattab

Umar bin Khattab Al-Adawi Al-Qurasyi, was tall, strong and respected. At first he strongly opposed Islam, until one day he intended to kill the Prophet ﷺ. On the road he heard his younger brother reciting surah Thaha; his heart was melted by the greatness of the Koran and he converted to Islam in the sixth year of the prophethood.

With the entry of Umar, Muslims dared to pray openly around the Kaaba for the first time. The Prophet ﷺ once prayed, "O Allah, glorify Islam with one of the two Umars," and Allah granted it through Umar bin Khattab. He was nicknamed Al-Faruq - the difference between truth and falsehood.

Several times Umar's views were then strengthened by the revelation of verses - about the maqam of Ibrahim as a place of prayer, the hijab for the Prophet's wives, and the attitude towards the Badr prisoners. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Indeed in the people before you there were people who were inspired; if there is one in my people, it is Umar."

As the second caliph, Umar expanded Islam to Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Persia, but continued to live simply in patched clothes. He upheld justice indiscriminately, laid the foundations of state administration, and said, "If a donkey slipped in Iraq, I'm afraid Allah would ask me why I didn't clear the way for him."

Umar pioneered the Hijri calendar, formed a diwan (salary administration), established a baitul mal, appointed a qadhi, organized troops and garrison cities such as Kufah and Basrah, and revived congregational tarawih prayers. His ijtihads became a reference for state jurisprudence.

Umar was stabbed by Abu Lu'lu'ah, a Magi, while leading the Fajr prayers, then died as a martyr in 23 AH and was buried next to the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr. The Prophet ﷺ once dreamed of seeing Umar's palace in heaven. He is an example of justice and firmness combined with gentleness.