Episode 3: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
Love of the Prophet:
After Amr ibn al-A’as successfully led an expedition and came back to Madinah to inform the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about this great victory, the Prophet was very happy.
Amr ibn al-A’as saw the happiness of the Prophet and thought that this meant that he was the most beloved person to him.
Amr ibn al-A’as asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: who is the most beloved of the people to you? The Prophet replied: Aisha.
Amr then asked: what about from the men? The Prophet ﷺ replied: Abuha, which meant the father of Aisha, Abu Bakr.
Amr ibn al-A’as again asked: who is the next one after Abu Bakr? The Prophet ﷺ replied: Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Amr continued to keep asking, waiting to hear his name but eventually, he stopped asking out of fear that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would not mention his name.
Ali’s Response to the Questions Asked by his Son:
Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyya (the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib) asked his father: O my father, who is the best of Mankind after the Prophet? Ali replied: Abu Bakr.
Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyya asked his father: After Abu Bakr, who is next? Ali replied: Umar.
Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyya then said that after he heard Umar’s name, he was afraid that his father would say Uthman, so he asked Ali: after Umar then you?
Ali ibn Abi Talib replied: I am just a normal person from the Muslims.
The Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar Resurrected Together:
Abdullah ibn Umar said that one day the Prophet went out to the city with Abu Bakr and Umar. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: This is the way we are going to be resurrected, just like the three of us are together, we will be resurrected together as well.
Ali ibn Abi Talib’s Testimony About Umar ibn al-Khattab:
Ali ibn Abi Talib addressed his people and said: Shall I tell you who is the best of this Ummah after the Prophet? Ali then answered his own question and said: Abu Bakr.
Ali said: Shall I tell you who is the best of this Ummah after Abu Bakr? Once again, he answered his own question and said: Umar.
Umar ibn al-Khattab Marries Ali’s Daughter:
Ali ibn Abi Talib had a daughter named Umm Kulthum and during his Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab married Umm Kulthum.
Humility of Umar Towards Abu Bakr:
One day, during his Caliph, Umar saw an old man and was generous to him by giving him some wealth.
The old man was happy with the way Umar treated him and said: I have never known anyone after the Messenger of Allah who is so devoted to the religion and so generous to the people.
When Umar ibn al-Khattab heard this, he lightly hit this man on his back with a whip and asked: what about Abu Bakr? The old man replied: Wallahi, I never met Abu Bakr and I never interacted with him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab replied: if that’s the case I will leave this, but if you had known Abu Bakr and you still made this statement, I would have hit you more severely with this whip.
Glad Tidings of Jannah:
Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari mentioned that one morning, he decided to spend the whole day accompanying the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and he made this intention and went to the Mosque to look him.
However, Abu Musa did not find the Prophet and asked the people: Have you seen Rasoolullah? The people told him that the Prophet ﷺ had left a while ago and pointed towards the direction that he went.
Abu Musa followed the direction and eventually, he found the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in a garden near Masjid Quba.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sitting on the wall of a well with his legs dangling down in the well. Abu Musa then said to himself: Today, I will be the gatekeeper (security) of the Prophet Muhammad.
After some time, Abu Bakr came and Abu Musa said to him: before you enter, wait. I will ask the Prophet if you can come in.
Abu Musa went to the Prophet and told him: Abu Bakr wants permission to enter. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: give him permission to enter and give him glad tidings of Jannah.
Abu Musa went back and informed Abu Bakr about this, who then entered and sat next to the Prophet on the well.
Abu Musa went back to the gate and continued his duty as the Prophet’s gatekeeper. When he heard that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had given Abu Bakr glad tidings of Jannah, he hoped that his brother would get the same glad tidings that Abu Bakr got.
The next person who came to the garden was Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Musa went to the Prophet and said: Umar is here and he is asking for permission to enter.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: Give him permission to enter and give him glad tidings of Jannah.
Umar ibn al-Khattab then entered the garden and sat alongside Abu Bakr and the Prophet.
The next person to come in was Uthman ibn Affan and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave Abu Musa the same instructions but when he gave Uthman glad tidings of Jannah, the Prophet said: a big trial will come to him and he will face difficulties and problems, but he will have Jannah.
More Glad Tidings of Jannah:
Jabir ibn Abdullah mentioned: we were sitting in a gathering with the Messenger of Allah for a meal that a woman from the Ansar had prepared. While we were sitting in this gathering, the Messenger of Allah said: A person is going to enter. The next person to enter is a man from the people of Jannah. The Prophet received this revelation but did not know who was going to enter. The person who entered was Abu Bakr and the companions went to him and congratulated him. After some time, the Prophet said the same statement again and the next person who entered was Umar. When he entered, the companions congratulated him for being from the people of Jannah. The Messenger of Allah then said it a third time, but on this occassion the Prophet put his head into his upper garment and started making Dua: Ya Allah, please make it Ali. The next person to enter was Ali ibn Abi Talib and the companions congratulated him for being one of the companions promised Jannah.
Qualities of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Bakr:
Anas ibn Malik mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: the most Merciful towards my Ummah from my Ummah is Abu Bakr. The one who is the most severe (strict) with regards to the religion of Allah is Umar.
Dream of the Prophet:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ mentioned a dream that he had to his companions.
The Prophet explained that he was in Jannah where he saw a woman making wudhu next to a beautiful palace, and he asked: who does this palace belong to? The answer was: this palace belongs to Umar ibn al-Khattab.
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ heard that the palace was for Umar, he remembered the gheerah of Umar (protective jealousy he had over his woman).
Because of this, the Prophet ﷺ said that he turned away when he saw the woman.
Umar ibn al-Khattab, when hearing this dream of the Prophet, started to cry and he said: Ya Rasoolullah, can I have this type of gheerah regarding you? Yes, if it is any other man, and he is looking in the direction where one of my women is, yes I will have gheerah, but for you ya Rasoolullah, how can I have gheerah regarding you?
Umar ibn al-Khattab – Martyr:
Umar was also given the glad tidings that he would die as a Shahid (martyr).
Once the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were on the mountain of Uhud.
The mountain started to shake and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ addressed the mountain and said: Remain firm ya Uhud. Surely upon you there is a Prophet, a Siddique (truthful one, Abu Bakr) and two martyrs. (Umar and Uthman)
Another Dream of the Prophet:
Abu Umamah al Bahili mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told him about a dream that he had and in this dream, the Prophet entered Jannah and heard some sounds in Jannah.
The Prophet asked: where is this sound coming from? It was then mentioned to him that this sound was coming from Bilal.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued moving and he saw that most of the people in Jannah were the poor Muslims and the children of Muslims, who died before the age of puberty.
The Prophet ﷺ said: the fewest people I saw were the rich people and the woman.
It was said to the Prophet regarding this: As for the rich people, they are going to enter Jannah, but they are delayed because they have to answer for all of their wealth.
Regarding the women, it was said to the Prophet that the women were distracted by the two red things. The two red things were gold and silk.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued and said: after this, we exited Jannah from one of the eight gates. When I was at the gate, a scale was brought to me.
The Prophet ﷺ said he was put on one side and the rest of his Ummah on the other side.
The side (Iman) of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was heavier and greater than the whole of his Ummah combined.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued: Abu Bakr was then brought forward and he was placed on one side of the scale and the rest of the Ummah was placed on the other side. The side (Iman) of Abu Bakr was heavier than the side of the rest of the Ummah (not including the Prophet ﷺ).
The Prophet ﷺ Muhammad then said: Umar was brought forward and he was placed on the scale and the side (Iman) of Umar was heavier than the rest of the Ummah (excluding Abu Bakr and the Prophet).
The Prophet Muhammad’s Praise of Umar:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said praising Umar ibn Al-Khattab by saying: Surely Allah has placed the truth on the tongue of Umar and the heart of Umar.
Umar’s Authority, Fearlessness and Shaytan’s Fear of Him:
Umar ibn al-Khattab was so strict regarding the religion of Islam that people were afraid of him.
Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas narrated that some of the women from the Quraysh would be talking to the Prophet and their voices were loud. Then, Umar ibn al-Khattab would come and ask for permission to enter.
When these women heard his voice, they got scared and would start fixing their hijabs.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would give Umar ibn al-Khattab permission to enter and he would start to laugh.
Umar would ask: ya Rasoolullah, why are you laughing? The Prophet ﷺ replied: I am amazed by what these women did. They were sitting and talking and when they heard your voice, then suddenly they got scared and started to fix their hijabs.
Umar replied: they were scared of me and not you? You have more right that they should be scared in your presence than my presence.
Umar ibn al-Khattab addressed the women and said: you have fear of me and not Rasoolullah? You are enemies to your own selves.
The women replied: we are scared of you and not scared of the Prophet because you are rough and tough, but the Prophet is very soft and gentle.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to Umar: O son of Al-Khattab, I swear by the One in Whose hand my life is in, that the Shaytan never saw you taking one path, except that he took a path other than your path.
The meaning of this was that when Shaytan saw him walking one way, he would make sure he went another way, out of the fear he had of Umar ibn al-Khattab.