Episode 36: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab]
The Byzantine Dilemma in Jerusalem:
The Byzantine military commander, Theodore, decided to ask the Christian scholars of Jerusalem for advice.
These scholars were not Byzantine Romans and instead, they were orthodox Christians.
The scholars said: It is mentioned in our own scriptures that we will lose control of Jerusalem. It is better to surrender peacefully, rather than fight. It is better to lose it without bloodshed.
The scholars also stated: The scriptures also tell us who is the person that is going to take Jerusalem from us. It is a man, his name is Imr or Amr.
The scriptures were very old so they had lost knowledge on exactly how to pronounce the name.
Christians in Jerusalem Decide to Surrender:
The Christians in Jerusalem decided to surrender and sent a message to the Muslim commander, Amr ibn al-A’as.
Confusion Between Umar ibn al-Khattab and Amr ibn al-A’as:
They said: We are willing to surrender peacefully but our scripture mentions that the person that will conquer our city is a man named Imr or Amr. So when we surrender this city, we will give the keys to the city personally, only to this man.
Amr ibn al-A’as when he heard this, said: my name is Amr! Maybe it is me. The Christians replied: Send us a note that has your name written so we can compare it.
Amr did this and his name was pronounced Amr but it was spelt like Amro so it actually had four letters.
When he sent this note to the Byzantines, they said: No, this is not what we are looking for. The name we are looking for has three letters, not four, so it can’t be you.
Amr then realised that the man the Byzantines were looking for was Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The Christians asked Amr ibn al-A’as: What is the description of this man?
Amr explained Umar’s physical description and characteristics and the Christians replied: Yes, this is him! This is the one who has been mentioned in our scriptures. On his hand, Jerusalem will be taken from us.
The Byzantines Ready to Surrender Only to Umar ibn al-Khattab:
The Byzantines told Amr ibn al-A’as: we are ready to surrender, but we will only surrender personally to Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Amr ibn al-A’as was not sure what to do about this situation as Umar was in Madinah.
Consultation in Madinah:
Amr consulted with Abu Ubaydah, who said: Let’s just send a message to Umar in Madinah, and he can decide what to do.
They sent a message to Umar ibn al-Khattab regarding the Christians willing to surrender but only to him personally.
When Umar received this letter, he consulted his two most trusted advisors, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Uthman said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, do not leave Madinah. If you leave, it will be a danger for Madinah. If our enemies come to know that our leader is gone, they may try to attack us so stay here.
Ali ibn Abi Talib said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, go and take Jerusalem. This is also going to be an opportunity for you to see the situation of the Muslim armies of Sham. You haven’t seen them personally for two years.
Umar ibn al-Khattab Agrees with Ali ibn Abi Talib:
Umar ibn al-Khattab decided to take the advice of Ali ibn Abi Talib and he set off for Jerusalem and appointed Ali to take care of matters in Madinah whilst he was away.
Gathering at Al-Jabiyah:
Umar ibn al-Khattab decided to send a message to all of the armies telling them to convene together at a place called Al-Jabiyah.
Umar arrived first at Jabiyah, and the commanders of the Muslim armies started to arrive.
The first to arrive was Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, then Abu Ubaydah, then Khalid ibn al-Walid, and the rest of the military commanders arrived at Jabiyah.
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s Displeasure at the Commanders’ Appearance:
The Muslim commanders were wearing Byzantine armour and when Umar ibn al-Khattab saw this, he got angry and started throwing rocks at Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan and Abu Ubaydah.
Umar said: Just two years and you have become like this!
The Commanders’ Justification:
The Muslim commanders replied: O Amir al-Mu’minin, when people see us wearing this type of armour, they get more scared of us and they surrender very quickly, but when we were wearing the regular armour, they were not as scared of us and they wanted to fight.
Umar ibn al-Khattab agreed to this explanation and knew that this was something beneficial for the people in general.
Umar’s Leadership and Reassurance:
Umar ibn al-Khattab addressed all of the concerns that the Muslim armies had and made sure that everyone was okay.
Arrival of the Christian Delegation:
They saw a small army heading in their direction and the Muslims drew their weapons ready to fight them.
Umar ibn Al-Khattab quickly realised that this army was not coming to fight, rather they were coming in peace.
It was a Christian delegation from Jerusalem, who came to meet Umar at Al-Jabiyah to negotiate the surrender of Jerusalem to him.
The Treaty of Jerusalem:
They sat down with Umar ibn al-Khattab and discussed the terms of surrender.
Umar accepted these terms but stipulated certain conditions, granting the local orthodox Christians safety.
Umar ibn al-Khattab allowed them to worship in their churches without being harmed, but he ordered for the Byzantine Christians to leave Jerusalem.
Another condition was that no Jews were allowed to stay in Jerusalem as Umar ibn al-Khattab knew that if they were able to stay in Jerusalem, eventually they would plot to take over the city.
As for the orthodox Christians, they were ordered to pay the Jizyah and were under the protection of the Muslims.
Umar’s Humble Entry into Jerusalem:
Umar ibn al-Khattab headed to Jerusalem to receive the keys of the city from the Christian patriarch.
Even though he was one of, if not the most powerful man in the world, he was dressed very simply.
On their way to Jerusalem, Umar ibn al-Khattab and his servant would take it in turns to ride the camel. When he was about to enter the city, it became the servant’s turn to ride on the camel.
The servant felt it was not appropriate for Umar ibn al-Khattab to enter Jerusalem while he was sitting on the camel, so he said: I forfeit my turn. I will continue leading the camel. You sit on the camel, I don’t need my turn.
Umar ibn al-Khattab refused to do this and said: This is an order from Amir al-Mu’minin, Get on the camel!
Just as they were entering the city, there was some mud at the entrance and Umar took his shoes off.
Umar was now holding his shoes on one hand, and leading the camel with the servant on top of it, with the other hand.
This is how Umar ibn al-Khattab entered Jerusalem.
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s Disappointment with Abu Ubaydah’s Comments:
Abu Ubaydah, when he saw Umar about to enter Jerusalem in this way, said: if you enter the city like this and the Christians of Jerusalem see this, maybe it will be an embarrassment for you and the Muslims.
Umar was disappointed by this and said: If only someone else instead of you said this O Abu Ubaydah. I wouldn’t expect this type of statement from you. Maybe someone else, I can understand why they would say something like this. But I didn’t expect this from you.
Umar ibn al-Khattab continued: we are a people that Allah gave us honour and respect through Islam. So if we try to seek honour and respect through anything other than Islam, Allah will humiliate us. I don’t have to wear fancy clothes to impress people. Our honour comes from Allah and he has given us this honour through Islam.
Receiving the Keys to the City:
Umar ibn al-Khattab entered Jerusalem and the Christian scholars and the priests saw this man that they had been waiting for, who had been mentioned in their previous scriptures.
They were blown away by his simplicity and realised that this was a man whose heart contained nothing of this Dunya.
The Christians knew Umar was so powerful, yet he didn’t care about the luxuries of this life at all. They were impressed by this and said: Yes, this is the person. For the likes of this man, it is deserving for Jerusalem to be surrendered to someone like him.
The patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius invited Umar ibn al-Khattab to meet with him at the Church (holiest Church in the World), where Umar was given the keys to the city.
Umar’s Prayer:
When Umar ibn al-Khattab was talking to Sophronius, the time for Dhuhr came and Sophronius told Umar: you could pray in the Church.
Umar appreciated this but said: No, I don’t want to pray here because I don’t want it to happen later on for people to say Umar prayed here, so we have to make this place a Masjid. I don’t want them to tear down the Church and build a Masjid because I prayed here.
Umar ibn al-Khattab left the church and went to an open area of land not far away from it, and prayed there.
Later on, a Masjid was built exactly where he prayed and it is known as Masjid Umar ibn al-Khattab. This Mosque is still present today in Jerusalem.
Building of the Mosque and Dome of the Rock;
Umar ibn al-Khattab wanted to build a Masjid in Jerusalem and asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius: where is a good place where I can build a Masjid?
Sophronius replied: There is a good area where you can build it, near the rock where Allah spoke to Ya’qub.
Umar ibn al-Khattab realised that the rock that Sophronius was talking about was the same rock where the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ascended to the heavens.
Umar ibn al-Khattab went to the area where the rock was and saw that the area surrounding it consisted of a lot of rubble.
Umar and some of his companions cleared up some of the rubble and he built a small Masjid nearby. This was the Dome of the Rock but it is also referred to as the ‘Mosque of Umar’.
Adhan of Bilal:
When Umar ibn al-Khattab was ready to go back to Madinah, some of the companions said: O Amir al-Mu’minin, amongst us here is Bilal. Tell Bilal to give the Adhan. This is such a great occasion. Conquering Jerusalem is one of the greatest events in the history of Islam. Tell Bilal to call the Adhan.
Umar approached Bilal ibn Rabah but since the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he did not give any Adhan as he found it too difficult to do after the Prophet’s passing.
Umar ibn al-Khattab said: O Bilal. Call the Adhan. This is a great day and a great occasion!
Bilal ibn Rabah replied: I haven’t called the Adhan for anyone since Muhammad passed away, but if you order for me to do it, I will do it.
Umar ibn al-Khattab then said: Yes Bilal. Please do it!
After many years of not calling the Adhan, Bilal called the Adhan in Jerusalem, and his voice echoed around the city.
After hearing Bilal call the Adhan, it flooded the companions’ hearts with memories of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
All of the companions started to cry remembering the Prophet ﷺ and their beards became drenched and soaked, from to the amount they cried.
Umar ibn al-Khattab cried so much that other companions had to approach him to console him.
Bilal’s Honour:
Bilal ibn Rabah had the honour of calling the Adhan for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in Madinah.
When Makkah was conquered, Bilal called the Adhan and now that Jerusalem was conquered, he had the honour of calling the Adhan in Jerusalem.