Episode 6: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
The Prophet’s Dream About Umar and Knowledge:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ narrated a dream that he had, where he was drinking milk and drank to his satisfaction and contentment until the milk was actually flowing through his nails.
Then, whatever was left over, he gave it to Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The companions asked: what is your interpretation of this dream, O Messenger of Allah?
The Prophet replied: this dream is about knowledge and this was the knowledge that Allah bestowed on me and the remainder of the milk is interpreted as Umar also having knowledge.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: In previous nations, there were certain people who (even though they were not Prophets) received inspiration from Allah SWT for them to be on the right path. If there is anyone that has that type of status from my Ummah (inspiration that guides him to do the right thing), it is Umar.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also said: If there were to be a Prophet after me, it would be Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The Prophet’s Dream about Umar’s Piety:
The Prophet ﷺ said regarding one of his dreams: When I was sleeping, I had a dream that the people were presented to me and they were wearing shirts. Some of them had shirts that barely went up to the top of their chest, and some of them had even less than that.
When Umar ibn al-Khtattab was in that dream, the shirt was so long that it covered his whole body and went past his feet to the point where he had to drag it on the ground.
The companions asked: what is your interpretation of your dream? The Prophet ﷺ replied: This is regarding the attachment to the Deen.
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s shirt was so long which demonstrated that his devotion to the Deen was very strong.
Physical Description and Abilities of Umar:
Umar ibn al-Khattab was very tall and from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, there were two who were known to be this tall. They were Umar and Khalid ibn al-Walid, who would both stand out in a crowd.
It was said that if Umar was seen in a crowd of people, it would not look like he was standing up and it would be as if he was sitting on a horse.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was also bold and he could use both his right hand and left hand with proficiency.
Marriages and Children:
Marriage to Zaynab bint Maz’un:
Umar ibn al-Khattab during his lifetime had many wives.
The first wife he married was Zaynab bint Maz’un and they had three children: Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdur-Rahman ibn Umar and Hafsa bint Umar.
Marriage to Atiqa bint Zayd:
Umar ibn al-Khattab was also married to Atiqa bint Zayd, the daughter of his uncle Zayd ibn Amr and they had one son, Iyaad ibn Umar
Marriage to Umm Hakim:
Umar married Umm Hakim and they had a daughter named Fatima bint Umar.
Marriage to Umm Kulthum:
Umar ibn al-Khattab also married Umm Kulthum bint Ali, the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, during his Khalifah.
He asked Ali ibn Abi Talib for her hand in marriage and Ali happily gave his daughter to Umar.
Umar ibn al-Khattab later said: I wanted to marry Umm Kulthum bint Ali to increase my family connection to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Marriage to Jamila bint Thabit:
Umar married Jamila bint Thabit, the sister of Asim ibn Thabit and they had a son named Asim ibn Umar.
Umar’s Sense of Justice and Piety:
One night when he was patrolling the city, Umar ibn al-Khattab came across a house where he could hear a woman and her daughter inside the house. They were very poor and he heard the mother talking to the daughter.
The mother said: Add water to the milk so the quantity will become more. The daughter asked: how can we do this, this is illegal.
The mother responded: just do it, Amir al-Mu’minin (Umar) doesn’t see what we are doing.
The daughter replied: O my mother, yes Umar does not see us but the Lord of the Amir al-Mu’minin can see us so we can’t do it.
Umar ibn al-Khattab heard this whole conversation and he said to his servant (Aslam): Ya Aslam, put a marker at this house (so he would know where to come back)
The next morning, Umar ibn al-Khattab returned with his sons and asked: who of you is going to marry this girl? Asim ibn Umar replied: I will marry her.
Asim ibn Umar and this woman eventually got married and they had a daughter named Layla.
When Layla became older, she married Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan.
Umar ibn al-Khattab’s Great Grandson:
Layla and Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan had a son, named Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz shared many similarities with his great grandfather, Umar ibn al-Khattab.
They both had no concern for the Dunya and were very serious in terms of their attachment to Islam.