Hazrat Umar as the Second Caliph

 Appointment/Election

 Expansion of the Islamic Empire

 Wars Against the Persian Empire
 The Battle of Namarruq
 The Battle of Jasr
 The Battle of Buwayb
 The Battle of Al-Qadsiyya
 Fall of Madain
 The Battle of Jalula
 The Battle of Nihawand
 Wars Against the Byzantine Empire
 The Fall of Damascus
 The Battle of Fihl
 The Battle of Yarmuk
 The Conquest of Jerusalem
 The Conquest of Egypt
 The Fall of Alexandria
 Administration
 Martyrdom

Appointment:
On his deathbed, Hazrat Abu Bakr consulted the Shura as to whom the next
Caliphate should be
Having seen Hazrat Umar’s intelligence, fairness (which earned him the title Al-
Farooq), and perseverance), he was very eager to appoint him as the next
Caliph
However, some companions, having seen his strict and authoritarian nature,
were hesitant to take him as the next Caliph
Abu Bakr was able to quell their fears by suggesting that Umar’s strictness was
only to compensate for his softness and that upon being appointed Caliph, the
title would humble him.
Thus, after Abu Bakr’s death, Hazrat Umar was appointed the second Caliph
and given the title of “Successor of the Messenger of Allah”. Later, he was also
called “Amir-ul-Momenain” (commander of the faithful)
This turned out to be the right decision, for the way Hazrat Umar balanced
conquests and administration led to his era being known as “The Golden
Times”
His first speech the Ummah at Masjid-e-Nawbwi involved praise of Abu Bakr
and submission to Allah
Expansion of the Islamic Empire:
During Abu Bakr’s reign, Iraq and Syria, the southern areas of the Persian and
Byzantine Empires respectively, had been annexed
In order to reinforce these territories, Hazrat Umar attempted to expand
further into these empires
Wars against the Persian Empire:
Reasons for Enmity:
 Long-time enmity due to the tearing of the letter by the King
 They blocked trade between Euphrates and Tigris
 A Persian superpower was a threat to Muslim existence
 They instigated trouble in surrounding areas
Build-up:
 When Khalid bin Walid was ordered to leave Iraq for Syria, the Persian
army took advantage of his absence to attack
 However, this attack was countered by Musanna
 Since news of a second, more heavy assault, was rumored, Musanna
returned to Madinah for advice
 While Abu Bakr passed away shortly after he reached, he did urge Hazrat
Umar to help Musanna on his deathbed
 This was done by making war-time alliances with those chiefs who came
to pledge loyalty to the new Caliph
 Abu Ubaidah Saqifi, head of the Banu Saqif, was given command of the
expedition to Iraq
 In the meantime, the Persians recaptured most of Iraq
The Battle of Namarruq:
Reason:
 The Persians wanted to regain the Hira, which had been captured by
Khalid bin Walid in 635 AD
 In this battle, Abu Ubaidah, who was sent to reinforce Musanna, was
leading the Muslim army against the Persian commander, Rostam
 During this battle, Jaban, Rostam’s right hand man, was captured but
then released
 The Persians were heavily defeated, even after they gained
reinforcements which resulted in many nobles of this district pledging
loyalty before Abu Ubaidah
The Battle of Jasr/Bridge:
 In order to gain revenge, the Persian army amassed an army of 4000
under the command of Bahman
 Bahman was given the Durfash-i-Kawayani, a scared Irani flag only used
on special occasions
 The two armies met on the banks of the Euphrates
 He decided to go against the suggestions he’d received and advance by
building a bridge of boats despite the dissent of his fellow leaders
 However, the ground was uneven, which reduced their mobility
 This was further reduced by the fact that the Persians were using war
elephants, which startled the Arab horses, who had never seen such
giant animals before
 Due to this, the Muslim army was ordered to dismount them
 The white elephant in the lead of the Persian army was particularly
tyrannous, due to which Abu Ubaidah took it upon himself to cut its
trunk off
 However, he was trampled the next moment, due to which the Muslim
army tried to flee
 While fleeing, they found that the bridge of boats had been cut by a man
from Banu Thaqif.
 Thus, Musanna ordered the rebuilding of the bridge, in the meantime
holding back the Persian army
 This was a heavy defeat for the Muslims – only 3000 of their 9000
soldiers survived
The Battle of Buwayb:
 Musanna received reinforcements after the defeat – Hazrat Umar sent
some troops and his tribe sent fresh cavalry
 There were quite a few Christian soldiers, too
 Mehran, whose force of 12,000 was much larger, and Musanna met at
the same place – on the banks of the River Euphrates
 Musanna, commanding from his sickbed, where he died before the
Battle of Al-Qadsiyya refused to cross, due to which the Persian army
crossed on a bridge of boats this time
 When Mehran was killed, the Persian army attempted to retreat but
found that the bridge had been cut
 Thus, half of their force was killed or drowned
The Battle of Al-Qadissiya:
 Following the Battle of Buwayb, riots erupted in the Persian Empire,
which resulted in Yazgard replacing the previous Queen
 He was extremely eager to recapture the lost areas, due to which he
amassed a large army of 120,000
 Upon hearing this, Hazrat Umar himself collected an army of 30,000
 He was going to lead it but the Shura decided against it, due to which
command was handed to Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas. He still marched at the
head of the army for 3 miles, however.
 After Musanna died, his brother joined Saad with his army of 8,000 men
 Then, they camped at Qadsiya, and on the orders of Umar, sent a
delegation for peace
 First, the Persians tried to bribe it, but when that was unsuccessful, they
insulted them by throwing a basket of sand over the head of the envoy
 For the next three months, there was a standstill, broken only by small
skirmishes on the borders, with Sa’ad commanding from his sickbed
 Eventually, Rostam got impatient and blocked the channel overnight,
crossing the next day with his massive army aided by elephant corps
 The Muslim tactics were very successful in overcoming these attacks – in
order to take care of the elephants, the lead two elephant’s eyes were
pierced with spears and trunks were cut
 Due to this, they, in a frenzy, along with the following elephants
retreated back to the river
  Eventually, Rostam himself joined the battlefield, but was killed
following which his army was defeated.
 This was a substantial victory that gained lots of spoils of war and
defeated the Persian strength – 80,000 of their soldiers perished while
the Muslims only lost 7000 of their men
 Thus, the whole of Iraq was defeated after the remaining populace
agreed to pay Jizya
 As promised, the bangles of the Persian emperor were given to Suraqa
bin Malik after the booty was collected
Fall of Madain:
 After the victory in Al-Qadsiyya, Sa’ad marched to Madain, the capital of
Iran, which was only 40 miles away
 King Yazgard resided there in the White Palace, which was found across
the River Tigris
 When the Muslims reached the White Palace, the Persian soldiers
destroyed the bridge across the river
 However, Sa’ad, with the help of Allah, rode his horse into the river
anyways. This frightened the Persians and Yazgard so much that they run
off, screaming that the giants had come
 After sacking the palace, they entered the city, which surrendered and
gave Jizya immediately
 This, along with the countless precious stones taken as booty, entered
Muslim hands
Battle of Jalula:
 After fleeing the White Palace, Yazgard camped at Jalula, where he
gathered his army
 From here there were several routes to Iraq, Khurasan, and Azerbaijan
 Hashim ibn Uthba took command of 30,000 men and marched to Jalula
 In order to defend themselves, the Persian dug trenches
 At Jalula, they laid a 7 months siege to the city, following which the
inhabitants surrendered and paid Jizya and signed a peace treaty, which
did not last for long
 Now, the whole of Iraq was under Muslim control
The Battle of Nihawand:
 In the months before this battle, Muslims took control of Khuzestan
after an 18 months siege which ended in Hurmazan travelling the Umar
and accepting Islam
 Following this, Yazgard was trying to regain his territory and thus
amassed a giant army of 150,000 men, which outnumbered the
Muslims, who were led by Noman bin Maqrna, 3:1
 For the first 2 days, there was no clear advantage.
 On the third day, the Persians fortified themselves.
 In order to lure them out, the Muslims pretended to retreat, luring the
enemy out, and then killing them while they tried to retreat but were
blocked by their own fortifications
 In this way, 30,000 Persians were killed. Soon after, they took flight,
leaving behind a huge booty
 This victory was known as Fatwah-e-Fatwah (the victory of victories)
 After this, many Persian states – Isfahan, Khurasan, Rayy, and Fars – fell
in quick succession by the next year (642 AD)
Wars against the Byzantine Empire:
 The Byzantine Empire was extremely vast – it included Syria, Egypt,
Jerusalem, Jordan, and Palestine
 Reasons for Enmity:
 Protecting the safety of Islamic boundaries – they used to instigate
kinsmen to attack
 They killed the Muslim letter carrier
 The tribes on the borders would often raid the Islamic empire
The fall of Damascus:
 During Abu Bakr’s reign, a siege was placed on Damascus, but it was
lifted due to his death.
 The siege continued, with the Byzantines stalling in hope of aid from
Syria or the toughness of winter
 One night, Khalid bin Walid noticed a disturbance inside the city
 It turned out to be due to the birth of the son of the governor
 Taking advantage of it, he scaled the gate and opened it, invading from
one side
  The Persians hastily opened the other gate and asked Abu Ubaidah, who
knew nothing of the scheme, to ask him for peace
 He agreed on easy terms and stuck to them even after he learned of
Khalid’s play
The Battle of Fihl:
 Next, Fihl was captured, during which the inhabitants tried to impress
the Muslim army with their wealth unsuccessfully, after which they
attacked in small groups
 They were defeated by luring the whole army out by pretending to
retreat
 Jordan was captured in the same year
 Homs, too, was captured after a brief siege in which the people, without
an army, waited for reinforcement, then surrendered
 Upon the Muslim army’s kindness, most of them converted
The Battle of Yarmuk:
 In order to regain their lost territories, the Byzantines amassed a large
army of 240,000 men while the Muslims had just 36,000
 Upon hearing about this, Abu Ubaidah gathered all the armies along the
Rivery Yarmuk under Khalid bin Walid
 Then, negotiations began to occur
 The Byzantines attempted to bribe the Muslims into leaving
 The Muslims declined, presenting them the three options for peace
 Thus, for the next 6 days, fighting ensued
 Khalid bin Walid’s usual military power was of great advantage – he
divided the army into regiments, which were divided to guard certain
areas and each given a leader
 Then, he forced the Romans from their fortifications with a rainfall of
arrows
 Lastly, the full brunt of the Muslim army was directed on the Roman
infantry
 In the end, the Byzantine army was forced to retreat, where they ran
into a river, causing as many as 120,000 of them to drown
 On the other hand, Muslims also lost 3000 lives
The Conquest of Jerusalem:
 In Syria, Muslims had conquered every territory except Jerusalem, which
Amr bin al-Aas had laid a siege on for quite some time
 After the Battle of Yarmuk, all focus was directed there
 Khalid bin Walid decided not to take control of the army despite the
difficult winter conditions as he wanted to break the superstition that
only he could lead them to victory
 Eventually, the citizens were convinced that resistance was futile
 However, they decided to surrender on their own terms – the Caliph was
to come to negotiate
 Hazrat Umar departed from Madinah with only a slave and a camel,
which they shared
 When they arrived in Jerusalem, it was Umar’s turn on foot. He was
greatly angered when he saw the commanders in silken roes
 This humility greatly impressed the Patriarch of Jerusalem
 A treaty was decided in which the people of Jerusalem were given safety
of life, religion, and property
 Hazrat Umar was also handed the keys of Jerusalem and invited to pray
in a church, which he refused to do as it would result in the conversion
of churches to mosques, which would be disadvantageous for the
Christians
 A Masjid was instead built in Jerusalem, which Hazrat Umar himself
helped build
Hazrat Umar’s exemplary behavior:
 Tolerance – he let their churches stay
 Humility – he came only with a slave and a camel, not as a conqueror
 Simplicity – he came with only a camel and scolded those in silken robes
 Equality – him and the slave took equal turns on the camel

 The Conquest of Egypt:

 Amr bin Al A’as was very keen to conquer Egypt due to the strategic and
financial importance of the area
 There was a danger that the Byzantine government could support
rebellion with the help of the Egyptians and it was also an extremely
profitable area
  While Hazrat Umar was initially unwilling to invade it as it posed no
immediate threat, he was eventually swayed, partially due to the victory
of a long siege of Caesarea
 Thus, Hazrat Amr invaded with 4000
 The first clash was won by Muslims after a month
 After this, he marched to the well-defended fort on the base of the Nile,
where the commander of the imperial forces was shut
 Since he could make no headway, he requested reinforcements – 10,000
men were sent under the leadership of Zubair, who took control of the
army and eventually won by scaling the walls and opening the gates
after 7 months
 Later, a city was founded there and names Fustat
The fall of Alexandria:
 Hearing about the fall of the Fort at Fustat, the emperor was furious and
sent his army to Alexandria, a well-defended port city
 A siege was laid on it for 7 months, which was won after a harshly-
worded letter from the Caliph spurred the troops into action
 After this, Egypt was fully under the sway of Islam
Administration:
Democracy:
 Since the time of the Holy Prophet, common men were consulted in the
making of decisions, due to which everyone had a say in the
government.
 This practice continued in Abu Bakr’s reign
 This practice was made official in Hazrat Umar’s reign, when “Shuras”
were established, which had a say in political matters during sessions on
special occasions.
 There were two Shuras:
 Majlis-e-Shura, which included prominent companions, and
 Majlis-e-Aam, consisting of representatives of various tribes and many
Muhajirin and Ansar.
Complaints Department:
 The common people were directly involved with the government via the
complaints department, via which they could express their grievances to
the Caliph, who would conduct investigations into them
 At Hajj, these complaints would be looked over, and any guilty
administrator would be sacked
Provincial Divisions:
 The Muslim empire was divided into a number of provinces, each which
was divided into districts
 Each province had a Waali – the commander in chief of the army
(usually) and the political and religious leader
 These governors were not appointed nilly-willy: they had several
criterion to full and duties and instructions to adhere to
I want a man who, when he is among men, should look like a chief “ 
although he is not a chief; and when he is a chief, he should look as if he
”is one of them
He must be accessible and humble 
 There were many checks to make sure they were not corrupt
 A few other officers were appointed to be in charge of the Departments
of each province, which shall be discussed later. These officers are:
 Each district had an Aamil in charge of it
Judiciary:
 New laws were made in accordance to the Sunnah and Hadith
 The judiciary was made separate from the executive section of the
government and its functions were placed in the hands of Qazis
 In order to make sure that it was truly independent, fair, and efficient:
 Qazis were only chosen if they had good integrity and knowledge of
Islamic law
 They were not allowed to trade
 They were given high salaries so bribes were unnecessary
 They were appointed in sufficient numbers
Departments:
Department of Police and Jails
 This department was responsible for the safety and order of cities
  Guards were appointed to patrol cities at night
 Jails were established
 Department of Education:
 Qualified teachers were appointed, who, for the first time, had their
salaries fixed and paid for by the Bait-ul-Maal
 Knowledge of the Holy Quran was made compulsory for all Bedouin
tribes
 While being taught, they were also given knowledge about language and
literature
 Formal education in Masajid was arranged
Department of Finance and Bait-ul-Maal:
 The department of Finance (Dewand) was responsible for the regulation,
receipt, and disbursement of the revenue the government earned from
taxes such as Jizya, Zakat, spoils of war (Kharaj), and income from
conquered lands (Fay)
 Fay was set up officially for the first time in the area of Iraq by declaring
it conquered property and establishing the taxes to be collected from it
in accordance to how productive the area was
 Other taxes, such as a land tax, was also introduced
 Due to the expansion of the Islamic empire and the larger amount of
state expenditure, it was no longer feasible to immediately distribute
the taxes received as done before
 Instead, it was first collected in the Bait-ul-Maal, a huge building in
Madinah
 Bait-ul-Maals were constructed in other provinces, too
 First, all government officials were paid and some was saved
 The rest was distributed amongst the people according to their relations
to prophet, conversion to Islam, and military service
 Thus, all citizens had some share in the Bait-ul-Maal
 Currency coins with arabic letters were issued
 Freedom and Well-being of the People:
 Steps were taken to abolish slavery – it was declared that no one living
in Arabia could be made a slave any more
 Non-Muslims who paid Jizya were called Zimmis
 They were given special rights – as long as they paid Jizya or took part in
military service, they were to be safeguarded and their rights protected
 Poor Zimmis were exempted from Jizya
  They could input their suggestions in politics
 They could not be forced to convert
 During the days of famine:
 He took steps to get food supplies
 After the famine ended, he personally looked over the rehabilitation of
displaced people
During the Great Plague
 He himself visited affected areas
 He ordered troops to spread out, bringing the epidemic under control
 He personally visited Syria to settle the problems created by the plague
 Care of Farmers:
 It was enshrined in the law that an area could not be conquered till
farmers were allowed to retain their possessions
 Personal Care of the Needy:
 He would roam the streets at night with food and money
 He’d run errands for widows and poor women
 Organization:
 Islamic Calendar:
 There were a few events which caused them to feel the need for a
standardized Islamic calendar
 The governor of Basra wrote to the Caliph saying that it was difficult to
know which instructions of the dateless letters to follow first
 Money was received from Yemen but it was unknown as to which month
it was for
 Thus, they convened an assembly, in which Hazrat Ali suggested that the
calendar should be started from the time the Prophet migrated from
Makkah to Madinah
 Erection of New Mosques and Cities
 During his time, any Masjids were built in conquered territories
 In smaller towns in Iraq and Syria, there was to be one Masjid per town
 As many as 4,000 Masajid were constructed
 New cities were established, such as those of Kufah and Basrah
 Military Reforms:
 Earlier, there was no official army, with instead troops being recruited
and disbanded when they were needed, being paid only with the spoils
of war
 In Hazrat Umar’s time, those recruited were obligated to fight whenever
necessary and they had a fixed salary
 Army officers were forbidden from buying land in conquered territories
 If they did settle down across the empire, the Islamic army would
become very spread out and hard to assemble
 Instead, most of them lived in barracks
 This would make it easier to keep a check on the army via reporters and
assemble it quickly during times of need
 It was also in order to prevent the army from taking part in politics
 Martyrdom:
 In 23 AH, a Persian slave, Abu Lulu Feroz, came to him and complained
that his master took too much Jizya from him
 However, further inquiry revealed that only 2 dirhams was taken, which
was readily supported by his professions as a carpenter and blacksmith
 Abu Lulu was furious, and stabbed Hazrat Umar multiple times while he
was gone to perform Fajr
 Hazrat Umar, conscious about the importance of Salah, dragged Abdul
Rahman forward to lead the prayers so that congregation was not
disturbed
 He also inquired as to his aggressor's religion, and upon finding that he
was a Zimmi instructed the Muslim leaders not to be harsh on them for
he had been very strict about their rights during his reign
 The wounds were so deep that he died from them a few days later
 On his deathbed, he appointed a council of 6 people to appoint the next
Caliph
 After taking consent from Aisha, he was buried next to the Holy Prophet
(SAWW)
 What his Martyrdom Shows About his Character:
 Tolerance – he did not make his aggressor’s punishment harsher as he
was not a Muslim – in fact, he made it lighter
 Faith – he made sure the congregation continued even though he had
been stabbed
 Man of principle – he did not unfairly exempt the slave from Jizya
 Accessible – even slaves could easily interact with him if they so desired