‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan (Umar ibn Abdul Aziz) (Umar II) (November 2, 682 - February, 720). Umayyad caliph (r. 717-720). In 706, he became governor of the Hejaz and settled at Medina where he formed an advisory council. He became famous for his piety and frugality, feeling no obligation to spread Islam by the sword. He preferred peaceful missionary activity, which method proved successful among the Berbers and in Sind. He adopted a kindly attitude towards the ‘Alids, the Christians, the Jews and the Zoroastrians, and reduced discrimination against non-Arab converts to Islam. His most important measure was the reform of taxation. The ever-increasing conversion to Islam of non-Arabs led to more and more subjects being exempt from taxation. Furthermore, agriculture suffered to a great extent as a result of many converts settling in the cities. Al-Hajjaj therefore had imposed the land-tax (in Arabic, kharaj) also upon Muslim landowners and prohibited immigration to the cities. ‘Umar, however, adhered to the principle that Muslims should pay no tribute and propounded that conquered land was the common property of the Muslim community and conquered land was the common property of the Muslim community and could not be transformed into immune private property by sale to individual Muslims. In 718, he forbade Muslims to buy land which should pay tribute and permitted immigration of new converts into the cities. In course of time a whole cycle of pious legends gathered round his name. Even the historians of the ‘Abbasid period give him the highest praise, and his tomb at Dayr Sam‘an near Aleppo was left undisturbed after the ‘Abbasid triumph.
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik's younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a great-grandson of the companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Umar ibn Al-Khattab.
Umar was born around 682. Some traditions state that he was born in Medina while others claim that he was born in Egypt.
According to a Sunni Muslim tradition, Umar's lineage to Umar ibn al-Khattab stems from a famous event during the second Caliph's rule. During one of his frequent disguised journeys to survey the condition of his people, Umar overheard a milkmaid refusing to obey her mother's orders to sell adulterated milk. He sent an officer to purchase milk from the girl the next day and learned that she had kept her resolve; the milk was unadulterated. Umar summoned the girl and her mother to his court and told them what he had heard. As a reward, he offered to marry the girl to his son Asim. She accepted, and from this union was born a girl named Layla that would in due course become the mother of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz.
Umar would grow up in Medina and live there until the death of his father, after which he was summoned to Damascus by Abd al-Malik and married to his daughter Fatima. His father-in-law would die soon after, and he would serve as governor of Medina under his cousin Al-Walid I.
Unlike most rulers of that era, Umar formed a council with which he administered the province. His time in Medina was so notable that official grievances sent to Damascus all but ceased. In addition, many people emigrated to Medina from Iraq seeking refuge from their harsh governor, Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef. This angered Al-Hajjaj, and he pressed al-Walid to remove Umar. Much to the dismay of the people of Medina, al-Walid bowed to Hajjaj's pressure and dismissed Umar from his post. However, by this time, Umar had developed an impeccable reputation across the Islamic empire.
Umar continued to live in Medina through the remainder of al-Walid's reign and that of Walid's brother Suleiman. Suleiman, who was Umar's cousin and had always admired him, ignored his own brothers and son when it came time to appoint his successor and instead nominated Umar. Umar reluctantly accepted the position after trying unsuccessfully to dissuade Suleiman, and he approached it unlike any other Ummayad caliph before him.
Umar was extremely pious and disdainful of worldly luxuries. He preferred simplicity to the extravagance that had become a hallmark of the Umayyad lifestyle, depositing all assets and finery meant for the caliph into the public treasury. He abandoned the caliphate palace to the family of Suleiman and instead preferred to live in modest dwellings. He wore rough linens instead of royal robes, and often went unrecognized.
According to a Muslim tradition, a female visitor once came to Umar's house seeking charity and saw a raggedly-dressed man patching holes in the building's walls. Assuming that the man was a servant of the caliph, she asked Umar's wife, "Don't you fear God? Why don't you veil in the presence of this man?" The woman was shocked to learn that the "servant" was in fact the caliph himself.
Though he had the people's overwhelming support, he publicly encouraged them to elect someone else if they were not satisfied with him (an offer no one ever took him up on). Umar confiscated the estates seized by Ummayad officials and redistributed them to the people, while making it a personal goal to attend to the needs of every person in his empire. Fearful of being tempted into bribery, he rarely accepted gifts, and when he did; he promptly deposited them in the public treasury. He even encouraged his own wife—who had been daughter, sister and wife to three caliphs in their turn—to donate her jewelry to the public treasury. He is widely known for reinforcing the Zakat and according to Muslim tradition, at the end of his rule, there were scarcely any poor people to receive the charity money.
At one point Umar almost ordered the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to be stripped of its precious stones and expensive fixtures in favor of the treasury, but he desisted on learning that the Mosque was a source of envy to his Byzantine rivals in Constantinople. These moves made him unpopular with the Umayyad court, but endeared him to the masses, so much so that the court could not move against him in the open.
Umar made a number of important religious reforms. According to both Sunni and Shi'i sources, he abolished the long-standing Umayyad and Khawaarij custom of cursing Ali ibn Abi Talib, at the end of Friday sermons and ordered the following Qu'ranic verse be recited instead:
- Surely God enjoins justice, doing of good and giving to kinsfolk.
In addition, Umar was keen to enforce the Sharia, pushing to end drinking and bathhouses where men and women would mix freely. He continued the welfare programs of the last few Umayyad caliphs, expanding them and including special programs for orphans and the destitute. He would also abolish the Jizya tax for converts to Islam, who were former dhimmis, who used to be taxed even after they had converted under other Umayyad rulers.
Generally, Umar II is credited with having ordered the first collection of hadith material in an official manner, fearing that some of it might be lost. Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, are among those who compiled hadiths at `Umar II’s behest.
Though Umar did not place as much of an emphasis on expanding the Empire's borders as his predecessors had, he was not passive. He sent Ibn Hatim ibn al-Nu'man to repel Turks invading Azerbaijan. He faced a Kharijite uprising and preferred negotiations to armed conflict, personally holding talks with two Kharijite envoys shortly before his death. He recalled the troops besieging Constantinople. These were led by his cousin Maslama. This Second Arab siege of Constantinople had failed to take the city and was sustaining heavy losses at the hands of allied Byzantine and Bulgarian forces. Its defeat was a serious blow to Umayyad prestige.
Umar's reforms in favor of the people greatly angered the nobility of the Umayyads, and they would eventually bribe a servant into poisoning his food. Umar learned of this on his death bed and pardoned the culprit, collecting the punitive payments he was entitled to under Islamic Law but depositing them in the public treasury. He died in February, 720, in Aleppo. He was succeeded by his cousin Yazid II.
Although Umar's reign was very short (three years), he is very highly regarded in Muslim memory. He is considered one of the finest rulers in Muslim history, second only to the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. In fact, in some circles, he is affectionately referred to as the Fifth and the last Rightly Guided Caliph.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz see ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan
Umar II see ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik's younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a great-grandson of the companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Umar ibn Al-Khattab.
Umar was born around 682. Some traditions state that he was born in Medina while others claim that he was born in Egypt.
According to a Sunni Muslim tradition, Umar's lineage to Umar ibn al-Khattab stems from a famous event during the second Caliph's rule. During one of his frequent disguised journeys to survey the condition of his people, Umar overheard a milkmaid refusing to obey her mother's orders to sell adulterated milk. He sent an officer to purchase milk from the girl the next day and learned that she had kept her resolve; the milk was unadulterated. Umar summoned the girl and her mother to his court and told them what he had heard. As a reward, he offered to marry the girl to his son Asim. She accepted, and from this union was born a girl named Layla that would in due course become the mother of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz.
Umar would grow up in Medina and live there until the death of his father, after which he was summoned to Damascus by Abd al-Malik and married to his daughter Fatima. His father-in-law would die soon after, and he would serve as governor of Medina under his cousin Al-Walid I.
Unlike most rulers of that era, Umar formed a council with which he administered the province. His time in Medina was so notable that official grievances sent to Damascus all but ceased. In addition, many people emigrated to Medina from Iraq seeking refuge from their harsh governor, Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef. This angered Al-Hajjaj, and he pressed al-Walid to remove Umar. Much to the dismay of the people of Medina, al-Walid bowed to Hajjaj's pressure and dismissed Umar from his post. However, by this time, Umar had developed an impeccable reputation across the Islamic empire.
Umar continued to live in Medina through the remainder of al-Walid's reign and that of Walid's brother Suleiman. Suleiman, who was Umar's cousin and had always admired him, ignored his own brothers and son when it came time to appoint his successor and instead nominated Umar. Umar reluctantly accepted the position after trying unsuccessfully to dissuade Suleiman, and he approached it unlike any other Ummayad caliph before him.
Umar was extremely pious and disdainful of worldly luxuries. He preferred simplicity to the extravagance that had become a hallmark of the Umayyad lifestyle, depositing all assets and finery meant for the caliph into the public treasury. He abandoned the caliphate palace to the family of Suleiman and instead preferred to live in modest dwellings. He wore rough linens instead of royal robes, and often went unrecognized.
According to a Muslim tradition, a female visitor once came to Umar's house seeking charity and saw a raggedly-dressed man patching holes in the building's walls. Assuming that the man was a servant of the caliph, she asked Umar's wife, "Don't you fear God? Why don't you veil in the presence of this man?" The woman was shocked to learn that the "servant" was in fact the caliph himself.
Though he had the people's overwhelming support, he publicly encouraged them to elect someone else if they were not satisfied with him (an offer no one ever took him up on). Umar confiscated the estates seized by Ummayad officials and redistributed them to the people, while making it a personal goal to attend to the needs of every person in his empire. Fearful of being tempted into bribery, he rarely accepted gifts, and when he did; he promptly deposited them in the public treasury. He even encouraged his own wife—who had been daughter, sister and wife to three caliphs in their turn—to donate her jewelry to the public treasury. He is widely known for reinforcing the Zakat and according to Muslim tradition, at the end of his rule, there were scarcely any poor people to receive the charity money.
At one point Umar almost ordered the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to be stripped of its precious stones and expensive fixtures in favor of the treasury, but he desisted on learning that the Mosque was a source of envy to his Byzantine rivals in Constantinople. These moves made him unpopular with the Umayyad court, but endeared him to the masses, so much so that the court could not move against him in the open.
Umar made a number of important religious reforms. According to both Sunni and Shi'i sources, he abolished the long-standing Umayyad and Khawaarij custom of cursing Ali ibn Abi Talib, at the end of Friday sermons and ordered the following Qu'ranic verse be recited instead:
- Surely God enjoins justice, doing of good and giving to kinsfolk.
In addition, Umar was keen to enforce the Sharia, pushing to end drinking and bathhouses where men and women would mix freely. He continued the welfare programs of the last few Umayyad caliphs, expanding them and including special programs for orphans and the destitute. He would also abolish the Jizya tax for converts to Islam, who were former dhimmis, who used to be taxed even after they had converted under other Umayyad rulers.
Generally, Umar II is credited with having ordered the first collection of hadith material in an official manner, fearing that some of it might be lost. Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, are among those who compiled hadiths at `Umar II’s behest.
Though Umar did not place as much of an emphasis on expanding the Empire's borders as his predecessors had, he was not passive. He sent Ibn Hatim ibn al-Nu'man to repel Turks invading Azerbaijan. He faced a Kharijite uprising and preferred negotiations to armed conflict, personally holding talks with two Kharijite envoys shortly before his death. He recalled the troops besieging Constantinople. These were led by his cousin Maslama. This Second Arab siege of Constantinople had failed to take the city and was sustaining heavy losses at the hands of allied Byzantine and Bulgarian forces. Its defeat was a serious blow to Umayyad prestige.
Umar's reforms in favor of the people greatly angered the nobility of the Umayyads, and they would eventually bribe a servant into poisoning his food. Umar learned of this on his death bed and pardoned the culprit, collecting the punitive payments he was entitled to under Islamic Law but depositing them in the public treasury. He died in February, 720, in Aleppo. He was succeeded by his cousin Yazid II.
Although Umar's reign was very short (three years), he is very highly regarded in Muslim memory. He is considered one of the finest rulers in Muslim history, second only to the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. In fact, in some circles, he is affectionately referred to as the Fifth and the last Rightly Guided Caliph.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz see ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan
Umar II see ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan
‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a (Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah) ('Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi) ('Umar ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi) (November, 644, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] - 712/719, Mecca). Greatest love poet of the Arabs. He was from a wealthy family in Mecca, and served for a time as governor in Yemen. He was the first townsman poet in Arabic.
'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi is known for his love poetry and for being one of the originators of the literary form ghazel in Islamic literature.
ʿUmar belonged to the wealthy merchant family of Makhzūm, a member of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (of which the Prophet Muhammad was also a member). He spent most of his life in Mecca, also traveling to southern Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Little is known about his life, for the numerous anecdotes related about him are manifestly literary fabrications. The internal evidence of his poetry, however, gives a valuable picture of the social life of the Meccan and Medinan aristocracy of his time.
His poetry centers on his own life and emotions, eschewing the traditional themes of journeys, battles, and tribal lore, and celebrates his love affairs with the noble Arab ladies who came to Mecca on pilgrimage. Although this genre had been sporadically practiced before his time, ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabīʿah was the first to perfect it with a light meter and an accurate emotional perception.
Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
'Umar ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a (Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah) ('Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi) ('Umar ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi) (November, 644, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] - 712/719, Mecca). Greatest love poet of the Arabs. He was from a wealthy family in Mecca, and served for a time as governor in Yemen. He was the first townsman poet in Arabic.
'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi is known for his love poetry and for being one of the originators of the literary form ghazel in Islamic literature.
ʿUmar belonged to the wealthy merchant family of Makhzūm, a member of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (of which the Prophet Muhammad was also a member). He spent most of his life in Mecca, also traveling to southern Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Little is known about his life, for the numerous anecdotes related about him are manifestly literary fabrications. The internal evidence of his poetry, however, gives a valuable picture of the social life of the Meccan and Medinan aristocracy of his time.
His poetry centers on his own life and emotions, eschewing the traditional themes of journeys, battles, and tribal lore, and celebrates his love affairs with the noble Arab ladies who came to Mecca on pilgrimage. Although this genre had been sporadically practiced before his time, ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabīʿah was the first to perfect it with a light meter and an accurate emotional perception.
Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
'Umar ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'ah al-Makhzumi see ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi‘a
‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri (Ibn al-Farid) (Ibn Farid) (Sharaf al-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn al-Fāriḍ)
( b. March 22, 1181/March 11, 1182, Cairo - 1234/January 23, 1235, Cairo). Sufi poet. The outer and inner meanings of his poems are so interwoven that they may be read as love poems or as mystical hymns. But the collection of his works also contains two purely mystical odes, one on divine love, the other on “the Pilgrim’s Progress.”
Ibn al-Farid was born in Cairo. He lived for some time in Mecca and died in Cairo. His poetry is entirely Sufic, and he was esteemed the greatest mystic poet of the Arabs. Some of his poems are said to have been written in ecstasies.
Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Fāriḍ studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqaṭṭam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi al-Suhrawardī of Baghdad. Venerated as a saint during his lifetime, Ibn al-Fāriḍ was buried in the Muqaṭṭam hills, where his tomb is still visited.
Many of Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s poems are qaṣīdah (“odes”) on the lover’s longing for reunion with his beloved. He expresses through this convention his yearning for a return to Mecca and, at a deeper level, a desire to be assimilated into the spirit of Muhammad. He developed this theme at length in Naẓm as-sulūk (The Poem of the Way). Almost equally famous is his “Khamrīyah” (“Wine Ode”). This long qaṣīdah describes the effects of the wine of divine love. Although Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s poetry is mannered in style, with rhetorical embellishments and conventional imagery, his poems contain passages of striking beauty and deep religious feeling.
The poetry of Shaykh Umar Ibn al-Farid is considered by many to be the pinnacle of Arabic mystical verse, though surprisingly he is not widely known in the West. (Rumi and Hafiz, probably the best known in the West of the great Sufi poets, both wrote primarily in Persian, not Arabic.) Ibn al-Farid's two masterpieces are The Wine Ode, a beautiful meditation on the "wine" of divine bliss, and The Poem of the Sufi Way, a profound exploration of spiritual experience along the Sufi Path and perhaps the longest mystical poem composed in Arabic. Both poems have inspired in-depth spiritual commentaries throughout the centuries, and they are still reverently memorized by Sufis and other devout Muslims today.
Ibn al-Farid see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
Ibn Farid see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
Sharaf al-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn al-Fāriḍ see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri (Ibn al-Farid) (Ibn Farid) (Sharaf al-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn al-Fāriḍ)
( b. March 22, 1181/March 11, 1182, Cairo - 1234/January 23, 1235, Cairo). Sufi poet. The outer and inner meanings of his poems are so interwoven that they may be read as love poems or as mystical hymns. But the collection of his works also contains two purely mystical odes, one on divine love, the other on “the Pilgrim’s Progress.”
Ibn al-Farid was born in Cairo. He lived for some time in Mecca and died in Cairo. His poetry is entirely Sufic, and he was esteemed the greatest mystic poet of the Arabs. Some of his poems are said to have been written in ecstasies.
Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Fāriḍ studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqaṭṭam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi al-Suhrawardī of Baghdad. Venerated as a saint during his lifetime, Ibn al-Fāriḍ was buried in the Muqaṭṭam hills, where his tomb is still visited.
Many of Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s poems are qaṣīdah (“odes”) on the lover’s longing for reunion with his beloved. He expresses through this convention his yearning for a return to Mecca and, at a deeper level, a desire to be assimilated into the spirit of Muhammad. He developed this theme at length in Naẓm as-sulūk (The Poem of the Way). Almost equally famous is his “Khamrīyah” (“Wine Ode”). This long qaṣīdah describes the effects of the wine of divine love. Although Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s poetry is mannered in style, with rhetorical embellishments and conventional imagery, his poems contain passages of striking beauty and deep religious feeling.
The poetry of Shaykh Umar Ibn al-Farid is considered by many to be the pinnacle of Arabic mystical verse, though surprisingly he is not widely known in the West. (Rumi and Hafiz, probably the best known in the West of the great Sufi poets, both wrote primarily in Persian, not Arabic.) Ibn al-Farid's two masterpieces are The Wine Ode, a beautiful meditation on the "wine" of divine bliss, and The Poem of the Sufi Way, a profound exploration of spiritual experience along the Sufi Path and perhaps the longest mystical poem composed in Arabic. Both poems have inspired in-depth spiritual commentaries throughout the centuries, and they are still reverently memorized by Sufis and other devout Muslims today.
Ibn al-Farid see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
Ibn Farid see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
Sharaf al-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn al-Fāriḍ see ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Misri
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab ('Umar I) (Omar) (Umar the Great) (Farooq the Great) (b.c. 586-592, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] – d. November 3/7, 644, Medina, Arabia). Second Rashidun caliph and founder of the Arab empire (r. 634-644). At first, he was a declared enemy of the Prophet’s message. Hadith places his conversion to Islam in 618 when he was 26 years old. He belonged to the Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b who enjoyed no political influence at Mecca. Due to his strength of will, his influence began in Medina after the Hijra, in perfect agreement with Abu Bakr. He became the Prophet’s father-in-law when the Prophet married his daughter Hafsa. He took part in the battles of Badr, Uhud and later ones, although his part was that of a counsellor rather than of a soldier.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was a devoted companion of Muhammad and was the initiator of the administrative mechanisms which made the Islamic empire possible. Throughout Muhammad’s Medinan career, ‘Umar seems to have been in complete harmony with the policies of both the Prophet and Abu Bakr, the first caliph, with whom he shared the honor of being father-in-law of Muhammad. No military exploits were credited to him, but he was involved in the revelation of portions of the Qur’an {see Sura 2:125; 33:53; and 66:6}.
After the death of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was recognized as the latter’s successor by the majority of the Companions, there being dissatisfaction only on the side of the party of ‘Ali and of the “Helpers,” who had already suffered defeat when Abu Bakr became caliph two years earlier. At the death of Abu Bakr, there seems to have been no formal designation of ‘Umar as successor, but his rule received almost unanimous acceptance, the only opposition deriving from supporters of Ali. Once in office, he assumed the title Commander of the Faithful, and dared to dismiss Khalid ibn al-Walid, early Islam’s most successful general. Khalid ibn al-Walid had challenged the authority of ‘Umar.
During the great expansion of Muslim conquests, which had already begun, ‘Umar never lost control of his generals. He dismissed Khalid ibn al-Walid and treated ‘Amr ibn al-‘As with tact. He also made use of the powerful family of the Umayyads. All the political institutions by which the Muslim state was later to be ruled had their origin in his caliphate.
‘Umar instituted a system of checks on provincial administrators by dividing the authority between the military and civil commander and the fiscal officer. He established the pension register and the office of judge, regulated worship in the mosques, and established a number of military centers, which later developed into famous Islamic cities.
The regulations for the non-Muslim subjects, the institution of a register of those having right to military pensions, the founding of military centers out of which were to grow the future great cities of Islam, and the creation of the office of judge (qadi), were all the work of ‘Umar ibn Khattab. Religious ordinances, such as the prayer of Ramadan and the obligatory pilgrimage, as well as civic and penal ordinances, such as the era of the hijra, the punishment of drunkenness, and stoning as a punishment for adultery, go back to him.
‘Umar is said to have substituted in 640 the title of “Commander of the Believers” (in Arabic, amir al-mu’minin) for that of khalifa –“deputy.” He fell in 644 by the dagger of Abu Lu’lu’a. As a motive for the murder, hadith gives the very heavy tax against which the slave had appealed in vain to the caliph.
‘Umar was assassinated by the disgruntled slave, Abu Lu’lu’a, before providing for a successor. Despite rumors, there is no indication of a conspiracy to kill him. However, the histories are unanimous that ‘Umar was more feared than liked, particularly because he expected all to adhere to his own severe ascetic standards.
‘Umar really was the second founder of Islam, but the Shi‘a have never concealed their antipathy to him because he was the first to thwart the claims of ‘Ali.
Umar was born in Mecca. A brief timeline of his life reads as follows:
In 615, Umar converted to Islam, but according to some traditions, the coversion may have been as late as 618.
In 622, Umar participated in the hijra, the escape to Medina. By this time, he had become one of Muhammad’s chief advisors.
In 624, Umar participated in the battle of Badr, but judging from the sources, he was not a central figure.
In 625, Umar participated in the battle of Uhud, but again his role was a marginal one. However, in 625, Muhammad married Umar’s daughter Hafsa.
In 632, following the death of Muhammad, Umar campaigned for Abu Bakr to become the leader of the Muslim community. Umar and Abu Bakr worked closely together, and according to some traditions Abu Bakr nominated Umar to be his successor. It is, however, clear that there was no form of formal nomination.
In 634, Abu Bakr died, and Umar became leader of the Muslims.
In 636, Umar founded Basra as a military station.
In 638, Jerusalem was conquered, and Umar promised to protect the Christian population in the city.
In 641, Umar took the title “amir al-mu’minin,” -- “Prince of the true believers.”
On November 3, 644, Umar died in Medina after being assassinated by the Christian Persian slave Abu Lu’lu’a. Umar had not arranged for a successor, but would be succeeded by Uthman, who was appointed by a six man strong council.
Umar’s reign represents one of the most important stages in the early Muslim expansion. Under him, the Muslims developed from being an Arabian principality, into becoming a world power. His armies conquered Mesopotamia and Syria, and by the time of his death campaigns had been launched against Egypt.
Umar was a clever administrator and made sure that conquered lands came under control of men who respected the caliph and worked according to his guidelines. Considering that Muhammad was mainly involved in establishing Islam as a religion, it would be correct to say that Umar is the real founder of the Islamic state. Yet, it must be clarified, Umar made his decisions based upon the revelations received by Muhammad and upon the example of Muhammad.
Umar dealt with his generals in a shrewd manner, and never lost control over them, no matter how much success they might have. He found an important ally in the Ummawiyy clan.
In his work for developing the administration, Umar also laid the foundations for a legal system, which would eventually develop into sharia. Among Umar’s regulations was to ban non-Muslims from the land of Arabia, punishment for drunkenness and it is also claimed by some traditions that it is Umar who made adultery punishable by stoning. Umar institutionalized the prayer, the month of Ramadan, the obligatory pilgrimage, and defined the Hijra calendar system.
Umar was a strict Muslim, hard on himself as well as on offenders. He never claimed to be anything except a representative for the only rightful ruler, Muhammad. He was generally highly respected by his contemporaries, as well as by later generations of Sunni Muslims. The Shi ‘a regard him with suspicion, considering him an opponent of Ali.
A member of the clan of ʿAdi of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (Koreish), ʿUmar at first opposed Muḥammad but, about 615, became a Muslim. By 622, when he went to Medina with Muḥammad and the other Meccan Muslims, he had become one of Muḥammad’s chief advisers, closely associated with Abū Bakr. His position in the state was marked by Muḥammad’s marriage to his daughter Hafsa in 625. On Muḥammad’s death in 632 ʿUmar was largely responsible for reconciling the Medinan Muslims to the acceptance of a Meccan, Abū Bakr, as head of state (caliph). Abū Bakr (reigned 632–634) relied greatly on ʿUmar and nominated him to succeed him. As caliph, ʿUmar was the first to call himself “commander of the faithful” (amīr al-muʾminīn). His reign saw the transformation of the Islāmic state from an Arabian principality to a world power. Throughout this remarkable expansion ʿUmar closely controlled general policy and laid down the principles for administering the conquered lands. The structure of the later Islāmic empire, including legal practice, is largely due to him. Assassinated by a Persian slave for personal reasons, he died at Medina 10 years after coming to the throne. A strong ruler, stern toward offenders, and himself ascetic to the point of harshness, he was universally respected for his justice and authority.
'Umar was the most powerful of the four Rashidun Caliphs and one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers. He was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title Al-Farooq (The one who distinguishes between right and wrong) and his house as Darul Adal (house of justice). Also, Umar was the first Caliph to be called Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful or Prince of the Believers).
Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. It was Umar who for the first time in 500 years since expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land, allowed the Jews to practice their religion freely and live in Jerusalem.
Religiously a controversial figure in the Shia Muslim world, Umar is regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the four Rashidun or rightly guided caliphs who were true successors of Muhammad. In stark contrast, 'Umar is regarded by Shi'a Muslims as unjust in his usurpation of Ali's right to the caliphate and is viewed as the principal political architect of the opposition to Ali.
Umar is regarded as one of the greatest political geniuses in history. Under his leadership, the Islamic empire expanded at a unprecedented rate, while at the same time 'Umar also began to build the political structure that would hold together the vast empire that was being built. He undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy. He established an advanced administration for the newly conquered lands, including several new ministries and bureaucracies, and ordered a census of all the Muslim territories. During his rule, the garrison cities (amsar) of Basra and Kufa were founded or expanded. In 638, he extended and renovated the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina. Umar also ordered the expulsion of the Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar allowing them to reside in Syria or Iraq. He issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the equivalent land in their new settlements. Umar also forbade non-Muslims to reside in the Hejaz for longer than three days. He was first to establish the army as a state department. Umar was founder of Fiqh, the Islamic jurisprudence. He is regarded by Sunni Muslims to be one of the greatest Faqih. 'Umar as a jurist started the process of codifying Islamic Law (Shari'a). In 641, he established Bayt al-mal, a financial institution and started annual allowance for Muslims. A year later he also started allowance for the poor, underprivileged and old non-Muslim citizens of the empire. As a leader, 'Umar was known for his simple, austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims were poor and persecuted. In 639, his fourth year as caliph and the seventeenth year after the Hijra, he decreed that the Islamic calendar should be counted from the year of the Hijra of Muhammad from Mecca to Madinah (Medina).
'Umar married a total of 9 women in his lifetime and had 14 children, 10 sons and 4 daughters. The details are as follow:
Wife: Zaynab bint Mazh'un (at the time of Jahiliyyah [Days of Ignorance])
Son: Abdullah ibn Umar
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (The Older)
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar
Daughter: Hafsa bint Umar
Wife: Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima (divorced)
Son: Ubaidullah ibn Umar
Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar
Wife: Quraybah bint Abi Umayyah al-Makhzumi (divorced, married by Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr)
Wife: Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham (after her husband, a former ally of 'Umar and a companion Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl was killed in Battle of Yarmouk, later divorced but al-Madaini says he did not divorce her)
Daughter: Fatima bint 'Umar
Wife: Jamilah bint Ashim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah (from the tribe of Aws)
Son: Asim ibn Umar
Wife: Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nifayl (cousin of Umar and former wife of Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr married 'Umar in the year 12 AH and after 'Umar was murdered, she married az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam)
Son: Iyaad ibn 'Umar
Wife: Umm Kulthum bint 'Ali (the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib)
Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar, (famously known as Ibnul Khalifatayn; the son of the two Caliphs i.e Umar and Ali).
Daughter: Ruqayyah bint 'Umar
Wife: Luhyah (a woman from Yemen (Yaman) who's marital status with 'Umar is disputed, al-Waqidi said that she was Umm Walad, meaning a slave woman)
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (the youngest Abdulrehman while some say the middle Abdulrehman from Luhyah)
Wife: Fukayhah (as Umm Walad)
Daughter: Zaynab bint 'Umar (the smallest child of 'Umar from Fukayhah)
Another son is, az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, called Abu Shahmah, though from which wife is unknown.
'Umar I see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Omar see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Umar the Great see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Farooq the Great see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Farooq, al- see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab ('Umar I) (Omar) (Umar the Great) (Farooq the Great) (b.c. 586-592, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] – d. November 3/7, 644, Medina, Arabia). Second Rashidun caliph and founder of the Arab empire (r. 634-644). At first, he was a declared enemy of the Prophet’s message. Hadith places his conversion to Islam in 618 when he was 26 years old. He belonged to the Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b who enjoyed no political influence at Mecca. Due to his strength of will, his influence began in Medina after the Hijra, in perfect agreement with Abu Bakr. He became the Prophet’s father-in-law when the Prophet married his daughter Hafsa. He took part in the battles of Badr, Uhud and later ones, although his part was that of a counsellor rather than of a soldier.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was a devoted companion of Muhammad and was the initiator of the administrative mechanisms which made the Islamic empire possible. Throughout Muhammad’s Medinan career, ‘Umar seems to have been in complete harmony with the policies of both the Prophet and Abu Bakr, the first caliph, with whom he shared the honor of being father-in-law of Muhammad. No military exploits were credited to him, but he was involved in the revelation of portions of the Qur’an {see Sura 2:125; 33:53; and 66:6}.
After the death of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was recognized as the latter’s successor by the majority of the Companions, there being dissatisfaction only on the side of the party of ‘Ali and of the “Helpers,” who had already suffered defeat when Abu Bakr became caliph two years earlier. At the death of Abu Bakr, there seems to have been no formal designation of ‘Umar as successor, but his rule received almost unanimous acceptance, the only opposition deriving from supporters of Ali. Once in office, he assumed the title Commander of the Faithful, and dared to dismiss Khalid ibn al-Walid, early Islam’s most successful general. Khalid ibn al-Walid had challenged the authority of ‘Umar.
During the great expansion of Muslim conquests, which had already begun, ‘Umar never lost control of his generals. He dismissed Khalid ibn al-Walid and treated ‘Amr ibn al-‘As with tact. He also made use of the powerful family of the Umayyads. All the political institutions by which the Muslim state was later to be ruled had their origin in his caliphate.
‘Umar instituted a system of checks on provincial administrators by dividing the authority between the military and civil commander and the fiscal officer. He established the pension register and the office of judge, regulated worship in the mosques, and established a number of military centers, which later developed into famous Islamic cities.
The regulations for the non-Muslim subjects, the institution of a register of those having right to military pensions, the founding of military centers out of which were to grow the future great cities of Islam, and the creation of the office of judge (qadi), were all the work of ‘Umar ibn Khattab. Religious ordinances, such as the prayer of Ramadan and the obligatory pilgrimage, as well as civic and penal ordinances, such as the era of the hijra, the punishment of drunkenness, and stoning as a punishment for adultery, go back to him.
‘Umar is said to have substituted in 640 the title of “Commander of the Believers” (in Arabic, amir al-mu’minin) for that of khalifa –“deputy.” He fell in 644 by the dagger of Abu Lu’lu’a. As a motive for the murder, hadith gives the very heavy tax against which the slave had appealed in vain to the caliph.
‘Umar was assassinated by the disgruntled slave, Abu Lu’lu’a, before providing for a successor. Despite rumors, there is no indication of a conspiracy to kill him. However, the histories are unanimous that ‘Umar was more feared than liked, particularly because he expected all to adhere to his own severe ascetic standards.
‘Umar really was the second founder of Islam, but the Shi‘a have never concealed their antipathy to him because he was the first to thwart the claims of ‘Ali.
Umar was born in Mecca. A brief timeline of his life reads as follows:
In 615, Umar converted to Islam, but according to some traditions, the coversion may have been as late as 618.
In 622, Umar participated in the hijra, the escape to Medina. By this time, he had become one of Muhammad’s chief advisors.
In 624, Umar participated in the battle of Badr, but judging from the sources, he was not a central figure.
In 625, Umar participated in the battle of Uhud, but again his role was a marginal one. However, in 625, Muhammad married Umar’s daughter Hafsa.
In 632, following the death of Muhammad, Umar campaigned for Abu Bakr to become the leader of the Muslim community. Umar and Abu Bakr worked closely together, and according to some traditions Abu Bakr nominated Umar to be his successor. It is, however, clear that there was no form of formal nomination.
In 634, Abu Bakr died, and Umar became leader of the Muslims.
In 636, Umar founded Basra as a military station.
In 638, Jerusalem was conquered, and Umar promised to protect the Christian population in the city.
In 641, Umar took the title “amir al-mu’minin,” -- “Prince of the true believers.”
On November 3, 644, Umar died in Medina after being assassinated by the Christian Persian slave Abu Lu’lu’a. Umar had not arranged for a successor, but would be succeeded by Uthman, who was appointed by a six man strong council.
Umar’s reign represents one of the most important stages in the early Muslim expansion. Under him, the Muslims developed from being an Arabian principality, into becoming a world power. His armies conquered Mesopotamia and Syria, and by the time of his death campaigns had been launched against Egypt.
Umar was a clever administrator and made sure that conquered lands came under control of men who respected the caliph and worked according to his guidelines. Considering that Muhammad was mainly involved in establishing Islam as a religion, it would be correct to say that Umar is the real founder of the Islamic state. Yet, it must be clarified, Umar made his decisions based upon the revelations received by Muhammad and upon the example of Muhammad.
Umar dealt with his generals in a shrewd manner, and never lost control over them, no matter how much success they might have. He found an important ally in the Ummawiyy clan.
In his work for developing the administration, Umar also laid the foundations for a legal system, which would eventually develop into sharia. Among Umar’s regulations was to ban non-Muslims from the land of Arabia, punishment for drunkenness and it is also claimed by some traditions that it is Umar who made adultery punishable by stoning. Umar institutionalized the prayer, the month of Ramadan, the obligatory pilgrimage, and defined the Hijra calendar system.
Umar was a strict Muslim, hard on himself as well as on offenders. He never claimed to be anything except a representative for the only rightful ruler, Muhammad. He was generally highly respected by his contemporaries, as well as by later generations of Sunni Muslims. The Shi ‘a regard him with suspicion, considering him an opponent of Ali.
A member of the clan of ʿAdi of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (Koreish), ʿUmar at first opposed Muḥammad but, about 615, became a Muslim. By 622, when he went to Medina with Muḥammad and the other Meccan Muslims, he had become one of Muḥammad’s chief advisers, closely associated with Abū Bakr. His position in the state was marked by Muḥammad’s marriage to his daughter Hafsa in 625. On Muḥammad’s death in 632 ʿUmar was largely responsible for reconciling the Medinan Muslims to the acceptance of a Meccan, Abū Bakr, as head of state (caliph). Abū Bakr (reigned 632–634) relied greatly on ʿUmar and nominated him to succeed him. As caliph, ʿUmar was the first to call himself “commander of the faithful” (amīr al-muʾminīn). His reign saw the transformation of the Islāmic state from an Arabian principality to a world power. Throughout this remarkable expansion ʿUmar closely controlled general policy and laid down the principles for administering the conquered lands. The structure of the later Islāmic empire, including legal practice, is largely due to him. Assassinated by a Persian slave for personal reasons, he died at Medina 10 years after coming to the throne. A strong ruler, stern toward offenders, and himself ascetic to the point of harshness, he was universally respected for his justice and authority.
'Umar was the most powerful of the four Rashidun Caliphs and one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers. He was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title Al-Farooq (The one who distinguishes between right and wrong) and his house as Darul Adal (house of justice). Also, Umar was the first Caliph to be called Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful or Prince of the Believers).
Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. It was Umar who for the first time in 500 years since expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land, allowed the Jews to practice their religion freely and live in Jerusalem.
Religiously a controversial figure in the Shia Muslim world, Umar is regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the four Rashidun or rightly guided caliphs who were true successors of Muhammad. In stark contrast, 'Umar is regarded by Shi'a Muslims as unjust in his usurpation of Ali's right to the caliphate and is viewed as the principal political architect of the opposition to Ali.
Umar is regarded as one of the greatest political geniuses in history. Under his leadership, the Islamic empire expanded at a unprecedented rate, while at the same time 'Umar also began to build the political structure that would hold together the vast empire that was being built. He undertook many administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy. He established an advanced administration for the newly conquered lands, including several new ministries and bureaucracies, and ordered a census of all the Muslim territories. During his rule, the garrison cities (amsar) of Basra and Kufa were founded or expanded. In 638, he extended and renovated the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina. Umar also ordered the expulsion of the Christian and Jewish communities of Najran and Khaybar allowing them to reside in Syria or Iraq. He issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the equivalent land in their new settlements. Umar also forbade non-Muslims to reside in the Hejaz for longer than three days. He was first to establish the army as a state department. Umar was founder of Fiqh, the Islamic jurisprudence. He is regarded by Sunni Muslims to be one of the greatest Faqih. 'Umar as a jurist started the process of codifying Islamic Law (Shari'a). In 641, he established Bayt al-mal, a financial institution and started annual allowance for Muslims. A year later he also started allowance for the poor, underprivileged and old non-Muslim citizens of the empire. As a leader, 'Umar was known for his simple, austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims were poor and persecuted. In 639, his fourth year as caliph and the seventeenth year after the Hijra, he decreed that the Islamic calendar should be counted from the year of the Hijra of Muhammad from Mecca to Madinah (Medina).
'Umar married a total of 9 women in his lifetime and had 14 children, 10 sons and 4 daughters. The details are as follow:
Wife: Zaynab bint Mazh'un (at the time of Jahiliyyah [Days of Ignorance])
Son: Abdullah ibn Umar
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (The Older)
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar
Daughter: Hafsa bint Umar
Wife: Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima (divorced)
Son: Ubaidullah ibn Umar
Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar
Wife: Quraybah bint Abi Umayyah al-Makhzumi (divorced, married by Abdulrehman ibn Abu Bakr)
Wife: Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham (after her husband, a former ally of 'Umar and a companion Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl was killed in Battle of Yarmouk, later divorced but al-Madaini says he did not divorce her)
Daughter: Fatima bint 'Umar
Wife: Jamilah bint Ashim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah (from the tribe of Aws)
Son: Asim ibn Umar
Wife: Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nifayl (cousin of Umar and former wife of Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr married 'Umar in the year 12 AH and after 'Umar was murdered, she married az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam)
Son: Iyaad ibn 'Umar
Wife: Umm Kulthum bint 'Ali (the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib)
Son: Zayd ibn 'Umar, (famously known as Ibnul Khalifatayn; the son of the two Caliphs i.e Umar and Ali).
Daughter: Ruqayyah bint 'Umar
Wife: Luhyah (a woman from Yemen (Yaman) who's marital status with 'Umar is disputed, al-Waqidi said that she was Umm Walad, meaning a slave woman)
Son: Abdulrahman ibn 'Umar (the youngest Abdulrehman while some say the middle Abdulrehman from Luhyah)
Wife: Fukayhah (as Umm Walad)
Daughter: Zaynab bint 'Umar (the smallest child of 'Umar from Fukayhah)
Another son is, az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, called Abu Shahmah, though from which wife is unknown.
'Umar I see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Omar see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Umar the Great see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Farooq the Great see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
Farooq, al- see ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
‘Umar ibn Hafs
‘Umar ibn Hafs (d. 771). Governor of Ifriqiya. He was appointed by the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 768 to subdue the Kharijites who rose in a general insurrection under the Sufi Abu Qurra.
‘Umar ibn Hafsun
‘Umar ibn Hafsun ('Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far) (Omar ben Hafsun) (c. 850-917/918). Leader of a famous rebellion in Muslim Spain. After his conversion to Islam, he spent some time at Tahert, Algeria. Upon returning he established himself in the almost impregnable fortress of Bobastro and exercised complete authority over the mountainous region between Ronda and Malaga. In 883, he submitted to the Umayyad amir Muhammad I ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman II (r. 852-886), but in the following year recaptured Bobastro. He now became the champion of the malcontents, whether Christians or neo-Muslims, repudiated Islam openly, took the name Samuel and began to lead a regular crusade against Islam. Bobastro was captured by the Umayyad amir ‘Abd al-Rahman III in 928.
`Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far, known in Spanish history as Omar ben Hafsun, was a 9th century Muslim leader of anti-Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia.
The background of Umar ibn Hafsun has been the subject of conflicting claims. His contemporary, the poet Ibn Abd Rabbih (860-940) referred to him as a Sawada, a descendant of black Africans. Writing a century later, Ibn Hayyan recorded a pedigree for Umar ibn Hafsan, tracing his descent to a great-grandfather, Ja'far, who had converted to Islam and settled in the Ronda area. The pedigree then traces back several additional generations to a Count Marcellus (or perhaps Frugelo), son of Alfonso, apparently a Christian Visigoth. This pedigree was copied by later historians, including Ibn Idhari, Ibn Khatib and Ibn Khaldun, as well as the A'lam Malaga (History of Malaga) begun by ibn 'Askar and completed by Ibn Khamis, and more recent authors such as Dozy, in his Histoire des Mussulmans d'Espagne (History of the Muslims of Spain). However, the pre-conversion portion of this pedigree was probably invented by Umar himself. Regardless, his family owned lands in Iznate, Málaga where ibn Hafsun grew up.
Ibn Hafsun was born around 850 in the mountains near Parauta, in what is now Málaga province. A wild youth, he had a very violent temper and was involved in a number of disputes, even a homicide around the year 879. He joined a group of brigands, was captured by the wali (governor) of Málaga, who merely imposed a fine (having not been informed of the homicide). The governor subsequently lost his post. Ibn Hafsun fled the jurisdiction to Africa where he worked briefly as an apprentice tailor or stone mason.
He soon returned to Andalucia, albeit as an outlaw, and joined the bandits who were in rebellion against the caliphate, wherein he soon rose to a leadership position. He settled in the ruins of the old Bobastro castle. He rebuilt the castle, and fortified the nearby town of Ardales, Malaga. He rallied disaffected muwallads and mozárabs to the cause, playing off resentment at the unfair, heavy taxation and humiliating treatment they were receiving at the hands of Abd ar-Rahman and his successors. He acquired castles and lands in a wide area, not only in Malaga, but including portions of the provinces of Cádiz, Granada known then as Elvira, Jaén, and Seville. By 883, he had become the leader of the rebels in the provinces to the south and west of the Emirate of Cordoba. The year before, in 882, he is said to have fought the Emir in a battle in which ally García Íñiguez of Pamplona was killed. About 885, in order to be more centrally located and quicker to respond to external threats, ibn Hafsun moved his headquarters to the town of Poley, which is now known as Aguilar de la Frontera.
After Ibn Hafsun’s defeat by the forces of Abdallah ibn Muhammad at the battle of Poley in 891, he moved his headquarters back to Bobastro. In 898, Lubb ibn Muhammad, of the Banu Qasi, was marching an army to support Umar when the death of his father at Zaragoza forced Lubb to abandon the campaign. In 899, Ibn Hafsun renounced Islam and became a Christian, being christened as Samuel. His motivations seem to have been opportunistic, hoping to obtain military support from Alfonso III of Leon, who had met with indifference overtures by Ibn Hafsun on behalf of Ibn Marwan. His conversion proved a major political mistake which although helping to attract significant Mozarab support, cost him the support of most of his Mullawad followers. He also built at Bobastro the Iglesia Mozarabe (Mozarab Church).
Ibn Hafsun remained a serious threat to Córdoba, even though in 910 he offered allegiance to the Fatimid rulers of north Africa, and when Abd-ar-Rahman III became Emir of Cordoba in 912 he instigated a policy of annual Spring offensives against Ibn Hafsun, using mercenary troops. In 913, they captured the city of Seville, and by the end of 914 had captured 70 of Ibn Hafsun’s castles. In 916, he joined forces with the Umayyads in a campaign against northern Christian kingdoms. The reasons for this are obscure, as is whether it was done in contrition or merely as an expedient compromise. For awhile, even taxes were paid to the Umayyads.
Ibn Hafsun died in 917/918 and was buried in the Iglesia Mozarabe. His coalition then crumbled, and while his sons Ja'far, 'Abd-ar-Rahman and Hafs tried to continue the resistance, they eventually fell to 'Abd-ar-Rahman III's plots and armies. The last, Hafs, surrendered Bobastro in 928 and afterward fought with the Umayyad army in Galicia. With Bobastro's fall, the mortal remains of Ibn Hafsun and his slain sons were exhumed by the emir and posthumously crucified outside the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
'Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far see ‘Umar ibn Hafsun
Omar ben Hafsun see ‘Umar ibn Hafsun
‘Umar ibn Hafsun ('Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far) (Omar ben Hafsun) (c. 850-917/918). Leader of a famous rebellion in Muslim Spain. After his conversion to Islam, he spent some time at Tahert, Algeria. Upon returning he established himself in the almost impregnable fortress of Bobastro and exercised complete authority over the mountainous region between Ronda and Malaga. In 883, he submitted to the Umayyad amir Muhammad I ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman II (r. 852-886), but in the following year recaptured Bobastro. He now became the champion of the malcontents, whether Christians or neo-Muslims, repudiated Islam openly, took the name Samuel and began to lead a regular crusade against Islam. Bobastro was captured by the Umayyad amir ‘Abd al-Rahman III in 928.
`Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far, known in Spanish history as Omar ben Hafsun, was a 9th century Muslim leader of anti-Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia.
The background of Umar ibn Hafsun has been the subject of conflicting claims. His contemporary, the poet Ibn Abd Rabbih (860-940) referred to him as a Sawada, a descendant of black Africans. Writing a century later, Ibn Hayyan recorded a pedigree for Umar ibn Hafsan, tracing his descent to a great-grandfather, Ja'far, who had converted to Islam and settled in the Ronda area. The pedigree then traces back several additional generations to a Count Marcellus (or perhaps Frugelo), son of Alfonso, apparently a Christian Visigoth. This pedigree was copied by later historians, including Ibn Idhari, Ibn Khatib and Ibn Khaldun, as well as the A'lam Malaga (History of Malaga) begun by ibn 'Askar and completed by Ibn Khamis, and more recent authors such as Dozy, in his Histoire des Mussulmans d'Espagne (History of the Muslims of Spain). However, the pre-conversion portion of this pedigree was probably invented by Umar himself. Regardless, his family owned lands in Iznate, Málaga where ibn Hafsun grew up.
Ibn Hafsun was born around 850 in the mountains near Parauta, in what is now Málaga province. A wild youth, he had a very violent temper and was involved in a number of disputes, even a homicide around the year 879. He joined a group of brigands, was captured by the wali (governor) of Málaga, who merely imposed a fine (having not been informed of the homicide). The governor subsequently lost his post. Ibn Hafsun fled the jurisdiction to Africa where he worked briefly as an apprentice tailor or stone mason.
He soon returned to Andalucia, albeit as an outlaw, and joined the bandits who were in rebellion against the caliphate, wherein he soon rose to a leadership position. He settled in the ruins of the old Bobastro castle. He rebuilt the castle, and fortified the nearby town of Ardales, Malaga. He rallied disaffected muwallads and mozárabs to the cause, playing off resentment at the unfair, heavy taxation and humiliating treatment they were receiving at the hands of Abd ar-Rahman and his successors. He acquired castles and lands in a wide area, not only in Malaga, but including portions of the provinces of Cádiz, Granada known then as Elvira, Jaén, and Seville. By 883, he had become the leader of the rebels in the provinces to the south and west of the Emirate of Cordoba. The year before, in 882, he is said to have fought the Emir in a battle in which ally García Íñiguez of Pamplona was killed. About 885, in order to be more centrally located and quicker to respond to external threats, ibn Hafsun moved his headquarters to the town of Poley, which is now known as Aguilar de la Frontera.
After Ibn Hafsun’s defeat by the forces of Abdallah ibn Muhammad at the battle of Poley in 891, he moved his headquarters back to Bobastro. In 898, Lubb ibn Muhammad, of the Banu Qasi, was marching an army to support Umar when the death of his father at Zaragoza forced Lubb to abandon the campaign. In 899, Ibn Hafsun renounced Islam and became a Christian, being christened as Samuel. His motivations seem to have been opportunistic, hoping to obtain military support from Alfonso III of Leon, who had met with indifference overtures by Ibn Hafsun on behalf of Ibn Marwan. His conversion proved a major political mistake which although helping to attract significant Mozarab support, cost him the support of most of his Mullawad followers. He also built at Bobastro the Iglesia Mozarabe (Mozarab Church).
Ibn Hafsun remained a serious threat to Córdoba, even though in 910 he offered allegiance to the Fatimid rulers of north Africa, and when Abd-ar-Rahman III became Emir of Cordoba in 912 he instigated a policy of annual Spring offensives against Ibn Hafsun, using mercenary troops. In 913, they captured the city of Seville, and by the end of 914 had captured 70 of Ibn Hafsun’s castles. In 916, he joined forces with the Umayyads in a campaign against northern Christian kingdoms. The reasons for this are obscure, as is whether it was done in contrition or merely as an expedient compromise. For awhile, even taxes were paid to the Umayyads.
Ibn Hafsun died in 917/918 and was buried in the Iglesia Mozarabe. His coalition then crumbled, and while his sons Ja'far, 'Abd-ar-Rahman and Hafs tried to continue the resistance, they eventually fell to 'Abd-ar-Rahman III's plots and armies. The last, Hafs, surrendered Bobastro in 928 and afterward fought with the Umayyad army in Galicia. With Bobastro's fall, the mortal remains of Ibn Hafsun and his slain sons were exhumed by the emir and posthumously crucified outside the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
'Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ja'far see ‘Umar ibn Hafsun
Omar ben Hafsun see ‘Umar ibn Hafsun
‘Umar ibn Idris
‘Umar ibn Idris (d. c. 1388). Ruler of the Kanuri empire of Kanem-Bornu (r.1384-1388). He moved the center of the empire from Kanem to Bornu. One of his predecessors, the famous Dunama Dibbalemi (around 1250), had precipitated a conflict with the neighboring Bulala nomads, who were descendants of an earlier Kanem ruler. The conflict continued into the 14th century, and ‘Umar’s five immediate predecessors were killed fighting the Bulala. ‘Umar abandoned Kanem, east of Lake Chad, and moved his kingdom to Bornu, west of the lake. The wars with the Bulala continued to the end of the century.
‘Umar ibn Idris (d. c. 1388). Ruler of the Kanuri empire of Kanem-Bornu (r.1384-1388). He moved the center of the empire from Kanem to Bornu. One of his predecessors, the famous Dunama Dibbalemi (around 1250), had precipitated a conflict with the neighboring Bulala nomads, who were descendants of an earlier Kanem ruler. The conflict continued into the 14th century, and ‘Umar’s five immediate predecessors were killed fighting the Bulala. ‘Umar abandoned Kanem, east of Lake Chad, and moved his kingdom to Bornu, west of the lake. The wars with the Bulala continued to the end of the century.
‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi (Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin) (Umar of Bornu) (d. 1881). Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu (r.1837-1881).
‘Umar succeeded his father al-Kanemi. Al-Kanemi had usurped power from the thousand year old Sefawa dynasty of Bornu. ‘Umar, like his father, permitted the Sefawa kings to remain as titular rulers. But when one of these Sefawa kings (Ibrahim) tried to regain power by allying with the state of Wadai. ‘Umar killed both Ibrahim and Ibrahim’s son. This act ended the ancient dynasty of the Sefawa kings.
‘Umar was a weak and indecisive ruler who came to rely heavily on his unpopular wazir -- his unpopular chief advisor. The nobles of the court became so dissatisfied that, in 1853, they supported a coup led by ‘Umar’s brother, Abdurrahman.
Abdurrahman proved to be a tryrannical ruler. Support soon swung back in favor of ‘Umar, who had seemed all the more preferable because his wazir had died. The next year Abdurrahman was deposed and ‘Umar was reinstated. Abdurrahman was killed shortly afterwards.
For the next thirteen years, the most powerful man in Bornu was Laminu Njitiya. Laminu Njitiya was a former bandit who rose to become ‘Umar’s new advisor. A capable and popular man, Laminu died in 1871.
In the last years of ‘Umar’s reign the power of the nobility increased at the king’s expense. ‘Umar was succeeded at his death by his own son, Bukar. Bukar had made his reputation as a military commander while his father was still alive.
Bukar was probably the de facto ruler of Bornu during ‘Umar’s last year.
Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin or Umar of Borno was shehu (Sheik) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire and son of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi.
Umar came to power after a civil war, the first ruler in a long line from the Kanemi dynasty, and not from the traditional Sayfawa dynasty. The Kanem-Bornu Empire survived the end of the latter dynasty; but Umar, who eschewed the ancient title mai for the simpler designation shehu (from the Arabic shaykh), could not match his father's vitality and gradually allowed the kingdom to be ruled by advisers (wazirs). Bornu began to decline, as a result of administrative disorganization, regional particularism, and attacks by the militant Ouaddai Empire to the east. The decline continued under Umar's sons, and in 1893 Rabih az-Zubayr, leading an invading army from eastern Sudan, conquered Bornu.
Umar ruled from 1846 until November 1853, and for a second time from September 1854 to 1881. Between these periods, `Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Amin was mai.
Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin see ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
Umar of Bornu see ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi (Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin) (Umar of Bornu) (d. 1881). Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu (r.1837-1881).
‘Umar succeeded his father al-Kanemi. Al-Kanemi had usurped power from the thousand year old Sefawa dynasty of Bornu. ‘Umar, like his father, permitted the Sefawa kings to remain as titular rulers. But when one of these Sefawa kings (Ibrahim) tried to regain power by allying with the state of Wadai. ‘Umar killed both Ibrahim and Ibrahim’s son. This act ended the ancient dynasty of the Sefawa kings.
‘Umar was a weak and indecisive ruler who came to rely heavily on his unpopular wazir -- his unpopular chief advisor. The nobles of the court became so dissatisfied that, in 1853, they supported a coup led by ‘Umar’s brother, Abdurrahman.
Abdurrahman proved to be a tryrannical ruler. Support soon swung back in favor of ‘Umar, who had seemed all the more preferable because his wazir had died. The next year Abdurrahman was deposed and ‘Umar was reinstated. Abdurrahman was killed shortly afterwards.
For the next thirteen years, the most powerful man in Bornu was Laminu Njitiya. Laminu Njitiya was a former bandit who rose to become ‘Umar’s new advisor. A capable and popular man, Laminu died in 1871.
In the last years of ‘Umar’s reign the power of the nobility increased at the king’s expense. ‘Umar was succeeded at his death by his own son, Bukar. Bukar had made his reputation as a military commander while his father was still alive.
Bukar was probably the de facto ruler of Bornu during ‘Umar’s last year.
Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin or Umar of Borno was shehu (Sheik) of the Kanem-Bornu Empire and son of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi.
Umar came to power after a civil war, the first ruler in a long line from the Kanemi dynasty, and not from the traditional Sayfawa dynasty. The Kanem-Bornu Empire survived the end of the latter dynasty; but Umar, who eschewed the ancient title mai for the simpler designation shehu (from the Arabic shaykh), could not match his father's vitality and gradually allowed the kingdom to be ruled by advisers (wazirs). Bornu began to decline, as a result of administrative disorganization, regional particularism, and attacks by the militant Ouaddai Empire to the east. The decline continued under Umar's sons, and in 1893 Rabih az-Zubayr, leading an invading army from eastern Sudan, conquered Bornu.
Umar ruled from 1846 until November 1853, and for a second time from September 1854 to 1881. Between these periods, `Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Amin was mai.
Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin see ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
Umar of Bornu see ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi
‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall (al-Hajj ‘Umar) (El Hadj Umar Tall) (El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall) (ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal) (el-Hadj Omar ibn Saʿīd Tal) (b. c. 1794/1797, Halvar, Fouta-Toro [now in Senegal] - d. February 12, 1864, near Hamdalahi, Tukulor empire [now in Mali]). Founder of the Tukolor Empire. A theologian, political reformer, and military strategist, he led one of the major West African Islamic revolutionary movements. He was born in Futa Toro in present Senegal, a region known historically for the export of Islamic reform throughout West Africa. His family belonged to the ruling Tukolor clerical class. Although his father was a member of the ancient Qadiriyya Islamic brotherhood, he himself elected to join the newer Tijaniyya sect. The latter appealed more to the masses, emphasizing salvation through deeds rather than through study. Nevertheless, by 1826, the year he undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca, he was an established scholar. On the way to Mecca, he spent about seven months in Sokoto, the seat of the Fula Islamic empire created by ‘Uthman dan Fodio. Arriving at Mecca and Medina, he was made a high official in the Tijaniyya. There he was exposed to the recently suppressed Wahhabi movement in central Arabia. This was a militant, anti-Turkish revivalist movement which stressed a return to fundamental Islam. ‘Umar also observed Muhammad Ali’s attempts to industrialize Egypt.
On his return, ‘Umar stopped in Bornu, and again in Sokoto (in 1832), where he remained for nearly seven years as a guest of Muhammad Bello, the son and successor of ‘Uthman dan Fodio. There he gained a large following and considerable wealth. Shortly after Muhammad Bello died (in 1837), ‘Umar travelled to Macina, then to the rival state of Segu, both of which were later to fall to the Tukolor armies. He returned to Futa Toro briefly in 1840, and then moved with his followers to Futa Jalon in present Guinea. Here the ruler, Bubakar, permitted him to establish a religious community near Timbo, the Futa capital. In 1846, he resumed his travels, touring the Senegambia. He met with French officials, who were receptive to his ideas of uniting and pacifying the Senegal River valley.
‘Umar returned to Futa Jalon but the political authorities there, fearing his power and his ideas on Islamic revivalism, forced him to emigrate to Dinguiray (in 1848), which he made his new base. Shortly afterwards, he attacked a number of nearby non-Muslim states. In 1852, he declared a jihad (holy war). In the next ten years, he conquered Dinguiray, Bure, Segu, Kaarta, and Macina.
‘Umar’s career had a number of parallels with that of ‘Uthman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Empire. Both were strong advocates of revivalist Islam. ‘Umar saw his escape from Futa Jalon in the same way that ‘Uthman viewed his flight from Gobir -- similar to the escape of the Prophet from Mecca. Both were charismatic figures. And like ‘Uthman’s followers, those of ‘Umar joined the jihad for a variety of reasons, not all religious. Many were attempting to bring political revolution to their own lands, using Islamic reform as a vehicle. Unlike ‘Uthman, however, ‘Umar was a capable military strategist, who led his own armies into battle.
The greatest challenge to ‘Umar’s empire came from the French, who under Louis Faidherbe were advancing into the Western Sudan. ‘Umar depended upon French sources for weapons. When these were cut off, he raided French trading posts on the Senegal River (in 1835). At the same time, he urged the Muslim community residing in the French colony of Saint Louis to revolt. Faidherbe advanced French outposts up the Senegal River and gave active support to anti-Tukolor rulers. After ‘Umar completed the conquest of Kaarta he attacked the French fort at Medine (1857). Although he was beaten back, he continued harassing the French until they captured his stronghold at Guemou in 1859.
Since ‘Umar was more interested in fighting the Bambara of Segu, while Faidherbe preferred to consolidate his gains, the two sides signed a treaty in 1860. They continued to clash sporadically. In 1863, however, ‘Umar was distracted by a major rebellion within the empire. Fighting spread throughout Segu and Macina, led by Ba Lobbo and Abdul Salam. In Timbuktu, Shaikh Sidi Ahmad al-Bakka’i amassed an anti-Tukolor army. ‘Umar was trapped in Macina near the town of Hamdallahi in February 1864, and burned to death when the enemy set fire to the area to prevent his escape. Macina, however, was quickly reconquered by ‘Umar’s nephew, Ahmadu Tijani. Leadership of the empire fell to ‘Umar son, Ahmadu ibn ‘Umar.
ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal was a West African Tukulor leader who, after launching a jihad (holy war) in 1854, established a Muslim realm, the Tukulor empire, between the upper Senegal and Niger rivers (in what is now upper Guinea, eastern Senegal, and western and central Mali). The empire survived until the 1890s under his son, Aḥmadu Seku.
ʿUmar Tal was born in the upper valley of the Sénégal River, in the land of the Tukulor people. His father was an educated Muslim who instructed students in the Qurʾān, and ʿUmar, a mystic, perfected his studies in Arabic and the Qurʾān with Moorish scholars who initiated him into the Tijānī brotherhood.
At the age of 23, ʿUmar set out on the pilgrimage to Mecca. He was already well known for his piety and erudition and was received with honor in the countries through which he traveled. Muhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto in Nigeria, offered him his daughter Maryam in marriage. Enriched by this princely alliance, ʿUmar had become an important personage when he reached Mecca about 1827. He visited the tomb of the Prophet in Medina, returned to Mecca, and then settled for a while in Cairo. On a visit to Jerusalem he succeeded in curing a son of Ibrahim Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt. In Mecca, finally, he was designated caliph for black Africa by the head of the Tijānī brotherhood.
Armed with his prestige as a scholar, mystic, and miracle worker, ʿUmar returned to the interior of Africa in 1833. Trained for political leadership by his father-in-law, Muhammad Bello, the emir of Sokoto, with whom he again spent several years, and his position strengthened by the title of caliph, ʿUmar decided to obey the voice of God and to convert the pagan Africans to Islām. By now he not only was looked upon as a miracle worker but also had acquired a bodyguard of followers and of devoted Hausa slaves.
Upon the death of Bello, he departed for his native country, hoping to conquer the Fouta region with the assistance of the French, in exchange for a trade treaty, an agreement the French declined because of ʿUmar’s growing strength. ʿUmar realized that faith without force would be ineffective and made careful preparations for his task. In northeastern Guinea, where he first established himself, he wrote down his teachings in a book called Kitāb rimāḥ ḥizb ar-raḥīm (“Book of the Spears of the Party of God”). Deriving his inspiration from Ṣūfism—a mystic Islāmic doctrine—he defined the Tijānī “way” as the best one for saving one’s soul and for approaching God. He recommended meditation, self-denial, and blind obedience to the sheikh. He gained many followers in Guinea, but, when in 1845 he went to preach in his own country, he met with little success.
El Hadj Umar Tall remains a legendary figure in Senegal, Guinea, and Mali, though his legacy varies by country. Where the Senegalese tend to remember him as a hero of anti-French resistance, Malian sources tend to describe him as an invader who prepared the way for the French by weakening West Africa. Umar Tall also figures prominently in Maryse Condé's historical novel Segu.
El Hadj Umar Tall see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
Hadj Omar ibn Saʿīd Tal, el- see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
Hajj ‘Umar, al- see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall (al-Hajj ‘Umar) (El Hadj Umar Tall) (El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall) (ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal) (el-Hadj Omar ibn Saʿīd Tal) (b. c. 1794/1797, Halvar, Fouta-Toro [now in Senegal] - d. February 12, 1864, near Hamdalahi, Tukulor empire [now in Mali]). Founder of the Tukolor Empire. A theologian, political reformer, and military strategist, he led one of the major West African Islamic revolutionary movements. He was born in Futa Toro in present Senegal, a region known historically for the export of Islamic reform throughout West Africa. His family belonged to the ruling Tukolor clerical class. Although his father was a member of the ancient Qadiriyya Islamic brotherhood, he himself elected to join the newer Tijaniyya sect. The latter appealed more to the masses, emphasizing salvation through deeds rather than through study. Nevertheless, by 1826, the year he undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca, he was an established scholar. On the way to Mecca, he spent about seven months in Sokoto, the seat of the Fula Islamic empire created by ‘Uthman dan Fodio. Arriving at Mecca and Medina, he was made a high official in the Tijaniyya. There he was exposed to the recently suppressed Wahhabi movement in central Arabia. This was a militant, anti-Turkish revivalist movement which stressed a return to fundamental Islam. ‘Umar also observed Muhammad Ali’s attempts to industrialize Egypt.
On his return, ‘Umar stopped in Bornu, and again in Sokoto (in 1832), where he remained for nearly seven years as a guest of Muhammad Bello, the son and successor of ‘Uthman dan Fodio. There he gained a large following and considerable wealth. Shortly after Muhammad Bello died (in 1837), ‘Umar travelled to Macina, then to the rival state of Segu, both of which were later to fall to the Tukolor armies. He returned to Futa Toro briefly in 1840, and then moved with his followers to Futa Jalon in present Guinea. Here the ruler, Bubakar, permitted him to establish a religious community near Timbo, the Futa capital. In 1846, he resumed his travels, touring the Senegambia. He met with French officials, who were receptive to his ideas of uniting and pacifying the Senegal River valley.
‘Umar returned to Futa Jalon but the political authorities there, fearing his power and his ideas on Islamic revivalism, forced him to emigrate to Dinguiray (in 1848), which he made his new base. Shortly afterwards, he attacked a number of nearby non-Muslim states. In 1852, he declared a jihad (holy war). In the next ten years, he conquered Dinguiray, Bure, Segu, Kaarta, and Macina.
‘Umar’s career had a number of parallels with that of ‘Uthman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Empire. Both were strong advocates of revivalist Islam. ‘Umar saw his escape from Futa Jalon in the same way that ‘Uthman viewed his flight from Gobir -- similar to the escape of the Prophet from Mecca. Both were charismatic figures. And like ‘Uthman’s followers, those of ‘Umar joined the jihad for a variety of reasons, not all religious. Many were attempting to bring political revolution to their own lands, using Islamic reform as a vehicle. Unlike ‘Uthman, however, ‘Umar was a capable military strategist, who led his own armies into battle.
The greatest challenge to ‘Umar’s empire came from the French, who under Louis Faidherbe were advancing into the Western Sudan. ‘Umar depended upon French sources for weapons. When these were cut off, he raided French trading posts on the Senegal River (in 1835). At the same time, he urged the Muslim community residing in the French colony of Saint Louis to revolt. Faidherbe advanced French outposts up the Senegal River and gave active support to anti-Tukolor rulers. After ‘Umar completed the conquest of Kaarta he attacked the French fort at Medine (1857). Although he was beaten back, he continued harassing the French until they captured his stronghold at Guemou in 1859.
Since ‘Umar was more interested in fighting the Bambara of Segu, while Faidherbe preferred to consolidate his gains, the two sides signed a treaty in 1860. They continued to clash sporadically. In 1863, however, ‘Umar was distracted by a major rebellion within the empire. Fighting spread throughout Segu and Macina, led by Ba Lobbo and Abdul Salam. In Timbuktu, Shaikh Sidi Ahmad al-Bakka’i amassed an anti-Tukolor army. ‘Umar was trapped in Macina near the town of Hamdallahi in February 1864, and burned to death when the enemy set fire to the area to prevent his escape. Macina, however, was quickly reconquered by ‘Umar’s nephew, Ahmadu Tijani. Leadership of the empire fell to ‘Umar son, Ahmadu ibn ‘Umar.
ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal was a West African Tukulor leader who, after launching a jihad (holy war) in 1854, established a Muslim realm, the Tukulor empire, between the upper Senegal and Niger rivers (in what is now upper Guinea, eastern Senegal, and western and central Mali). The empire survived until the 1890s under his son, Aḥmadu Seku.
ʿUmar Tal was born in the upper valley of the Sénégal River, in the land of the Tukulor people. His father was an educated Muslim who instructed students in the Qurʾān, and ʿUmar, a mystic, perfected his studies in Arabic and the Qurʾān with Moorish scholars who initiated him into the Tijānī brotherhood.
At the age of 23, ʿUmar set out on the pilgrimage to Mecca. He was already well known for his piety and erudition and was received with honor in the countries through which he traveled. Muhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto in Nigeria, offered him his daughter Maryam in marriage. Enriched by this princely alliance, ʿUmar had become an important personage when he reached Mecca about 1827. He visited the tomb of the Prophet in Medina, returned to Mecca, and then settled for a while in Cairo. On a visit to Jerusalem he succeeded in curing a son of Ibrahim Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt. In Mecca, finally, he was designated caliph for black Africa by the head of the Tijānī brotherhood.
Armed with his prestige as a scholar, mystic, and miracle worker, ʿUmar returned to the interior of Africa in 1833. Trained for political leadership by his father-in-law, Muhammad Bello, the emir of Sokoto, with whom he again spent several years, and his position strengthened by the title of caliph, ʿUmar decided to obey the voice of God and to convert the pagan Africans to Islām. By now he not only was looked upon as a miracle worker but also had acquired a bodyguard of followers and of devoted Hausa slaves.
Upon the death of Bello, he departed for his native country, hoping to conquer the Fouta region with the assistance of the French, in exchange for a trade treaty, an agreement the French declined because of ʿUmar’s growing strength. ʿUmar realized that faith without force would be ineffective and made careful preparations for his task. In northeastern Guinea, where he first established himself, he wrote down his teachings in a book called Kitāb rimāḥ ḥizb ar-raḥīm (“Book of the Spears of the Party of God”). Deriving his inspiration from Ṣūfism—a mystic Islāmic doctrine—he defined the Tijānī “way” as the best one for saving one’s soul and for approaching God. He recommended meditation, self-denial, and blind obedience to the sheikh. He gained many followers in Guinea, but, when in 1845 he went to preach in his own country, he met with little success.
El Hadj Umar Tall remains a legendary figure in Senegal, Guinea, and Mali, though his legacy varies by country. Where the Senegalese tend to remember him as a hero of anti-French resistance, Malian sources tend to describe him as an invader who prepared the way for the French by weakening West Africa. Umar Tall also figures prominently in Maryse Condé's historical novel Segu.
El Hadj Umar Tall see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd Tal see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
Hadj Omar ibn Saʿīd Tal, el- see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
Hajj ‘Umar, al- see ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id Tall
No comments:
Post a Comment