Editing Umar (section)

== Assessments and legacy ==
=== Political legacy ===
Umar was the first caliph to adopt the title {{Transliteration|ar|[[amir al-mu'minin]]}} (Commander of the Faithful).{{Sfnp|Madelung|1997|p=49}} Umar was one of Muhammad's chief advisers. After Muhammad's passing, it was Umar who reconciled the Medinan Muslims to accept Abu Bakr, a Meccan, as the caliph.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Umar I {{!}} Muslim caliph |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Umar-I |access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref> During Abu Bakr's era, he actively participated as his secretary and main adviser.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/umar-ibn-al-khattab |title=Umar ibn al-Khattab |website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org |language=en |access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref> After succeeding Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar won over the hearts of Bedouin tribes by emancipating all their prisoners and slaves taken during the Ridda wars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crawford |first=Peter |date=16 July 2013 |title=The War of the Three Gods - Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |isbn=9781473828650 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-oHBAAAQBAJ&q=umar+slaves+emancipation+ridda&pg=PA119}}</ref>

He built up an efficient administrative structure that held together his vast realm. He organized an effective intelligence network, one of the reasons for his strong grip on his bureaucracy.<ref>''Islamic Imperialism'', Efraim Karsh, p. 25</ref>

Umar never appointed governors for more than two years, for they might amass too much local power. He dismissed his most successful general, [[Khalid ibn Walid]], because he wanted people to know that it is Allah who grants victory, and to counter the cult of personality that had built up around Khalid, for the sake of the Muslim faith.{{sfnp|Lock|2003|p=70}}

He would patrol the streets of Medina with a whip in his hand, ready to punish any offenders he might come across. It is said that Umar's whip was feared more than the sword of another man. But with all of this, he was also known for being kindhearted, answering the needs of the fatherless and widows.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsP3DAAAQBAJ&q=umar+whip+streets+medina&pg=PA27 |title=Entrepreneurship and Management in an Islamic Context |last1=Ramadani |first1=Veland |last2=Dana |first2=Léo-Paul |last3=Gërguri-Rashiti |first3=Shqipe |last4=Ratten |first4=Vanessa |date=2 September 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319396798 |page=27 |language=en}}</ref>

Umar's swift imposition of justice against his governors for misdeeds made even powerful governors such as [[Mu'awiya I|Muawiyah]] scared of him. [[Ali ibn Abu Talib]], during the later rule of [[Uthman ibn Affan]], wanted Uthman to be more strict with his governors, saying, "I adjure you by God, do you know that Mu'awiyah was more afraid of Umar than was Umar's own servant Yarfa?"<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kq9RzQWlBNwC&q=I%20adjure%20you%20by%20God,%20do%20you%20know%20that%20Mu'awiyah%20was%20more%20afraid%20of%20Umar%20than%20was%20Umar's%20own%20slave%20Yarfa%E2%80%99&pg=PA143 |title=History of al-Tabari Vol. 15, The Crisis of the Early Caliphate - The Reign of Uthman A.D. 644-656/A.H. 24–35 |date=16 June 2015 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=9781438407289}}</ref>

Under Umar's rule, in order to promote strict discipline, Arab soldiers were settled outside of cities, between the desert and cultivated lands in special garrison towns known as "amsar". Known examples of such settlements are [[Basra]] and [[Kufa]] in Iraq and [[Fustat]] south of what would later become [[Cairo]]. His soldiers were forbidden to own land outside of Arabia. There were restrictions on their right to seize buildings and other immovable things usually thought of as prizes of war. Movable spoils were shared with the people of the umma, regardless of their social stratum.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSOdBAAAQBAJ&q=forbidden+to+acquire&pg=PA48 |title=A Concise History of the Middle East |last1=Goldschmidt |first1=Arthur Jr. |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |date=7 July 2015 |publisher=[[Perseus Books Group|Avalon Publishing]] |isbn=9780813349633 |pages=48–49 |language=en}}</ref>

A modern researcher writes about this:<ref>Mohtsham, Saeed M., [http://www.bizresearchpapers.com/Mohtsham.pdf ''Vision and Visionary Leadership – An Islamic Perspective'']</ref>

{{blockquote|He used to monitor public policy very closely and had kept the needs of the public central to his leadership approach. As second caliph of Islam, he refused to chop off the hands of thieves because he felt he had fallen short of his responsibility to provide meaningful employment to all his subjects. As a ruler of a vast kingdom, his vision was to ensure that every one in his kingdom should sleep on a full stomach.}}
{{blockquote|If a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates, Umar will be responsible for dereliction of duty.|(Umar)}}
{{blockquote|He also knew that just having a vision is not enough unless it is supported by effective strategies. He didn't only have a vision; he truly transformed his vision into actions. For example, to ensure that nobody sleeps hungry in his empire, he used to walk through the streets almost every night to see if there is any one needy or ill.}}

In ''[[The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', [[Edward Gibbon|Gibbon]] refers to Umar in the following terms:
{{blockquote|"Yet the abstinence and humility of Umar were not inferior to the virtues of Abubeker; his food consisted of barley bread or dates; his drink was water; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places; and a Persian satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Medina."<ref name="Gibbon1833">{{cite book |last=Gibbon |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Gibbon |title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOo5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA410 |date=1833 |publisher=Harper |page=410}}</ref>}}

His rule was one of the few moments in the history of Islam where Muslims were united as a single community. [[Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud]] would often weep whenever the subject of Umar was brought up. He said: "Umar was a fortress of Islam. People would enter Islam and not leave. When he died, the fortress was breached and now people are going out of Islam".<ref name="archive.org">{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume2/100713541-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-2#page/n397/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 2}}</ref> [[Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah]] before Umar died famously said: "If Umar dies, Islam would be weakened". People asked him why and his reply was "You will see what I am speaking about if you survive".<ref name="archive.org"/>

His greatest achievement from a religious perspective was the compilation of the Qur'an.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume1/100714724-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-1#page/n147/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 1 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> This had not been done during the time of Muhammad. However, during the Battle of Yamama, a great number of the memorisers of the Quran perished in the battle. On the advice of Umar, Abu Bakr tasked [[Zayd ibn Thabit]] with the momentous task of compiling the Quran into a single Book.<ref name="sunnah.com"/>

The [[Farooqui dynasty]] which ruled the [[Khandesh]] region in north of [[Maharashtra]], India, from 14th century until 16th century, has claimed their descent from Umar's lineage.<ref name="The Kingdom of Khandesh; Radhey Shyam">{{cite book |author1=Radhey Shyam |title=The Kingdom of Khandesh |date=1981 |publisher=Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i Delli |pages=157, 165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwoMAAAAIAAJ |access-date=6 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society Volumes 52–54; Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)">{{cite book |author1=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India) |title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society Volumes 52–54 |date=14 March 1962 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x07jAAAAMAAJ |access-date=6 March 2024 |language=en |quote=The rulers of Khandesh who claimed descent from Caliph Umar Faruq evinced the Faruq – like spirit of statesmanship, worldly wisdom, tenacity of purpose, tolerance and patriotism}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.92870 Alt URL]</ref>

=== Military legacy ===
Along with Khalid ibn Walid, Umar was influential in the Ridda wars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume2/100713541-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-2#page/n415/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 2 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

One strategic success was his sundering of the Byzantine-Sassanid alliance in 636, when Emperors [[Heraclius]] and [[Yazdegerd III]] allied against their common enemy.{{Citation needed|date= December 2017}} He was lucky in that the Persian Emperor Yazdegerd III couldn't synchronise with Heraclius as planned. Umar fully availed himself of the opportunity by inducing the Byzantines to act prematurely.{{Citation needed|date= December 2017}} This was contrary to the orders of Emperor Heraclius, who presumably wanted a coordinated attack along with the Persians. Umar did this by sending reinforcements to the Roman front in the [[Battle of Yarmouk]], with instructions that they should appear in the form of small bands, one after the other, giving the impression of a continuous stream of reinforcements that finally lured the Byzantines to an untimely battle.{{Citation needed|date= December 2017}} On the other hand, Yazdegerd III was engaged in negotiations that further gave Umar time to transfer his troops from Syria to Iraq. These troops proved decisive in the [[Battle of Qadisiyyah]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

His strategy resulted in a Muslim victory at the Second Battle of Emesa in 638, where the pro-Byzantine Christian Arabs of [[Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]], aided by the Byzantine Emperor, made an unexpected flanking movement and laid siege to [[Homs|Emesa (Homs)]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Umar issued an order to invade the very homeland of the Christian Arab forces besieging Emesa, the Jazira. A three-pronged attack against Jazira was launched from Iraq. To further pressure the Christian Arab armies, Umar instructed [[Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas]], commander of Muslim forces in Iraq, to send reinforcements to Emesa. Umar himself led reinforcements there from Medina. Under this unprecedented pressure, the Christian Arabs retreated from Emesa before Muslim reinforcements could arrive. The Muslims annexed [[Mesopotamia]] and parts of [[Byzantine Armenia]].{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

After the [[Battle of Nahavand]], Umar launched a full-scale invasion of the Sassanid Persian Empire. The invasion was a series of well-coordinated multi-pronged attacks designed to isolate and destroy their targets. Umar launched the invasion by attacking the very heart of Persia, aiming to isolate Azerbaijan and eastern Persia.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}} This was immediately followed by simultaneous attacks on Azerbaijan and Fars. Next, [[Sistan]] and [[Kerman province|Kirman]] were captured, thus isolating the stronghold of Persia, the Khurasan. The final expedition was launched against Khurasan, where, after the [[Battle of Oxus River]], the Persian empire ceased to exist, and Yazdegerd III fled to [[Central Asia]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

=== Religious legacy ===
==== Sunni views ====
{{Main|Sunni view of Umar}}

Umar is remembered by Sunnis as a rigid Muslim of a sound and just disposition in matters of religion; a man they title ''Fārūq'', meaning "Distinguisher", and the second of the rightly guided caliphs. He patched his clothes with skin, took buckets on his two shoulders, always riding his donkey without the saddle, rarely laughing and never joking with anyone. On his ring is written the words "Enough is Death as a reminder to you O' Umar".<ref name="misas168">''Tartib wa Tahthib Kitab [[Al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya]]'' by [[ibn Kathir]], published by Dar al-Wathan publications, [[Riyadh]], Saudi Arabia, 1422 AH (2002), compiled by Muhammad ibn Shamil as-Sulami, p. 168</ref> He did not seek advancement for his own family, but rather sought to advance the interests of the Muslim community, the ''[[ummah]]''. According to one of Muhammad's companions, [[Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud]]:
{{blockquote|Umar's submission to Islam was a conquest, his migration was a victory, his Imamate (period of rule) was a blessing, I have seen when we were unable to pray at the Kaabah until Umar submitted, when he submitted to Islam, he fought them (the pagans) until they left us alone and we prayed.|Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud|<ref>as-Suyuti, ''The History of the Khalifas Who Took the Right Way'', p. 112.</ref>}}

==== Shia views ====
{{Main|Shia view of Umar}}

Umar is viewed very negatively in the literature of [[Twelver]] [[Shi'a]] (the main branch of Shia Islam<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/shia-islam-s-holiest-sites.html |title=Shia Islam's Holiest Sites |date=25 April 2017}}</ref>{{sfnp|The World Factbook|2010}}) and is often regarded as a usurper of Ali's right to the Caliphate. After the [[Saqifah]] assembly chose Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar marched with armed men to Ali's house in order to get the allegiance of Ali and his supporters. Sources indicate that a threat was made to burn Ali's house if he refused, but the encounter ended when [[Fatima]], wife of [[Ali]], intervened.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zot5IK1csp0C&pg=PA19 |title=An Introduction to Shiʿi Islam - The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism |isbn=978-0-300-03531-5 |last1=Momen |first1=Moojan |date=1985 |page=19 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]]}}</ref> According to the majority of Twelver scholar writings, Fatima was physically assaulted by Umar, that this caused her to miscarry her child, [[Muhsin ibn Ali]], and led to her death soon after.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGhp8Obm3bgC&pg=PA45 |title=The Conference of Baghdad's Ulema |page=45 |publisher=Forgotten Books |isbn=9781605067087}}</ref> (see [[Umar at Fatimah's house]]). However, some Twelver scholars, such as [[Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah]], reject these accounts of physical abuse as a "myth",<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780195137996 |last=Walbridge |first=Linda S. |title=The Most Learned of the Shi'a - The Institution of the Marja' Taqlid |date=30 August 2001 |page=211}}</ref> although Fadlallah mentioned that his speech is a probability, and not a certain reason to reject that event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aparat.com/v/NayZp |title=تدلیس شبکه وهابی در سخنان آقای محمد حسین فضل الله |website=آپارات}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=September 2017}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shayeaat.ir/post/798 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320151502/http://shayeaat.ir/post/798 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 March 2017 |title=شایعات – کلیپ رد هجوم به منزل حضرت زهرا(س)، توسط آیت الله سید حسین فضل الله ! / شایعه 0717 |website=shayeaat.ir |date=11 March 2017}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=September 2017}}

Another Shia sect, the [[Zaydism|Zaidiyyah]] followers of [[Zayd ibn Ali]], generally has two views about that. Some branches, such as [[Jarudiyya]] (Sarhubiyya), don't accept Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs. For instance, Jarudiyya believes that Muhammad appointed Ali and believes that the denial of the Imamate of Ali after Muhammad's passing would lead to infidelity and deviation from the right path.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} The other view accepts Umar and Abu Bakr as legitimate caliphs, albeit inferior to Ali.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780195305036  |last=Ruthven |first=Malise |title=Islam in the World |date=20 April 2006 |page=186}}</ref> According to [[al-Tabari]] (and [[Ibn A'tham]]),<ref>{{Cite book |edition=1st |publisher=Dār al-ḍwāʾ |author=Alī Shīrī |title=Kitāb al-Futūḥ by Aḥmad ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī |location=Lebanon |date=1991 |volume=8 |page=289}}</ref> when asked about Abu Bakr and Umar, Zayd ibn Ali replied: "I have not heard anyone in my family renouncing them both nor saying anything but good about them [...] when they were entrusted with government they behaved justly with the people and acted according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah".<ref>''The waning of the Umayyad caliphate'' by Tabarī, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, pp. 37–38</ref><ref>''The Encyclopedia of Religion'', Vol. 16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p. 243, ''"They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd"''</ref>