''Omar'' ( ar, عُمَرْ) or ''Omar Farouk'' ( fa, عمر فاروق) is a historical

Arab television drama An Arab television drama or Arab soap opera (also known as musalsal ( ar, مسلسل), plural musalsalat ( ar, مسلسلات)) is a television form of melodramatic serialized fiction. The musalsalat are similar in style to Latin American telenove ...

miniseries-serial that was produced and broadcast by MBC1 and directed by the Syrian director

Hatem Ali Hatem Ali ( ar, حاتم علي) (2 June 1962 – 29 December 2020) was a Syrian television and cinema director, writer and actor. Biography Ali was born in Fiq, Golan Heights, then his family was forced to move to Damascus after Israel occ ...

. Co-produced by Qatar TV, the series is based on the life of

Omar ibn al-Khattab ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

(also spelled 'Umar', 583–644), the second

Caliph of Islam A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, and depicts his life from 18 years old until the moments of his death. The series faced large controversies due to its depiction of Omar,

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

and

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

, the four

Rashidun Caliphs , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...

, along with other characters, who some Muslims believe should not be depicted, much like Mohammad. The series consists of 31 episodes and was originally aired in the month of Ramadan since July 20, 2012. It was made at a cost of 200 million

Saudi riyals The Saudi riyal ( ar, ريال سعودي ') is the currency of Saudi Arabia. It is abbreviated as or SAR ''(Saudi Arabian Riyal)''. It is subdivided into 100 halalas ( ar, هللة '). The currency is pegged to the US dollar at a constant rate ...

and filmed in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, primarily in the cities of Marakesh,

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the ...

, Casablanca and Mohammedia. After the series was broadcast on MBC, it was dubbed into several languages for international broadcast and subtitled in English on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

; it received great support from many different Sunni scholarly bodies and people watching it.

Synopsis

The series starts with one of the pilgrimage of caliph

Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

where he delivers speeches to the pilgrims. The next scene comes with an exploration on

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

of the caliph where he emotionally flashbacks to his own 18 year's life when he was a young boy working for his rude father

Khattab ibn Nufayl Al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Nufayl () was an Arab chief from the tribe of Quraysh. He lived during the 6th century and was a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His son Umar would later become Muslim, and would come to be regarded by Sunni Musli ...

. The flashback perspective of Omar shows all the past story of his life from when he was a wrestler, a businessman and above all one of the leaders of the Quraish, and then to his life after his conversion into Islam being one of the closest companions of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

and an immensely devoted believer, a brave inspiration for all the contemporary Muslims and a bold warrior in all the contemporary Islamic battles. The story goes through the Meccan victory, Muhammad's death,

's legacy as caliph and his death, and finally Omar's legacy. From viewer's eye perspective, his legacy as caliph shows the biographical stories of improvements and complexities of his own caliphate till his assassination by Abu Lulu.

Cast

* Samer Ismail as

Umar ibn Al-Khattab ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

(physical actor) * Assad Khalifa as

(voice actor) * Ghassan Massoud as

* Mehyar Khaddour as Khalid ibn al-Walid * Tamer Al-Arbeed as

Uthman ibn Affan Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

* Ghanem Zrelli as Ali ibn Abi Talib * Faisal Al-Omairi as Bilal ibn Rabah * Alaa' Rashidi as Ammar ibn Yasir * Rafi Wahba as Jafar ibn Abi Talib * Abdullah Sheikh Khamees as

Yasir ibn Amer Yāsir ibn ʿĀmir ibn Mālik al-ʿAnsīy ( ar, يَاسِر ٱبْن عَامِر ٱبْن مَالِك ٱلْعَنْسِيّ) (sixth/seventh century C.E.) was an early companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is the second martyr in Isla ...

* Baha' Tharwat as

Abu Hudhayfa ibn 'Utba Abū Ḥudhayfa ibn ʿUtba (Arabic: أبو حذيفة بن عتبة; died 633), full name Abū Ḥudhayfa ibn ʿUtba ibn Rabīʿa was an early companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the son of Utba ibn Rabi'a, one of the Leaders of Ban ...

* Abdel-Aziz Makhioun as Abu Talib * Mohammad Miftah as

Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ( ar, حمزة بن عبد المطلب; 568 – 625)Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. was a ...

. * Ahmed Mansour as

Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf ( ar, عبد الرحمن بن عوف) () was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. One of the wealthiest among the companions, he is known for being one of the ten to whom Paradise was promised. ...

* Mahmoud Khalili as

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ ( ar, عامر بن عبدالله بن الجراح; 583–639 CE), better known as Abū ʿUbayda ( ar, أبو عبيدة ) was a Muslim commander and one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet ...

* Suhail Jbaei as

Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas , image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png , alt = , caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia , death_place ...

* Qasim Melho as

Amr ibn al-'As ( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned impor ...

* Hisham Bahloul as Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahlاستياء جماعي من برمجة رمضان... ومغاربة يتألقون في مسلسل ''الفاروق''
، مجلة لها، 8 أغسطس 2012. * Yazan Al-Sayed as Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi * Fethi Haddaoui as

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya ibn Abd Shams ( ar, صخر بن حرب بن أمية بن عبد شمس, Ṣakhr ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya ibn ʿAbd Shams; ), better known by his '' kunya'' Abu Sufyan ( ar, أبو سفيان, Abū Sufyān), was a prominent ...

* Jawad Al-Shakrji as Abu al-Hakam/Abu Jahl.تحية إلى أبي جهل
، خطابات، 2 أغسطس 2012. * Fayez Abu Dan as

Abu Lahab Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

* Hassan Al-Jundi as

Utbah ibn Rabi'ah ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah () (), also known as Abū al-Walīd () was one of the prominent pagan leaders of the Quraysh during the era of Muhammad. He is the father of Abu Hudhayfa ibn 'Utba, Walid ibn Utbah, Hind bint Utbah and father-in-law of Abu ...

* Rafiq Al-Subaiei as

Waraqah ibn Nawfal Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn Abd-al-Uzza ibn Qusayy Al-Qurashi (Arabic ) was the paternal first cousin of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was considered to be a hanif, who practised the pure form ...

* Ghazi Hussein as

Umayyah ibn Khalaf Umayya ibn Khalaf () (died 13 March 624) was an Arab slave master and the chieftain of the Banu Jumah of the Quraysh in the seventh century. He was one of the chief opponents against the Muslims led by Muhammad. Umayya is best known as the master ...

Jalal Al-Taweel Jalal (Arabic: جلال) is a masculine given or family name. The name or word Jalal means majesty and is used to honor and venerate. When the Arabic language spread across non-Arabic regions, Jalal has also become a name for some Arabic-speaking C ...

Salman the Persian Salman the Persian or Salmān al-Fārsī ( ar, سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ), born Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān ( fa, ), was a Persian companion (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was raised as a Zoroastrian in Sasanian Persia, ...

* Ziad Twati as Wahshi ibn Harb * Basem Dakak as

Walid ibn Utbah Walīd ibn ʿUtba (died 624) was the son of Utba ibn Rabi'a and brother of Abu Hudhayfa ibn Utba and Hind bint Utba. Just like his father, Walid was opposed to Muhammad and Islam. He was a fierce Meccan warrior who was killed by Ali ibn Abi Tali ...

May Skaf May Skaf ( ar, مي سكاف) (April 15, 1969 – July 23, 2018) was a Syrian actress and activist. She began her career in 1991. Skaf acted in many series and movies such as '' Al-Ababeed'' in 1997, '' Maraya'' in 1998 and '' Omar'' in 2012. Sk ...

Hind bint Utbah Hind bint ʿUtba ( ar, هند بنت عتبة), was an Arab woman who lived in the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE; she was the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, a powerful man of Mecca, in western Arabia. She was the mother of Mu'awiya I, the foun ...

* Bernadette Hudeib as

Rayhana bint Zayd Rayḥānah bint Zayd ( ar, ريحانة بنت زيد) was a Jewish woman from the Banu Nadir tribe, who became a concubine of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, after the Incident of Banu Qurayza in 627 CE (5 AH).Rodinson, ''Muhammad: Prophet of ...

* Fadi Sbeeh as

Safwan ibn Umayya Ṣafwān ibn Umayya ( ar, صفوان بن أمية; died 661) was a ''sahabi'' (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. ''Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). ''Volume 39: Biograp ...

* Mohammad Haddaqi as Umayr ibn Wahb * Nadera Imran as Sajah bint Al-Harith * Khaled Al-Qaish as Ayyash ibn Abi Rabiah * Jaber Joukhdar as

Abdullah ibn Masud Abdullah ibn Masūd, or Abdullah ibn Masood, or Abdullah Ben Messaoud ( ar, عبد الله بن مسعود, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʽūd; c.594-c.653), was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who he is regarded the greatest mufassir of Qu ...

* Ghazwan Al-Safadi as

Al-Walid ibn al-Walid Al-Walid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira ( ar, الوليد بن الوليد بن المغيرة, al-Walīd b. al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra) was an early companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Al-Walid belonged to the Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh ...

Mahmoud Nasr Mahmoud Nasr ( ar, محمود نصر) was a critically acclaimed Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a ...

Zayd ibn al-Khattab Zayd ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Arabic: زيد بن الخطاب) (died 632) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad and a brother of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Islamic caliph. Biography He was the son of al-Khattab ibn Nufayl, a mem ...

* Alfat Omar as

Atiqa bint Zayd Atika bint Zayd () was an Islamic scholar and poet. She was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was a wife of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph. She was a poet who is notable for having married Muslim men who died as ''shahid ...

ألفت عمر: "عاتكة" نقطة التحول في حياتى'
، صحيفة الوفد، 10 أغسطس 2012. * Siham Aseef as Layla bint al-Minhal * Najah Safkouni as

Suhayl ibn Amr Suhayl ibn ʿAmr ( ar, سهيل إبن عمرو), also known as Abū Yazīd, was a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a prominent leader among the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. Clever and articulate, he was known as the ''Khatib'' (orato ...

* Abdel-Karim Al-Qawasmi as

Walid ibn al-Mughira , image = , title = Abu Abd Shams , caption = , succession = Chief of Banu Makhzum , moretext = , reign = 570–622 , reign-type = Rule , predecessor = Mughira ibn Abd Allah , pre-type = , c ...

* Rami Khalaf as

Saeed bin Zaid Saʿīd ibn Zayd, ( ar, سعيد ابن زيد; 593-671), also known by his '' kunya'' Abūʾl-Aʿwar, was a companion ( ar, الصحابة) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sa'id has been described as a tall, hairy, dark-skinned man. Co ...

* Ghassan Azb as

Huyayy ibn Akhtab Huyayy ibn Akhtab ( ar, حيي بن أخطب; he, חי בן אחיטוב) was a chief of the Banu Nadir, a Jewish tribe of Medina in pre-Islamic Arabia. Biography Family His ancestry was Huyayy ibn Akhtab ibn Sa‘yah ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Ubay ...

* Riyadh Wrdiyani as Salul * Nasser Wrdiyani as

Muna Wassef Muna may refer to: Places * Muna (Mikulovice), a World War II POW camp and ammunition factory in the Czech Republic * Muna, Estonia, village in Rõuge Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Muna, Iran, village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Mun ...

Al-Shifa' bint Abdullah Al-Shifāʾ bint ʿAbd Allāh ( ar, الشفاء بنت عبد الله), whose given name was Laylā, was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Biography She was the daughter of Abdullah ibn Abdshams and Fatima bint WahbMuhammad ibn Saad. ...

. * Abdel-Hakim Quteifan as Malik ibn Nuwayrah * Mohannad Quteish as

Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

* Faten Shahin as Umm Jamil bint Harb * Andre Skaff as

Suraqa bin Malik Surāqa ibn Mālik ibn Juʿshum al-Kinānī ( ar, سراقة بن مالك بن جعشم الكناني) was a member of the Kinana tribe which, like its sub-tribe the Quraysh, belongs to the Adnani branch of Arabs. He was a skilled horseman, known ...

* Fatimah Saad as

Sumayyah bint Khayyat Sumayyah bint Khabbāṭ ( ar, سُمَيَّة ٱبْنَت خَبَّاط) or Sumayyah bint Khayyāṭ (; c. 550 – 615 CE / 72 BH – 7 BH), was the mother of Ammar ibn Yasir and first member of the ''Ummah'' (Community) of the Islamic pr ...

* Qamar Murtadha as Salma Umm-ul-Khair * Nasr Shama as

Uthman Abu Quhafa Uthman Abu Quhafa ibn Amir ( ar, عُثْمَان أَبُو قُحَافَة ٱبْن عَامِر, ʿUthmān ʾAbū Quḥāfah ibn ʿĀmir, 540635 CE), was the father of the first Rashidun caliph, Abu Bakr. Family Abu Quhafa was the son of 'A ...

* Murshad Dergham as Mughira ibn Shu'ba * Randy Halabi as

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ibn Umayya ( ar, يزيد بن أبي سفيان بن حرب بن أمية, Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya; died 639) was a leading Arab Muslim commander in the conquest of Syria from 634 until his de ...

* Omar Azouzi as Al-'As ibn Wa'il * Areej Khaddour as Fatimah bint al-Khattab * Amn Al-Arned as Salim Mawla Abu Hudhayfa * Yasser Abdel-Latif as Al-Najashi * Amer Ali as

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at the ...

* Maram Ben Aziza as wife of Yazdegerd III (Maria) *

Jay Abdo Jay Abdo ( ar, جهاد عبدو; born Jihad Abdo or Jihad Abdou; October 21, 1962) is a Syrian actor. He has been acting since 1988, and most recently starred in '' Queen of the Desert'' and '' A Hologram for the King''. Early life Abdo was b ...

as satrap * Iyad Abu Al-Shamat as

Hormuzan Hormuzan (Middle Persian: ''Hormazdān'', New Persian: ) was a Persian aristocrat who served as the governor of Khuzestan, and was one of the Sasanian military officers at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. He was later taken prisoner by the Muslims a ...

* Jamal Abbasi as

Musaylimah Musaylima ( ar, مُسَيْلِمَةُ), otherwise known as Maslama ibn Ḥabīb ( ar, مَسْلَمَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ) d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the Banu Hanifa tribe. He claimed to be a prophet in 7th-century Arabia ...

* Mohammad Al Rashi as Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz * Suzan Najm Aldeen as

Borandukht Boran (also spelled Buran, Middle Persian: ; New Persian: پوران‌دخت, ''Pūrāndokht'') was Sasanian queen (or '' banbishn'') of Iran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months. She was the daughter of king (or ''shah'') Kho ...

* Juliet Awad as

Al-Khansa Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah ( ar, تماضر بنت عمرو بن الحارث بن الشريد السُلمية), usually simply referred to as al-Khansāʾ ( ar, الخنساء, links=no, meaning "snub-n ...

* Mohammad Quri'ah as Heraclius * Mustapha Tah-Tah as Mukhayriq * Unknown Actor as

Theodore Trithyrius Theodore Trithyrius ( el, Θεόδωρος Τριθύριος; died 636), commonly known by his title as Theodore the Sacellarius, was a Byzantine treasurer of the state ('' sacellarius'') and a military commander during the last years of the rei ...

List of episodes

Production

The project was started on 30 September 2010 through an agreement signed by

Middle East Broadcasting Center MBC Group ( ar, مجموعة إم بي سي), is a Saudi media conglomerate based in the Middle East and North Africa region. Launched in London in 1991, the company moved to its headquarters to Dubai in 2002 then moved to Riyadh in 2022. MBC ...

and Qatar Media agency ( Qatar TV) to make a drama series on the life of Caliph Omar, scheduled to be aired during the Ramadan of 2011. The chief of MBC group Waleed al Ibrahim stated that, the drama would not aim at profits: Saudi producers, the

(MBC), said the series is the largest ever Arabic production, with 30,000 actors and a technical team from 10 countries who toiled 300 days to make the 31-part series. The director Ali said that building a replica of

and the surrounding area was a challenge that faced him until he and the crew finally chose a location in

. The series needed a huge crew amount to 500 actors, actresses, and extras in one single day. Ali also pointed out, several scenes in the series were difficult to shoot like which elephant treads on one of the actors. The horses used in the series were brought from Eastern Europe and were trained together with the elephants to make them adapt to each other. The series featured many

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

scenes on a large scale. Ali said it took them a total of 54 days with a rate of 12 hours a day and with the participation of 500 extras that were trained on this type of scenes. Two actors of this series, Hassan Al-Jundi and

, both acted (as

Abu Jahl ʿAmr ibn Hishām al-Makhzūmī ( ar, عمرو بن هشام المخزومي), (570 – 13 March 624), also known as Abu Jahl (lit. 'Father of Ignorance'), was one of the Meccan polytheist pagan leaders from the Quraysh known for his opposition ...

and

Hind A hind is a female deer, especially a red deer. Places * Hind (Sasanian province, 262-484) * Hind and al-Hind, a Persian and Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent * Hind (crater), a lunar impact crater * 1897 Hind, an asteroid Military ...

respectively) in the 1970s Arabic language film ''Al Risalah'' (الرسالة), the version of

Moustapha Akkad Moustapha Al Akkad ( ar, مصطفى العقاد; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian-American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween'' films and directing '' The Message'' and ' ...

's religious biopic '' The Message'' (a.k.a. ''Mohammad, Messenger of God'') made for the Arab World. Hassan Al-Jundi also acted as

Kisra ''Kisra'' (also spelled kissra) is a popular thin fermented bread made in Chad, Sudan and South Sudan. It is made from durra or wheat. There are two different forms of ''kisra'': thin baked sheets, known as ''kisra rhaheeefa'', which is simil ...

in the English language film while his counterpart in ''Al Risalah'' played the character of

in the same film. Hatem Ali commented that other filmmakers would follow in his footsteps with this taboo broken by him by portraying sensitive early Islamic peronalities like Rashidun Caliphs, by pointing to

Majid Majidi Majid Majidi ( fa, مجید مجیدی, ; born 17 April 1959) is an Iranian film director, producer, and screenwriter, who started his film career as an actor. In his films, Majidi has touched on many themes and genres and has won numerous inte ...

, who was then developing the feature film Muhammad: The Messenger of God about the Islamic prophet

's childhood.

Committee members for managing historical context

A board committee of scholars was created for maintaining the historicity of the script. The major members of the board were: #

Yusuf al-Qaradawi Yusuf al-Qaradawi ( ar, يوسف القرضاوي, translit=Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī; or ''Yusuf al-Qardawi''; 9 September 1926 – 26 September 2022) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of ...

# Akram Zia Omari # Salman al-Awda # Abdul Wahab Turairi #

Ali al-Sallabi Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, or ''al-Salabi'' ( ar, علي محمد الصلابي; born 1963 in Benghazi) is a Muslim historian, religious scholar and Islamist # Saad Al-Otaibi

VFX effects

Most of the episodes of the series contained many expensive computer-generated imagery (CGI) effects which were maintained by French CGI production BUF in association with Hecat, as well as title and ending theme also. Moreover, the sets of ancient

and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

and other sites in Arabia and elsewhere in the post classical era were also produced by the ''Soora Studio'', a Syrian set producer production, which previously made the sets of many other popular Arabic dramas.

Music

The original soundtrack was composed by Turkish musician Fahir Atakoglu. A nasheed or Arabic song praising Omar and describing a complete archive of the serial was featured after the scene of his assassination in the ending episode. The nasheed, entitled "Salamun Alayka Ya Omar Al Faarouq", was sung by the Kuwaiti Quran reciter Mishary Al-Afasy.

Receptions from Islamic religious scholars

Saleh Al-Fawzan Saleh Al-Fawzan ( ar, صالح بن فوزان الفوزان; born 1933) is an Islamic scholar and has been a member of several high religious bodies in Saudi Arabia. He is considered to be the most senior scholar of Islam in Saudi Arabia. His s ...

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia is the most senior and most influential Muslim religious and legal authority in Saudi Arabia. The holder of the position is appointed by the King. The Grand Mufti is the head of the Permanent Committee for Islamic ...

(

Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al Shaykh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل الشيخ ''ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd Āllah Āl ash-Sheikh''; born 30 November 1940) is a Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar who is the current Grand Mufti of Sau ...

), Al-Azhar University, Abdul Azīz bin Fahd,

Muhammad Al-Munajid Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid (محمد صالح المنجد) (born June 7, 1960/30 Dhul hijjah,1380) is a Syrian-born Palestinian- Saudi Islamic scholar. He is the founder of the fatwa website IslamQA, a popular website for Saudi Arabian Salafi r ...

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, عبد الله بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان; born 30 April 1972) is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. He is a son o ...

, Saleh al-Maghamsi and many other Islamic scholars viewed the series negatively. The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom and the head of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars,

, criminalized the dramatic action saying that those behind "Umar Al Farooq" series have committed a "grave mistake and a crime" by spending their money on the production of such TV work. He also said that he is against the idea of producing the series that "displays the biography of the rightly guided caliphs in a manner that is doomed to wound and criticism." In his Friday sermon, he called for "avoiding these devious ways, which are doomed to offend in these symbols." He added, "These films and series do not bring or mean goodness, and whatever those who prepared it who claim intellectual enlightenment, they are wrong in what they have walked and know that what they offer is dangerous, wrong and crime." The Sheikh did not differ in that from what was issued by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, who had forbidden the embodiment of the Prophets, the Companions, the House of the Ten, and the Ten Missionaries of Paradise in any artwork. On other part, Sheikh

, a member of the Senior Scholars Committee and a member of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas, forbade watching the series, recalling "the consensus of scholars and the Muslim World League to prohibit the representation of the Companions, may God be pleased with them." Everything that comes from Qatar is doubtful of its intentions Many writers wondered why this seasonal controversy takes place around the Ramadan series ?, recalling the controversy raised by Mustafa El Akkad's "The Message".

Muhammad Al-Munajjid Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid (محمد صالح المنجد) (born June 7, 1960/30 Dhul hijjah,1380) is a Syrian-born Palestinian- Saudi Islamic scholar. He is the founder of the fatwa website IslamQA, a popular website for Saudi Arabian Salafi r ...

criticized the series calling it as saying, "As for the topic of series, the question has been repeated, and I say: Oh Muslims, oh Muslims, oh Muslims, do you accept that, The character of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab is embodied by a man who is a Christian, a Christian? actor who plays the role of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, is a Christian, we asked about him in Syria, they confirmed and said that, this is a Christian. And among who represents the roles of the senior companions in the series there are some

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...

Nusayri The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...

s. One Nusairi esoteric represents a role of one of the senior Companions, then one plays the role of Atika (Umar's wife) Who? a bearded (man-like) woman. This obscene lady has other roles in passion and love. She plays the role of the woman of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab A great companion. And this criminal who represents this Omar role, the Christian, will stand, who plays Omar falsely, will stand with the woman who is foreign ( ghair-mahram) to him as one of his wives. He will cry in front of her, crying, claiming that he is afraid of wronging people. She will calm down him by all means. Hear this, she said in interviews, she will calm down in various ways. I mean, for Allah's sake, what is this farce? What is this haram, that is committed by a Christian representing the role Of Omar. We do not have a way to know the biography of Omar except that a Christian comes to teach us the role of Omar. How did the nation learn in one thousand and four hundred years the life of Omar and the change of age from companions. What was in the khutbas, what was in lessons, in books What generations read books. We were unable to learn the biography of Omar except from soap operas represented by a lewd, A charlatan and a

Kafir Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or reject ...

. What is this, (muslim) group? What is this. Beware beware. By God, the (muslim) nation (ummah). Where is the jealousy of our history? Where is the jealousy? Omar's character? How they will bring it. And how they would represent what a three- dimensional matter is. It shows military scenes and only dazzles viewers and directs technical. What is the issue, the issue of entertainment and the issue of enjoyment, watching these attractive colors, directing and cinematography. Hey guys, this is the history of Omar, the third best man in Islam. This great man who closed the door to corruption ( fitnah) from the nation will come in the (drama) character of Omar, who resisted bidah (new innovation). The owner of Al-Durra (stick) (Umar) who denies this fights even cause to case hijab and his position towards it and his position towards it, that's why, We must have a stand, oh people, on this." Salman al-Awda, Yūsuf al-Qaraḍawī,

Yasir Qadhi Yasir Qadhi (born January 30, 1975), is an American preacher, theologian, and imam. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Tex ...

, Alī al-Sallabī and Khaled al-Musleh viewed the series positively.

Zakir Naik Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born 18 October 1965) is an Indian Islamic televangelist and public orator who focuses on comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and the Peace TV Network. In 2 ...

gave a mixed review of the series, in a video of his official YouTube channel, he said, "99.9% drama or movie in the name of Islam today is not 100% Islamic and no one can give fatwa that watching them are halal. If you can live without seeing them, then don't see it. Read Quran and sahih hadith, it will be best and harmfree option. But if any Muslim is hooked on wathing hollywood and bollywood movies and dramas and feels too much hard to reject the habit of watching them, then it will be lesser sin for them in watching these series than seeing hollywood and bollywood vulgarism and obscenity...Firstly I will suggest them to watch The Message movie, then I will suggest them to watch Omar series... There is a series called Omar series, made on the life of Caliph Omar, made by MBC, funded by Qatar Foundation. There are not all things Islamic, there are ladies without hijab, there is music in it. But the verse of Quran they quoted somehow, it is wonderful, most of the hadith are authentic, a few of them are problematic." In reaction of Naik's view about the series, Assim Al-Haqim said, "This is like saying masturbation is better than fornication! Or calling that drinking wine, gambling and other different sins are better than shirk or kufr! What kind of logic is this?".

International broadcasting

The series later has been broadcast in the television channels of different countries such as

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

etc. either dubbed or with native subtitle.

Traditional historicitic and depictional issues

In the traditional Islamic accounts, there are two different stories found about the conversion of

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

, the story which has been depicted in the story, some scholars argue that the story is not authentic or reasonably weak according to reliable chain rather than declaring authenticity to the second story of conversion, where Omar became convinced to convert hearing the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

recitation of

in prayer outside the Kaaba, then made himself hidden from the people for some days immediate after the conversion, and Al-As ibn Wa'il saved the converted Umar from the attack of enraged people. In the events of the Islamic prophet

's living era, Muhammad himself, his children and wives were not depicted but many direct actions of him have been shown redirected from any other sahaba near to him for the restrictions and limitations of Muhammad's visual depiction in the Islamic world. Although in a sequence before the death of

, there was a shadow depiction of Aisha shown silently conversing with her father. The dress code of male companions after conversion period was also controversial, mostly for wearing gowns below ankle, which was strongly prohibited by Muhammad, and tradition says that, all the companions always used to wear clothes over ankle. Besides, in the event of the

battle of Yamama The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 as part of the Ridda Wars against a rebellion within the Rashidun Caliphate in the region of al-Yamama (in present-day Saudi Arabia) between the forces of Abu Bakr and Musaylima, a self-procla ...

, the characters of the companions behind of

Khalid bin Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career i ...

have been shown to give the slogan "'' ya Muhammada''" (O, for Muhammad), which was a subject of controversy about historicity among some salafi clerics. They argued that it could not be told by them because calling on any other except Allah is a form of

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, t ...

('' Shirk''). Historical reference says that

was killed by a group of Muslims led by Bilal ibn Rabah, but in the series, Bilal ibn Rabah has been shown to kill Umayyah ibn Khalaf by himself. In a scene of Caliphate of Abu Baqr, the character of Abu Bakr is seen wearing a

thawb Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afri ...

spreading it's back on the ground which is haram in Islam. As for the role of Omar is one of the first tools of the weakness of the work technically where the strange cold performance and the rigidity of features and divisions of his face, even with events that require a human interaction natural and unchanging.مسلسل عمر بين النقد والرفض
� صحيفة الرياض، بقلم خلدون السعيدان. The series also missed the historical role of the Arab tribes allied to Quraish in the invasion of one of them, including the Ahbish of Kenana, as well as the role of Arab tribes in the invasion of the trench and Taif so that the work was limited to the tribe of Quraish as well as the tribe of Ghutfan and absent from work tribes that had a presence in the historical biography of these conversations, such as the tribe of Selim and Kenana The Bani Asad tribe, the Hawazin tribe and other Arab tribes on which the Arab community of the Arabian Peninsula was built at that time. According to the Sirat, the plan to assassinate the Prophet Muhammad by the Quraysh before the Hijra was delivered to the leaders of the Quraysh by Iblis Satan in the guise of a man in a black robe, but Abu Jahal is seen delivering the plan in the tenth episode of the play. Also, the first episodes of the series show the love affair of Wahshi ibn Harb with

(acted by Bernadette Hodeib), before and in the early days of the arrival of Islam, the historical authenticity of which is unknown, and Rayhana bint Zayd's later converted to Islam and many Muslim Sirat writers claimed her as a wife of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, thus showing her as embodiment and romantically seems to be seriously offensive to muslims.

References

External links

Official page on mbc.net.
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Official Trailer

Database on elcinema.com.

"Omar" the app - MBC group's official comprehensive application about ''Omar'' series
{{Depictions of Muhammad Umar Qatari historical television series Arabic-language television shows Films about Muhammad 2012 television films 2012 television series debuts 2012 television series endings 2012 television specials Television series about Islam Television series set in the 7th century