ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (; ), commonly known as Ibn Umar, was a companion of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and a son of the second

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

. He was a prominent authority in ''

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'' and law. He remained neutral during the events of the first Fitna (656–661).Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, ''al-Imāma wa al-Sīyāsa'', vol. 1, p. 73.

Muhammad's era — 610 to 632

Abd Allah ibn Umar ( kunya Abu Abd al-RahmanAhmad b. Ali ibn Hajar. ''Al Isaba fi tamyiz al sahaba'' vol. 4. Edited by Adil Ahmad ʿAbd al-Mawjud & Ali Muhammad Muʿawwad. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya.1415 AH ) was born in 610 in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

,Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. three years after the beginning of Muhammad's message. He was the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Zaynab bint Maz'un. His full siblings were Hafsa and Abd al-Rahman. His paternal brothers, born to his stepmother Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal, were Zayd and Ubayd Allah. He had another stepmother, Qurayba bint Abi Umayya, but she had no children of her own. It was said that the young Abd Allah had vivid memories of his father's conversion to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. It is believed he accepted Islam together with his father, although some sources disagree about the year of his acceptance.Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Yusuf b. Abd Allah.''Al-Istiab fi ma'rifat al-ashab'' vol. 3. Edited by Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi. Beirut: Dar al-Adwa, 1411 AH He remembered following his father around the town as Umar declared his conversion to the neighbours and on the steps of the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

. Abd Allah asserted, "Although I was very young at the time, I understood everything I saw."Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. His mother Zaynab also became a Muslim, but his two stepmothers did not. His family emigrated to

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in 622, although he may have emigrated to Medina before his father. Before the Battle of Uhud in March 625,

called Abd Allah Ibn Umar, who was then fourteen years old, to present himself. But when Abd Allah appeared, Muhammad would not allow him to fight in the battle. Two years later, as the Battle of the Trench approached, Muhammad again called Abd Allah, and this time he decreed that he was old enough because he was mature and reached puberty. He was also present at the Battle of Al-Muraysi in 628. He was enlisted in the last army prepared by

for the expedition of Usama bin Zayd.Tabari, Muhammad b. Jarir. ''Tarikh al-umam wa l-muluk''. Edited by Muhammad Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim. vol. 4. Second edition. Beirut: Dar al-Turath, 1387 AH.

Family

After his father became

in 634, Abd Allah Ibn Umar married Safiya bint Abu Ubayd, and they had six children: Abu Bakr, Abu Ubayda, Waqid, Umar, Hafsa and Sawda. Safiyyah-Bint-Abi-Ubayd

Abd Allah Ibn Umar's sister Hafsa married

in 625.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Muhammad once told her: "Abd Allah is a good man. I wish he prayed the night prayers." After that, it was said that every night Abd Allah would pray much and sleep but a little.

Political interests

During his caliphate,

created a council and took his son Abd Allah as his advisor, but did not permit him to introduce himself as a caliphate candidate after his father. At the Arbitration of Siffin, some sources report that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari nominated Abd Allah Ibn Umar for the caliphate, but Amr ibn al-As objected. Ibn Umar participated in battles in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, but he remained neutral throughout the first Fitna.Siddiqi, M. Z. (1961, 2006). ''Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism''. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust. In 656, he prevented his sister Hafsa from following

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

to the Battle of the Camel. While in

during the Second Fitna of the 680s, Abd Allah Ibn Umar, together with Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Abd Allah ibn Abbas, advised

Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...

to remain at

. Husayn did not take this advice but chose to go to

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

.Balyuzi, H. M. (1976). ''Muhammad and the course of Islam'', p. 193. Oxford: George Ronald.

Death

Abd Allah ibn Umar died in Mecca in 693 (74 AH) after hit by a poisoned spear from Hajjaj's army.

Legacy

Abd Allah ibn Umar was the second most prolific narrator of ''

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'', with a total of 2,630 narrations. It was said that he was extremely careful about what he narrated and that he narrated with his eyes full of tears. He was very cautious in life and thus was also cautious in his judgement. He defeated the mighty army of the pagan tribes of Mecca in various battles such as those of Badr (in 624 CE) and “the Trench” or al-Khandaq (in 627 CE)

References