Life of Hazrat Umar as the Second Caliph
Hazrat Umar bin Khattab was the second caliph of the Muslims. He succeeded to the caliphate in 13 A.H. after the sad demise of Hazrat Abu Bakar. He was nominated by Hazrat Abu Bakar.
Early Life
He was one of those 17 people of Mecca who were able to read and write before the emergence of Islam. When our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) announced his prophethood and invited people to accept Islam, Hazrat Umar refused to accept while some of his family members i.e. her sister and brother in law accepted Islam at a very early stage.
Our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) pray to ALLAH to strengthen Islam through Umar bin Hasham or Umar bin Khattab. His pray was accepted in the favor of Hazrat Umar bin Khattab.
Acceptance of Islam
Once he decided to kill our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) but someone from his family informed him that his brother in law and sister has already accepted Islam. He reached to his sister’s house where he beat his sister and her husband but they clearly said we can’t leave Islam then Hazrat Umar listen some verses of the Quran there and decided to accept Islam. After that, he announced in the streets of Mecca that I, Umar bin Khattab has embraced Islam and now I am a follower of Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).
The Nomination of Hazrat Abu Bakar as first Caliph
When our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) left this world, all of his companions were sad and none was able to lead. In that crucial time, Hazrat Umar nominated Hazrat Abu Bakar as the first caliph and Ameer ul Momineen.
The Nomination of Hazrat Umar as Second Caliph
The first Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakar nominated Hazrat Umer as the second caliph in his life.
Hazrat Umer Farooq and Expansion of Islam
Hazrat Umer’s ruling time is considered a golden era of Muslim history. The Islamic rule expanded till Syria, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. He built military cantonment areas out of the cities and ordered all the soldiers to visit home for a minimum 10 days after every three or four months.
Conquest of Jerusalem
The Muslim forces conquered Jerusalem in 16 A.H. after the battle of Yarmuk. The citizens of Jerusalem offered to hand over the keys to the caliph. When Hazrat Umar visited Jerusalem, he was walking while his slave was on the camelback because it was his turn to sit on the camel. That was another example of his justice.
Other Services for Islam
He started the social security system and implemented it in the whole state. The benefits of this social security system were started for infants from day one. He appointed judges (Qazis) in the courts while considering their family backgrounds and offered them high remunerations as well to prevent them from the bribe.
When the Muslim state expanded a lot, he divided it into different provinces. He appointed different governors to those areas and asked them to ensure the security of local people.
When Non-Muslims agreed to give jizya (tax), he ensured their security of lives and property. For old age citizens, he didn’t discriminate against any Muslim or non-Muslim.
He continued the system of Majlis e Shoora which was started by our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and continued by first caliph Hazrat Abu Bakar.
Appointment of The Third Caliph
Hazrat Umar formed a committee of six people who were companions of our holy prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and asked them to decide the next caliph within from them. After the decision of this committee, Hazrat Usman was announced to be the next caliph of Muslims.