Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
Hazrat Umar (RA) was one of the favourite Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the preacher of Islam, the second just Caliph of Islam, a skilled ruler and a conquering hero. He was born in 583 CE to the famous Banu Adi tribe of Arabia. His father’s name was Khattab bin Nufayl and his mother’s name was Hantama bin Hisham.
As a young man, he worked with his father herding sheep and working hard. He was a very strict man. In the first half of his life, he was fiercely opposed to Islam and conspired to assassinate the Prophet. But later he was fascinated by the recitation of the Koran in the voice of his own sister and converted to Islam. He accepted Islam and became a faithful companion of the Prophet and devoted himself to the service of Islam for the rest of his life.
In 622 CE, he migrated from Mecca to Medina at the invitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and continued to preach Islam with him. The Prophet died in 632 CE and Abu Bakr became the Caliph of the Islamic State established by the Prophet around Medina. Abu Bakr died after reigning for only two years and Hazarat Umar succeeded him.
Hazarat Umar launched an imperial campaign to secure the Islamic Empire and annexed the Byzantine Empire and much of the Roman Empire within ten years of his reign. He even expanded his empire to Africa and ruled almost half of the world.
He was not only a conquering warrior, but he was also an efficient administrator. He introduced Islamic rule in all the countries he conquered and consolidated peace and security in those countries. He also did many public works. He built about 800 mosques and established many madrassas.
Hazrat Umar divided the Islamic state into several provinces and divided the provinces into several subdivisions to consolidate good governance. He also formed a permanent army and arranged for the soldiers to be paid salaries instead of gifts.
One day in 644 AD, Hazrat Umar, the ruler of such a vast empire, was stabbed to death by a Persian youth named Abu Lulu Firoz while he was praying in the mosque of Medina.
Contributions to the Arabic Language and Literature: Hazarat Umar was an educated man. Before converting to Islam, he learned Arabic and became fluent in Hebrew. His power of speech was extraordinary.
Hazrat Umar occasionally composed poems but was not a professional poet. He boosted the morale of the warriors by composing poems on the battlefield or reciting poems by other poets. He memorized many hadiths of the Prophet and disseminated them to the people. He also gave many lectures on religion, social matters, and politics every Friday during weekly prayers.
Hazrat Umar’s speech was powerful, interesting, clean, noble and heartfelt. His eloquence, expression, and elegance impressed the audience. As a sample of his Arabic prose, a few lines from the first speech he delivered after his appointment as Caliph are quoted below:
“O, Allah! I am too harsh, soften me. O, Allah! I am very weak, give me strength. The Arabs are like disobedient camels. Their reins have been entrusted to me. Give me the strength to guide them.”Â
Many of the sayings of Hazarat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) have become proverbs, e.g
 (a) Never postpone today’s work till tomorrow.
(b) You shall fear them from the bottom of your heart whom you hate.
(c) The more unattached you are in worldly life, the more independent you will be.
(d) Do not judge a person by his prayers and fasting, but look at his knowledge and sincerity.
(e) A person who leads his life according to his own intelligence is the master of his own affairs.
In addition, he had to write many letters and contracts to his subordinates during the administrative period.
Thus Hazrat Umar contributed to the development of Arabic prose through speeches, correspondence, hadith, etc. 0 0 0.
Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
Read More: A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period (500 AD-622 AD)
Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
N.B. This article ‘Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose’ originally belongs to the book entitled ‘A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Early Islamic Period (622 AD-661 AD) by Menonim Menonimus. Hazrat Umar-His Life and Contribution to Arabic Prose
Related Searches:
Books of Literary Criticism by M. Menonimus:
- World Short Story Criticism
- World Poetry Criticism
- World Drama Criticism
- World Novel Criticism
- World Essay Criticism
- Indian English Poetry Criticism
- Indian English Poets and Poetry Chief Features
- Emily Dickinson’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Walt Whitman’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Critical Essays on English Poetry
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: Return of the Spirit-An Analytical Study
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: ‘Yawmiyyat Naib Fil Arayaf’-An Analytical Study
- Analytical Studies of Some Arabic Short Stories
- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period (500 AD-622 AD)
- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Early Islamic Period (622 AD-661 AD)
