The second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, known for his pious and just character, was one of the most significant political and religious actors of Islam after Prophet Muhammad's SAW death. He used his vigorous strength, bold intellect, and far-sighted wisdom for the sake of Islam and for the empowerment of Muslims.He gained the beautiful title, commander of faithful due to his noble qualities.

The Prophet said, "If there were to be a prophet after me, indeed he would be 'Umar, son of Khattab." [Sunan Tirmidhi: 3686]

History does not produce men like 'Umar often. He was a person from whom truth flowed naturally; a man of intuition, he was on his way to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him) and ended up accepting Islam! His love for Allah and his deen was so great, while all the other Muslims were hiding their Islam, he was ready to proclaim it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) called him, Al-Farooq, the one who clearly distinguishes the truth from falsehood.

Satan had given up on 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu). The Prophet said, "O son of Khattab, by the one in whose hand is my soul, whenever Satan sees you taking a path, then he will take another path."

[Sahih Bukhari: 5735]

When the enemies of Allah would hear about 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu), their knees would weaken and their hearts would tremble.

It was said to Abu Bakr radiya Llahu 'anhu on his death bed:

"You know that Umar has a harsh nature. What will you say if your Lord questions you as to why you appointed Umar as caliph?" Abu Bakr replied, " "I will say that I appointed among them the best of them."

And then added "His (Umar's) strictness was there because of my softness when the weight of Caliphate will be over his shoulders he will remain no longer strict."

And finally this command came true; it was Umar's turn to ascend the pulpit. His first words were: "My God! I am a harsh and violent person; make me gentler. I am weak; make me strong, O Lord! Give me strength to guide these people, whose administration I undertook, to the straight path."

Almighty Allah did not make Umar gentler. More correctly, He softened his heart towards the weak, but not the powerful. His harshness towards administrators under him never decreased. Saying, "If one of my administrators does injustice and I don't correct him, I will be the one who has acted unjustly," he always tried to be informed on what was being done. According to him, the ignorance that Allah dislikes most is the ignorance of a state ruler. For this reason, he feared that a village on the banks of the Euphrates would turn into a question mark in the Hereafter.

His most important quality, which also made him so dear to everyone's hearts, was doubtless his understanding of leadership and his exacting sense of justice.He established the pillars of justice, Al Adl, The first social policy infrastructure is found in all of history to be set up by 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu).

Umar (r.a) would elect government officials, especially senior administrators like governors, commanders, judges, or alms distributors, after a detailed and meticulous selection process. Before dispatching them to their duties, he would always advise them at length and remind them especially to be at the service of the people, never neglect justice, and avoid the violation of rights at all costs. According to an account by Abu Ubayd (r.a), he would make the following warnings before sending the administrators off: "I am not sending you to the people as oppressors. Do not come to my presence with injustice. Do not deprive anybody of the rights that they have."

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.

Throughout the reign of Abu Bakr RA, Khalid RA built strong reputation among the people and staunch fear from his opponents with his string of

unimaginable victories, such as the Battle of Yamamah, Dhat-es-Salasel (Battle of Chains), the Siege of Damascus, and the Battle of Yarmouk. With his proven talent and the Prophet's own praise for him, having titled him "The Sword of Allah",

Abu Bakr RA relied on him greatly to deliver conclusive and swift victories on both the Levantine and Persian fronts. Umar RA regularly implored Abu Bakr RA to remove him and use someone else over concerns that the people had come to trust and praise him too much, as he saw the rising numbers of people claiming Khalid RA being the only one who could've done this or that.

He was of the opinion that no society must ever put their complete faith in one man, such that if this man is gone or deceased, their progress falls apart, and second People must not forget their original faith, and such victories are blessings of Allah as much as they were the result of Khalid's genius and the soldiers' sacrifice on the battlefield.

As such, upon his inauguration, Umar RA immediately removed Khalid RA from his position in the Levant and installed the previous Emir, Abu 'Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah RA, advising Abu 'Ubaydah to maintain Khalid RA by his side, as Umar RA did not deny his genius, but rather the dangerous effect of his reputation on the Muslim society.

Umar RA was reported as saying:"I did not fire Khalid ibn al Waleed RA because I am angry with him or because of betrayal of trust or responsibility but the reason was just that I wanted people to know that it is Allah who gives victory".

Umar's RA swift imposition of justice against his governors for misdeeds made even powerful governors such as Muawiyah RA scared of him. Ali ibn Abu Talib RA, during the later rule of Uthman ibn Affan RA, 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?"

He would roam the streets of medina at night to help his people. The foundation of child benefit or children allowance, meaning every child gets benefit every week to keep them afloat, followed by the west today was initially set by him.

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.

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.

One night 'Umar went on his rounds as usual when he heard the voice of a baby crying. 'Umar stood outside the house for some time, but when the baby did not stop crying he knocked at the door and was admitted inside the house. He saw that a woman held a small baby in her lap and the baby continued to cry. 'Umar turned to the lady and said, "What sort of mother are you? The baby is crying, and you do not feed it with your milk!"

The woman said, "Go and ask 'Umar as to what sort of Caliph he is! He has ordained that a child would not get a stipend until it was weaned. In order to secure the stipend for our child we are trying to wean it."

'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) told the woman "Feed your baby with your milk, and rest assured you will get the stipend for your baby even though it is not weaned."

The following day in Fajr Salah, 'Umar cried so much that the Sahaba said we could not understand what he was reciting and after he had finished he passed orders that stipends would be allowed for children from their date of birth.

People came from faraway lands to seek the justice of 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu). Ibn Abd Al-Hakim reported: Anas, May Allah be pleased with him, said that a man from the people of Egypt came to 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab and said, "O leader of the believers, I seek refuge in you from injustice!" 'Umar replied, "You have sought someone willing." The man said, "I competed with the son of Amr ibn Al-'As and I won, but he started striking me with a whip and saying: I am the son of the dignified!" Upon this, 'Umar wrote to Amr ordering him to travel to him with his son. He came with his son and 'Umar said,

"Where is the Egyptian?" He gave him the whip and told him to strike the son of Amr. The man started striking him while 'Umar was saying, "Strike the son of the illiterates!" Anas said, "By Allah, the man struck him and we loved his striking, and he did not stop until we wished he stopped." Then 'Umar said to the Egyptian, "Direct it to Amr." The Egyptian said, "O leader of the believers, it was only his son who struck me and I have settled the score." 'Umar said to Amr, "Since when did you enslave the people though they were born from their mothers in freedom?" Amr said, "O leader of the believers, I did not know about this and he did not tell me." (Ibn Abdil Hakam,Futuh Masr 290).

To Umar RA, Amr's position to him didn't matter. It held no significance to him that Amr was his governor, while the Egyptian was a "commoner". It didn't matter to him that Amr's clan in the Quraysh tribe is one of the most influential and powerful, while Umar's lineage bears no benefit. It was of no consequence to him that he and Amr RA were long-time friends, before and after Islam.

Any ruler would rather maintain his friendship with a strong governor than risk breaking it by instating justice. But Umar RA wasn't any ruler, and it would be a lie against the Prophet SAW (who titled Umar Al-Farooq: he who distinguished between truth and falsehood) if Umar RA did not fulfill his title of Al-Farooq.

He put behind him his achievements, his position of power, his ties to Amr RA, and avenged a commoner from a far away land. Thus was his impartiality. Thus was his justice.

Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a.) states the following about this characteristic of Umar:

"Remember Umar a lot. For, when you remember him, you will remember justice."

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.

In 637 CE, Jerusalem offered a truce, provided that the Khalifa come himself from Medina to sign the treaty. 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) set out for Jerusalem with a slave and a camel. No retinue accompanied the Caliph. The slave and he would take turns riding the camel and they also gave the camel time off from carrying either passenger.

When they approached Jerusalem, 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) was walking and had to cross through muddy ground, as a result of which his feet and clothes got mud on them. When 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) entered Jerusalem, he was holding the rope of his camel leading it and his clothes were patched and muddy.

Abu Ubaidah (radhiAllahu anhu), the commander in chief of the Muslim army and himself a very pious man, suggested that he change his clothes so that the people of Jerusalem, accustomed to the pomp and grandeur of kings and emperors, were not dissuaded from handing the keys of Jerusalem over to him.

'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) hit him hard on the chest and reminded him that they had been a disgraced nation. What had brought them honour and elevated them was Islam; should they seek honor from anything else, they would surely be humiliated again.

"The only way for success is the way of the Holy Prophet" he said.

When the people of Jerusalem saw 'Umar's simplicity they started crying. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted by Sophronius, who undoubtedly must have been amazed that the caliph of the Muslims, one of the most powerful people in the world at that point, was dressed in no more than simple robes and was indistinguishable from his servant.

Umar was given a tour of the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When the time for prayer came, Sophronius invited Umar to pray inside the Church, but Umar refused, He insisted that if he prayed there, He feared that future generations-the later Muslims would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as an excuse to turn the church into a mosque. Instead, Umar prayed outside the Church, so as not to endanger its status as a Christian temple. Many years later, the mosque (called Masjid Umar – the Mosque of Umar) was constructed on the site where he prayed.

Such was his sense of justice, He would sleep beneath a tree peacefully unguarded and it was only this quality which enabled him to do so.

One afternoon a Roman emissary arrived in Madinah on important diplomatic business with the Caliph. When he enquired as to the whereabouts of Umar (RA), he was directed to a man sleeping peacefully under a tree: with no bodyguards, no weapons, no fortifications and no security. The Roman messenger marvelled at this sight: the sight of the leader of millions of people sleeping peacefully under a tree without a care in the world. He then remarked his famous words that remain etched into history until today:

"O Umar! You ruled, You instated justice, and thus you were safe (from the vengeance of the people), and thus you slept."

In the year of Ar ramadah 18 th year after hijrah, the year the Muslims were hit by famine, 60,000 refugees came to Medina and 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) would himself carry oil and food to the people and whenever he would see that the people were deprived of something he would deprive himself of that as well, if they didn't have meat he would deprive himself from meat if they didn't have oil he would deprive himself from oil to the extent that the Sahaba feared he would die. He would say, "How can I be a shepherd when I am not struck with what my flock is struck with."

Even before his death at the hands of the man Abu lulu al majoosi, he said some words to 'Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) from which the caliph understood that he meant to kill him but he did not take action because it was against his sense of justice to punish a man just for his words.

It is related that when Umar stood at Mount Arafat he heard a voice sayin

"O Caliph, never again will you stand on the Mount of Arafat"

Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal records a hadith narrated upon the authority of Sayyiduna Qabisah ibn Jaabir who said:

"I haven't seen anyone more knowledgeable about the book of Allah and His religion, nor anyone more upholding of the limits imposed by Allah, nor anyone more feared and respected in the breasts of men than 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab." [Fadail al-Sahaba, Vol. 1, Page 330, Hadith 472]

Abu Ubaidah 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."

Hudhayfah radiya Llahu 'anhu says:

When 'Umar accepted Islam, Islam became like a man who was advancing with each step he took. And when 'Umar was martyred, Islam was like a man who was turning away, and only increasing in distance.

During Caliph Umar's Caliphate, he took particular measures to eliminate the evils of slavery as far as possible. He took a very bold step when he declared that no Arab could be a slave. Arabia was thus the first country in the world, which under the impact of Islam abolished slavery. During the apostasy wars many Arabs had been taken captive and made slaves. Umar emancipated all such slaves.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that, "I once saw in dream that I was drawing water from a well and then I stopped. Then Abu Bakr started drawing water and his drawing was weak may Allah forgive him. Then 'Umar started drawing water. He did it with so much strength that he was able to provide water to everyone around him."

Scholars have interpreted this dream as the caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar رضي الله تعالى عنهما, how the length of Abu Bakr's caliphate was small compared to 'Umar and how in his caliphate Islam flourished immensel.

His rule was one of the few moments in the history of Islam where Muslims were united as a single community. Abdullah ibn Masʿud 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".

There are many examples of the Caliph's policy of merit, which dictates that the main principle in official assignments should be competence, not religious or social status. For example, when asked in his deathbed whether he would nominate someone for the caliphate, he said he would not nominate anybody, adding that he would have nominated Abu Ubayda (r.a) or Huzayfa's (r.a) slave Salim,if they had been alive. After this, he delegated the issue of election to a committee of six formed for this purpose. By including a slave in his wishlist of nominees and implying that he would appoint a slave as the leader of all Muslims, Umar (r.a.) made it clear that he was at an equal distance to all sections of society and that merit for him was the decisive principle.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, "When (the dead body of) 'Umar was put on his deathbed, people gathered around him and invoked Allah and prayed for him before the body was taken away, and I was amongst them. Suddenly I felt somebody taking hold of my shoulder and found out that he was 'Ali ibn Abu Talib. 'Ali invoked Allah's Mercy for 'Umar and said, "O 'Umar! You have not left behind you a person whose deeds I like to imitate and meet Allah with more than I like your deeds. By Allah! I always thought that Allah would keep you with your two companions, for very often I used to hear the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, saying, 'I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar went (somewhere); I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar entered (somewhere); and I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar went out."' [Reported by al-Bukhari 3685]

Caliph Umar (r.a) stands out on the pages of history with his unique ruling style, the open-minded attitude with which he applied the principles of Islam to daily life and kept apace with changing circumstances, his original initiatives and legal rulings, and the innovative executive decisions he made in the face of unprecedented expansion. Thanks to these outstanding qualities, he gained the approval of all, regardless of their bias, and secured a special place in the hearts of Muslims as an idealized and exemplary ruler and believer.

As the Prophet's cousin, and the fourth Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib RA told Umar RA himself, "You've exhausted the Caliphs after you, O Umar." It is his life, chronicled and studied by countless historians since his death in 644 AD, and from which one can devise a lengthy list of various lessons, whether it is his devotion to his cause, his strong sense of accountability, his justice and equality in treatment and judgement, that serves as an approachable and admirable example for a leader, in any field, to follow.

He was a just leader unparalleled by any other from the time he accepted Islam to his death. He was Al-Farooq.