Life history of umar ibn abdulaziz
Home / Religious & Spiritual Figures / Life history of umar ibn abdulaziz
226 AH) described his physical appearance as handsome, slim, fine-featured, and bearing a scar from a horse’s hoof.
Ismaʿil al-Khatib also recorded that he had sunken eyes and grey hair.
His Upbringing and Early Signs of Righteousness
Even as a child, ʿUmar showed deep fear of Allah and strong attachment to the Qur’an.
He instructed his children’s teachers to keep them away from music and close to the Quran.
He surrounded himself with great scholars like Muhammad ibn Ka’b and Maimun ibn Mehran. According to Ibn Kathir, the amount of gold given to Fatima, the wife of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (RH), by her father on the day of her marriage was never seen before. He once said that he had not lied since he knew that lying harms the liar.
He feared the heavy burden of ruling the Ummah and often cried out of fear that he would fail in delivering people’s rights.
His Death
He ruled for about two years before he was poisoned by those who hated his reforms.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment could be argued to be that he is credited as being the first ruler to officially order the collection of hadith through scholars such as Al-Zuhri and Ibn-Hazm. Instead, he sacrificed all luxuries to be the change that he wanted to see in the world. From Sumaya (RA) and Yasir (RA), the first martyrs of Islam, to the Crusades where the streets ran red with blood, until now, the Ummah has faced oppression.
He disregarded the money and said “I would be too glad if all the non-Muslims embrace Islam and we have to take up cultivation for earning our living.” He had reformed the zeitgeist of the populace from his predecessors’ time when the topics of conversation would revolve around wealth, architecture, women, banquets, and other worldly affairs to discussions of Allah, prayer, and other Islamic reminders.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (RH) sums up his driving force best in his statement to a servant, “Allah has favored me with a disposition, insatiable and ambitious; no sooner do I attain an object I long for, I set my heart upon a still higher objective.
The responsibilities of the Caliphate have been thrust upon me without my desire or your consent.
By this point he’d served as the governor of Egypt and Madinah for more than 22 years.
After the announcement Umar ibn Abdul Aziz gave a famous address in the Masjid, returning to Shura (consultation), by asking the people to decide.
“O people! He later asked his son Asim to marry the girl, hoping she would give birth to a righteous leader who’d rule over Arabia.
The girl had refused on account of the caliph’s orders, to which the mother responded that the caliph was not present and would never find out. To list all of his reforms and efforts would require a much lengthier endeavor. Because of what happened during his rule, many scholars called him The First Reviver of Islam.
He started recording the Hadiths because he feared that the sayings of the Prophet would be lost with the death of the followers.
This step is considered one of the most important actions in Umar ibn Abdulaziz life and a turning point in the history of the Islamic nation to this day.
Previously, recording Hadiths was forbidden to prevent confusion among Muslims about what they were reading.
His uncle was Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth Umayyad Caliph and one of the top scholars of Madinah.
His childhood
Umar ibn Abdulaziz was raised in Madinah at his mother’s family.
He frequently visited the esteemed companion Abdullah ibn Umar to learn from him about knowledge, Hadith, and Quranic interpretation.
Ibn Umar noticed Umar’s intelligence and leadership and wrote to Umar’s father asking to keep him in Madinah instead of taking him to Egypt.
He was known as the Imam, the hafiz, the scholar, the mujtahid, the ascetic, the worshipper, and the truly rightly guided caliph. He had come into power at a time when oppression was synonymous with kings. We may not be leaders, but whatever affairs we manage, we can do so with excellence and justice in mind. His supplication was answered through Umar ibn Abdul Aziz.
Upbringing and Early Life
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz رَحِمَهُ اللهُ was born inMadinah in 682 A.D (61 AH). He grew up wealthy in the Ummayid caliphate which came into power in 616 AD.
By this point, the Ummayids had abandoned the Quran and Sunnah. His advisor, Reja’ ibn Haiwah suggested Umar ibn Abdul Aziz to succeed him. But how could I have pilfered (steal) from the assets of the rightful.” (Abdul Hai, 2010, 56)
His justice was so strong he couldn’t let down the wealth of the Muslims, as it didn’t belong to him.
Rulers confiscated the wealth of their subjects without right and killed those who rebelled. They remained separated from the circles of the ruling class and remained as symbols of exemplar behavior. He told them: “If I do the right thing follow me, if I don’t then guide me to the right path.” It was similar to the words of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه during his inaugural speech.
After Caliph Umar II was appointed, he was provided with the finest riding animals—horses, steeds, and mules—for official use.