Umar Ibn al-Khattab: the Second Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam

The second "rightly guided" caliph,  Umar ibn al-Khattab was born to the Quraysh Adi clan in Mecca in 581. Umar came from a middle-class background yet became literate and a champion wrestler. Umar wanted to kill prophet Muhammad (SAW) when he first preached Islam because he thought it was heretical against with the Quraysh and his ancestors. On his way to Muhammad's residence, his sister converted to Islam. After reading the Quran, Umar was no longer angry. He decided to convert to Islam instead of killing Muhammad.

Umar was one of the first people to move to Medina, where he became a loyal supporter of Muhammad. He took part in every single one of the Muslim conflicts that were fought against the Quraysh. 

Abu Bakr was the first person to take over after Muhammad. During Abu Bakr's brief caliphate, Umar was a trusted advisor and, before his death, was chosen to succeed him as caliph. Umar was assassinated in 644, having ruled as caliph from the year 633 until his death. During Umar's caliphate, the Islamic empire expanded at a rate never seen before, capturing Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa, and Armenia from the Byzantines and displacing them from those regions. Umar also wrote down the rules of Islamic law, started Hijri Calendar, and he was known for living a simple, modest life. A well-known story says that when he got to Jerusalem, he walked beside his camel while his servant tried to ride it.

In 644, when the caliph conducted prayers in Masjid al Nabawi, he was murdered by a Persian slave who had a personal dispute with Umar and stabbed him six times. Umar passed away two days later and is interred in the same grave as Muhammad and Abu Bakr. Uthman ibn Affan was chosen as his successor by a council of six individuals he had assembled shortly before his death. Umar is most known for establishing the majority of the important political institutions of the Muslim state and for stabilizing the rapidly expanding Arab empire.

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