Editing Umar (section)

=== Political legacy ===
Umar was the first caliph to adopt the title {{Transliteration|ar|[[amir al-mu'minin]]}} (Commander of the Faithful).{{Sfnp|Madelung|1997|p=49}} Umar was one of Muhammad's chief advisers. After Muhammad's passing, it was Umar who reconciled the Medinan Muslims to accept Abu Bakr, a Meccan, as the caliph.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Umar I {{!}} Muslim caliph |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Umar-I |access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref> During Abu Bakr's era, he actively participated as his secretary and main adviser.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/umar-ibn-al-khattab |title=Umar ibn al-Khattab |website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org |language=en |access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref> After succeeding Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar won over the hearts of Bedouin tribes by emancipating all their prisoners and slaves taken during the Ridda wars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crawford |first=Peter |date=16 July 2013 |title=The War of the Three Gods - Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]] |isbn=9781473828650 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-oHBAAAQBAJ&q=umar+slaves+emancipation+ridda&pg=PA119}}</ref>

He built up an efficient administrative structure that held together his vast realm. He organized an effective intelligence network, one of the reasons for his strong grip on his bureaucracy.<ref>''Islamic Imperialism'', Efraim Karsh, p. 25</ref>

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.{{sfnp|Lock|2003|p=70}}

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.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsP3DAAAQBAJ&q=umar+whip+streets+medina&pg=PA27 |title=Entrepreneurship and Management in an Islamic Context |last1=Ramadani |first1=Veland |last2=Dana |first2=Léo-Paul |last3=Gërguri-Rashiti |first3=Shqipe |last4=Ratten |first4=Vanessa |date=2 September 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319396798 |page=27 |language=en}}</ref>

Umar's swift imposition of justice against his governors for misdeeds made even powerful governors such as [[Mu'awiya I|Muawiyah]] scared of him. [[Ali ibn Abu Talib]], during the later rule of [[Uthman ibn Affan]], 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?"<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kq9RzQWlBNwC&q=I%20adjure%20you%20by%20God,%20do%20you%20know%20that%20Mu'awiyah%20was%20more%20afraid%20of%20Umar%20than%20was%20Umar's%20own%20slave%20Yarfa%E2%80%99&pg=PA143 |title=History of al-Tabari Vol. 15, The Crisis of the Early Caliphate - The Reign of Uthman A.D. 644-656/A.H. 24–35 |date=16 June 2015 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=9781438407289}}</ref>

Under Umar's rule, in order to promote strict discipline, Arab soldiers were settled outside of cities, between the desert and cultivated lands in special garrison towns known as "amsar". Known examples of such settlements are [[Basra]] and [[Kufa]] in Iraq and [[Fustat]] south of what would later become [[Cairo]]. His soldiers were forbidden to own land outside of Arabia. There were restrictions on their right to seize buildings and other immovable things usually thought of as prizes of war. Movable spoils were shared with the people of the umma, regardless of their social stratum.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSOdBAAAQBAJ&q=forbidden+to+acquire&pg=PA48 |title=A Concise History of the Middle East |last1=Goldschmidt |first1=Arthur Jr. |last2=Boum |first2=Aomar |date=7 July 2015 |publisher=[[Perseus Books Group|Avalon Publishing]] |isbn=9780813349633 |pages=48–49 |language=en}}</ref>

A modern researcher writes about this:<ref>Mohtsham, Saeed M., [http://www.bizresearchpapers.com/Mohtsham.pdf ''Vision and Visionary Leadership – An Islamic Perspective'']</ref>

{{blockquote|He used to monitor public policy very closely and had kept the needs of the public central to his leadership approach. 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.}}
{{blockquote|If a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates, Umar will be responsible for dereliction of duty.|(Umar)}}
{{blockquote|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.}}

In ''[[The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', [[Edward Gibbon|Gibbon]] refers to Umar in the following terms:
{{blockquote|"Yet the abstinence and humility of Umar were not inferior to the virtues of Abubeker; his food consisted of barley bread or dates; his drink was water; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places; and a Persian satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on the steps of the mosque of Medina."<ref name="Gibbon1833">{{cite book |last=Gibbon |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Gibbon |title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOo5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA410 |date=1833 |publisher=Harper |page=410}}</ref>}}

His rule was one of the few moments in the history of Islam where Muslims were united as a single community. [[Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud]] 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".<ref name="archive.org">{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume2/100713541-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-2#page/n397/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 2}}</ref> [[Abu Ubayda 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".<ref name="archive.org"/>

His greatest achievement from a religious perspective was the compilation of the Qur'an.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume1/100714724-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-1#page/n147/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 1 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> This had not been done during the time of Muhammad. However, during the Battle of Yamama, a great number of the memorisers of the Quran perished in the battle. On the advice of Umar, Abu Bakr tasked [[Zayd ibn Thabit]] with the momentous task of compiling the Quran into a single Book.<ref name="sunnah.com"/>

The [[Farooqui dynasty]] which ruled the [[Khandesh]] region in north of [[Maharashtra]], India, from 14th century until 16th century, has claimed their descent from Umar's lineage.<ref name="The Kingdom of Khandesh; Radhey Shyam">{{cite book |author1=Radhey Shyam |title=The Kingdom of Khandesh |date=1981 |publisher=Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i Delli |pages=157, 165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwoMAAAAIAAJ |access-date=6 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society Volumes 52–54; Mythic Society (Bangalore, India)">{{cite book |author1=Mythic Society (Bangalore, India) |title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society Volumes 52–54 |date=14 March 1962 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x07jAAAAMAAJ |access-date=6 March 2024 |language=en |quote=The rulers of Khandesh who claimed descent from Caliph Umar Faruq evinced the Faruq – like spirit of statesmanship, worldly wisdom, tenacity of purpose, tolerance and patriotism}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.92870 Alt URL]</ref>