Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY (MTSU)

LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION (MGMT 6740)

OMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB IN THE LEADERSHIP

SAAD KHALFALLA

Spring (2011)

1
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

Introduction:

In this paper, I am trying to highlight some of “Omar son of Al-Khattab” or Omar Ibn al-

Khattab’s attitudes and look at them from the leadership perspectives. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab as

topic, it is very big topic to be covered in just paper like this. However, I will try to focus on the

things and actions that were very popular. In the first place, I will introduce by a brief paragraph.

Then, I will look to him as successor to the Muslim nation during his time. More, I look to some

of the actions that he did when he was a successor. Those actions reflect some signs of the

leadership.

Biography:

His name is Omar son of Al-Khattab Nufayl son of Abdul Uzza son of Kaab son of luayy

son of Al-Qurashi. He was born in Makah in 584. His mother hantammah daughter of Hashim,

was also descend from the same tribe that his father descend from which is Quraysh. He leaved

in a middle class family. He was known by his strength and braveness in his society. In addition,

at the time before he converts to Islam, the Muslims were the minority. However, after he

converted to the Islam in about 617, the Muslims felt they became powerful. Further, following

his converting to Islam he became one of the most important advisors to the prophet Muhammad

in addition to “Abu Bakr.”1 Furthermore, the prophet was, if Abu Bakr and Omar agreed about

any matter, case, or controversial issue he will take whatever they agreed about. Therefore, after

the prophet death and Abu Bakr takeover and became his successor, Omar became his first and

most important advisor. More, when Abu Bakr dead Omar became the second successor to the

Muslims.

1
He was the first man who believed in Islam in history from the prophet Muhammad.

2
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

Moreover, when Omar takeover, he gave a speech described his power that is increased

by doubled for those who seek for unjust; and his power will disappear for the good people. In

other words he said, “I will not calm down until I will put one cheek of a tyrant on the

ground and the other under my feet, and for the poor and weak, I will put my cheek on the

ground.” ("Umar,”) In addition, during his time, people were free to practice any religion that

they have, like Judaism and Christianity in Al-Medina or anywhere in the Islamic empire. And I

think because of that the Muslim empire increased to cover the North Africa and some parts from

Asia. Therefore, that increase in the Islamic empire at that time was not by the power of the

sword, but was by the beauty of people’s actions. For example, the Muslim armies not allow

fighting people who do not have the attention of fighting and the fighters did not have the

permission to kill women, old people not carry weapons to fight, and children nor to cut trees.

Furthermore, by his orders the Muslim army was not allowed to stay in the nations that they

could not protect them.

OMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB ATTITUDES IN THE LEADERSHIP:

As we have read, the leader has to fair; one of Omar’s nicknames was Al-Farooq “who

distinguished between the truth and false or right and what is wrong.” When the Muslims went to

Egypt, one of other Muslims leaders was on the head of military his name Umar Ibn-As. Umar

bin As, his son was slapped a Christian Copt on his face. The Copt was asking for anyone who

can take his right from the son of Umar Ibn Al-As back. People tooled him to go Omar Ibn Al-

Khattab in Al-Medina and he can retain your dignity back. Then the Christian Copt and his

father went to Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in Al-Medina and tooled him what was happen with them.

Omar Ibn Al-Khattab sent for Umar bin As, and his son to come to Al-Medina, after they came,

Christian Copt slapped back the sun of Umar Ibn Al-As. “(Then Omar Ibn Al-Khattab angrily

3
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

turned to Omar Ibn al-As and said: "Oh Omar, when did you start to enslave the people,

though they were born free of their mothers?")” (Abu al-'A'la Mawdudi, 2002). Therefore,

when Omar took that issue very serious, no one would think to insult anyone what matter was his

or her religion nor where he or she was come from. In my opinion, this type of actions was one

of the reasons that all of people were able to live in peace with each other with no matter what

their belief would be.

Further, if we looked to him as leader from the leadership responsibility perspectives,

we will be able to see that; he took the full responsibilities about the entire regions that were

under his control. He was responsible for the families when the men go in the Muslim army.

Also mentioned, in his first speech he said, “I am the father of your children until you come

back.” In other words, he said if anyone lift his family and joined the army or went for some

type of missions, I would take care of everything that he left behind.

For example, one night while he was inspecting the city he heard a woman was talking;

but the woman seamed missed her husband who was in the army. In the next day, he asked his

daughter, how could the woman stay without her husband? She responds to him, a woman

could stay without her husband about three to four months and she was shy in saying that.

After that, he gave the orders to the military leaders not to leave for more than three to four

months.

Similarly, one night while he was guarding a caravan, he heard a child crying; he talked

the mother of that child behind the curtain to keep her child silent. She said to hem I am trying to

wean him. When he asked her about the age of her child and he was very young. He asked her

why was she doing that so early? She answered, because the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab does not give

the living allowance to the child until he or she weaned. In the next morning after he finished

4
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

from the early Morning Prayer he was crying and said oh son of Al-Khattab, how many child did

you killed form the Muslim children. Then, “He ordered a caller to sound and say: Do not rush

to wean your infants, for we pay for every new born baby in Islam.” ("Omar Ibn al-

Khattab,”)

In the same way, he was taking the full responsibilities abut “Muslims House of

Wealth.”2 He never spends any amount of money for himself that belonged to the Muslim

treasury. One day a camel runaway form the corral and he followed that camel by himself.

When one of the Muslims who were there, asked him why did not you let one of us to go and

return that camel back instead of you? He said I would be the responsible about that in front

of God not you.

In addition, he was not like to be different from the others. His life was normal and very

simple life; he did not have anything that may differentiate him from other people. When the

roman emperor sent a delegation headed by his minister to meet Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the

roman delegation in the first could not identify him very easy because of his simple life and he

had nothing that may lead them to him as the leader to the Muslims at that time. However,

when they asked about him, they were instructed that they would find him sleeping under a

tree. When they reached him, they find him sleeping under the tree, and his shoes were under

his head, and peacefully sleeping, therefore there were no guards, secret secrecies, or

securities. Thus, for the roman minister that was not as the situation that they used to see with

their emperor. Their emperor was always surrounded with many solders and weapons for his

protection, the minister was shock and said to Omar Ibn Al-Khattab a beautiful saying that

2
Historically, it was a financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes in Islamic states, particularly
in the early Islamic Caliphate. It served as a royal treasury for the caliphs and sultans, managing personal finances
and government expenditures. Further, it administered distributions of zakah revenues for public works. Modern
Islamic economists deem the institutional framework appropriate for contemporary Islamic societies.

5
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

can be translated to English as: “Oh Omar you have governed, and through your

governing you have made justice, and because you made justice among the people you

were able to sleep peacefully.”

Moreover,as General Willard W. Scott said, “Any fool can keep a rule. God gave him

a brain to know when to break the rule.” Omar Ibn Al-Khattab broke the Islamic rule about

the stealing when the punishment was for the stealer would be to cut his or her hand. The

Muslim nation in the Arabian Peninsula faced a crisis that was called the “Year of

Ramadah” where they suffered from hanger and the Muslims had nothing to eat and some of

them maystole because they had no chose. In addition, because of that situation Omar Ibn Al-

Khattab stopped the hand cut punishment for that year.

Further, he was like to share people their feelings. He was like live very poor in order to

understand how they live and what the things that should be done to them to make their life

better. He used to sleep in outside in the cold weather. When some Muslims asked him why is

he doing that? He said to them, I want to share other Muslims who were sleeping outside in

the cold.

Besides, each life whatever it was, human or animals have a limited ability that they

cannot pass. The limitation of their ability sometimes how many hours that may be able to

work continually or how much weight something can carry on. When Omar Ibn Al-Khattab

went to Jerusalem and his servant, they were Omar Ibn Al-Khattab ride then his servant and in

the third time, the camel would go free to take some rest too. The fanny thing that was

happened while they were on the way, the camel was taking his term, and when the camel’s

term was over, they stacked in a mud and each one of them had to walk easy moving even the

camel because he also something that feel weight and pain. Likewise, the good leaders should

6
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

sometime feel not only what human could feel and forget the animals just because they did

not say we get tired because we walk a long distance or that thing is very heavy. Leader

should be capable to lead anything that comes under his or her power and or control.

OMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB AND HIS OFFICERS:

As the Islamic country was getting large and large and it became not easy for him to

control form Al-Medina, he headed each Muslim state by one of the people that he trusted

very well. Furthermore, he has some general instructions that all of his officers and governors

must follow and that was:

"Remember, I have not appointed you as commanders and tyrants over the

people. I have sent you as leaders instead, so that the people may follow your

example. Give the Muslims their rights and do not beat them lest they become

abused. Do not praise them unduly, lest they fall into the error of conceit. Do not

keep your doors shut in their faces, lest the more powerful of them eat up the

weaker ones. And do not behave as if you were superior to them, for that is

tyranny over them." ("Umar,”)

As well as, he established annual conferences for his governors and military leaders to

ask them about the people that they were responsible about.

OMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB AND THE CURRENT MUSLIMS WORLD:

When we look at the accomplishments that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did during his time as

successor, we would be able to find many things that he did and the Muslims as nation still

7
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

follow until our present time. For instance, he assigned the Islamic calendar “Hijri Calendar3,”

“The Islamic calendar was first introduced by the close companion of the Prophet, 'Umar Ibn

Al-Khattab.” (Huda, 1998). When the Muslims had difficulties to count the things nor the

events that were took place in their time, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was decided to have a calendar

that would systemize their life. Then he decided to have the first year of the calendar the year

that Prophet Muhammad was emigrated from Mecca to Al-Medina.

Further, during the Prophet Muhammad time, one night in the month of Ramadan he

prayed extra prayer after the mandatory prayer with a few of his companions. In the night

after, he prayed as the night before and the number of the Muslims behind him increased. As

the same as the two nights before, he did in the third night and the number of the prayers

became more large. However, in the forth night Prophet did not make the extra prayer. Then,

in the next day, the prophet was asked about why not he prayed the extra one last night. His

answer was, “I did not want you to take that prayer as mandatory, and if you did you would

not be able to do it.” More, as the time passed and the Prophet Muhammad and he successor

Abu Bakr were both dead and the Muslims were practicing that prayer by optional

individually one night Omar Ibn Al-Khattab saw the Muslims each praying alone. Then, Omar

Ibn Al-Khattab said that why not we gather them and pray as a congregation behind one

person, and he did after that. When they done from prayer, he looked to the prayers and well

novelty that was done. Moreover, the Muslims still practicing that prayer each Ramadan until

now. Additionally, if we compare what Omar Ibn Al-Khattab had done in example with what

Warren Bennis said, “Managers do things right, while leaders do the right things.” We

3
The Islamic calendar or the “Hijri Calendar” is a calendar count the months by the Moon cycle. Therefore, each full cycle of the
moon will be a one month. Many Islamic countries and the Muslims in the non-Muslims countries use that calendar to determine
the Islamic events.

8
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

would be able to see that the Muslims were managing or doing their prayer properly.

Whereas, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab saw something that was different; He saw that prayer could be

done by better way, which is to be congregated.

9
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

Conclusion:

From the thing that I see, I can classify Omar Ibn Al-Khattab to be one of historical

leaders. Nevertheless, if we compare his leadership style with the present leadership and

leaders we will find that, he led a nation and considered himself as the one who was most

responsible about anything that was on the region, which was under his control. In addition,

when we look closely to his leadership style we can see the very complex combination that he

mixed as successor. That combination was mixture between mercy and justice with power and

inconsiderate.

When look to his reaction with the crying child because of the weaning, as well, as how

he reacted with his servant and the camel when they went to Jerusalem, we would see

leadership in mercy. On the other hand, when we look at some of his first speech and see how

he punished the son of Omar Ibn Al-As publically. From the action of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab

against the son of Umar Ibn Al-As, we can indentify how he could be harsh against injustice

people and how his justice was. Even though Umar Ibn Al-As was one of the greatest political

leader in the time of prophet Muhammad, and when his son made a mistake and he did not

take that issue very serious he was punished no matter who was he. Further, the leader should

not monopolizes his or her position as an officer or governor and punish or forgive anyone

depend on the relationship with him or her.

10
 Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Leadership

References:

1. Abu al-'A'la Mawdudi, 'Allamah . (2002). Human rights in islam. WPONLINE.ORG ,

Retrieved from

http://www.witness -pioneer.org/vil/Books/M_hri/index.htm

2. Huda, Initials. (1998). The islamic calendar . Retrieved from

http://islam.about.com/cs/calendar/a/hijrah_calendar.htm

3. Omar Ibn al-khattab the second rightly guided caliph. http://www.aicp.org, 6.

4. Umar. http://en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from

h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g/ w i k i / O m a r # R e i g n _ a s _ C a l i p h

11