Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) at first strongly opposed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), but eventually embraced Islam wholeheartedly. As caliph, Umar was the first to call himself “Leader of the Believers”, and his reign saw the transformation of the Islamic state from an Arabian principality to a world power.

In his book entitled, “A ranking of the 100 most influential people in history,” Michael H. Hart ranked Umar bin Al-Khattab # 52, and wrote the following about him:  “Umar bin Al - Khattab was the second of the Muslim caliphs. Umar was originally one of the bitterest opponents of Muhammad (pbuh) and his new religion. Rather suddenly, however, Umar became converted to Islam, and thereafter was one of its strongest supporters. After Prophet Muhammad’s death without naming a successor, Umar promptly supported the candidacy of Abu Bakr, a move that avoided a power struggle and enabled Abu Bakr to be generally recognized as the first caliph."

TIES will run a series of lectures on the life and times of Umar bin Al-Khattab, every Thursday at 7pm. All are welcome.