page_title: Umar
section_title: Assassination
hierarchical_section_title: Umar / Assassination
caption_attribution_description: العربية: عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر يشهد جماعة من الأعاجم يتناجون فيما بينهم، منهم الهُرمُزان وأبي لؤلؤة، وقد سقط منهم خنجر ذي نصلين. يعتقد بعض المُؤرخين أنَّ هؤلاء قد تآمروا على قتل الخليفة عُمر بن الخطَّاب. English: Abdul-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr witnesses a group of Persians talking with each others, among them was Hormuzan and Abu Lululah, a double blade dagger can be seen that has fallen from one of them. Some Historians belive that these people have conspired to kill Caliph Umar bin Al Khattab.
context_page_description: Umar, also spelled Omar, was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history. He was a senior companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert Muslim jurist known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the epithet Al-Farooq. He is sometimes referred to as Umar I by historians of Islam, since a later Umayyad caliph, Umar II, also bore that name.
  Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire. His attacks against the Sasanian Empire resulted in the conquest of Persia in less than two years. According to Jewish tradition, Umar set aside the Christian ban on Jews and allowed them into Jerusalem and to worship. Umar was eventually killed by the Persian Piruz Nahavandi in 644 CE.
  Umar is revered in the Sunni tradition as a great ruler and paragon of Islamic virtues, and some hadiths identify him as the second greatest of the Sahaba after Abu Bakr. He is viewed negatively in the Shia tradition.
context_section_description: In 644, Umar was assassinated by a Persian slave named Abu Lulu by later accounts. His motivation for the assassination is not clear. One possible explanation was that it was done in response to the Muslim conquest of Persia. The assassination was planned several months earlier. In October 644, Umar undertook a Hajj to Mecca, during which the assassins pronounced Umar's imminent death that year, and the massive crowd of the congregation was used by the conspirators as a veil to hide themselves.
  During one of rituals of Hajj, the Ramy al-Jamarat (stoning of the Devil), someone threw a stone at Umar that wounded his head; a voice was heard that Umar will not attend the Hajj ever again.
  The Persian slave Piruz Nahavandi (also known as Abu Lulu) brought a complaint to Umar about the high tax charged by his master Mughirah. Umar wrote to Mughirah and inquired about the tax; Mughirah's reply was satisfactory, but Umar held that the tax charged to Abu Lulu was reasonable, owing to his daily income. Umar then is reported to have asked Abu Lulu: "I heard that you make windmills; make one for me as well." In a sullen mood, Piruz said, "Verily I will make such a mill for you, that the whole world would remember it".
  It was Piruz who was assigned the mission of assassinating Umar. According to the plan, before the Fajr prayers (the morning prayers before the dawn) Piruz would enter Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the main mosque of Medina where Umar led the prayers and would attack Umar during the prayers, and then flee or mix with the congregation at the mosque.
  On 31 October 644, Piruz attacked Umar while he was leading the morning prayers, stabbing him six times in the belly and finally in the navel, that proved fatal. Umar was left profusely bleeding while Piruz tried to flee, but people from all sides rushed to capture him; in his efforts to escape he is reported to have wounded twelve other people, six or nine of whom later died, before slashing himself with his own blade to commit suicide.
  Umar died of the wounds three days later on Wednesday 3 November 644 (26 Dhu al-Hijjah 23 AH).
  As per Umar's will, he was buried next to Al-Masjid al-Nabawi alongside Muhammad and caliph Abu Bakr by the permission of Aisha.
caption: Depiction: Abdul-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr witnesses a group of Persians in conversation. Among them are Hormuzan and Abu Lu'lu'ah. A fallen sword can be seen.
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