# The Life of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA): From Enemy to Caliph of Justice | AI Visualized - Language: en - Published: 2026-08-26 - Canonical: https://blog.towardseternity.com/en/blog/the-life-of-umar-ibn-al-khattab-ra-from-enemy-to-caliph-of-justice-ai-visualized - Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeZDp9rFPKE - Channel: Towards Eternity This is the cleaned transcript of the source video. The speech is unaltered. --- It's the year 616. Something is going on in the streets of Mecca. People are quietly whispering among themselves. They ask each other, did that really happen? It's as if even the angels are standing and watching this scene. The person who is the cause of all this confusion appears at the beginning of the street. With his huge two meter long body, he walks with majesty. He's so fearless that no one can even think of standing against him. In our prophet (pbuh)'s words: "Whenever the devil sees him taking a path, he follows a path other than his!" He goes near the Kaaba and he starts shouting: “Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulu-Allah!” “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” He challenges all the people in power and the spoiled leaders of the idol worshipers. For the first time ever, the voice of a Muslim is this loud. This is a terrible loss for the mushriqoon of Mecca. “Umar became Muslim too?” if that's the case, Muslims are no longer weak and helpless. But how did Umar, who suddenly changed all the power balance, make this decision? How did he turn from being one of the greatest enemies of Islam to one of its greatest soldiers? When he was on his way to k*ll the Prophet, how did he suddenly become a person who was willing to die for that same man's cause? He then became one of the greatest and closest companions of the Prophet and the second Khalifa after Him. Here is one of the most interesting stories the world has ever seen. Behind the scenes of Umar’s conversion to Islam. Umar’s father, Khattab was the head of the sons of Adiyy clan of the Quraish tribe. Benu ‘Adiyy. Umar received a good education. He was a very smart and very powerful young man. Because he defeated a wrestler who was considered invincible in that region, the Meccans gave him the nickname the Protector of Mecca. He then became the head of his clan because of his intelligence and strength. In the first years of Islam, the Prophet ﷺ was not delivering the message openly, but in secret. For the ones who were closer to Islam, Muslims would preach the message in private, and those who became Muslims were hiding that fact. They were only telling about Islam to the ones they trusted and considered sincere. Even the place the Muslims were gathering was secret. The reason behind that was to avoid drawing attention. If the preaching had been made openly, it would have been very likely for them to suffer because they were very few in number. As this situation continued for some time, rumors started spreading in the city. This new religion began to reach the ears of the mushrik leaders of Mecca. At first they didn't pay much attention to it, but over time, even some of their relatives started to convert to this religion. To discuss this new situation, they held meetings in Darun-Nadwa. The City Council of Mecca. And the heads of each family attended these meetings. Umar also attended them as the head of his clan. Benu Adiyy. Several decisions were taken at different times in those meetings. One of the decisions was this: everyone will try to intimidate the tribe members who became or think of becoming Muslim through imprisonment, beatings and torture. So Umar ties up the Muslims from his tribe and starts whipping them until he gets tired. Back then, his nickname among Muslims was ‘’The Cruel’’. Since it was preached in secret, Umar didn't know about the ultimate truth of Islam yet. In his head, he thought he was doing a good thing. Because to him, the Prophet ﷺ was a person who was causing division among Arabs for his own interests. And Umar was just trying to protect his nation against this threat. Over time, the oppression against Muslims became unbearable. As a result of this, some Muslims started migrating to Habeshistan (Ethiopia) after getting permission from the Messenger of Allah. One of these Muslims was Amir. He used to Umar's father, Khattab’s slave but then he got his freedom. He and his wife Leila were also preparing to join this wave of migration. Amir had just gone out to get something. When Umar comes across Leila, he asks, are you going somewhere? She responds, Yes we are. You have tortured us so much. Until Allah shows us a way out of this, we will go to another land of Allah. With an unexpectedly soft tone, Umar says: May Allah help you all. And then he leaves. By that time, his heart was tired of what he had done to the Muslims. He began to feel that something was wrong, but his mind and his heart were still confused. Leila senses a feeling of sympathy and compassion in Umar. When her husband Amir comes back, she tells him the situation. Amir gets very surprised and asks her: ‘’Do you have hope that Umar will become Muslim?’’ And then he adds: "Wallahi I swear, even Khattab's donkey would become Muslim, but his son Umar wouldn't!" This was the impression Umar was giving to people with his behavior so far. But his heart that was hard as a rock was going to soften soon. The compassion Leila saw in Umar was somewhere deep inside him. And for that to get out, certain events would have to take place. One of them was this: One night, Umar comes across the Messenger of Allah near the Kaaba. He was performing prayer. Wondering what he is reciting, he secretly approaches him. The Prophet was reciting Surah-al Haqqah. As Umar listens to him, he inevitably becomes fascinated by the words of the Qur'an. But he wasn't going to convert just like that. He thinks to himself: "Wallahi I swear, he's a poet as the Quraysh say!" And right at that moment, the Prophet starts reciting the 41st ayah: “And it is not the word of a poet; how little you believe!” Umar becomes shocked. He now thinks to himself: "He knew what I was thinking. Maybe he's a soothsayer, a fortune teller." The Prophet continues to recite the next ayah: “Nor the word of a soothsayer; how little you reflect.” Umar is stunned. It’s as if every ayah was answering him precisely. shook him deeply. The seeds of faith began to grow in his heart. He went home in that state. Islam's light was spreading and increasing secretly in Mecca. But at the same time the tension of the events was also increasing. Although Umar was impressed by the Qur'an he listened to, his still thought that the Messenger of Allah was dividing families and turning brothers against each other. And because of that, his grudge and hatred against him was still the same. Despite all this, the Prophet of mercy ﷺ was still praying for his guidance. He was saying, “O Allah, strengthen Islam with one of two men whom you love more: Ebu'l Hakem bin Hisham (Abu Jahal) or Umar b. Khattab.” Right after these words were uttered by His beloved Messenger, Allah (s.w.t) was going to create the reasons for one of the most beautiful stories of guidance in the world. On the very morning of the night of that supplication, another meeting was held in Dar an-Nadwa. Being scared of getting into a conflict and facing vengeance from the Prophet's clan, Sons of Hashim, Abu Jahal makes an offer: “Whoever kills Muhammad, I will reward him with 100 camels!” Taking the risk of a blood feud, someone in the meeting stood up and accepted this offer. It was Umar. He thought this had gone on for too long and rushed out to take up his sword. Both of these people were prayed for by name, by the Messenger of Allah just the night before. Yet, one of them put a price on his head, and the other went out to look for and kill him. When you think about it, this was a su*cide mission for Umar. because the Prophet's family would definitely get their revenge and kill him too. He was also aware of this, but even though he was young, powerful, rich, and respected, he was preparing to sacrifice himself. He was ready to die, but Allah was not going to waste him. He was going to be given life on his way to death. He takes up his sword and rushes out of his house to kill his target. On his way, he comes across his relative Nuaym. Nuaym asks him: “O 'Umar! Where are you going armed with your sword?” Umar replies: “I am going to kill Muhammad, who has disrupted the affairs of the Quraysh and insulted their gods and ancestors. ” Upon hearing this, Nuaym, who himself became Muslim secretly, becomes anxious. He cries out: “O 'Umar! You have fooled yourself. Do you think that his clan will let you live when you kill him?” And Umar says that after killing him, he will go to them and surrender. Nuaym wanted to do whatever he could to protect the Messenger of Allah from Umar. He had to say something to distract him. So he said, "O Umar! Shall I tell you something more surprising: Your sister and her husband left the religion you are practicing and became Muslims too!" Umar was paralyzed for a few seconds. Then with his blood boiling inside, he changed his direction and started running to his sister's house. Meanwhile, Khabbab b. Aratt was teaching Suratu’ t-Tahā to Umar's sister, Fatima and her husband Said bin Zayd. When Khabbab hears Umar’s voice coming from outside, he hides inside the house. Umar storms in furiously. When his sister saw him with a darkened face, she immediately hides the Qur'an pages she was holding in her hand. He starts shouting at her sister and asks, what were those words coming from your house? When his brother-in-law replied, ‘’Nothing; we were just talking to each other.’’ Umar's rage increases even more. He grabs him by the neck and slams him to the ground. He yells: “So, what I have heard is true, you have joined the religion of Muhammad, haven’t you?” When Fatima tries to save her husband, she also finds herself on the ground with a hard slap. Her mouth starts bleeding. Fatima couldn't stand it anymore and fearlessly challenged him. "Omar, do you hear me? What you have heard, is true! I left your gods, I reject Lat and Uzza. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His servant and messenger. Do as you wish!" Umar pauses for a moment and starts to question what he has been doing. He was shocked at his sister's courage and wondered about the cause that made her so strong. Seeing the blood on her face brought out a sense of compassion in him. He turns to his sister Fatima and says: ‘’Give me that thing you were reading. I promise, I will give it back to you.’’ Was the prayer of the prophet going to be accepted? Hoping for the guidance of her brother, she said, “You are not clean, because you are upon a belief that associates partners with Allah. But only the pure can touch it. You have to wash yourself first. ” And Umar does what she said. Then she gives him the pages that the ayaat of the Qur’an were written and Umar starts reciting from the beginning of Surat Taha. “Ṭâ-Hâ. We have not revealed the Quran to you ˹O Prophet˺ to cause you distress. But only as a reminder for those who fear [Allāh] ˹It is˺ a revelation from the One Who created the earth and the high heavens.the Most Compassionate, ˹Who is˺ established on the Throne.”... As he was reading the hardness in his heart and the anger in his face slowly disappeared. He turned to his sister and brother-in-law and said: "How beautiful, how honorable, how majestic is this speech! There can be no speech more beautiful and sweeter than this." They both looked at each other in utter joy and amazement. Umar no longer had the stubbornness to resist these words. His heart surrendered. Hearing all this, Habbab excitedly jumped out of the place he was hiding and he shouted: “Good news for you, o Omar. For the Messenger has prayed to Allah to strengthen Islam with you.” Umar turned to him and said: “Tell me where the Messenger of Allah is!” When Habbab told him Rasulullah's location near Safa, Umar set out. With every step he took, the excitement in his heart was increasing more and more. He was overwhelmed with happiness. But Umar still had not taken out his sword, because his only thought at that moment was to go to the Messenger of Allah as fast as he can and declare his faith. Umar finally arrived and knocked on the door. When the companions saw him armed with his sword, they got frightened. They informed the Messenger of Allah and he let him in. When the Prophet (pbuh) saw Umar He immediately grabbed him by the strap of his sword and said: "O Allah, this is Umar ibn al-Khattab. O Allah, strengthen the religion with Umar ibn al-Khattab!" Being filled with excitement through guidance. Umar took the shahada and became Muslim. Everyone witnessing this scene was full of enthusiasm and confidence. Because Umar meant fear to those who are against Umar. But if Umar is Muslim now, it means that there's nothing to fear anymore. Every companion started shouting the takbeer together. Allahu Akbar! It was so loud that it echoed in the streets of Makkah. Umar returns to Rasulullah and asks: “O Messenger of Allah, aren't we on the true religion whether we live or die?” The Prophet (pbuh) says: "Yes!" Then Umar says: “So why are we still hiding? I swear by Allah, the One Who sent you with the true religion, that I will bravely, fearlessly, without any hesitation, go to every gathering of polytheists and declare Islam to them!” Then the Prophet allowed the believers to go out from their hiding place and preach Islam openly. The Prophet ﷺ on the front, Umar on his right and Hamza on his left, and the rest of the believers following from behind. All the Muslims start marching towards the Kaaba. This is how they showed themselves to the entire city and the Quraysh. Everyone gathered around them in great surprise. At that moment, the leaders of the Quraysh understood that the wind is now blowing in the opposite direction. One of the most famous companions, Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, describes Umar like this: "His acceptance of Islam was a conquest, his migration was a victory and his caliphate was a mercy. Indeed, Umar's faith was a great victory for the Muslims and a huge defeat for the disbelievers." There was a big difference between Umar that was a non-muslim an hour ago and this new Muslim Umar, an hour later. From being a cruel person who tortured people, he turned into someone who would not even hurt a fly. With the light of guidance that was brought by the Messenger of Allah, the light hidden inside him started to shine. That day, the seed of faith was put inside Umar's heart. And from that seed, Allah created a giant tree of conscience and justice. So much so that in his period as a caliphate, he would be given the nickname The Just and not even human beings but even the animals would be safe from being wronged.