The History of Islam: Abū Bakr (First Rāshidūn Caliph)
The History of Islam: ʿUthmān (Third Rāshidūn Caliph)
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The Rāshidūn Caliphate (“deputy of God” or “successor of his Prophet”), from 632–661 CE, immediately succeeded Muḥammad (570–632), the founder of Islam, first through Muḥammad’s father-in-law Abū Bakr (632–634), followed by ʿUmar (l. c586–644; r. 634–644), ʿUthmān (r. 644–656), and finally ‘Alī (r. 656–661). These four caliphs (Khalīfa) are called the Rāshidūn, meaning the “rightly guided”.

‘Umar is remarkable in Islam’s history for being hostile at first to Muḥammad before becoming an ardent convert and follower in 615. He had turned from a persecutor of Muslims into an avid practitioner of the nascent religion. According to tradition, Muḥammad asserted, “If God had wished that there be a prophet after me, it would have been ʿUmar.” The bond between ‘Umar and Muḥammad was strengthened through the latter’s marriage to the former’s daughter Ḥafṣa (605–665) in 625.

He boasted various titles, such as al-Farūq, roughly meaning “one who distinguishes between right and wrong.” At first he addicted the title Khalifat Abī Bakr (“the successor to Abū Bakr”) and later Amīr al-Muʿminīn (“Leader of the Faithful”).

‘Umar presided over the first major wave of Arab conquests, overseen by commanders such as Khâlid ibn al-Walîd (d. 642) (nicknamed “Sword of God”), crushed a tribal revolt, ended Byzantine rule in Syria and Palestine, established Muslim control over Jerusalem, and consolidated Muslim control over the entire Arabian peninsula, while there were further conquests into Egypt, Cyrenaica, and Mesopotamia under his rule. As these lands came within the orbit of Muslim control, ʿUmar established garrison cities (Ar. amsār) in Fusṭāṭ (Egypt), Basra, and Kufa (Iraq).

‘Umar established the Islamic calendar (hijrī) dating from the beginning of Islam to Muḥammad’s emigration to Medina in 622 CE, and the office of the judge (qāḍī). ‘Umar abolished temporary (mutʿah) marriage, a pre-Islamic custom that was occasionally practiced during Muḥammad time. He appointed professional reciters of the Qurʿān for men and women and designated official callers to prayer (muezzins).

‘Umar was assassinated in Madīna in 644, by the enslaved Christian Abū Luʾluʾa Fīrūz (d. 644), and died three days later. While he lay dying, ʿUmar appointed a six-man council that eventually selected ʿUthmān as his successor.

References

Esposito, John L. 2009. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press.

Kerr, Anne., and Wright, Edmund. 2015. A Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press.