Abdallah ibn ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study Abdallah b. ‘Umar's life. Ibn ‘Umar lived eighty-four years (74/693 years of the hijra), being born in 613 A.D. He was first and foremost a jurist and religious leader and intellectual, and the founder of the Medinese School of Law. There fore as long as there are Muslims in the World he has been, and will be, highly esteemed by past, present and future generations of scholars and others conversant with religious instruction. There is still the need for a comprehensive study of his teaching and doctrine. The present work does not attempt to cover this need. This thesis is a biography of 'Abdallah b. ‘Umar and deals with his activities and influence as a religious jurist and founder of an important School of Law. It is composed of six chapters. The introduction gives a brief biographical note on the social and religious background of the Arabs before Islam and the life at Mecca and Medina, the cities in which Ibn ‘Umar lived. The first chapter aims to study the early life of Ibn ‘Umar, his formative years, family background, childhood, conversion to Islam and his emigration to Medina, followed by a genealogi table. The second chapter deals with his military life, his career as a cavalryman and how he assisted in gaining victory for his nation, followed by a chronology of his military career table. The third chapter deals with his political life and how he rejected the offer of the Caliphate three times. Chapter four is concerned with his intellectual achievements; this study deals with his teachers, how he established a Medinese School of Law, his approach to his teaching, and his students with a brief note of his prominent students and an example of his work as a Mufti. Chapter five deals with his appearance and personality, his charity and his worship. Chapter six gives an account of his family and the end of his life.