{{Short description|Early Islamic figure and scholar (c.610 – 693)}} {{multiple issues| {{Expand German|topic=bio|ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUmar|date=May 2026}} {{expand Arabic|date=May 2026}} }} {{Infobox religious biography | religion = Islam | region = Islamic scholar | era = Early Islamic Period | name = ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar <br/> {{lang|ar|عبد الله بن عمر}} | image = | nocat_wdimage = yes | title = | birth_date = {{circa|610 CE}} | birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia | death_date = {{circa}} {{death year and age|693|610}} | death_place = Mecca, Umayyad Caliphate {{small|(present-day KSA)}} | main_interests = Hadith and Fiqh | denomination = | notable_ideas = | notable_works = | influences = Muhammad | influenced = | parents = | children = {{plainlist| *Salim *Abu Ubayda *Hafsa *Sawda *Abd al-Rahman *Zayd *Bilal *Ubayd Allah *Waqid *Abd Allah *Umar *Hamza }} | father = Umar ibn al-Khattab | mother = Zaynab bint Maz'un | spouse = Safiya bint Abu Ubayd | relatives = {{plainlist| *Hafsa (sister) *Ubayd Allah (brother) *Asim (brother) *Zayd (brother) }} }}
'''ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb''' ({{langx|ar|عبد الله بن عمر ابن الخطاب}}; {{circa|610{{snd}}693}}), commonly known as '''Ibn Umar''', was a companion and brother-in-law<ref name="Saad8">Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.</ref> of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the most known son of the second Caliph Umar. The most prolific hadith narrator after Abu Huraira, Ibn Umar remained neutral during the events of the first Fitna (656–661).<ref name = "al-Imama">Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, ''al-Imāma wa al-Sīyāsa'', vol. 1, p. 73.</ref>
== Early Life == Abd Allah ibn Umar (kunya Abu Abd al-Rahman<ref name="Al-Isaba">Ahmad b. Ali ibn Hajar. ''Al Isaba fi tamyiz al sahaba'' vol. 4. Edited by Adil Ahmad ʿAbd al-Mawjud & Ali Muhammad Muʿawwad. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya.1415 AH</ref> {{rp| 156}}) was born in 610 in Mecca,<ref name="Saad3">Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.</ref>{{rp|207}} three years after the beginning of Muhammad's message.<ref name="Al-Isaba"/>{{rp| 156}} He was the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Zaynab bint Maz'un.<ref name="Saad3"/>{{rp|203–204}} His full siblings were Hafsa and Abd al-Rahman. His paternal brothers, born to his stepmother Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal, were Zayd and Ubayd Allah. He had another stepmother, Qurayba bint Abi Umayya, but she had no children of her own.<ref name="Saad3"/>{{rp|204}}
It was said that the young Abd Allah had vivid memories of his father's conversion to Islam. It is believed he accepted Islam together with his father, although some sources disagree about the year of his acceptance.<ref name = "Al-Istiab">Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Yusuf b. Abd Allah.''Al-Istiab fi ma'rifat al-ashab'' vol. 3. Edited by Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi. Beirut: Dar al-Adwa, 1411 AH</ref>{{rp|950}} He remembered following his father around the town as Umar declared his conversion to the neighbours and on the steps of the Kaaba. Abd Allah asserted, "Although I was very young at the time, I understood everything I saw."<ref name="Ishaq">Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>{{rp|138}} His mother Zaynab also became a Muslim, but his two stepmothers did not.<ref name="Ishaq"/>{{rp|510}}<ref>Bukhari 3:50:891.</ref>
== Family and personal life == Abd Allah ibn Umar's sister, Hafsa bint Umar, married Muhammad in 625, making Ibn Umar his brother-in-law.<ref name="Saad8"/>{{rp|152}} Muhammad reportedly praised his character, telling Hafsa: "Abd Allah is a good man. I wish he prayed the night prayers." Following this, it was noted that Ibn Umar became known for his late-night devotions, sleeping only for short periods.<ref name="Bukhari222">{{cite web |title=The Book of Night Prayer (Tahajjud), Hadith 1122 |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1122 |website=Sahih al-Bukhari |publisher=Sunnah.com}}</ref>
Following his father's accession as Caliph in 634, Ibn Umar married Safiya bint Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi, the sister of the commander Al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi.<ref name="Saad8"/>{{rp|305}} They had six children: Abu Bakr, Abu Ubayda, Waqid, Umar, Hafsa, and Sawda. During this period, the family's political influence expanded; Ibn Umar's maternal uncle, Qudamah ibn Maz'un, was appointed by Umar to govern the province of Bahrain.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |author-link=Al-Dhahabi |title=SIYAR 'ALAAM AN-NUBALAA |title-link=Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' |publisher=Al Risala Foundation |year=1985 |edition=3rd |pages=161–162 |language=ar |trans-title=Biography of the Nobles}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Tarājim Mūjazah lil-Aʿlām |publisher=Egyptian Ministry of Endowments website |pages=143 |language=ar |trans-title=Brief Biographies of Notable Figures}}</ref>
thumb|"Safiyyah bint Abu Ubayd, the wife of Abdullah bin Umar" (names marked in red) in a hadith manuscript of 866 CE.
== Military career under Muhammad == Following the Hijrah in 622, Ibn Umar's family emigrated to Medina,<ref name="Ishaq"/>{{rp|218}} though some reports suggest he may have arrived before his father.<ref name="Al-Istiab"/>{{rp|950}} During the early defensive phase of the community, Ibn Umar sought to join the military but was initially restricted due to his age. Before the Battle of Uhud in March 625, he presented himself for service at age fourteen, but Muhammad refused to allow him to fight. Two years later, during the preparations for the Battle of the Trench (627), he was formally accepted into the ranks after being deemed mature enough for combat.<ref name="Ishaq"/>
Ibn Umar subsequently became a regular participant in military expeditions. In 628, he was present at the Expedition of al-Muraysi' against the Banu Mustaliq.<ref name="Muslim1730">{{cite web |title=The Book of Jihad and Expeditions, Hadith 1730a |url=https://sunnah.com/muslim:1730a |website=Sahih Muslim |publisher=Sunnah.com |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref> He later served in the Battle of Mu'tah (629) against the forces of the Byzantine Empire. Ibn Umar acted as a key witness to the battle's aftermath, famously narrating that he found the body of the commander Ja'far ibn Abi Talib with approximately ninety wounds, all located on the front of his body.<ref name="Bukhari4261">{{cite web |title=Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (Al-Maghaazi), Hadith 4261 |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4261 |website=Sahih al-Bukhari |publisher=Sunnah.com |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref>
In the final months of Muhammad's life, Ibn Umar was enlisted in the Expedition of Usama bin Zayd, a force prepared for a strategic campaign into Syria.<ref name="Tarikh">Tabari, Muhammad b. Jarir. ''Tarikh al-umam wa l-muluk''. Edited by Muhammad Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim. vol. 4. Second edition. Beirut: Dar al-Turath, 1387 AH.</ref>{{rp|229}}
== Service under the Rashidun Caliphate ==
During the caliphate of his father, Umar, Abd Allah served as a consultant to the newly created council; however, Umar strictly prohibited him from standing as a candidate for the caliphate following his father's death.<ref name= "Tarikh"/>{{rp|229}} Ibn Umar actively participated in the military expansions of the state across Iraq, Persia, and Egypt, yet he maintained a policy of strict neutrality throughout the First Fitna.<ref name="Siddiqi">Siddiqi, M. Z. (1961, 2006). ''Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism''. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust.</ref>{{rp|30}} This neutral stance was evidenced in 656, when he successfully prevented his sister Hafsa from joining Aisha at the Battle of the Camel.<ref>Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. ''Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Brockett, A. (1997). ''Volume 16: The Community Divided'', pp. 41-42. Albany: State University of New York Press.</ref>
Following the Battle of Siffin, during the Arbitration of Adhruh, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reportedly nominated Ibn Umar for the caliphate as a compromise candidate, though Amr ibn al-As objected to the proposal.<ref name="Muzahim">Muzahim, Nasr. Waq'at Siffin. Qom: Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi Library, 1982.</ref>{{rp|452}} Decades later, during the Second Fitna in the 680s, Ibn Umar remained in Medina and, alongside Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn Abbas, advised Husayn ibn Ali to remain in Mecca. Although Husayn ultimately declined the advice and departed for Kufa, Ibn Umar's counsel reflected his continued commitment to avoiding civil strife within the community.<ref>Balyuzi, H. M. (1976). ''Muhammad and the course of Islam'', p. 193. Oxford: George Ronald.</ref>
==Death== Abd Allah ibn Umar died in Mecca in 693 (74 AH), after being hit by a poisoned spear from Hajjaj's army during the siege in some reports.<ref name="Siddiqi"/>
==Legacy== Abd Allah ibn Umar was the second most prolific narrator of ''Hadith'', with a total of 2,630 narrations.<ref name="Siddiqi"/>{{rp|27}} It was said that he was extremely careful about what he narrated and that he narrated with his eyes full of tears.<ref name="Siddiqi"/>{{rp|30–31}} He was very cautious in life and thus was also cautious in his judgement.
==See also== * Companions of the Prophet * List of Sahabah
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Umar, Abd Allah}} Category:Umar Category:Sahabah hadith narrators Category:610 births Category:693 deaths Category:7th-century Arab people Category:Arab Muslims Category:Children of Rashidun caliphs Category:Banu Adi Category:Sons of caliphs