Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

There is no disagreement about the status of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, his leadership, and his qualification to be described by the Muslim community as the Fifth Rightly Guided Caliph. Although his political rule was extremely strict in combating corruption, he was distinguished by very precise and critical positions regarding the practices of the conquerors.

Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, the powerful figure of the Umayyad state, had adopted a policy of conquest and warfare based on the assumption that other nations were misguided and must either be uprooted or forced to pay the jizya in humiliation. Many military commanders followed this approach, particularly in the eastern regions of the Islamic world. Among the most famous were Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili and Muhammad ibn Qasim al-Thaqafi. It is unfortunate that these figures are often studied as heroes of conquest and glory, while in reality each line of the wars they fought reflected a deep violation of the values of peace, mercy, and human and religious brotherhood.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was highly critical of the conduct of the conquerors, especially those connected to al-Hajjaj and his expansionist policies based on coercion and territorial expansion. Al-Hajjaj attempted to undermine Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and succeeded in isolating him from Medina during the time of Caliph al-Walid. Umar, in turn, openly opposed him. Al-Hajjaj used to pray, “O God, take me before Umar becomes caliph,” and indeed he died years before Umar assumed leadership.

Umar considered the wars of conquest to be wars of domination and political control that contradicted the essence of Islam, which is built upon human brotherhood. He saw no blessing in forcing people into Islam without conviction or dialogue. Therefore, he immediately halted further conquests and succeeded in establishing distinguished relations with Christians in particular. He appointed John of Damascus, a prominent Christian priest later canonized as a saint by Christians, in an administrative position. When the Christians of Damascus complained about the incorporation of their church into a mosque during the reign of al-Walid, Umar listened to them, engaged in dialogue, and ultimately satisfied them by ordering the construction of a major church in Damascus, still known as the Great Church of Saint John, attributed to Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. He also established strong relations with Christian clergy in both Damascus and Constantinople.

One of the remarkable actions attributed to him is that he brought a delegation of Christian Byzantine builders to Medina during his governorship to renovate the Prophet’s Mosque, based on the order of Caliph al-Walid. Historical accounts mention that al-Walid requested assistance from the Byzantine emperor, who sent gold, workers, and mosaics for the renovation. Umar supervised the project directly. Historically, there is no record of objection to the presence of Christians in Medina participating in the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque, which reflects a remarkably advanced level of religious tolerance.

It is therefore reasonable to raise a question today regarding restrictions placed on non-Muslims entering Mecca and Medina based on strict juristic opinions, whereas earlier generations did not adopt such rigid interpretations, as seen in the practice of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. It is even noted that his approach aligns with views attributed to early Hanafi scholarship.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz… The Human Caliph

He never accepted the idea that the world is an enemy populated by deceitful unbelievers who must be fought. Rather, he believed they are nations like us, created by God so that they may know one another. He believed in a divinely revealed scripture confirming previous revelations, and in shared noble human values. International relations, in his view, must be built on law, mutual respect, peace, love, and mercy. War and revenge are not the mark of civilized societies.

Upon assuming the caliphate, he conducted a profound review of the expansionist military campaigns and established a major judicial commission in the East headed by Judge Jami‘ ibn Hadhir. The court summoned governors and leading generals from the campaigns of Qutaybah. After extensive proceedings, the judge ruled that the conquests were invalid due to their contradiction with the higher ethical values of Islam.

Umar ordered his governor beyond the Oxus River, Abd al-Rahman ibn Nu‘aym, to withdraw Muslim forces from Transoxiana back to Merv. He also ordered the evacuation of Samarkand and Ferghana, returning lands to their original inhabitants, who were free to choose their own governance. He abolished all taxes imposed by the conquerors, including festival taxes, marriage taxes, and other levies that had enriched the ruling elite at the expense of local populations.

This judicial review was not accidental but reflected a systematic approach under Umar’s rule. As armies withdrew and looted property was returned, people entered Islam in large numbers. People did not embrace Islam by the sword of Qutaybah, Muhammad ibn Qasim, or al-Hajjaj, but rather through the justice of Umar.

He prioritized ending hostility with Christians and ordered immediate military withdrawal. When Muslim forces were besieging Constantinople under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik and Hubayra ibn Umar before his caliphate, he ordered them to retreat to Damascus. He then established diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire, and a relationship of mutual respect developed between him and Emperor Leo III.

This extraordinary relationship came after years of violent military campaigns against Constantinople. Some Byzantine studies suggest that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz had a significant influence on Byzantine legal reforms under Leo III, particularly in family law, which showed similarities with Islamic legal principles. Correspondence between them reportedly addressed theological issues, including the status of the Qur’an, and iconography. Umar strongly opposed the use of religious icons, arguing that they corrupt monotheism and should not exist in places of worship.

Interestingly, John of Damascus, who served in the Umayyad administration during Umar’s time, rejected both the emperor’s and Umar’s positions regarding icons and instead defended their veneration, yet he continued in service under the Umayyads until the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.

Umar treated Christians with fairness and appointed Christian administrators. When the Umayyad mosque incorporated a small church, he compensated Christians by constructing the Great Church of Saint Thomas in Damascus. However, he prohibited Christians from bearing arms and ensured that weapons remained under state control.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects is that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz chose to be buried in the Eastern Monastery of Simeon near Maarrat al-Nu‘man. This raises the question: how could the caliph of Muslims, whose state extended from China to Andalusia, choose to be buried in a Christian monastery?

Some humorous Christian commentators even claimed that Umar had embraced Christianity and chosen burial in a monastery. However, historical reports state that he became ill—or was poisoned according to some accounts—while traveling toward Aleppo. His condition worsened near Maarrat al-Nu‘man, where he stayed at the monastery due to his prior relationship with its monk during his governorship of Khunasirah two decades earlier. His mother also had land near Maarrat al-Nu‘man, close to Khunasirah.

When his illness worsened, he requested to be buried at the place of his death, paying for the grave himself. He was buried there according to his will.

The historian Yaqut al-Rumi narrates that Umar asked the monk to sell him a burial place within the monastery for one year, after which it would revert to the monastery. The monk wept but agreed.

It is also suggested that Umar intentionally chose this burial place to provide a message of interfaith harmony and coexistence.

Ten years later, Fatimah bint Abd al-Malik was also buried beside him, and their two graves remain to this day as a symbol of religious coexistence in Syria.

It is believed that Umar made this decision consciously, as a leader, to send a lasting message of interfaith dignity and peace.

It is also reported that when the Byzantine emperor heard of Umar’s illness, he sent his personal physician along with fifteen bishops to assist in his care.

After his death, Christians mourned him as much as Muslims did. Emperor Leo III reportedly said: “A righteous man has died; if anyone after Jesus Christ could revive the dead, it would be Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.”

He also said: “I am not surprised by a monk who isolates himself from the world, but I am amazed by one who had the world beneath his feet yet abandoned it.”

The Patriarch of Jerusalem wept bitterly and said: “I do not cry for Umar, but for a light that illuminated the world and has now been extinguished.”

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Damascus. When asked about Syria, she said: “It is wonderful and astonishing.” When asked what impressed her most, she replied without hesitation: “The Umayyad Mosque.”

She was particularly impressed by the presence of the shrine of John the Baptist inside the mosque, describing the coexistence of Muslims and Christians there as extraordinary. She noted: “In my country, there is no Christian saint in a Jewish temple nor a Buddhist saint in a mosque, but this exists in Damascus.”

When informed about the possibility of visiting the tomb of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz in Idlib—located within a Christian monastery—she was told that Umar, the Fifth Rightly Guided Caliph, had requested to be buried in the Monastery of Simeon, and that his wife Fatimah bint Abd al-Malik was later buried beside him.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz had earlier served as governor of Khunasirah near Aleppo, where he developed a close relationship with the monastery’s monk. His family also had agricultural lands near Maarrat al-Nu‘man.