Mawlid al-Nabi 2026 25 August 2026 38 days left
☾ 26 Dhuʾl-Hijjah 23 AH

The stabbing of the Commander of the Faithful ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab

The Magian Abu Luʾluʾa stabbed the Commander of the Faithful ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab with a poisoned dagger as he led the people in the Fajr prayer. He bore his wounds for days, in which he made the caliphate a council among six, then joined his two companions and was buried with them.

ʿUmar used to supplicate: O Allah, grant me martyrdom in Your cause and make my death in the city of Your Messenger. Allah answered him in the most wondrous way: Abu Luʾluʾa Fayruz, the slave of al-Mughira, resentful of the conquest of the lands of Persia, stabbed him six blows as he stood in the prayer-niche of Fajr, and stabbed thirteen men with him.

ʿUmar was brought a drink of nabidh, and it came out of his wound; then milk, and it came out of his wound, so he knew he was dying. He kept asking: Who killed me? When it was said: Abu Luʾluʾa, he said: Praise be to Allah who did not make my death at the hand of a man who claims Islam.

He asked ʿAʾisha's permission to be buried with his two companions, and she granted it, saying: I had wanted it for myself, but I shall prefer him over myself today. He made the affair a council among the six with whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was pleased when he died, and passed away three days after the stabbing, buried in the noble chamber, the third of three.

Note — differing reports on the date: He was stabbed on Wednesday with four nights remaining of Dhu'l-Hijja 23 AH (the 26th of it by the well-known view), died three days later, and was buried at the beginning of Muharram 24 AH.

📚 Source: Sahih al-Bukhari (the full account of ʿUmar's killing) · al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk
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