“…O Allah, my years have advanced, my strength has diminished, and the people under my care have become numerous; so take me back to You without my having neglected my duty or fallen short.” Dhul-Hijjah had not ended before he was stabbed and passed away.
Abu Ṣāliḥ al-Sammān related that Kaʿb said to ʿUmar, “I find it written in the Torah that you will be killed as a martyr.” ʿUmar replied, “How could I attain martyrdom while I am in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula?”
Aslam narrated from ʿUmar that he used to pray, “O Allah, grant me martyrdom in Your cause and cause me to die in the city of Your Messenger.” Al-Bukhārī recorded this report.
Maʿdān ibn Abī Ṭalḥah al-Yaʿmarī said: ʿUmar once delivered a Friday sermon in which he mentioned the Prophet of Allah and Abū Bakr. He then said, “I saw in a dream that a rooster pecked me once or twice, and I take that only as a sign that my end is near. Some people are urging me to appoint a successor, yet Allah will never allow His religion or His caliphate to be lost. If something should overtake me suddenly, the caliphate is to be decided by consultation among these six men with whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was pleased when he died.”
Al-Zuhrī reported: ʿUmar would not allow any male captive who had reached puberty to enter Medina. However, al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, while governor of Kūfa, wrote to him about a slave youth in his possession who was highly skilled, asking permission for him to come to Medina. He added, “He has many crafts beneficial to the people: he is a blacksmith, an engraver, and a carpenter.” ʿUmar granted permission, and al-Mughīrah imposed on him a monthly levy of one hundred dirhams. The slave—Abū Luʾluʾah—came to ʿUmar complaining that the tax was too heavy. ʿUmar said, “Your levy is not excessive.” The man left angry, muttering under his breath.
A few nights later ʿUmar summoned him and asked, “Was I not told that you say, ‘If I wished, I could make a mill powered by the wind’?” He scowled at ʿUmar and replied, “I shall make you a mill that people will talk about.” When he left, ʿUmar said to his companions, “The slave has just threatened me.” Then Abū Luʾluʾah wrapped himself