ʿUmar the Great

ʿUMAR THE GREAT, by Shibli Nomani (translated by Zafar Ali Khan and Muhammad M. A. Saleem). Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2025, xxiii+509pp. ISBN: 978-967295346.

Reviewed by: Imran Mogra, Birmingham, UK                

Mawlānā Shibli Nomani (1857-1914) was a prolific writer, philosopher, poet, and educational reformist from the Indian subcontinent. The book under review, originally in Urdu, Al-Farūq, is his most notable contribution.

The esteemed scholar observed that the spiritual, religious and personal achievements of ʿUmar were common knowledge. However, his socio-political, economic, military and administrative accomplishments were less so. To rectify this, the Mawlānā undertook an extensive study in libraries across Alexandria, Beirut, Berlin, Istanbul, London and Paris. As a result, when first published in 1898, this masterpiece took historical literary circles by storm. It is considered the definitive biography of ʿUmar, the second Rightly-guided caliph.

In his preface, Zafar Ali Khan argues that ʿUmar surpassed figures like Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Peter, Frederick, Justinian and Solomon combined. He cites Gibbon, Muir, Irving and others in ʿUmar’s praise. His accessible translation of the work aims to introduce ʿUmar’s deserved greatness to English readers.