As we have been traveling through the history of our nation, we have read the biographies of the great men of the past, present, and the future.

Among them was a man of the Tabi‘een (followers of the companions), whose zuhd (asceticism) was incomparable.  He did not make a name in history as a king, but as an abstinent and just Khaleefah, whose throne was made of jute mat.  He put away the darkness of tyranny with the light of justice.  He never even dreamt that history will recall his life.  He was a great scholar and a politician, who was like a solid mountain whom the generations take the meanings of justice, honor, and sincerity from.  He was one ‘Umar from another ‘Umar: a lion amongst men, the great grandson of ‘Umar, the Lion of the Sahaba.

He is the Ameer of the Believers, the Mujtahid Imaam, the Fifth Just Khaleefah and the Mujaddid (reviver) of the first one hundred Hijri years;  ‘Umar, the son of ‘Abdul ‘Azeez the son of Marwaan the son of Al-Hakam the son of ‘Aas the son of ‘Abdul Shams.

He was born in Madinah, 60 years after the migration of the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, during the rule of Khaleefah Yazeed ibn Mu’awiyah.  His mother was Layla bint ‘Aasim ibn ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, and his father was ‘Abdul ‘Azeez, son of a Khaleefah, and a prince.
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Faatimah bint Muhammad bin Ahmad as-Samarqandee, known as Faatimah as-Samarqandiyyah, was a well known female jurist and scholar who lived during the Abbasid dynasty.

Her father was a very famous scholar of Hanafi Fiqh who authored Tuhfatul Fuqahaa, which is considered to be one of the most important works in the madhab.  People came from far and wide to study under him, and he had many students.  Faatimah herself was one of these students: she memorized the Qur’an at a very early age, memorized the rulings of the Hanafi madhab, and her father taught her everything he knew with regards to Hadith and Fiqh.

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Al-Mugheerah said: “The most knowledgeable in judgment and history is Ash-Sha’bee. The most knowledgeable in Salaah and Zakah is an-Nakha’ee.  The most knowledgable in Hajj is ‘Atta. The most knowledgeable in Tafseer is Sa’eed ibn Jubayr. The most knowledgeable in business transactions is Ibn Seereen.  As for al-Hasan, he has mastered them all.“

al-Hasan ibn Yasaar al-Basree was born in Madinah, 22 years after the migration of the Prophet Muhammad salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (642 CE).  His father, Yasaar, was the slave of the great Companion Zaid ibn Thabit, the scribe of the Prophet and well-known head of the committee which compiled the Qur’an.  His mother, Khayrah, was the slave of Umm ul-Mu’mineen Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, who also suckled him.  So, from his first years, al-Hasan grew up in the household of Rasoolullah, and had an amazing example with the presence of Zaid ibn Thabit in his life.

When al-Hasan was born, he was brought to ‘Umar who made du’aa for him: “Oh Allah!
Give him understanding of the religion, and make him beloved by the people.” Allah accepted the du’aa of ‘Umar and everyone loved al-Hasan al-Basree.

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