November 3, AD 644

Assassination of Umar

Death of Umar after the Medina mosque stabbing

The attack came from inside the tightly arranged rows of Medina's morning prayer — and by al-Bukhari's account the assailant stabbed thirteen people on his way through.

A knife at morning prayer

During morning prayer in Medina in 644, Abu Lu'lu'a attacked Caliph Umar with a double-edged knife. A report preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari says he stabbed 13 people, seven of them fatally.

Abu Lu'lu'a was a Persian slave and skilled craftsman owned by al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba. The sources disagree about his religion, his motive, the exact manner of the attack and his death.

Medieval accounts commonly connect the attack to a disputed tax imposed by his owner, but they give incompatible versions and the motive is not securely known.

Which day, and how long he lived

Umar died in Medina of his wounds. Wilferd Madelung's chronology equates 26 Dhu al-Hijjah 23 AH with 3 November 644; Encyclopaedia Iranica converts the same date to 2 November.

The narrative sources also split on whether he died during the attack or survived three days.

Iranica judges the three-day version the more probable of the two.

Six names, then two

While mortally wounded, Umar identified six eligible successors: Uthman, Ali, Talha, al-Zubayr, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He did not simply nominate Uthman.

The six met after his burial. Abd al-Rahman withdrew his own candidacy, reduced the choice to Ali and Uthman, and finally gave Uthman the first pledge of allegiance; Ali and the Medinans followed.

Umar's son Ubayd Allah meanwhile carried out retaliatory killings of people he suspected of involvement — an immediate controversy inherited by the new regime.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited Date disputed

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~0644-11-03.

What the sources leave uncertain

Madelung gives 26 Dhu al-Hijjah 23 AH as 3 November 644; Encyclopaedia Iranica converts it to 2 November.
The narrative sources disagree over whether Umar died during the attack or survived three days. They also disagree over the number of blows, Abu Lu'lu'a's religion, motive and fate.
The designation of the six-man council is well attested in Islamic tradition, but some modern scholars have questioned parts of the received election narrative.