«The Biography of al-Faruq Umar Ibn al-Khattab», by the respected Indian Islamic scholar, historian, writer and poet, Shibli Nu'mani (1857-1914). here translated to Arabic. An excellent work on the life of Omar, the second caliph of Islam - a great conqueror, jurist, military strategist, statesman, administrator, strict disciplinarian, reformer, all rolled into one. This is a detailed and picturesque account of the vast and unprecedented conquests during his caliphate and the administrative measures, most advanced even by present-day standards, adopted by him to ensure peace, prosperity and general welfare of the people spread over thousands of square kilometers- a model Islamic state for all times.