Umar's retaliation for the Egyptian against Amr ibn al-As's son

قصاص عمر للمصري من ابن عمرو بن العاص

A report Ibn Abd al-Hakam transmits from Anas: an Egyptian raced the son of Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) and beat him, and the son whipped him saying 'I am the son of the noblest'; Umar summoned both and had the Egyptian whip him, and said to Amr: 'Since when have you enslaved people, when their mothers bore them free?' 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Egypt & Nile

Overview

Ibn Abd al-Hakam reports from Abu Abda, from Thabit al-Bunani and Humayd, from Anas, that a man of Egypt came to Umar ibn al-Khattab seeking refuge from injustice: he had raced the son of Amr ibn al-As and won, and the son had whipped him, saying, "I am the son of the noblest." 1

The retaliation

Umar wrote to Amr to come to him with his son. When they arrived, Umar told the Egyptian to take the whip and strike. He struck, and Anas says they wished he would stop before he did. Umar then told him to lay it on Amr as well; the Egyptian said it was the son who had beaten him and he had had his due. 1 Umar said to Amr: "Since when have you enslaved people, when their mothers bore them free?" Amr said he had not known of it and it had not been brought to him. 2

Context

The report is preceded in the book by an address of Umar saying that he had not sent his governors to flog people or seize their property and that he would grant retaliation against them; Amr asked whether that applied to a governor who disciplined one of his subjects, and Umar said yes, for he had seen the Prophet ﷺ give retaliation against himself. 3 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Umar ibn al-Khattab· Amr ibn al-As

People and things also explored

Battle of al-Kiryawn· The Battle of Dathin· Battle of Kom Sharik· The Battle of Uhud· Building of the Giza fortress· The Conquest of Alexandria· The Conquest of Caesarea· The Conquest of Damascus

Sources

  1. Futuh Misr wa-l-Maghrib — Ibn Abd al-Hakam (ed. Abd al-Mun'im Amir, al-Hay'a al-Amma li-Qusur al-Thaqafa) , p. 225
  2. Futuh Misr wa-l-Maghrib — Ibn Abd al-Hakam (ed. Abd al-Mun'im Amir, al-Hay'a al-Amma li-Qusur al-Thaqafa) , p. 226
  3. Futuh Misr wa-l-Maghrib — Ibn Abd al-Hakam (ed. Abd al-Mun'im Amir, al-Hay'a al-Amma li-Qusur al-Thaqafa) , p. 224
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Umar's retaliation for the Egyptian against Amr ibn al-As's son”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/umar-retaliation-for-the-egyptian/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-31.

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Battle of al-Kiryawn

Fighting between the Muslims and the Romans at al-Kiryawn on the road to Alexandria for ten-odd days, with Abd Allah ibn Amr leading the vanguard and Wardan, Amr's client, carrying the standard; Amr led the prayer of fear there.