section_path: Life under Rashidun Caliphs/Caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644)
section_name: Caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644)
paragraph_text: Caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644)
  
  Before his death in 634, Abu Bakr designated Umar as his successor. Ali was not consulted about this appointment, which was initially resisted by some senior companions. Ali himself did not press any claims this time and kept aloof from public affairs during the caliphate of Umar, who nevertheless consulted Ali in certain matters. For instance, Ali is credited with the idea of adopting the migration to Medina (hijra) as the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Yet Ali's political advice was probably ignored. For example, Umar devised a state register (diwan) to distribute excess state revenues according to Islamic precedence, but Ali held that those revenues should be equally distributed among Muslims, following the practice of Muhammad and Abu Bakr. Ali was also absent from the strategic meeting of notables near Damascus. Ali did not participate in Umar's military expeditions, although he does not seem to have publicly objected to them. Umar likely opposed the combination of prophethood and caliphate in the Banu Hashim, and he thus prevented Muhammad from dictating his will on his deathbed, possibly fearing that he might expressly designate Ali as his successor. Nevertheless, perhaps realizing the necessity of Ali's cooperation in his collaborative scheme of governance, Umar made some limited overtures to Ali and the Banu Hashim during his caliphate. For instance, Umar returned Muhammad's estates in Medina to Ali, but kept Fadak and Khayber. By some accounts, Umar also insisted on marrying Ali's daughter Umm Kulthum, to which Ali reluctantly agreed when the former enlisted public support for his demand.