Did ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) bury his daughter alive in the pre-Islamic period?

No, he did not. This is a blatant fabrication. The established evidence, both reported and rational, points to the contrary. Among the evidence are the following:

1. ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) married Zaynab bint Mazʿun (peace be upon her), who she bore him Hafsa, the Mother of the Believers (peace be upon him), and his eldest daughter. He was already known by the nickname Abu Hafs, in reference to his daughter, five years before the advent of Islam.[1]

This demonstrates that ʿUmar (peace be upon him) did not kill his eldest daughter, Hafsah (peace be upon her). If he did not practice female infanticide by burying his eldest daughter and first child alive, then it follows that he did not commit it with his younger daughter, especially since nothing has been transmitted regarding her and she is not mentioned among his children.

2. ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) belonged to the Banu ʿAddi tribe, who were not known for female infanticide. The example of his sister, Fatima (peace be upon her), who married Saʿid ibn Zayd (peace be upon him) is evidence of this. Fatima and her husband played a key role in ʿUmar’s eventual acceptance of Islam.

3. This account does not appear in the authentic books of hadith, the Prophet’s biography, or history.

4. This account appears only in some books authored by those known for their hostility to ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him), who sought to tarnish his image by fabricating reports.

5. The falsity of this account is demonstrated by the report narrated by al-Nuʿman ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) from ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him). When asked about the verse, “And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed” (Quran, 81: 8–9), ‘Umar said: “Qays ibn Asim came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I buried some of my daughters alive during the pre-Islamic period.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, ‘Free a slave for each one of them.’ Qays said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am the owner of camels.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then said, ‘Sacrifice a camel for each one of them’” (reported by Bazzar). This report proves the falsity of the allegation against ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him). Had he committed such a crime, he would have been mentioned it when he was asked about female infanticide.

And Allah Almighty knows best.