THE PURIFICATION OF HISTORICAL FACTS IN THE NOVEL, UMAR AL-KHATTAB: REFORMIS DUNIA ISLAM

This study focuses on an Islamic historical novel, Umar al-Khattab: The Reformist of The Islamic World, written by famous novelist, Abdul Latip Talib. This writing stems from a statement made by Basri Ibrahim et al. (2015) in his book, Kisah-kisah Lemah yang Sewajarnya Dilihat Semula oleh Para Penceramah, namely: “Presenting the weak and fiction stories, especially those involving the Prophets and Companions, will actually marginalize authentic stories that should be highlighted to the community and as well the lessons behind the stories. This indirectly causes the person involved to be prone to invent or fabricate lies about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as having mentioned them in his lifetime. It will be worse if these stories are used to make a living”. The objective of the study is to examine the facts used in the writing of Islamic historical novel, Umar al-Khattab: Reformis Dunia Islam. Therefore, any doubts found in the writing will be purified using the research methodology of historical criticism, document analysis and study of historical documents. The study finds that this novel contains many confusing and conflicting facts with respect to the original history of „Umar bin al-Khattab as agreed upon by historians.