a cup of milk. I drank from it until I could feel its cool satisfaction flowing through my very fingernails, then I passed the rest to ʿUmar.”

They asked, “How did you interpret that, Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Knowledge.”

Abū Saʿīd reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “While I was asleep I saw people being shown to me wearing shirts; some of the shirts reached the breast, while others were shorter than that. ʿUmar then passed before me wearing a shirt that trailed along the ground.”

They said, “How did you interpret that, Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Religion.”

Anas related that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The most compassionate of my community toward my nation is Abū Bakr, and the staunchest in upholding Allah’s religion is ʿUmar.”

Anas also reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “I entered Paradise and saw a palace of gold. I asked, ‘Whose is this?’ and was told, ‘It belongs to a young man from Quraysh.’ I thought that it might be me, but it was said, ‘It is for ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb.’” A similar narration appears in the Ṣaḥīḥ from Jābir.

Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “While I was asleep I saw myself in Paradise. I noticed a woman performing ablution beside a palace. I asked, ‘Whose palace is this?’ They said, ‘It is ʿUmar’s.’ I remembered ʿUmar’s sense of protective jealousy, so I turned away.” ʿUmar wept and said, “May my father be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Would I feel jealous of you?”