ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz used to frequent ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh and listen to him impart knowledge. When ʿUbayd Allāh heard that ʿUmar was belittling ʿAlī, he turned to him and said, “Since when did you learn that Allah—exalted is He—became displeased with the veterans of Badr after He had already been pleased with them?” ʿUmar at once understood his intent and replied, “I seek pardon from Allah and from you; I shall never do that again.” From then on no one ever heard ʿUmar mention ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, except in praise.

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār relates from al-ʿUtbī: The first sign of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’s distinction appeared when his father was appointed governor of Egypt. ʿUmar was still very young—people even doubted that he had reached puberty—and his father wished to send him away. ʿUmar said, “My father, might we do something else, something that could benefit both you and me? Send me to Medina, so I may sit with its jurists and acquire their manners.” His father dispatched him to Medina, and despite his youth he soon became renowned there for knowledge and sound judgment.

Later, when his father died, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān summoned him, placed him among his own sons, advanced him over many of them, and married him to his daughter Fāṭimah, about whom it was said:
“The caliph’s daughter, whose grandsire was a caliph;
 Sister of caliphs, and a caliph is her husband.”

Those who censured ʿUmar were merely people who envied the abundance of blessings he enjoyed and the graceful confidence of his gait.

Abū Mushir said: ʿUmar governed Medina under al-Walīd from the year 86 AH until 93 AH.

The author says: He left no narrations in Medina dated 72 AH, nor is there any record of his hearing hadith from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh; had he been there as a youth, he would surely have taken from Jābir.

Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz led the people in the pilgrimage on more than one occasion, the first time in 89 AH.