Al-Ramli transmitted—through Nuʿaym ibn ʿAbd Allah, the scribe of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz—that ʿUmar said: “What restrains me from speaking much is the fear of self-aggrandizement.”

Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim narrated from Mughīrah ibn Ḥakīm: Fāṭimah, the wife of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, said, “Mughīrah told us that among people there are those who pray and fast more than ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, yet I have never seen anyone more fearful of his Lord than he. After performing the night prayer, he would sit in his private prayer-place, raise his hands, and weep without cease until sleep overcame him. When he awoke he would resume his supplication, hands still raised, weeping again until sleep overtook him, and he would pass the whole night in that state.”

Ibn al-Mubārak reported—through Hishām ibn al-Ghāz, from Makḥūl—“If I were to swear an oath, I would be truthful: I have never seen anyone more ascetic or more in awe of Allah than ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.”

Al-Nufaylī (1) said: al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī narrated to us: “I entered upon ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and found him constantly trembling, as though the sorrow of all creation weighed upon him.”

Al-Fasawī related: Ibrāhīm ibn Hishām al-Ghassānī (2) told us, saying: “My father narrated to me from my grandfather, from Maymūn ibn Mihrān, who said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said to me, ‘Recite something to me.’ When I did so, he wept profusely. I said, ‘Had I known it would move you so, I would have chosen something gentler.’ He replied, ‘We eat lentils, and—so far as I know—they soften the heart, draw forth tears, and humble the body.’ ”

Ḥakkām ibn Salm narrated from Abū Ḥātim, who said: “When ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz fell ill, a physician was summoned. He examined him and said, ‘He is afflicted with a disease for which there is no remedy: fear has overpowered his heart.’ ”