Muqatil ibn Ḥayyān said, “I once prayed behind ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. When he reached the verse, ‘Detain them; they are surely to be questioned’ (Surah 37:24), he kept repeating it, unable to go beyond it. ⦗1⦘

His wife Fāṭimah related, “I never saw anyone who prayed and fasted more than he did, nor anyone who feared his Lord more intensely. He would perform the ʿishāʾ prayer, then sit and weep until sleep overcame him; he would wake and continue weeping until sleep overcame him once more. ⦗1⦘

“When he lay beside me in bed he would recall something about the Hereafter and tremble like a bird caught in water, then sit up and weep. Out of mercy I would pull the quilt over him, saying, ‘If only there were between us and the caliphate a distance as great as that between the two Easts, for by Allah we have known no joy since it came to us.’” ⦗2⦘

ʿAlī ibn Zayd said, “I have never seen two men who seemed as though the Fire had been created for no one but them—such were al-Ḥasan and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.” ⦗3⦘

Another observer said, “I saw him weep until he wept blood.” ⦗4⦘

They also reported that when he retired to his bed he would recite, “Indeed, your Lord is Allah who created the heavens and the earth in six days…” (Surah 7:54), and, “Did the people of the towns feel secure that Our punishment would not come upon them by night while they were asleep?” (Surah 7:97), along with other similar verses. ⦗4⦘

Every night a number of jurists gathered with him, and they spoke of nothing but death and the Hereafter; then they would all weep until it seemed a bier lay among them. ⦗5⦘

Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī narrated from al-Mubarrad that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was fond of reciting the poet’s words:
Of all that he had hoarded for himself,
his only provision on the dawn of parting
was a little embalming perfume wrapped in rags,
a fleeting scent of kindling lit for him—
what meager supplies for one about to depart!
In whatever land his destined end may be,
if he will not go to it willingly, he will be driven there. ⦗6⦘

While attending a funeral ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz noticed some men who had veiled their faces against the dust and sun and withdrawn into the shade. He wept and recited:
Whoever, when the sun strikes his brow
or dust blows upon him, fears blemish and dishevelment… ⦗7⦘