ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd said, “If the knowledge of all the living Arabs were placed on one pan of the scales and the knowledge of ʿUmar on the other, ʿUmar’s knowledge would outweigh theirs.” Al-Aʿmash related: “When this was mentioned to Ibrāhīm, he said, ‘Servant of Allah, we used to think that he had carried off nine-tenths of all knowledge.’” ⦗1⦘

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib said, “I know of no one among mankind, after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, more learned than ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb.” ⦗2⦘

Al-Shaʿbī said, “The judges of the community are four: ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Zayd ibn Thābit, and Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī.” ⦗3⦘

ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, held first place in knowledge: of inheritance law, the Sunnah and legal rulings, what is lawful and unlawful, and Qurʾanic exegesis.

ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr said, “I have never sat with anyone more knowledgeable in judicial matters, the lore of the pre-Islamic era, more prolific in poetry, or better versed in inheritance law or medicine than ʿĀʾishah.” ⦗4⦘

ʿAtāʾ said, “ʿĀʾishah was the most learned and most insightful of all people.” ⦗5⦘

Al-Bukhārī states in his History: “Eight hundred men—both Companions and Followers—transmitted knowledge from Abū Hurayrah.” ⦗6⦘

ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd also said, “Indeed Allah looked into the hearts of His servants and found the heart of—”