said:

“Among the nations before you were men who were inspired. If there is any such man in my nation, it is ‘Umar.”

In the Sunan collections, the Prophet—may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace—is reported to have said:

“Follow the example of the two who come after me: Abū Bakr and ‘Umar.”

‘Umar would consult the leading Companions, such as ‘Uthmān, ‘Alī, Talhah, al-Zubayr, Sa‘d, and ‘Abd al-Rahmān, who were the members of the consultative council. Hence al-Sha‘bī said: “Consider the judgments delivered by ‘Umar, for he used to be consulted.” It is well known that the judgments and fatwas ‘Umar issued in consultation with these men carry greater weight than those issued by Ibn Mas‘ūd or others like him—may Allah be pleased with them all.

In matters of religion, both fundamental and subsidiary, ‘Umar followed only what the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had ruled. He would consult ‘Alī and other members of the consultative council, as when he consulted him about a woman observing her waiting period following a revocable divorce during illness: would she inherit if her husband died? He consulted him on similar matters as well.

When ‘Uthmān was killed, turmoil and division arose, and ‘Alī, Talhah, and al-Zubayr moved to Iraq, no one equal to these men remained in Medina. Nevertheless, there were Companions there such as Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, Abū Ayyūb, Muhammad ibn Maslamah, and others like them, who were more eminent than the Companions accompanying ‘Alī. The most knowledgeable Companions who had been in Kufa were ‘Alī and Ibn Mas‘ūd, and ‘Alī had been