you have been rid of them.’ ‘Umar could not restrain himself and said, ‘You lie, enemy of Allah! Those you named are indeed alive, and what will distress you still awaits you.’” The hadith continues.

Thus, the leader of the unbelievers at that time asked only about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Abū Bakr, and ‘Umar—not about anyone else—because he knew that they were the leaders of the Muslims: the Prophet and his two chief advisers.

For this reason, al-Rashīd asked Mālik ibn Anas about their standing in relation to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during his lifetime. He replied, “Their standing in relation to him during his lifetime was like their standing in relation to him after his death.” Their exceptionally close association and companionship with him, together with their perfect affection, harmony, and love, and their shared knowledge and religious commitment, mean that they have a greater claim to that distinction than others. This is plain and evident to anyone familiar with their circumstances.

As for Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, although he mastered matters of knowledge and jurisprudence that others could not grasp until he explained them, no statement contradicting a scriptural text has been recorded from him. This demonstrates the utmost mastery. By contrast, numerous statements contradicting scriptural texts have been recorded from others because those texts had not reached them. ‘Umar’s recorded agreement with the scriptural texts is more extensive than ‘Alī’s. This is known to anyone familiar with scholarly questions and the scholars’ views on them.

One example is maintenance for a woman whose husband has died: ‘Umar’s view agreed with the scriptural text, unlike the other view. Likewise, regarding the issue of declaring one’s wife forbidden to oneself, the view of ‘Umar and others is more consistent with the scriptural texts than the other view.

It is also established in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “There were among the nations