#4 Umar ibn al-Khattab from The History of the Khalifahs by Jalal ad- Din as-Suyuti

Sayings of the Companions and first
generations on him
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased
with him, said: There is not on the face of the
earth a man more beloved to me than ‘Umar.
Ibn ‘Asakir narrated it.
Someone said to Abu Bakr during his (last)
illness, ‘What will you say to your Lord, when
you have appointed ‘Umar?’ He said, ‘I will
say to Him, “I have appointed over them the
best of them.”’ Ibn Sa‘d narrated it.
‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
When the right-acting are mentioned then
begin with ‘Umar. We did not think it unlikely
that as-Sakinah (the Divine Presence) spoke
with the tongue of ‘Umar. At-Tabarani
narrated it in al-Awsat.
Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: I have never seen anyone after the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, from the time he died, more perceptive
and more liberally generous than ‘Umar. Ibn
Sa‘d narrated it.
Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: Even if the knowledge of ‘Umar were to
be put in one scale of a balance and the
knowledge of every living being on the earth
were put in the other scale, the knowledge of
‘Umar would outweigh their knowledge. They
used to hold the view that he had gone (i.e.
died) with nine-tenths of knowledge. At-
Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabir, and al-Hakim
narrated it.
Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: It is as if the knowledge of mankind was
concealed in the understanding of ‘Umar.
Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: By Allah, I do not know a man whom the
blame of the one who blames, for the sake of
Allah, does not overcome, except for ‘Umar.
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said
– and she mentioned ‘Umar – ‘He was, by
Allah! skilful in managing affairs, absolutely
unique.’
Mu‘awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: As for Abu Bakr, he did not want the
world and it did not want him. As for ‘Umar,
the world wanted him but he did not want it.
As for us, we have rolled over in it (like an
animal in the dust). Az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar
narrated it in al-Muwaffaqiyat.
Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
‘Ali entered upon ‘Umar – and he was
shrouded – and said, ‘The mercy of Allah upon
you! There is no-one I would prefer to meet
Allah with that which is in his page (the
record of his actions), after the
companionship of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, than this
shrouded one.’ Al-Hakim narrated it.
Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: When the right-acting ones are
remembered, then begin with ‘Umar. Truly
‘Umar was the most knowledgeable of us of
the Book of Allah, and the most understanding
(literally: having the most fiqh) of us of the
deen of Allah, exalted is He. At-Tabarani and
al-Hakim narrated it.
Ibn ‘Abbas was asked about Abu Bakr and he
said, ‘He was the good, all of it.’ He was
asked about ‘Umar and said, ‘He was like the
apprehensive bird which thinks that on every
path there is a snare to catch it.’ He was
asked about ‘Ali and he said, ‘He was full of
resolve, sound judgement, knowledge and
valour.’ He narrated it in at-Tuyuriyyat.
At-Tabarani narrated from ‘Umayr ibn Rabi‘ah
that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said to Ka‘b al-
Ahbar, ‘How do you find my description?’ He
said, ‘I find your description to be a horn of
iron.’ He asked, ‘What is a horn of iron?’ He
said, ‘A strong commander who, for the sake
of Allah, the censure of the one who blames
does not overcome.’ He said, ‘Then what?’ He
said, ‘There will be after you a khalifah whom
a wrongdoing group will kill.’ He said, ‘Then
what?’ He said, ‘Then there will be the trial
(affliction).’
Ahmad, al-Bazzar and at-Tabarani narrated
that Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with
him, said: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab excelled
people in four: the affair of the prisoners on
the Day of Badr, he ordered that they should
be killed and Allah revealed, ‘If it were not for
a decree of Allah which had preceded
…’ (Qur’an 8: 68) to the end of the ayah; and
in the matter of the hijab, he ordered the
women of the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, to veil themselves, so
Zaynab said to him, ‘And really you are
responsible over us Ibn al-Khattab, and the
revelation descends upon us in our houses?’
So Allah revealed, ‘Then if you ask them for
some item …’ (Qur’an 33: 53) to the end of the
ayah; and by the supplication of the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘O
Allah, help Islam with ‘Umar’; and in his view
of Abu Bakr, for he was the first one to pledge
allegiance to him.
Ibn ‘Asakir narrated that Mujahid said: We
used to say that the shaytans were chained
and shackled during the amirate of ‘Umar,
then when he was struck they spread abroad.
He narrated that Salim ibn ‘Abdullah said:
News of ‘Umar was slow in reaching Abu Musa
so he went to a woman who had a shaytan in
her, and asked her about him. She said, ‘Wait
until my shaytan comes to me.’ Then he came
and she asked him about him. He said, ‘I left
him dressed with a piece of cloth as a
waistwrapper, smearing the camels of the
sadaqah (the zakat) with tar (against the
mange or scab). And that is a man whom a
shaytan does not see but that he falls flat on
his nostrils; the angel is between his two eyes
and the Ruh al-Quds (Jibril) speaks with his
tongue.’