Virtually all of the fabricated sayings in praise of ‘Umar...

Virtually all of the fabricated sayings in praise of ‘Umar appeared during the time of Bani Umayyah, particularly during the rule of Mu’awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan, for obvious reasons, since the Bani Umayyah was attempting to consolidate their rule. In contrast, most of the reliable hadith about ‘Umar that appeared during his lifetime and have been included in the Sunni books are not overly favorable for him.

‘Umar is recorded to have said about himself, “All people are more knowledgeable than ‘Umar, even the housewives.”[^11] He asks, “Doesn’t it surprise you that your leader erred and a lady in his audience corrected him?”[^12] He also spoke about himself saying, “All the people are more knowledgeable than you, ‘Umar.”[^13] In regards to the claims of ‘Ali supposedly praising ‘Umar’s knowledge, Sunni and Shi’a agree that ‘Umar said, “If it were not for ‘Ali, ‘Umar would have perished.”[^14] From the viewpoint of other companions, “‘Umar Ibn al-