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Is the story true about 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asking about a man and measuring the attendees' knowledge of him through neighborliness, travel, or financial dealings, and his rejection of mere mosque acquaintance?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

This report was mentioned by Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Qutaybah, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah used it as an argument. Its purport is that a man praised another man to Omar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. Omar asked him: "Have you traveled with him? Or have you entrusted him with anything? Or were you his closest neighbor? Or have you transacted with him in dirhams and dinars?" When the answer was negative, Omar said: "Perhaps you only saw him bowing and prostrating in the mosque," and then he added: "Therefore, you do not truly know him." The point is that knowing people's true state and what is in their hearts becomes apparent through companionship in travel, financial dealings, and neighborliness; not merely by seeing them pray in the mosque.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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