One day, a man addressed Ibn ʿUmar with exaggerated praise: “O most virtuous among the people!”
Ibn ʿUmar disliked it. His reply was immediate and composed: “I am neither the best among the people nor the son of the best. I am but one among Allah’s many servants. I live between hope and fear. And you—do not raise a man so high that you ruin his soul.”
He never tolerated flattery. His presence was steeped in humility, not just in words but in the very rhythm of his walk and the manner of his sitting. He walked briskly—not to seem hasty, but to avoid attention and reach his destination swiftly.
He disliked being treated as someone exceptional. Once in Marwa, he met ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr. They spoke for a long time. When Ibn ʿAmr departed, Ibn ʿUmar stayed behind, weeping. Someone asked him why.
His reply: “Ibn ʿAmr just narrated a hadith to me. It shook me. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Whoever has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart will be cast down into Hell on his face.’”
Ibn ʿUmar often went to the marketplace. Just to greet people. Every salām exchanged was a prayer—“Peace be upon you.” If accepted, it meant salvation.
One day, Tufayl ibn Ubayy accompanied him to the market. They walked past merchants, poor folk, and the hungry. To each, Ibn ʿUmar offered his greeting.
Tufayl asked: “You walk through the entire market without buying or asking about a single item. You don’t sit at any stall. What brings you here?” Ibn ʿUmar smiled.“Sit down. Let me explain.”
They sat. He continued: “We come here for one purpose—to offer greetings to everyone we meet. That, too, is an act of worship.”
Once, a dark-skinned man passed by—a newcomer, perhaps a sailor. Ibn ʿUmar offered salām, but the man didn’t reply.
People said: “He’s a foreigner. Just disembarked from a ship. He may not understand.”
Ibn ʿUmar answered: “So what? I just stepped out of my house, too. I greeted him so that he may return my greeting.”
No journey of his ever ended without a visit to the Prophet ﷺ and his companions. He would first go to the mosque, then to the Prophet’s Rawda to offer his salām.
He never cursed, never spoke foul language—not even in anger. If a servant made a mistake and he accidentally uttered a sharp word, he would immediately set the servant free.
Once, a man insulted him harshly, publicly. Ibn ʿUmar walked on in silence. When he reached his doorstep, he said: “My brother Asim and I have never spoken foul words to people. That’s our way.”
True character is revealed in travel.
Mujāhid said: “I once traveled with Ibn ʿUmar. He didn’t allow me to serve him—not even once. But he kept serving me. He tied down my camel. Helped me mount it. Even when I protested, he insisted.”
In Makkah, he would stay at the house of ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdullāh. He accepted hospitality for only three days. On the fourth, he would send someone to the market to purchase whatever he needed himself.
He was generous in dealings.
ʿAṭwāʾ ibn Sibāʿ said: “Once, Ibn ʿUmar borrowed 2,000 dirhams from me. When the time came, he returned 2,200. I counted them.
I told him there was extra.
He said, ‘That extra is yours. I only wished to test your honesty.’”
Thus was Ibn ʿUmar: a man who disdained praise, feared pride, loved humanity, and saw every act—no matter how small—as an encounter with the Divine.
