As soon as he became Caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab, Allah be pleased with him, chose Imam Ali ibn Abi-Talib, may Allah honor him, to be his chief advisor. Moreover, when Caliph Omar travelled, he appointed Ali as his deputy as he admired his religious knowledge and wisdom. Omar used to say, "The best of us all in judgment is Ali". He also used to say, "I seek refuge in Allah from [being afflicted with] a problem that Abi Al-Hassan [i.e., Ali] cannot solve." This is because Omar ibn Al-Khattab considered Ali to be the grand scholar of Medina, Abdullah ibn Masoud the grand scholar of Kufah, and Abil-Dardaa the grand scholar of the Levant. When the three of them met, the other two would ask Ali about what they had not known, whereas Ali never asked them, may Allah be pleased with them all.

Ali ibn Abi-Talib stood by Omar ibn Al-Khattab during the latter's rule, helping him, giving counsel, diligently advising him concerning all matters that faced the Muslim State, including judicial, administrative and political matters. Let's start with the most prominent judicial issues that Ali ibn Abi-Talib handled during the Caliphate of Omar ibn Al-Khattab:

*An epileptic woman: Omar ordered the stoning of a woman who committed adultery and a group of people went to carry out the ruling. On their way, they met Ali ibn Abi-Talib who asked who the woman was. They said, "A woman who committed adultery and Omar ordered her to be stoned to death." Ali freed the woman and told the group of people to go back. They returned to Omar ibn Al-Khattab and told him that Ali ibn Abi-Talib refused to let them stone the woman. Omar said Ali must have revoked his ruling for a worthy reason. Omar sent for Ali who went to him and seemed a bit angry. Omar asked him, "Why did you send those back?" Ali replied, "Have you heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: ' The Pen is lifted from three [i.e., their deeds are not recorded]: a child until he reaches puberty; an insane man until he comes to his senses; one who is asleep until he wakes up.' " Omar said, "Yes, I have." Ali said, "This woman is epileptic and the man did what he did to her without her consent." Omar accepted Ali's ruling and did not stone the woman as he didn't know she was epileptic.

*A woman who admitted to adultery was sentenced to stoning to death by Omar ibn Al-Khattab. Yet, the woman was pregnant and so Ali ibn Abi-Talib objected to Omar's ruling saying, "You have a claim against her, but you don't have one against what is in her womb." That is, he had to postpone the execution of the verdict until she had given birth. Ali ibn Abi-Talib even asked Omar if he had rebuked or intimidated her during trial. Omar said he did. Ali said, "Haven't you heard the Prophet say: ' There is no punishment upon one who admits [a crime] out of [being subjected to] adversity; one who is chained, jailed or threatened, their confession is invalid'? " Upon hearing this, Omar released the woman and said, " Women are not able to give birth to the likes of Ali. Were it not for Ali, Omar would have perished."

This tradition doesn't by any means indicate that Omar was not fit as a judge, but it shows he believed in consulting knowledgeable people like Ali ibn Abi-Talib and even accepting their opinion. Omar understood very well the Saying of the Prophet, " I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate." This means Ali ibn Abi-Talib learned Islamic rulings and jurisprudence at the hands of the Prophet himself.

This shows how much Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab valued and highly regarded his life-long companion and chief advisor Ali ibn Abi-Talib, may Allah be pleased with them both. TO BE CONTINUED