Ali ibn Abi-Talib was the chief advisor during the Caliphate of Omar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with the two of them. Imam Ali was also Caliph Omar's right-hand man in the administration of justice and in running state affairs after the expansions of the Muslim state under Omar's rule. I mentioned previously some of the legal issues where Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab consulted his chief advisor, Ali ibn Abi-Talib; other situations include:

*A woman got married during her Iddah (waiting period after previous marriage), so Omar deemed the marriage invalid and confiscated the Mahr (groom's obligatory gift to bride). When Ali heard of the issue, he went to Omar and said, "If the couple were ignorant of the obligation to observe the waiting period, the woman deserves the Mahr, having consummated the marriage. Then, they are to be separated until the end of her waiting period, after which the man can propose to her again and ask her hand from Omar." Omar accepted Ali's ruling in this case.

*A woman fell in love with a young man from the Ansar (indigenous people of Medina) and when the young man refused to love her back, she decided to set him up. The woman smeared her clothes and between her thighs with egg white, then headed to Caliph Omar screaming and claimed that the young man forcefully raped her and brought disgrace to her. Omar asked some women to inspect her and they confirmed that they saw semen between her thighs and on her clothes. Omar wanted to punish the young man, but the young man said that he did not do that and that the woman tried to seduce him but he refused. Omar got confused and asked Ali's opinion. Ali inspected the woman's dress and then ordered very hot water to be poured on it. The egg white ripened and Ali could easily recognize the smell of egg and even taste it to prove his point. Then Ali rebuked the woman who admitted her crime.

*Caliph Omar used to patrol the streets of Medina at night to watch the interests of the people. Once, he witnessed a man and a woman committing adultery, so he decided to punish them. Yet, Ali ibn Abi-Talib said, "There must be four witnesses to the sin of adultery. Although Caliph Omar witnessed them himself, Ali insisted that the punishment could only be carried out if there were four witnesses according to the Quran and the Sunnah, adding that one person could easily be mistaken or confused. Omar was immediately convinced. Omar was keen on implementing law strictly in this regard to contain any negative effects of the huge social changes that resulted from the massive Islamic conquests at that time. Ali was not less keen on implementing law, but he wanted to protect people from being indicted despite lack of evidence.

*Introducing the Islamic calendar: Omar ibn Al-Khattab consulted Ali ibn Abi-Talib regarding the establishment of an official Islamic calendar to use in managing state affairs, and Ali suggested to mark the first year of Hijrah, Prophet Muhammad's emigration from Mecca to Medina, as the first year in the Islamic Calendar. Omar agreed and implemented Ali's opinion. Omar ibn Al-Khattab dearly loved the family of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), respected the Prophet's wives and paid them much attention during his Caliphate. Moreover, Omar ibn Al-Khattab married Ali ibn Abi-Talib's daughter, Lady Umm Kulthum, while Ali named his son after Omar as he loved him so much and considered him a spiritual father. Likewise, Al-Husein ibn Ali named his son Omar.

Shouldn't we follow in the lead of those great men and pay due respect to Omar whom the Prophet named Al-Farouq (one who differentiates between right and wrong) due to his strong sense of justice and financial integrity, so much that he did not receive a salary except out of extreme need?

Would Ali ibn Abi-Talib provide advisory to Omar ibn Al-Khattab in all state affairs as I mentioned earlier, hadn't there been a significant deal of love and respect between the two great Companions of the Prophet? Would Ali accept to be the dedicated chief advisor of Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab, had Ali been angry because he did not become the Caliph after the death of Caliph Abu Bakr As-Siddiq? Of course, he wouldn't.

The fabricated deformed relationship between Ali and Omar is entirely baseless and does not fit the ascetic and noble nature of Ali ibn Abi-Talib.

Some try to represent the time of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs as a period of conflicts over power, as if every one of them was lying in wait to ambush the other! But the fact is that they all loved and respected each other, were not interested in power and authority and were eager to depart this life peacefully and join their beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.