Life of Ahmad — Page 841
as REMOVES A MISCONCEPTION 841 and there is nothing here which should confine its meaning to 'after'. Therefore, the tradition should be translated as: 'If there were a Prophet with me, it would have been Umar ra '. If the word must be translated into 'after' it should be noted that this Hadith is known as Ghar i b , which fact takes away much of its value. There is another Hadith also about Umar ra which cannot be taken as literally true. The Holy Prophet sa is reported to have said: 'The sun has never risen over a man better than Umar ra. ' 231 Obviously, there must be a qualification which appears to have been omitted in this statement. He was by no means better than Muhammad sa himself; Unfortunately, we do not know the context of the Hadith under question which would have thrown light on its real meaning. In another tradition the same idea is perhaps expressed in different words: 'If I were not raised, it would have been you, O Umar ra ' 232. Another saying is as follows: 'If I were not raised, Umar ra would have been raised among you'. 233 These traditions would only show that Umar ra had an aptitude for being a Prophet like Muhammad sa who brought the Islamic law. Therefore, the Hadith in question would mean that if a Prophet were to bring a 231 Mishk a t , Man a qib-e-Umar ra 232 Mirq a t , vol. 5, p. 539. 233 Kun u zul H aq a ’iq. p 103,