An Inquiry into the Narration «Every Short One» and «Every Tall One»

Question

Which of the two was taller — ‘Ali ﵁ or ‘Umar ﵁? Is there a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ in which the height of both of them is mentioned, saying “except ‘Umar” and “except ‘Ali”? The content of the hadith is probably something like: “every tall one is thus, except ‘Umar; every short one is thus, except ‘Ali.”

Answer

‘Umar ﵁ was taller in stature than ‘Ali ﵁ — so it is stated in “Subh al-A‘sha” or “Tarikh al-Khulafa’.” As for the two exceptions (“except ‘Umar”, “except ‘Ali”) about which you asked, neither name nor trace of them is found in the texts of the hadiths. Whatever comes onto people’s tongues should not, without a chain of transmission, be called a hadith.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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