Some people told Umar that they had never seen anyone more just, truthful and severe with hypocrites, than him. “Commander of the faithful,” they said, “You are the best person after the Prophet.” Auf Ibn Malik was also present at the time. When he heard this, he told these people that what they said was not true. “After the Prophet, we have seen better than Umar,” he said. They asked who that person was. Auf told them that it was Abu Bakr. Then Umar himself spoke up: “Auf is right and you people are wrong,” he said. “God knows, the fragrance of musk is nothing compared to the purity of Abu Bakr; and as for me, I am more misguided than the camels of my household.”