AQEEDAH

Adopted From "A Glimpse at the Way of the Companions"

by Shaikh `Abdul Qaadir al-Arna'oot, published by Al-Hidaayah, UK

FROM THE BELIEFS OF THE COMPANIONS AND THOSE WHO FOLLOWED THEM

That they believe in the Book and Sunnah...[Sunnah: This includes all authentic hadeeth, whether it be a narration with numerous chains (mutawaatir) or a hadeeth with just one, two or
three chains (ahaad). The beliefs are based upon both, refer to the book by Abul Qaasim al-
Asbahaanee 'al-Hujjah fee Bayaan al-Mahajjah wa Sharh `Aqeedatul Ahl-Sunnah', 'ar-
Risaalah' by Imaam ash-Shaafi`ee and MukhtasarSawaa`iqul Mursalah by Ibn al-Qayyim.]; the
general and the detailed aspects of it. They attest to the oneness of Allaah the Mighty the
Majestic, and attest to the Messengershipof Muhammad - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
They know their Lord by the attributes (sifaat) that His revelation has spoken of, or are attested
to by the Messenger of Allaah - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - from that which is found in
authentic haadeeth, narrated from him by just and reliable narrators.
They affirm for Allaah, the Most High, that which He affirmed for Himself in His Book, or upon
the tongue of His Messenger - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - without making Tashbeeh
(resembling) to His creatures, without Tahreef (changing), without Tabdeel and without
Tamtheel.

[Tashbeeh: Tamtheel (resembling, comparing) the Sifaat (attributes) of Allaah to the sifaat
(attributes) of creation; so it is not said that the Essence of Allaah is like our essence neither does
it resemble our essence and likewise the Sifaat of Allaah - we do not say that His attributes are
like our attributes, nor resemble our attributes. Rather it is waajib (obligatory) for a believer to
stick to the saying of Allaah: "There is nothing like unto Him..." (ash-Shoora 42:11)
Tahreef: Changing the 'terms' of the names and attributes of Allaah or changing their
'meanings'; like the saying of the Jahmiyyah (a deviant sect) that istawaa (istawaa `alaa-l-`arsh)
means istawlaa (seizing power over something). Thus Ahlus-Sunnah do not do this.

Tabdeel: see tahreef
Tamtheel: see tashbeeh

Refer to Tambihaat al-Laatifah `alaa `Aqeedatul-Waasitiyyah by Sh. Sa`deeShaykh-ul-Islaam
Ibn Taymiyyah says in `Aqeedatul-Waasitiyyah when talking about eemaan (belief) in Allaah's
Sifaat (attributes): "Eemaan (belief) in all what Allaah has described Himself with by, in His
Book and in what His Messenger Muhammad - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - has described
Him by - without doing tahreef, ta`teel, takyeef or tamtheel." This statement shows two other
principles held by Ahl-Sunnah wal-Jamaa`ah regarding eemaan in Allaah and His Sifaat
(attributes); that is they donot do ta`teel, which is to deny or reject the Sifaat of Allaah; and
takyeef - which is to ask how and question their manner. Refer to `Aqeedatul-Waasitiyyah by
Ibn Taymiyyah, and Qatful-Thamr fee-Bayaan `Aqeedatul Ahul Athar by Siddeeq Hasan
Khaan, Mukhtasar Sawaa`iqul-Mursalah by Ibn al-Qayyim and Fataawa al-Hamawiyyah al-
Kubraa by Ibn Taymiyyah.]

Allaah, the Most High, says:
"There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the all Hearer, all Seer"- Ash-Shoora, (42):11
Imaam az-Zuhree said: "Upon Allaah is the bayaan (explaining), upon the Messenge is Balaagh
(conveying) and upon us is tasleem (willingly accepting)."
[Muhammad bin Muslim bin `Ubaidallah bin `Abdullaah bin Shihaab bin Zahrah, Abo Bakr. A
faqeeh (jurist) and haafidh. His high statusof proficiency is agreed upon. He is a successor, from
Madeenah and oneof the great Imaams, a scholar of the Hijaaz and Shaam. He died in 125H.]
Imaam Sufyaan bin `Uyaynah said: "All that Allaah has described Himself with in His Book,
then its tafseer (explanation) is its reciting and keeping silent about it."
[Sufyaan bin `Uyaynah, Haafidh Aboo Muhammad al-Hilaalee al-Koofee. He was an imaam, a
haafidh, a proof (hujja), having immense knowledge, and of great ability. A muhaddith (scholar
of hadeeth) of the Haram of Makkah. Imaam ash-Shaafi`ee said about him: "Were it not for
Maalikand Sufyaan the knowledge would have disappeared from the Hijaaz." He died whilst in
Makkah in the year 198 hijree.]

Imaam ash-Shaafi`ee said: "I believe in Allaah, and that which has come from Allaah, upon the
intended meaning of Allaah. I believe in the Messenger of Allaah - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam -
and that which has come from the Messenger of Allaah upon the intended meaning of the
Messenger of Allah - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
[Muhammad ibn Idrees bin al-`Abbaas bin Uthmaan bin Shoafa ash-Shaafi`eeal-Muttalibi;
Aboo `Abdullaah. He was a mujdaddid (reviver) of the Deenat the beginning of 200 Hijree, a
well known imaam. He died in Egypt in the year 204 Hijree.]
The predecessors and leaders of those who followed, may Allaah be pleased with them, proceded
along this way. They are all agreed upon, affirming, assserting and confirming that which is
found in the Book of Allaah, the Most High, and the Sunnah of His Messenger - sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam -, regarding Allaah's attributes without subjecting them to interpretation
(ta`weel).

Verily we have been ordered to follow their way and to be guided by their light. The Messenger
of Allaah - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - has warned us of newly invented matters, and
informed us that they are from misguidance. He said in a hadeeth: "Adhere to my Sunnah (way) and to the Sunnah of the rightly guided Khulafaa'. Bite on it with your molar teeth, and beware of newly invented matters, for verily every bid`ah (innovation) is a going astray."
[Reported by Ahmad bin Hanbal In Musnaad (4/126-7), Aboo Daawood in his Sunan (4607) in
the Book of Sunnah, chapter 'Adhering to the Sunnah', at-Tirmidhee in his Sunan (no.2678) in
the Book of Knowledge, Chapter '16', Ibn Maajah, in his Sunan (no.42) in the Muqaddimah and
others. From the hadeeth of `Irbaab bin Saariyah (radiyallaahu `anhu), and it is an authentic
hadeeth. Refer to the detailed explanation of the hadeeth in Jaami` al-`Uloom wal-Hikaam by
Haafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (rahimahullaah), for verily he has done extremely well in
explaining it and benefited others in doing so.]

`Abdullaah bin Mas`ood (radiyallaahu `anhu) said: "Follow and do not innovate for verily you
have been sufficed."
[`Abdullaah bin Mas`ood bin Ghaafil ibn Habeeb al-Huthalee, Aboo `AbdurRahmaan. From
the first generation of Muslims and from the major companions in merit and intellect. He
migrated to Habasha (Ethiopia) and then to Madeenah. He witnessed the battle of Badr, Uhud,
Khandaq, the pledge of Ridwaan and the remaining incidents with the Prophet - sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam -; he was from the fuqahaa (jurists) of the Companions - may Allaah be
pleased with them - he died in Madeenah in 32 hijree.]

`Umar ibn `Abdul `Azeez said: "Do not go beyond where they stopped. For verily they stopped
upon knowledge and with a perceiving view sufficed." [Aboo Hafs, `Umar ibn `Abdul `Azeez bin
Marwaan bin Hakam al-Amawee al-Qurashee. A righteous Khaleefah. Born and raised in
Madeenatul-Munawwarah. He took the position of Khaleefah in the year 99 Hijree and died in
the land of Shaam, in the year 101 Hijree.]

Imaam al-Awzaa`ee said: "Stick to the footsteps of the predecessors, even if people abandon
you. Beware of the views of men, even if they beautify it for you with words."
[`Abdur Rahmaan bin `Amr bin Yuhmid al-Awzaa`ee. A famous Imaam of Syria. He used to
live in Damascus, outside Bab al-Fraadees and then moved to Beirut and lived there, posted in
the way of Allaah, until he died in the year 157 Hijree.]

From the `aqeedah (beliefs) of the righteous predecessors is their saying:
Eemaan is a saying of the tongue, an action by the limbs and a strong belief in the heart.
Eemaan increases with obedience to Allaah and decreases with disobedience to Allaah.
[The word `aqeedah signifes the things that one believes in (has eemaan in), hence the two words (`aqeedah and eemaan) are sometimes synonymous.The word `aqeedah being taken from the Arabic root of `aqada - to tie -or fasten. Thus `aqeedath is those things that the heart is tied to or fastened to, worshipping Allaah by it and getting closer to Allaah. Refer to classical Arabic dictionaries like Lisaan ul-Arab by Ibn Mandhoor.]

From the beliefs of the Predecessors is that good and evil by the Qadaa (decree) of Allaah the
Most High and His Qadar (pre-estimation). However evil is not ordered by Allaah, as some of
them say: "All of it is ordered by Allaah," since Allaah has ordered good and prohibited evil. He
did not order us with abominable acts, indeed He prohibited us from them. The human is not
forced, he chooses his acts and beliefs. He deserves punishment or reward, depending upon his
choice and he is the chooser in (doing or leaving) the ordered and prohibited things.

Allaah, the Most High, says:
"Then whosoever wills let him believe, and whosoever wills let him disbelieve." [Al-Kahf
(18):29]
From the beliefs of the Predecessors is that they do not make takfeer...[Takfeer is the action of
declaring a Muslim to have left Islaam. This is left for the people of knowledge (`ulamaa) to do
and it must be done following strict guidelines. Refer to the book al-`Uzar bil-Jahal wa Rad
`alaa Bid`atut Takfeer (the Excuse of Ignorance and Refutation of the Innovation of Takfeer) by
Ahmad Fareed.] ...of anyone of the Muslims due to a sin, even if it is from the major sins. Except
if he denies (rejects) a thing that is known in the religion by necessity and is known by the
scholars as well as the generality of people, and is based firmly upon the Book and the Sunnah
and Concensus (Ijmaa') of the Predecessors of this Ummah and its leaders.
From the beliefs of the righteous predecessors is that they worship Allaah, the Most High, and
do not associate anything with Him. Thus they do not ask any one except Allaah, the Most High,
of a need no one else can satisfy. They do not seek help (in which no one can help) from anyone
except Allaah, the One free of all defects. They do not call upon anyone for aid (for an
immediate need that no one can fulfil) except upon Allaah. They do not make tawassul (seeking
nearness) to Allaah except by obeying Him, worshipping Him and doing good/righteous deeds
(See Tafseer ibn Katheer, Soorah Al-Faatihah).

This being taken from His saying:
"O you who believe! Do your duty to Allaah and fear Him, seek the means of approach to
Him." [al-Maa'idah, (5):35] . That is, draw close to Allaah by obedience to Him and by worship
of Him. From the beliefs of the righteous predecessors is that Prayer (Salaat) behind all righteous people and sinners is permissible if the external nature of the prayer is correct.

[What is implied by the statement 'if the external nature of the prayer is correct' is that all the
pillars and obligatory actions of the prayer are enacted by the one leading the prayer. For
example that he faces the Qiblah etc.]
We do not certify with certainty for anyone, whoever he may be, of being in Paradise or in Hell;
except whoever the Messenger of Allaah - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - testified for. However
we hope Paradise for the righteous and fear Hell for the sinful.
We testify for the ten people given the glad tidings of Jannah (Paradise), that they will be in
Jannah; just as the Prophet - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam testified this for them. We testify, as
being in Jannah, for everyone that the Prophet - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - testifies this for
them. This is because the Prophet - allallaahu`alaihi wa sallam - does not speak of his own
desire. Indeed it is nothing but revelation revealed to him.["Nor does he speak of his own desire.
It is only an inspiration that is inspired." an-Najm (53):3-4]
We take the Companions of Allaah's Messenger - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - as awliyaa
(friends). We refrain from showing their defects and that which happened between them. Their
affair is with their Lord. We do not abuse anyone of the Companions. This is taken from the
Prophet's - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - saying:

"Let none of you abuse (slander) my Companions. For by Him in whose Hand is my life, if one
of you spent (in the way of Allaah) the equivalent of mount Uhud in gold it would not reach a
handful nor half a handful of what they spent."
[al-Bukhaaree 7/27-8, Muslim 2541, Aboo Dawood 4658, at-Tirmidhee (3860), from Aboo Sa`eed al-Khudree, radiyallaahu `anhu, and from Aboo Hurairah in Muslim 2540.]
The Companions are not infallible from error. Infallibility is for Allaah, the Most High, and His
Messenger - sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam - in conveying the message. Allaah, the Most High, has
protected the collective Ummah from mistakes (and not individuals) as the Prophet - sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam - said: "Indeed Allaah will never unite this Ummah upon misguidance and the Hand of Allaah is upon the Jamaa`ah."
[at-Tirmidhee 2168, from the hadeeth of Ibn `Umar. Its chain has a weakness, however it has a
shaahid (supporting narration) with at-Tirmidhee from the hadeeth of ibn `Abbaas (no.2167)
and another supporting narration with ibn Abee `Asim in as-Sunnah (no.81) from the hadeeth
of Usaamah bin Shaarik. Thus the hadeeth is an authentic hadeeth.]
We are pleased with the wives of the Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, they
are the mothers of the believers and we believe that they are pure and innocent from evil. [The
wives of the Messenger sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam were termed "the mothers of the believers" in Soorah Al-Ahzaab (33), Verse 6].

From the beliefs of the Pious Predecessors is that they do not make it obligatory upon any
Muslim to restrict himself to a specific madhhab. [Madhhab is a school of thought or a position
held by a scholar.] He can move from one madhhab to another, due to the strength of evidence
(in a particular point). The layman has no madhhab. Rather his madhhab is the madhhab of his
mufti (scholar who gives religious verdicts).
[Refer to the book Risaalatul-Taqleed by Ibn al Qayyim for it is very important. The layman
follows the scholars, as Allaah has ordered him to do so in the verse: "Ask the people of
knowledge if you do not know." (an-Nahl (16):43) The layman by following their scholars is
indeed following the Qur'aan and Sunnah and not doing taqleed (blind following), rather this is
called ittibaa' for him. However he does not follow the scholars in their mistakes, when it is
made clear to him that it is a mistake. This is what is required of the laymen, as ibn al-Qayyim
points out in his book.
The one who has the ability to weigh up evidences, i.e. a student of knowledge, he can look into
proofs and follow the strongest proof, but the one who does not have the ability, i.e. a layman,
then he follows the scholars, as Allaah has ordered him to do.]

If a student of knowledge (taalibul-`ilm) has the ability to recognize the proofs and evidences of
the Imaams, he should act by it, moving from a madhhab of an Imaam, in any issue, to the
madhhab of another Imaam, due to the strength of the evidence, and the more correct
understanding, in an issue. Thus he becomes a muttabi` (a follower) and not a mujtahid [one
who is qualified to extract rulings from the Qur'aan and Sunnah, i.e. to do ijtihaad]. For indeed
ijtihaad is the extracting of Islamic rulings from the Book and Sunnah, as the four Imaams and
other Imaams of the fiqh (jurisprudence) and the muhaddithoon (scholars of hadeeth) have
done.

From the beliefs of the Pious Predecessors is that the four Companions: Aboo Bakr, `Umar,
`Uthmaan and `Alee (radiyallaahu `anhum) are the rightly guided Khulafaa' and with them
existed the Khilaafatun-Nabuwwah (Khilaafah upon the Prophetic Way) lasting for thirty years
including the Khilaafah (ruling period) of Hasan (radiyallaahu `anhu). This is taken from the
saying of the Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam:
"The Khilaafah in my Ummah is for thirty years then after it is a kingship."

[Reported by Ahmad in Musnad (5/220, 221), at-Tirmidhee (no.2227) in the book of Fitan,
chapter, "That which has come regarding the Khilaafah", Aboo Dawood (no. 4646 and 4647) in
the book of as-Sunnah, chapter "Khulafaa", Ibn Hibbaan (no. 1534/1535 - in Mawarid) in the
book of Imaarah, chapter of "Khilaafah", al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/71, 145) from the
Hadeeth of Safeenah. It is an authentic hadeeth and the thirty year period was the period of the
rightly guided Khulafaa up to when Hasan abdicated from his Khilaafah.]

From the beliefs of the Pious Predecessors is that it is obligatory to have eemaan (faith) in all
that the Qur'aan has come with, and what Allaah, the Most High, has ordered us with, and
leaving all that Allaah, the Most High, has prohibited us from, the general and the detailed. We
believe in all that the Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, has informed us of, when its
transmission from him is authentic, in that which we witness or do not witness, regardless of
whether we comprehend it, or are ignorant of it or we have not come across the reality of its
meaning. We carry out the orders of Allaah, the Most High, and the orders of his Messenger, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. We refrain from what Allaah, the most High has prohibited us from and what the Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, prohibited us from. We stop at the hudood (boundaries) of the Book of Allaah, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah,
sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, and that which has come from the rightly guided Khulafaa. Our
duty is to do ittibaa` (following) of that which the Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, has
come with: from beliefs, actions and sayings, to follow the way of Allaah's Messenger,
sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, and the four rightly guided Khulafaa', in their beliefs, actions
and sayings. This is the complete Sunnah, as the Sunnah of the rightly guided Khulafaa' is
adhered to like the following of the Prophetic Sunnah.

`Umar ibn `Abdul `Azeez said:
"The Messenger of Allaah, sallaallahu `alaihi wa sallam, and the leaders of the Muslims after
him set examples (Sunnah), the taking of which is holding on to the Book of Allaah, the Most
High, and strength upon the Deen of Allaah. It is not for any one to change or alter it, nor to
look at a matter in opposition to it. Whoever is guided by it then he is truly guided, and whoever
seeks help by it then he is truly helped. Whoever leaves it and follows a way other than the way
of the believers, Allaah will turn him to what he has chosen and burn him in hell, what en evil
abode!"
This is confirmed by the saying of Allaah's Messenger, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam:
"...and beware of newly invented matters, for verily every bid`ah is a going astray."
This hadeeth is a great principle from the principles of the Deen and it resembles another saying
of the Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam:
"Whoever innovates in to this Deen of ours that which is not from it, then it is rejected."
[Reported by al-Bukhaaree in ta`leeq form (without mentioning the chain)(4/298) and in the full
form (5/221), Muslim (no. 1718), Aboo Daawood in the book of Sunnah (no. 4606), Ibn Maajah
(no. 14).]

In it is a warning from following newly invented matters in the Deen and worship. The meaning
of bid`ah is that which has been invented and has no root in the Sharee`ah pointing to it. As for
what has a root in the Sharee`ah pointing to it it is not legally (technically) a bid`ah; even though
linguistically the term bid`ah may be applied to it. Thus whenever something new is introduced
into the Deen, having no root (in the Deen) to return it to, then it is a misguidance - deviation.
The Deen is free of it, regardless of whether it is connected to issues of beliefs, actions or sayings.
As for the istihsaan (approval and condoning) of bid`ah, which occurred in the words of the
predecessors, then that is in relation to bid`ah al-logawee (linguistic use of bid`ah) and not in the
legal (technical) use of the term bid`ah. From these saying is the saying of `Umar bin al-
Khattaab, when he gathered the people in Qiyaam-ur-Ramadaan - Taraaweeh prayers - behind
one Imaam in the masjid. He went out and saw them praying and he said: "What a wonderful
bid`ah."

This has a root in Sharee`ah. Verily the Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
prayed it (this prayer) in congregation in the masjid and then he left it, fearing that it might
become obligatory upon his Ummah and that they would be unable to perform it. Indeed they
became free of this fear after the Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.So `Umar (radiyallaahu
`anhu) revived it. As for that which is a matter confirmed, in worship, then it is not permissible
to make additions to it.
So, for example of the adhaan, remains in the form in which it was legislated, without addition
or subtraction. The Prayer remains upon the manner it was legislated as the Messenger of
Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam said:

"Pray as you have seen me praying."
This is an authentic hadeeth, reported by al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh.
Hajj remains upon the manner in which it was legislated, because the Messenger of Allaah,
sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, said: "Take from me your rites (of Hajj)." [Saheeh Muslim, Book of Hajj, 1297] Indeed the Muslims have done things that were not present in the time of the Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, due to them being daroorah (necessities) in preserving Islaam. Indeed they have permitted it and kept quiet about it. Like the gathering of the people to one mushaaf (that which the Qur'aan is written upon), by `Uthmaan bin `Affaan
(radiyallaahu `anhu), fearing the splitting of the Ummah. Indeed it was approved of by the
Companions (radiyallaahu `anhum) and that was for a maslaha (benefit).
The example of writing down Prophetic traditions (hadeeth) fearing its loss due to the death of
its people. The writing of Tafseer of the Qur'aan and the Hadeeth. The compilation of `Ilm an-
Nahw (science of grammar) to safeguard the Arabic language, which is a means of
understanding Islaam. The formation of `Ilm al-Mustalah (science of hadeeth). Thus, these are
permissible to safeguard the Islamic Sharee`ah. Verily, Allaah, the Most High, has taken the
responsability of safeguarding His Law - from His saying:

"Indeed it is We who sent down the Dhikr (Qur'aan) and surely We will guard it (from
corruption). [al-Hijr (15):9]
The Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, said:
"This `Ilm (Deen) will be carried by the trustworthy of ones of each generation. Negating from it
the tahreef (alterations) of the ones going beyond bounds, the false assumptions of the liars, and
the ta'weel (false interpretations) of the ignorant."
This hadeeth is hasan due to all its chains and shawaahids (supporting narrations).
This is the belief (`aqeedah) - of the group of this Ummah (i.e. the Companions radiyallaahu
`anhum) and it is a pure belief like the purity of fresh drinking water, strong as the firmly fixed
mountains, firm as the firmest of hand holds. It is a flawless `Aqeedah, a straight way, upon the
methodology of the Book and the Sunnah and the sayings of the Predecessors of this Ummah
and its A'immah (leaders). It is the way which revived the hearts of the pioneers of this Ummah.

THE BELIEF OF THE PIOUS SCHOLARS OF ISLAAM

It is the `Aqeedah of the Righteous Predecessors, Firqatun-Naajiyah (saved sect) Ahl us Sunnah
wal-Jamaa`ah. It is the `Aqeedah of the four Imaams - the founders of the well known and
followed madhhabs and of most of their followers.
[Nu`maan bin Thaabit Aboo Haneefah - One of the Imaams of Islaam and leading personalities.
Born 80 Hijree during the era of the young Companions, he saw Anas bin Maalik (radiyallaahu
`anhu) (at a young age). His main students are Aboo Yoosuf and Muhammad al-Hasan ash-
Shaybaanee. The Hanafee madhhab is ascribed to him but more than a third of the madhhab is
from other later scholars. He died 150 hijree. Maalik bin Anas, Imaam of Daar-ul-Hijrah
(Madeenah). Born 93 hijree, the year Anas bin Maalik died. An Imaam of the Muslims and a
leading scholar of Islaam. The Maalikee madhhab is ascribed to him. Muhammad bin Idrees
ash-Shaafi`ee (a brief note was given before). Ahmad bin Hanbal, known as the Imaam of Ahlus-
Sunnah wal Jamaa`ah. Born in Baghdaad 164 hijree. He was from the few who at his time
preserved the way of the Companions, fighting away the innovations of the deviant sects and
upholding the way of the Predecessors. From amongst his students were Aboo Daawood, `Alee
bin al-Madanee, Aboo Zu`arah and Aboo Haatim and many more famous scholars of Ahl-us-
Sunnah wal-Jamaa`ah. He died 241 hijree. May Allaah have mercy upon them, they are konwn
as the four well followed Imaams.]

It is the `Aqeedah of the generality of the fuqahaa, the muhadditheen, the scholars that act on
what they know, and those that traverse along their way, to this day and until the Day of
Judgement. Indeed the ones that differred are the ones that altered their (the Imaams') sayings, from amongst those of the later generations (muta'akhireen) who ascribe to their madhhabs.
So our duty is to return, with a pure `Aqeedah, to the fountain which the best of our Pious
Predecessors drank from. To keep quiet about that which they keep quiet about, to perform our
`Ibaadah (worship) the way they performed their worship, to adhere to the Book and Sunnah,
the ijmaa of the Predecessors of this Ummah and its A'immah, and the correct qiyaas in new
matters.

Imaam an Nawawee (rahimahullaah), said in al-Adhkaar:
"...and know that the selected, correct way is that which the Pious Predecessors were upon, and
that is the truth. Do not be fooled by the large number that oppose it. For indeed Aboo `Alee
Fudayl ibn `Iyaad said (the meaning of which is): 'Stick to the ways of guidance and you will not
be harmed by the smallness of numbers that follow it. Beware of the ways of misguidance and
do not be fooled by the multitude of the ones that will be destroyed.'"
This is the only way that will reform the rest of the Ummah. Imaam Maalik bin Anas
(rahimahullaah), the scholar of Madeenah spoke the truth when he said:
"The latter part of the Ummah will never be reformed except by that which
reformed the former part."
Never will good disappear from the Ummah, because the Messenger of Allaah, sallaallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam, said in a hadeeth:
"There will not cease to be a group from my Ummah manifestly upon the Haqq (Truth). The
ones that abandon them will not harm them, until the Order of Allaah comes and they are like
that (upon the Truth)." [Saheeh
Muslim, no. 1920 and others]
The Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, further said:
"The example of my Ummah is like that of rain. It is not known whether the initial part (of the
rain) is good or the latter part. This is an authentic hadeeth (related by Ahmad in Musnaad,
3/130, 4/319, and at-Tirmidhee, no.2873).

Indeed the `Aqeedah of the Righteous Predecessors has been stipulated by a great many of the
scholars. From them, Aboo Ja`far at-Tahaawee, and his `Aqeedah has been explained by Ibn
Abil-`Izz al-Hanafee one of the students of Ibn Katheer ad-Dimishqee naming it Sharh al-
`Aqeedah at-Tahaawiyyah and, from them is Abul-Hasan al-Ash`aree, in his book al-Ibaanah
`an Usool ad-Diyaanah. This being the `Aqeedah which he finally settled upon. He said, "...our
saying, which we state, the Deen which we profess belief in, is adherence to the Book of Allaah,
the Sunnah of our Prophet, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, and that which is related from the
Companions (radiyallahu `anhum), the Taabi'oon and Imaams of hadeeth, we cling on to this,
and we say that which Aboo `Abdullaah Ahmad ibn Hanbal used to say and distance ourselves
from ones that opposed his sayings."

From those that wrote about the `Aqeedah of the Righteous Predecessors is as-Saaboonee (d.
449 hijree) in his book `Aqeedat-us-Salaf and Muwaffiq-ud-Deen ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdasee
al-Hanbalee in his book Luma`tul `Ittiqaad al-Haadi ilaa Sabeel ar-Rashaad, and other glorious
scholars, may Allaah reward them with good.
[Among the early scholars who stipulated this pure `aqeedah are:Abee `Ubaydah Qaasim bin
Sallam (d.224), Imaam Ahmad, al-Bukhaaree, Ibn Mandah (d.390), Aboo Bakr ibn Athraam
(d.272), `Abdullaah ibn Ahmad (d.290), Nasr al-Marwazee (d.294), Al-Khallal (d.311), Imaam
al-Barbahaaree (d.329), Imaam of the A`immah Ibn Khuzaimah (d.311), Ibn Battah (d.387), Al-
Laalakaa`ee (d.418) and others.]

We ask Allaah to guide us to the pure `Aqeedah (beliefs) and to a pure and clean heart, we ask
for virtuous and pleasing manners, and to give us life as Muslims and to take our life while
being upon the Sharee`ah of our Prophet, Muhammad, sallaallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
O Allaah let us die as Muslims and make us meet the Saaliheen (righteous) without being
disgraced or tried. Forgive us, our parents, and the believers on the Day of Judgement. We ask
Allaah for inspiration to the correctness of sayings and actions. Indeed He is all powerful over
all things and the most worthy to answering calls, and our final du`aa is, all praise belongs to
Allaah, Lord of all worlds. "By Time! Verily man is in loss. Except those who believe
and do righteous deeds and help one another to the truth and help one another to patience."
al-Qur'aan, al-`Asr (103):1-3

Quotes From the Salaf About the Life of This World

Abdul Malik Al-Qasim
Excerpted from "The Life of This World Is a Transient Shade"
© 1999 IIPH
http://islaam.com//Article.aspx?id=412

Sufyan ath-Thawri said: "Man's love for the life of this world is shown in the way he greets
people." [Look at a chaste poor man ... nobody talks to him. People greet him so warily as if fearing that he may pass poverty to them. But see how the people welcome a rich man, even if he does not perform prayer. They stand up with smiling faces, and each one hopes to greet him first.
Note the difference between a man who is so great as seen by Allah and another who does not even weigh a mosquito's wing - but this is life.]

Narrated Muhammad ibn Abi Imran, "I heard a man asking Hatim al-Asamm: 'On what have you based your dependence on Allah?' He said: 'On four points: I knew that my sustenance cannot be eaten by someone else and I am assured, I knew that my duty cannot be done by anyone else, so I kept myself busy with that. I knew that death will come suddenly to me, so I prepared myself for it. I knew that wherever I go I am under Allah's Eye, so I am always shy of Him.'"

`Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "O man! Prepare yourself for the Hereafter, obey Allah to the extent of your need for Him and anger Him to the extent of your patience in Hell."
Abu Safwan ar-Ru`wini was asked: "What is that life dispraised by Allah in the Qur'an and that the sensible man should avoid?" He said: "Whatever you love in this life seeking worldly benefits is dispraised, and whatever you love seeking benefits in the Hereafter is praised."
Yahya ibn Mu`adh said, "O how poor is man, if he fears Hell in the same degree of his fearing
poverty, then he will enter Paradise."

Ali ibn Al-Fudayl said: "I heard my father saying to Ibn Al-Mubarak: You order us to renounce the worldly pleasures and to be satisfied with the minimum, whereas you are buying goods, so what is that?" He said: "I do that to protect my face and my honour, and this helps me obey my Rabb." My father said: "How good is that if realised."

An ascetic said: "I know none who has heard of Paradise and Hell, then spends an hour of his life
without praying, remembering Allah or doing a good deed." A man said: "I weep so much." He
said to him: "To laugh and admit your sins is better than to weep and feel proud of your deeds."
The man said: "I need your advice." He said: "Abandon the life of this world to its people as they
have abandoned the Hereafter to its people."

Shumait ibn `Ajlan used to say: "Two persons are tormented in the life of this world: a rich man
who is given a great wealth that keeps him so busy with worldly pleasures, and a poor man who
is deprived of such pleasures for which he is longing with a heartbreak."

Al-Hasan said: "How good is life in this world for a believer because he uses it to prepare his
provisions for Paradise. And how evil it is for a disbeliever who uses it to prepare his provisions
for Hell."

Yahya ibn Mu`adh said: "The life of this world is a house of deeds and the Hereafter is a house of
horrors. Man remains between deeds and horrors until he settles either in Paradise or in Hell."
One of the salaf said: "Beware of the life of this world because its magic is more effective than
that of Harut and Marut. The two latter's separate a man from his wife whereas the life of this
world separates a man from his Rabb."

Abu Dardaa' said: "Everyone has an imperfection of knowledge and wisdom, if his wealth
increases, he becomes so happy though day and night are working hard on destroying his lifespan. So what is good of a wealth that increases and a life-span that decreases."
Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "I am astonished about those people who are ordered to prepare their
provisions, then the start of the journey is announced, however they remain unmindful in their
vain discussions and fruitless deeds."

A man came to Sufyan ath-Thawree seeking his advice, and he said to the man: "Work for the
sake of this life within the extent of your stay in it, and for the Hereafter within the extent of your stay therein."

Al-Fudayl ibn `Ayyad said: "Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him and his
renunciation of worldly pleasures is equal to his desire in the Hereafter."
Salman ibn Dinar said: "What you love to have with you in the Hereafter you should advance
today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon today."

A poet said: "Don't seek anything other than contentment, because therein is the bliss and the
comfort of your body. Then consider the case of a person who possesses the whole world, can
he take with him in the grave more than cotton and a shroud?"

Islaam.com

Umar ibn al-Khattab

from The History of the Khalifahs by Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti

He, may Allah be pleased with him, was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ibn Nufail ibn 'Abdu'l-'Uzza ibn Riyah ibn Qart ibn Razah ibn 'Adi ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, Amir al- Muminin, Abu Hafs, al-Qurashi, al-'Adawi, al-Faruq.

He accepted Islam in the sixth year of prophecy when he was twenty-seven years old, says adh-Dhahabi.

An-Nawawi says: 'Umar was born thirteen years after the Elephant, he was one of the nobility of Quraysh, and he had the role of ambassador in the Jahiliyyah; Quraysh, whenever war broke out among them or between them and others, would send him as an ambassador, i.e. a messenger, and when someone called them to judgement often over a matter of standing or lineage then they sent him as a response to that.

He accepted Islam very early on, after forty other men and eleven women. Some say that it was after thirty-nine men and twenty-three women, and some say, after forty-five men and eleven women. But it was only after he accepted Islam that Islam was shown openly in Makkah and the Muslims rejoiced in him.

He said: He was one of the outstripping first ones, one of the ten for whom it was witnessed that they were for the Garden, one of the khulafa' who took the right way, one of the in-laws of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, one of the great men of knowledge of the Companions and one of their abstinent people.

Five hundred and thirty-nine hadith from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are related from him. 'Uthman ibn 'Affan narrated from him, 'Ali (ibn Abi Talib), Talhah (ibn 'Ubaydillah), Sa'd (ibn Abi Waqqas), 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Dharr, 'Amr ibn 'Abasah and his son 'Abdullah, Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn az-Zubayr, Anas, Abu Hurairah, 'Amr ibn al-'As, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and a great number of the Companions and others, may Allah be pleased with them.

I say: I attach here some sections in which there are some sections of interest connected to his biography.
The reports on his acceptance of Islam

Ibn 'Umar narrated that: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'O Allah, strengthen Islam with whoever is more beloved to You of these two men: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab or Abu Jahl ibn Hisham.' This has been narrated from hadith of Ibn Mas'ud and Anas, may Allah be pleased with them.

Ibn 'Abbas related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'O Allah, strengthen Islam by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab especially.' This has been narrated in hadith of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Thawban.

'Umar said: I went out to confront the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and found that he had preceded me to the mosque (of Makkah). I stood behind him and he began by reciting Suratu'l-Haqqah. I was astonished by the composition of the Qur'an, so I said, 'By Allah, this is a poet as Quraysh say.' Then he recited, 'It is truly the saying of a noble messenger, and it is not the saying of a poet, how little you believe...' (Qur'an 69: 40) to the end of the ayah, and Islam came about in my heart.

Jabir said: The beginning of 'Umar's Islam was that 'Umar said, 'My sister's time to give birth came to her at night so I went out of the house, and entered the precincts of the Ka'bah. Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and entered the hijr (the low-walled, semi-circular area to one end of the Ka'bah) and on him there were two rough cloths. He prayed to Allah as much as Allah willed, then he turned away and I heard something I had not heard the like of. He went out and I followed him and he said, "Who is this?" I said, "'Umar." He said, "'Umar, will you not leave me alone, either by night or by day?" I became afraid that he might supplicate against me, so I said, "I witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah." He said, "'Umar, keep it secret." I said, "No, by the One Who sent you with the truth, I will openly declare it just as I openly declared idolatry."' Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Umar went out wearing his sword, and a man from Bani Zuhrah met him and said, 'Where do you intend going, 'Umar?' He said, 'I want to kill Muhammad.' He said, 'How will you be safe from Bani Hashim and Bani Zuhrah if you have killed Muhammad?' He said, 'I can only believe that you have converted.' He said, 'Shall I show you something astonishing; your brother-in-law and your sister have converted and abandoned your deen.' 'Umar walked on and came to the two of them while Khabbab was with them. When he heard the sound of 'Umar he hid in the house, and then he ('Umar) entered and said, 'What is this murmur of lowered voices?' They had been reciting Taha. They said, 'Nothing but some conversation which we were holding.' He said, 'Perhaps you two have converted?' His brother-in-law said to him, ''Umar, what if the truth were outside of your deen?' So 'Umar leapt upon him and struck him severely. His sister came to push him away from her husband and he struck her a blow with his hand so that her face bled. Then she said, and she was angry, 'And if the truth were outside of your deen? I witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.' 'Umar said, 'Give me the writing which you have and I will read it,'and 'Umar used to read. His sister said to him, 'You are dirty, and no-one reads it but the purified (so stand and bathe yourself or perform wudu').' He stood and performed wudu', then he took the writing and read Taha until it came to, 'Truly I, I am Allah there is no god except Me, so worship Me and establish the prayer for My remembrance.' (Qur'an 20: 14). 'Umar said, 'Show me the way to Muhammad.' When Khabbab heard the words of 'Umar he came out and said, 'Rejoice, 'Umar! Because I hope that you are the (answer to the) supplication which the Messenger of Allah made for you on the night of Thursday, "O Allah, strengthen Islam with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab or with 'Amr ibn Hisham."' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was in the lower part of the house which was at the foot of Safa and 'Umar went off until he came to the house, at the door of which were Hamzah, Talhah and others. Hamzah said, 'This is 'Umar; If Allah wants good for him he will become a Muslim; and if He wishes other than that, then killing him will be a little thing for us.' He said: And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was inside receiving revelation. He came out when 'Umar arrived, took hold of the folds of his clothes and the straps of his sword, and said, 'You won't give up, 'Umar, until Allah visits you with disgrace and punishment like he did al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah.' 'Umar said, 'I witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the slave of Allah and His Messenger.'

Aslam said: 'Umar said to us, 'I was the most severe of people against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Then one hot day at midday I was in one of the pathways of Makkah, and a man met me and said, "I am amazed at you, Ibn al-Khattab. You claim that you are like this and like this, and this matter has entered your own house." I said, "What is that?" He said, "Your sister has become a Muslim." So I went back in a fury and struck the door. Someone said, "Who is it?" I said, "'Umar." They hurried and hid from me. They had been reciting a page which they had and they abandoned it and forgot it. My sister got up to open the door, and I said to her, "Enemy of her own self, have you converted?" I struck her upon the head with something that I had in my hand so that the blood flowed and she cried. She said, "Ibn al-Khattab, whatever you are going to do, then do it, for I have converted." I entered and sat down on the couch. Then I glanced at the page and said, "What is this? Give it to me." She said, "You are not one of its people, you don't clean yourself after intercourse, and this is a writing which none touches except for those who have purified themselves." But I wouldn't give up until she gave it to me. I opened it and there in it was, "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate." When I passed by one of the names of Allah, exalted is He, I became afraid of it and I put down the page. Then I came back to myself and picked up the page and there in it was, "There glorifies Allah that which is in the heavens and the earth," and I became afraid. I read up until, "believe in Allah and His messenger!" (Qur'an 57: 1-7) and so I said, "I witness that there is no god but Allah," and so they all came out to me hastily, saying, "Allahu Akbar!" and said, "Rejoice! Because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, supplicated on Monday and said, 'O Allah strengthen Your deen with whoever is the more beloved of the two men to You, either Abu Jahl ibn Hisham or 'Umar.'" They directed me to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in a house at the foot of As-Safa, and I went to it and knocked on the door. They said, "Who is it?" I said, "Ibn al-Khattab." They knew my severity against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so nobody moved to open the door until he said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Open it for him." They opened it for me, two men grabbed hold of me by the upper arms and brought me to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said, "Leave him alone." Then he grabbed me by my shirt and dragged me forcibly towards him and said, "Accept Islam, Ibn al-Khattab. O Allah guide him," and I bore witness and the Muslims said, "Allahu Akbar!" so loudly that it was heard in the valleys of Makkah.

They had been concealing themselves. I did not wish to see a man striking and being struck but that I experienced it myself and none of that touched me. I went to my uncle Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, who was one of the nobility, and knocked on his door. He said, "Who is it?" I said, "Ibn al-Khattab, and I have converted." He said, "Don't do it," and slammed the door on me. I said, "This isn't anything," and went to one of the great ones of Quraysh, called out to him and he came out to me. I said to him the same as I had said to my uncle, he said to me the same as my uncle had said to me, went in and slammed the door on me. I said, "This isn't anything, the Muslims are being struck and I am not being struck." A man said to me, "Would you like your acceptance of Islam to be known?" I said, "Yes." He said, "When people are seated in the hijr go to so-and-so, a man who cannot possibly conceal a secret, and say to him, just between yourself and him, 'I have converted,' for it is very rarely that he has ever concealed a secret." I went and people had already gathered in the hijr. I said, just between me and him, "I have converted." He said, "Did you really do that?" I said, "Yes." He cried at the top of his voice, "Ibn al-Khattab has converted." They ran up to me; I was hitting them, they were hitting me and people gathered around me. Then my uncle said, "What is this group?" Someone said, "'Umar has converted." He stood upon the hijr and indicated with the palm of his hand, "I have helped the son of my sister." They dispersed from around me. I did not want to have seen any of the Muslims being struck and striking without seeing it myself, so I said, "This which has happened to me is nothing." I went to my uncle and said, "Your help is returned to you," and I continued to hit and be hit until Allah strengthened Islam.'

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: I asked 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, 'For what reason were you called Al-Faruq?' He said, 'Hamzah accepted Islam three days before me. I went to the mosque, and Abu Jahl hurried up to abuse the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Hamzah was told about it. He took his bow and came to the mosque, up to the circle of Quraysh in which Abu Jahl was. He leant upon his bow facing Abu Jahl and looked at him, and Abu Jahl recognised the mischief in his face, and said, "What is wrong with you, Abu 'Umarah?" He raised his bow and with it struck one of the veins in his neck, cutting it so that blood flowed. Quraysh rectified that from fear of mischief and trouble.' He said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was concealed in the house of Al-Arqam al-Makhzumi so Hamzah went off and accepted Islam. I went out three days after him and there was so-and-so son of so-and-so al-Makhzumi, and I said to him, "Do you yearn to get out of the deen of your ancestors and follow the deen of Muhammad?" He said, "If I did, then one who has much greater right upon you has also done it." I said, "Who is he?" He said, "Your sister and your brother in-law." I went off, found the door locked and heard the murmur of lowered voices. Then the door was opened for me. I entered and said, "What is this I hear with you?" They said, "You didn't hear anything," and the conversation continued between us until I took hold of my brother in-law's head and hit him, making him bleed. My sister stood up to me and took hold of my head and said, "That has happened despite you." I was ashamed when I saw the blood, so I sat down and said, "Show me this writing." My sister said, "No-one touches it except for the purified. If you are truthful then get up and bathe yourself." I got up and bathed myself, then I returned and sat down. They brought me a page in which was, "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate." I said, "Wholesome and pure names!" "Taha. We have not revealed the Qur'an to you for you to grieve, ..." up to His words, "... His are the most beautiful names." (Qur'an 1-8). It became a great matter in my heart and I said, "From this Quraysh have fled!" I accepted Islam and said, "Where is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?" She said, "He is in the house of al-Arqam." I went to the house and knocked on the door. The people gathered and Hamzah said to them, "What is wrong with you." They said, "'Umar." He said, "And if it is 'Umar? Open the door for him. If he has accepted, then we will accept that from him, and if he turns his back, we will kill him." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard that and came out. I pronounced the shahadah and the people of the house said, "Allahu Akbar!" in such a way that the people of Makkah heard it. I said, "Messenger of Allah, are we not upon the truth?" He said, "Of course." I said, "Why do we conceal it?" We went out in two ranks, in one of which I was and in the other Hamzah, until we entered the mosque, and Quraysh looked at me and at Hamzah. There came upon them gloom and depression the like of which had never before come upon them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, named me on that day "al-Faruq" because Islam had been shown openly and a separation made between the truth and falsehood.'

Dhakwan said: I said to 'A'ishah, 'Who named 'Umar "al-Faruq"?' She said, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.' Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: When 'Umar accepted Islam, then Jibril descended and said, 'Muhammad, the inhabitants of heaven rejoice in 'Umar's acceptance of Islam." Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: When 'Umar accepted Islam, the idolators said, 'The people have been split in half from us today,' and Allah revealed, 'O Prophet, Allah is enough for you; and whoever follows you of the believers.' (Qur'an 8: 64).

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: We did not cease to become mighty since the acceptance of Islam by 'Umar.

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Islam of 'Umar was an opening, his emigration was a help and his imamate was a mercy. I saw us unable to pray towards the House until 'Umar accepted Islam. When 'Umar accepted Islam, he fought them until they left us alone and we prayed.

Hudhayfah said: When 'Umar accepted Islam, Islam was like the man advancing towards you, only increasing in nearness. When 'Umar was killed, Islam was like the man backing away from you, only increasing in distance.

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: The first man to be open about Islam was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Suhaib said: When 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, accepted Islam, he was open about it, invited people to it openly; we sat around the House in circles, we made circuits around the House, we took our rights from whoever was tough with us, and we retaliated against him for some of what he brought us.

Aslam the freed slave of 'Umar said: 'Umar accepted Islam in Dhu'l-Hijjah of the sixth year of prophethood while he was twenty-six years old.
His emigration

'Ali said: I don't know of anyone who didn't emigrate in secret except for 'Umar ibn al-Khattab; because when he wanted to emigrate he strapped on his sword, put his bow over his shoulder, carried his arrows in his hand, and came to the Ka'bah where the nobles of Quraysh were in the courtyard. He performed seven circuits, and then prayed two raka'at at the Station (of Ibrahim). Then he approached their circle one step at a time and said, "What ugly faces! Whoever wishes to bereave his mother, orphan his children and widow his wife then let him meet me behind this valley." Not one of them followed him.

Al-Bara', may Allah be pleased with him, said: The first of the Muhajirun who came to us was Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, then Ibn Umm Maktum, then 'Umar ibn al-Khattab mounted among twenty others. We said, 'What has the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, done?' He said, 'He is right behind me.' Then later, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, along with him.

An-Nawawi said: 'Umar attended, along with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, all of the battles, and he was one of those who stood firm beside him on the Day of Uhud.
The hadith on his merit, other than those already quoted in the chapter on as-Siddiq

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'While I was asleep I saw myself in the Garden, and there was a woman performing wudu' beside a palace. I said, "Whose is this palace?" They said, "It belongs to 'Umar." Then I remembered your jealousy and turned away.' 'Umar wept and said, 'Could I be jealous of you, Messenger of Allah?' Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'While I was asleep I drank meaning milk until I saw satiation flowing in my nails, and then I passed it to 'Umar.' They said, 'How did you interpret it, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Knowledge.' Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, 'While I was sleeping I saw people being shown to me and they had shirts on. Some of them reached to the breast, and some of them reached lower than that. 'Umar was shown to me and he had on a shirt which he was dragging along.' They said, 'How did you interpret it, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'The deen.' Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Ibn al-Khattab, by Him in Whose hand is my self, the shaytan never met you travelling on a road but that he would travel on a road other than your road.' Abu Hurairah said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There were in the nations before you people who were inspired, and if there is one in my ummah it is 'Umar.' Ibn 'Umar related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Allah has put the truth upon 'Umar's tongue and (in) his heart.' Ibn 'Umar said: No affair ever happened among people and they spoke about it and 'Umar spoke about it but that the Qur'an was revealed confirming what 'Umar said.

'Uqbah ibn 'Amir said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, said, 'If there were to be a prophet after me it would be 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.' This hadith has been narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, 'Ismah ibn Malik and Ibn 'Umar.

'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'I am looking at the shaytans of the Jinn and men who have fled from 'Umar.' Ubayy ibn Ka'b said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The first one whom the Truth will shake hands with is 'Umar, the first He will greet (with the greeting of peace), and the first He will take by the hand and enter into the Garden.'

Abu Dharr said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Truly Allah has placed the truth upon the tongue of 'Umar, it speaks by him (or he speaks by it).' Abu Hurairah said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Truly Allah has placed the truth on the tongue of 'Umar and (in) his heart.' This hadith has been narrated by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, Bilal, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, 'A'ishah, and Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them.

'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: We, the Companions of Muhammad, used not to doubt that the sakinah (tranquility or Divine presence) spoke by the tongue of 'Umar.

Ibn 'Umar said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ''Umar is the lamp of the people of the Garden.' This hadith was narrated by Abu Hurairah and As-Sa'b ibn Juththamah.

'Uthman ibn Madh'un said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'This one is the lock upon the fitnah (sedition and trials),' and he indicated 'Umar with his hand. 'There will remain a door strongly locked between you and the fitnah as long as this one lives among you.' Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both him and his father, said: Jibril came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Greet 'Umar with the greeting of peace and inform him that his anger is might and his good pleasure is judgement.' 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The shaytan is afraid of 'Umar.' Buraydah said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The shaytan is afraid of you, 'Umar.' Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them (i.e. Ibn 'Abbas and his father 'Abbas), said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is no angel in the heaven that does not respect 'Umar, and no shaytan on the earth but that he is afraid of 'Umar.' Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Allah glories in the people of 'Arafah generally and He glories in 'Umar particularly.' It has been narrated in a hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

Al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The truth, after me, is with 'Umar wherever he is.' Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'While I was asleep I saw myself at a well upon which was a bucket, so I drew from it as long as Allah willed. Then later Abu Bakr took it and drew a full bucket or two, and in his drawing there was some weakness, and Allah will forgive him. Then 'Umar ibn al-Khattab came and drew water and it became transformed in his hand into a large bucket, and I have not seen a chief of the people do wonderful deeds such as he did, until the people had satisfied their thirst and settled down (there by the water).' An-Nawawi said in his Tahdhib: The men of knowledge say, 'This points to the khilafahs of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and to the great number of conquests and the victory of Islam in the time of 'Umar.' Sadisah said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The shaytan has not met 'Umar since he accepted Islam but that he fell upon his face.' This hadith has been narrated also by Sadisah from Hafsah.

Ubayy ibn Ka'b said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Jibril said to me, "Let Islam weep over the death of 'Umar."' Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Whoever is angry with 'Umar is angry with me. Whoever loves 'Umar loves me. Allah glories in the people on the evening of 'Arafah generally, and He glories in 'Umar particularly. Allah has not sent a prophet except that he put among his ummah an inspired man and if there is one such in my ummah then it is 'Umar.' They said, 'Prophet of Allah, how inspired?' He said, 'The angels speak by his tongue.'
Sayings of the Companions and first generations on him

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said: There is not on the face of the earth a man more beloved to me than 'Umar.

Someone said to Abu Bakr during his (last) illness, 'What will you say to your Lord, when you have appointed 'Umar?' He said, 'I will say to Him, "I have appointed over them the best of them."' 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: When the right-acting ones are mentioned then begin with 'Umar. We did not think it unlikely that as-Sakinah (the Divine Presence) spoke with the tongue of 'Umar.

Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I have never seen anyone after the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from the time he died, more perceptive and more liberally generous than 'Umar.

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Even if the knowledge of 'Umar were to be put in one scale of a balance and the knowledge of every living being on the earth were put in the other scale, the knowledge of 'Umar would outweigh their knowledge. They used to hold the view that he had gone (i.e. died) with nine-tenths of knowledge.

Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is as if the knowledge of mankind was concealed in the understanding of 'Umar.

Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: By Allah, I do not know a man whom the blame of the one who blames, for the sake of Allah, does not overcome, except for 'Umar.

'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, saidand she mentioned 'Umar'He was, by Allah, skilful in managing affairs, absolutely unique.' Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: As for Abu Bakr, he did not want the world and it did not want him. As for 'Umar, the world wanted him but he did not want it. As for us, we have rolled over in it (like an animal in the dust).

Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Ali entered upon 'Umarand he was shroudedand said, 'The mercy of Allah upon you! There is no-one I would prefer to meet Allah with that which is in his page (the record of his actions), after the companionship of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, than this shrouded one.' Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: When the right-acting ones are remembered, then begin with 'Umar. Truly 'Umar was the most knowledgeable of us of the Book of Allah, and the most understanding (literally: having the most fiqh) of us of the deen of Allah, exalted is He.

Ibn 'Abbas was asked about Abu Bakr and he said, 'He was the good, all of it.' He was asked about 'Umar and said, 'He was like the apprehensive bird which thinks that on every path there is a snare to catch it.' He was asked about 'Ali and he said, 'He was full of resolve, sound judgement, knowledge and valour.' 'Umayr ibn Rabi'ah related that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said to Ka'b al-Ahbar, 'How do you find my description?' He said, 'I find your description to be a horn of iron.' He asked, 'What is a horn of iron?' He said, 'A strong commander who, for the sake of Allah, the censure of the one who blames does not overcome.' He said, 'Then what?' He said, 'There will be after you a khalifah whom a wrong-doing group will kill.' He said, 'Then what?' He said, 'Then there will be the trial (affliction).' Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab excelled people in four: the affair of the prisoners on the Day of Badr, he ordered that they should be killed and Allah revealed, 'If it were not for a decree of Allah which had preceded ...' (Qur'an 8: 68) to the end of the ayah; and in the matter of the hijab, he ordered the women of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to veil themselves, so Zaynab said to him, 'And really you are responsible over us Ibn al-Khattab, and the revelation descends upon us in our houses?' So Allah revealed, 'Then if you ask them for some item ...' (Qur'an 33: 53) to the end of the ayah; and by the supplication of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'O Allah, help Islam with 'Umar'; and in his view of Abu Bakr, for he was the first one to pledge allegiance to him.

Mujahid said: We used to say that the shaytans were chained and shackled during the amirate of 'Umar, then when he was struck they spread abroad.

Salim ibn 'Abdullah said: News of 'Umar was slow in reaching Abu Musa so he went to a woman who had a shaytan in her, and asked her about him. She said, 'Wait until my shaytan comes to me.' Then he came and she asked him about him. He said, 'I left him dressed with a piece of cloth as a waist-wrapper, smearing the camels of the sadaqah (of the zakah) with tar (against the mange or scab). And that is a man whom a shaytan does not see but that he falls flat on his nostrils; the angel is between his two eyes and the Ruh al-Quds (Jibril) speaks with his tongue.' Section Sufyan ath-Thawri said: Whoever claimed that 'Ali had more right to authority than Abu Bakr and 'Umar has made a mistake and has accused Abu Bakr, 'Umar and all the Muhajirun and the Ansar of making a mistake.

Sharik said: No-one in whom there is any good advances 'Ali before Abu Bakr and 'Umar.

Abu Usamah said: Do you grasp who Abu Bakr and 'Umar were? They were the father and mother of Islam.

Ja'far as-Sadiq said: I am quit of whoever mentions Abu Bakr and 'Umar with anything but good.
The agreements of (the views of) 'Umar (with subsequent confirmatory revelations of Qur'an)

Some of them make them amount to more than twenty.

Mujahid said: 'Umar used to hold a view and Qur'an would be revealed with (confirmation of) it.

'Ali said: In the Qur'an there are some of the views of 'Umar.

Ibn 'Umar said: When people said one thing and 'Umar said another, the Qur'an would be revealed with the like of what 'Umar said.

'Umar said: I agreed with my Lord in three things; I said, 'Messenger of Allah, if only we were to take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer,' and there was revealed, '... and take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.' (Qur'an 2: 125). I said, 'Messenger of Allah, both good and bad people come to visit your wives; if only you would order them to wear hijabs,' and the ayah of the hijab was revealed. The wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, united in jealousy, and so I said, 'Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in exchange wives better than you, ...' and it was revealed just like that (with exactly the same words, see Qur'an 66: 5).

In another hadith 'Umar said, 'I agreed with my Lord in three things: in the hijab, in the prisoners at Badr, and in the Station of Ibrahim.' In this hadith is a fourth instance.

In at-Tahdhib of an-Nawawi, 'The Qur'an was revealed in agreement with him on the prisoners at Badr, on the hijab, on the Station of Ibrahim and on the prohibition of wine.' He added a fifth instance. Its hadith is that he said, 'O Allah, make clear to us about wine with an explanation which relieves us from all doubt.' Then Allah revealed its prohibition.

Anas said: 'Umar said, 'I was in agreement with my Lord in four things: this ayah was revealed, "And certainly We have created man from an extraction of clay," (Qur'an 23: 12) and when it was revealed I said, "So blessed be Allah the best of creators," and then it was revealed, "So blessed be Allah the best of creators."' (Qur'an 95: 8). Here he mentioned a sixth instance. The hadith has another chain of transmission from Ibn 'Abbas.

Then I saw in the book Fada'il al-Imamayn of Abu 'Abdullah ash-Shaybani that he said, ''Umar agreed with his Lord in twenty-one situations,' and he mentioned these six (aforementioned). He augmented as a seventh the story of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy. I say: Its hadith is in the sound traditions from him ('Umar). He said, 'When 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy died, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, was invited to perform the funeral prayer over him so he stood up for that. I rose up until I stood up close to his chest and said, "Messenger of Allah, is it over the enemy of Allah, Ibn Ubayy, who said one day such-and-such?" Then, by Allah, it wasn't very long until it was revealed, "And do not pray over one of them ever ..." (Qur'an 9: 84) to the conclusion of the ayah.' 8. 'They ask you about wine ...' (Qur'an 2: 219) to the end of the ayah.

9. 'O you who believe, do not approach the prayer ...' (Qur'an 4: 43) to the end of the ayah. I say that the two of them, along with the ayah from Al-Ma'idah, are one instance, and the three are in the preceding hadith. 10. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, increased in seeking forgiveness for a people, 'Umar said, 'It is equal to them.' Then Allah revealed, 'It is equal to them whether you seek forgiveness for them . . .' (Qur'an 63: 2) to the end of the ayah. This hadith has been narrated of Ibn 'Abbas.

11. When he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sought the advice of the Companions about the expedition to Badr, 'Umar was in favour of the expedition and so it was revealed, 'Just as your Lord brought you out of your house by the truth ...' (Qur'an 8: 5) to the end of the ayah.

12. When he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sought the advice of the Companions with respect to the story of the slander (of 'A'ishah) 'Umar said, 'Who married you to her, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Allah.' He said, 'Do you think that your Lord would conceal a defect of hers from you? Glory be to You, this is huge slander!' (Qur'an 24: 16). Then the revelation came down just like that.

13. His story in the fast when he made love to his wife after waking from sleep (before the pre-dawn meal)and that was forbidden in the beginning of Islamand so it was revealed, 'It is permitted to you on the night of the fast ...' (Qur'an 2: 187) to the end of the ayah. 14. His words, Exalted is He, 'Whoever is an enemy to Jibril ...' (Qur'an 2: 97) to the end of the ayah. I say that it has been narrated from many different narrators the best of which is from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla that: A Jew met 'Umar and said, 'Jibril, whom your companion mentions, is an enemy to us.' So 'Umar said, 'Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mika'il, then truly Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.' So it was revealed on the tongue of 'Umar.

15. His words, Exalted is He, 'Then no! By your Lord, they do not believe ...' (Qur'an 4: 65) to the end of the ayah. I say that its story has been narrated from Abu'l-Aswad. He said: Two men brought a dispute to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, and he gave judgement between them. The one who had judgement given against him said, 'Let us go to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,' and so the two of them went to him. The man said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave judgement in my favour against this man and he said, "Let us go to 'Umar."' 'Umar said, 'Is it like that?' He said, 'Yes.' So 'Umar said, 'Stay where you are until I come out to you.' Then he came out to them wrapping his sword in his garment and struck the one who had said, 'Let us go to 'Umar,' and killed him. The other returned and said, 'Messenger of Allah, 'Umar killedby Allah!my companion.' So he said, 'I wouldn't have thought that 'Umar would have ventured to kill a believer.' Then Allah revealed, 'Then no! By your Lord they do not believe ...' to the end of the ayah. He declared, there was to be no retaliation or compensation for the blood of the man and declared 'Umar free from any wrong in his killing. There is another text that supports this story which I have related in At-Tafsir al-Musnad.

16. Seeking permission to enter. That was because his servant entered his room when he was sleeping and he said, 'O Allah, forbid entrance.' Then the ayah of seeking permission to enter was revealed.

17. His saying about the Jews, 'They are a confounded people.'

18. His words, exalted is He, 'Many of the first ones and many of the latter ones.' (Qur'an 56: 39-40). I say that Jabir ibn 'Abdullah narrated its story and that it is in the Asbab an-Nuzul.

19. The lifting (abrogation) of the recitation of, 'The older man and the older woman when they commit adultery ....' to the end of the ayah (an ayah whose judgement remains valid although it is not in the mushaf and is not recited).

20. His words on the Day of Uhud when Abu Sufyan said, 'Is so-and-so among the people?" ('Umar said) "We will not answer him,' and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, agreed with him.

Ash-Shaybani said: We join to this that Ka'b al-Ahbar said, 'Woe to the king of the earth from the King of heaven.' Then 'Umar said, 'Except for whoever takes himself to account.' Ka'b said, 'By the One in Whose hand is my soul it is in the Tawrah. You have carried it on (the words of the verse) consecutively.' Then 'Umar fell prostrate.

Then I have seen in Al-Kamil of Ibn 'Adi from 'Umar that Bilal used to say, when he called the adhan, 'I witness that there is no god but Allah. Come to prayer.' Then 'Umar said to him, 'Say after it, "I witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Say as 'Umar said.'
His miracles

Ibn 'Umar said: 'Umar sent an army and he put at the head of them a man called Sariyah. While 'Umar was delivering the khutbah he began to cry out, 'Sariyah, the mountain!' three times. Then later the messenger of the army came and he asked 'Umar, 'Amir al-Muminin, we were being defeated and in that situation we heard a voice crying out, "Sariyah, the mountain!" three times. We put the mountain to our rear, and then Allah defeated them.' Someone said to 'Umar, 'You cried out with those words.' That mountain, where Sariyah was, is close to Nahawand in the land of the non-Arabs (Persian Iraq).

Ibn 'Umar, in another version of the hadith, said: 'Umar was delivering the khutbah on the day of Jumu'ah and then he turned aside during his khutbah and said, 'Sariyah, the mountain! He who asks the wolf to be a shepherd will be wronged.' People looked about, one to another. Then 'Ali said to them, 'Let him explain what he meant.' When he had finished they asked him and he said, 'It occurred to me in my mind that the idolators were defeating our brothers who were passing by a mountain, and that if they were to turn towards it, they would fight on one front only, but if they passed by it they would be destroyed. So there came out of me that which you claim you heard.' He said: The messenger came a month later and mentioned that they had heard the voice of 'Umar on that day, and he said, 'We turned towards the mountain, and Allah gave us victory.' 'Amr ibn al-Harith said: While 'Umar (ibn al-Khattab) was upon the mimbar delivering the khutbah on the day of jumu'ah suddenly he left off the khutbah and said, 'Sariyah, the mountain!' two or three times. Some of those present said, 'He has gone mad, he is insane.' 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf went in to see himand he had confidence in himand he said, 'You give them room to talk against you. While you were giving the khutbah, suddenly you cried out, "Sariyah, the mountain!" What sort of thing is this?' He said, 'By Allah, I could not control it. I saw them fighting near a mountain and they were being attacked from in front of them and from behind them. I could not stop myself from saying, "Sariyah, the mountain!" so that they would reach the mountain.' Then they waited some time until Sariyah's messenger came with his letter, 'The people met us (in battle) on the day of jumu'ah, and we fought them until, when it was time for jumu'ah, we heard someone cry out, "Sariyah, the mountain!" twice, so we reached the mountain. We continued victorious over our enemy until Allah defeated them and killed them.' Then those people who had accused him said, 'Leave this man alone, because he is in collusion with him.' Ibn 'Umar in another hadith said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said to a man, 'What is your name?' He said, 'Jamrah (a live coal).' He asked, 'Whose son?' He said, 'The son of Shihab (flame).' He asked, 'From what tribe?' He said, 'From al-Hurqah (a state of burning).' He asked, 'Where is your dwelling?' He said, 'At al-Harrah (the heat).' He asked, 'In which of them?' He said, 'Dhat Ladha (the blazing one).' 'Umar said, 'Go to your family for they have been burnt.' The man returned to his family and found that they had been burnt. This hadith is narrated of Yahya ibn Sa'id by Malik and by a number of other compilers of hadith.

Qais ibn al-Hajjaj, from someone he related from, said: When Egypt was conquered, its people came to 'Amr ibn al-'As, when the first day of one of their months arrived, and they said to him, 'Amir, this Nile of ours has a year in which it does not flow without it.' He asked, 'And what is that?' They said, 'When eleven nights have elapsed of this month we seek a young virgin from her parents, we obtain the consent of the parents, then we dress her in the best possible clothing and ornaments, and then we throw her in this Nile.' So 'Amr said to them, 'This will never be in Islam. Islam demolishes what precedes it.' They left, and neither did the Nile flow a little nor a lot, until they intended to emigrate. When 'Amr saw that, he wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab about it. He wrote back to him, 'You were right in what you said. Truly, Islam demolishes what precedes it.' He sent a slip of paper inside his letter and wrote to 'Amr, 'I have sent you a slip of paper inside my letter, so throw it in the Nile.' When 'Umar's letter reached 'Amr ibn al-'As, he took the slip and opened it, and there in it was, 'From the slave of Allah 'Umar ibn al-Khattab Amir al-Muminin to the Nile of Egypt. Now, if you used to flow before, then don't flow! If it was Allah who made you flow, then I ask the Overwhelming One to make you flow.' He threw the slip into the Nile a day before (the Festival of) the Cross. They woke up in the morning, and Allah, Exalted is He, had made it flow (and it rose) sixteen cubits in one night. Allah cut off this sunnah (custom) of the people of Egypt right up to this day.

Tariq ibn Shihab said: A man was in conversation with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and told him a lie, and he would say, 'Withhold this.' Then later he told him something else and he said, 'Withhold this.' He said to him, 'Everything I told you was true except for what you told me to withhold.' Al-Hasan said: If there was anyone who recognised a lie when he was told it, then it was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Abu Hudbah al-Himsi said: 'Umar was told that the people of Iraq had pelted their amir with pebbles and he went out angry. He performed the prayer but was forgetful in his prayer. When he had completed the prayer, he said, 'O Allah, they have made me confused, so make them confused, and hasten with the youth of (the tribe of) Thaqif who will pass judgement among them with the judgement of Jahiliyyah, who will not accept from their good-doers and he will not pass over their wrong-doers with pardon.' I say that this indicates al-Hajjaj. Ibn Lahi'ah said, 'Al-Hajjaj was not yet born at that time.'
Some particulars of his biography

Al-Ahnaf ibn Qais said: We were sitting at 'Umar's door and a slave girl passed by, and they said, 'The concubine of the Amir al-Muminin.' He said, 'She is not the concubine of the Amir al-Muminin, and she is not permitted to him. She is of the property of Allah.' So we said, 'Then what is permitted to him of the property of Allah, exalted is He?' He said, 'There is only permitted to 'Umar of the property of Allah two garments, a garment for the winter and a garment for the summer, what I can perform the Hajj and the 'Umrah with (i.e. an ihram), my sustenance and the sustenance of my family, as a man of Quraysh who is not the wealthiest of them nor the poorest, then I am, after that, a man among the Muslims.' Khuzaymah ibn Thabit said, 'Whenever 'Umar appointed a governor, he wrote to him and made a condition on him that he should not ride a birdhaun (a large heavy non-Arabian horse from Asia Minor or Greece), nor eat delicacies, nor dress in finery, nor lock his door against the needy. Then if he did that it would be permitted to punish him.' 'Ikrimah ibn Khalid and others said: Hafsah, 'Abdullah and others spoke to 'Umar and said, 'If only you were to eat wholesome food it would strengthen you upon the truth.' He asked, 'Are you all of this view?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'I have learnt what your sincere advice is. However, I have left my two companions on a highway, and if I abandon their highway I will not reach them in the house.' He ('Ikrimah) said: An affliction befell the people one year, and that year he did not eat clarified butter nor fat.

Ibn Mulaykah said: 'Utbah ibn Farqad spoke to 'Umar about his food and he said, 'Mercy on you! Should I eat up my wholesome sweet things in my worldly life and seek to enjoy myself with them?' Al-Hasan said: 'Umar entered in upon his son 'Asim when he was eating meat and he said, 'What is this?' He said, 'We had a craving for it. He said, 'Every time you crave something, do you eat it? It is sufficient wasteful extravagance for a man that he eats everything he has an appetite for.' Aslam said: 'Umar said, 'There occurred to my heart a desire for fresh fish.' He (Aslam) said: Yarfa' mounted his camel and rode four miles there, four miles back, buying a basketful and bringing it back. Then he went to his camel, washed it, and went to 'Umar. He said, 'Let us go and I will look at the camel.' He said, 'Did you forget to wash this sweat beneath its ears? Have you tormented an animal for the appetite of 'Umar? No! by Allah! 'Umar will not taste of your basket.' Qatadah said: 'Umar used to dress, while he was khalifah, with a garment of wool patched in parts with leather, and he would go around in the markets with a whip over his shoulder with which he would correct people. He would pass bits of rags and pieces of date-stones, which he would stumble on unexpectedly, and he would throw them into people's houses for them to make use of.

Anas said: I saw between 'Umar's shoulder-blades, four patches in his shirt. Abu 'Uthman an-Nahdi said: I saw 'Umar wearing a waist-wrapper patched with leather. 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah said: I performed the Hajj with 'Umar and he did not pitch a tent of goat's hair nor of wool. He used to throw the upper part of his ihram and his leather mat over a bush and seek shelter underneath it. 'Abdullah ibn 'Isa said: There were two dark furrows in 'Umar's face from his weeping. Al-Hasan said: 'Umar used to pass by an ayah in his wird (daily portion set aside to recite) and he would fall down (in a faint) until he revived after some days. Anas said: I entered a walled garden and heard 'Umar saying, while there was a wall between us, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab, Amir al-Muminin. Well done! Well done! By Allah, you will fear Allah, Ibn al-Khattab or Allah will punish you.' 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah said: I saw 'Umar take up a straw from the ground and say, 'I wish I was this straw. I wish I was nothing. I wish that my mother had not given birth to me.' 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn Hafs said: 'Umar carried a skin full of water upon his neck. Someone spoke to him about that and he said, 'My self was filling me with conceit and I wished to humble it.' Muhammad ibn Sirin said: An in-law of 'Umar's came to see him and asked him to give him something from the bait al-mal and 'Umar refused him and said, 'Do you want me to meet Allah as a treacherous King?' Then he gave him from his own property ten thousand dirhams. An-Nakha'i said: 'Umar used to trade while he was khalifah. Anas said: 'Umar's stomach rumbled from eating olive oil the year of the droughthe had forbidden himself clarified butterand he tapped on his stomach with his finger and said, 'There is nothing else for us, until the people have the means of living.' Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'The person I like most is the one who points out to me my defects.' Aslam said: I saw 'Umar ibn al-Khattab taking hold of the ear of the horse, taking hold, with the other hand, of his own ear and leaping up on the back of the horse. Ibn 'Umar said: I never saw 'Umar become angry, and then Allah was mentioned in his presence or he was made to fear, or a person would recite an ayah from the Qur'an in his presence, but that he stopped short of what he meant to do. Bilal said to Aslam, 'How do you find 'Umar?' He said, 'The best of people, except that when he becomes angry it is a mighty matter.' Bilal said, 'If I was with him when he became angry, I would recite Qur'an to him until his anger went.' Al-Ahwas ibn Hakim said, narrating from his father: 'Umar was brought meat dressed with clarified butter and he refused to eat the two of them. He said, 'Both of them are seasonings.' All of the aforegoing are from Ibn Sa'd.

Al-Hasan said: 'Umar said, 'It is an easy thing by which I put right a people, that I exchange them an amir in place of an amir." His description Zirr said: I went out with the people of Madinah on the day of 'Eid and I saw 'Umar walking barefoot, an old man, balding, of a tawny colour, left-handed, tall, towering over people as if he were on a riding beast. Al-Waqidi said: It is not known among us that 'Umar was tawny, unless he saw him in the year of the drought, because his colour changed when he ate olive oil.

Ibn 'Umar described 'Umar and said: A man of fair complexion, with a ruddy tint prevailing, tall, balding and grey-haired.

'Ubaydah ibn 'Umayr said: 'Umar used to overtop the people in height.

Salimah ibn al-Akwa' said: 'Umar was left and right-handed, meaning that he used both hands together.

Abu Raja' al-'Utaridi said: 'Umar was a tall stout man, extremely bald, fair but extremely ruddy, in the two sides of his beard a lightness, his moustache was large, and at its extremities there was a redness at the roots of which there was black.

From various sources it is known that the mother of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab was Hantamah the daughter of Hisham ibn al-Mughirah and she was the sister of Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, so that Abu Jahl was his maternal uncle.
His khilafah

He took on the khilafah through the covenant of Abu Bakr in Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 13 A.H.

Az-Zuhri said, ''Umar was appointed khalifah on the day that Abu Bakr died which was Tuesday eight days before the end of Jumada al-Akhirah.' He undertook the command most fully, and there were very many conquests in his days.

In the year 14 A.H., Damascus was conquered partly both by treaty and force, and Homs (ancient Emessa) and Baalbek by treaty, and Basrah and Ubullah by force.

'In that year 'Umar united people in one jama'ah in salat at-tarawih (the optional prayers said at night in Ramadan),' said al-'Askari in Al-Awa'il (Firsts).

In the year 15 A.H., all of Jordan was conquered by force except for Tiberias which was by treaty. In this year were the battles of Yarmuk and Qadisiyyah. Ibn Jarir said: In it Sa'd founded Kufa, and 'Umar instituted regular wages (for the fighting men), registers, and gave allowances according to priority.

In the year 16 A.H., Ahwaz and Mada'in were conquered, and in the latter Sa'd established the jumu'ah in the great hall of Khosrau, and this was the first jumu'ah to be held in Iraq. That was in the month of Safar. In it, was the battle of Jalula in which Yezdajird the son of Khosrau was defeated and he retreated back to Rai. In it, Takrit was taken, 'Umar travelled and took Al-Bait al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and gave his famous khutbah in al-Jabiyyah. Kinnasrin, Aleppo, and Antioch were taken by force, Manbij by treaty, and Saruj by force. In that year, Qirqisiya' was taken by treaty. In Rabi' al-Awwal, dating was begun from the Hijrah on the advice of 'Ali.

In the year 17 A.H., 'Umar increased the size of the Prophet's Mosque. In it there was drought and famine in the Hijaz and it was called the Year of Destruction, and 'Umar prayed for rain for people by means of al-'Abbas.

Niyar al-Aslami narrated that 'Umar, when he came out to pray for rain, came out with the cloak of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, upon him.

Ibn 'Aun said: 'Umar took hold of the hand of al-'Abbas and raised it up, saying, 'O Allah, we approach You by means of the uncle of Your Prophet (asking) that You drive away from us the drought, and that You give us to drink from the rain,' and they didn't leave before they were given to drink. The sky poured down upon them for days. In that year Ahwaz was taken by treaty.

In the year 18 A.H., Jundaysabur was taken by treaty, and Hulwan by force. In it, was the plague of Emaus; Urfa (Edessa) and Sumaysat were taken by force; Harran, Nasibin and a part of Mesopotamia by force, and it has been said, by treaty; and Mosul and its environs by force.

In the year 19 A.H., Cæsarea was taken by force. In the year 20 A.H., Egypt was conquered by force. It is also said that all of Egypt was taken by treaty except for Alexandria which was taken by force. 'Ali ibn Rabah said, 'The whole of the Maghrib (north-western Africa) was taken by force.' In that year Tustar was taken, Caesar (Heraclius), the great man of the Byzantines, died. In it also, 'Umar expelled the Jews from Khaybar and Najran, and he apportioned Khaybar and Wadi'l-Qurra' (between those who had been present there at the original battles of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

In the year 21 A.H., Alexandria was taken by force, and Nahawand, after which the Persians could not muster an army, and Barqah and other places.

In the year 22 A.H., Azerbaijan was taken by force, and it has been said, by treaty, and Dinaur by force, Masabdhan and Hamadan by force, and Tripoli of North Africa, Rai, 'Askar and Qumas.

In the year 23 A.H., there were the conquests of Kirman, Sijistan, Makran in the mountainous lands, and also Isfahan and its environs.

In the end of this year there was the death of Sayyiduna 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, after his return from the Hajj; he was killed as a martyr.

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: When 'Umar returned from Mina (to Makkah), he made his camel kneel down in the watercourse, then he threw himself down, raised his hands to the sky and said, 'O Allah! I am advanced in years, my strength has weakened, and my subjects have increased, so take me to You without (my) being wasteful or falling short.' Dhu'l-Hijjah had not gone before he was killed.

Abu Salih as-Saman said: Ka'b al-Ahbar said to 'Umar, 'I find you in the Tawrah killed as a martyr.' He said, 'How can I be a martyr when I am in the peninsula of the Arabs?'

Aslam said: 'Umar said, 'O Allah provide me with martyrdom in Your way, and make my death to be in the city of Your Messenger.' Ma'dan ibn Abi Talhah: 'Umar gave a khutbah and said, 'I saw (in a dream) as if a cock pecked at me once or twice, and I can only believe that it means that my term has come. There are people who tell me to appoint a successor, and Allah will not cause His deen to go to waste nor His khilafah. If the matter is hastened for me, then the khilafah is a matter of consultation between these six whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was pleased with when he died.' Az-Zuhri said: 'Umar would not permit a captive who had reached the age of puberty to enter Madinah until al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah wrote to himand he was the governor of Al-Kufahmentioning to him a slave who had a number of crafts and asking permission that he enter Madinah, saying, 'He has many trades which are useful to people. He is a blacksmith, engraver and carpenter.' He gave permission to him to send him to Madinah. Al-Mughirah put a demand for revenue on him (the slave) of one hundred dirhams per month, so the slave came to 'Umar to complain of the severity of that imposition. He said, 'Your demand for revenue is not that much,' and he turned away in anger and threateningly. 'Umar waited some days and then he called him and said, 'Have I not been informed that you say, "If I wished, I could make a mill which will grind by means of the wind."' Then he turned his face to 'Umar with a frown and said, 'I will make for you a mill which people will talk about.' When he turned away, 'Umar said to his companions, 'The slave threatened me just now.' After a while Abu Lu'lu'ah wrapped his garments around a dagger with two heads (to the blade) whose handle was in the middle of it, hid in one of the corners of the mosque in the darkness of the last part of the night, and there he waited until 'Umar came out waking people up for the prayer. When he drew near to him, he stabbed him three times.

'Amr ibn Maymun al-Ansari said: Abu Lu'lu'ah, the slave of al-Mughirah, stabbed 'Umar with a dagger which had two heads, and he stabbed, along with him, twelve other men of whom six died, then a man from Iraq threw over him a robe. When he became tangled up in it, he killed himself.

Abu Rafi' said: Abu Lu'lu'ah, the slave of al-Mughirah, used to make mills. Al-Mughirah used to demand as revenue from him four dirhams a day. He met 'Umar and said, 'Amir al-Muminin, al-Mughirah is being very heavy on me, so speak to him.' He said, 'Behave well towards your master,'and 'Umar's intention was to speak to al-Mughirah about itso he (the slave) became angry and said, 'His justice encompasses all of the people except for me,' and he secretly decided to kill him. He took a dagger, sharpened it and poisoned it. 'Umar used to say, 'Straighten your ranks,' before he pronounced the takbir. He came and stood opposite him in the rank, stabbed him in his shoulder and side, and 'Umar fell. Then he stabbed thirteen other men with him, of whom six died. 'Umar was carried to his family. The sun was about to rise so 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf led the people in prayer with the two shortest surahs. 'Umar was brought some nabidh (a drink made from dates left to soak in water) and he drank it and it came out of his wound, but it wasn't yet distinct (from the blood). So they gave him some milk to drink, and it came out of his wound and they said, 'There's no great harm with you.' He said, 'If there is any harm in killing, then I have been killed.' People began to praise him, saying, 'You were such and such and you were such and such.' He said, 'By Allah, I wish that I had gone out of it, independent of others, with nothing against me and nothing for me, and that the companionship of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, was secure for me.' Ibn 'Abbas praised him, so he said, 'Even if I had that gold which would fill the earth, I would ransom myself by it from the terror of the rising. I have made it (the khilafah) a matter of consultation between 'Uthman, 'Ali, Talhah, az-Zubayr, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf and Sa'd.' He ordered Suhayb to lead people in prayer, and gave the six a period of three (days in which to decide).

Ibn 'Abbas said: Abu Lu'lu'ah was a Magian.

'Amr ibn Maimun said: 'Umar said, 'Praise be to Allah Who did not make my decree of death to be at the hands of a man who claimed Islam.' Then he said to his son, ''Abdullah, look and see what debts I have.' They calculated it and found it to be eighty-six thousand or thereabouts. He said, 'If the wealth of the family of 'Umar is enough, then pay it. If it is not, then ask among Bani 'Adi, and if their wealth is not enough, then ask among Quraysh. Go to the Mother of the Believers, 'A'ishah, and say, "'Umar asks permission to be buried with his two companions."' He went to her and she said, 'I wanted itmeaning the burial plotfor myself, but I will definitely prefer him over myself, today.' 'Abdullah came and said, 'She has given permission,' so he praised Allah. Someone said to him, 'Make bequest, Amir al-Muminin, and appoint a successor.' He said, 'I see no-one with more right to this command than these six with whom the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was pleased when he died,' and he named the six, and said, ''Abdullah ibn 'Umar will be present with them but he has no part in the command. If the office should fall to Sa'd, then he it is, and if not, then let whoever of you is appointed seek help from him, for I did not remove him (from his office) because of any incapacity or treachery.' Then he said, 'I counsel the khalifah after me to have fearful obedience of Allah; I counsel him to pay particular care to the Muhajirun and the Ansar, and I counsel him to treat the people of the provinces well,' and other similar counsels. When he died, we went walking with him, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar called out the greeting and said, ''Umar seeks permission to enter.' 'A'ishah said, 'Bring him in.' He was brought in and placed there with his two companions.

When they finished burying him and had returned, that group gathered and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Auf said, 'Delegate your authority to three among you.' Az-Zubayr said, 'I delegate my authority to 'Ali.' Sa'd said, 'I delegate my authority to 'Abd ar-Rahman.' Talhah said, 'I delegate my authority to 'Uthman.' He continued: so there remained these three. 'Abd ar-Rahman said, 'I don't want it. Which of you two will be quit of this matter and we will entrust it to him (the remaining one)? And Allah is his witness and Islam, let him consider in himself who is the best of them and let him be eager for the benefit of the ummah.' The two Shaykhs, 'Ali and 'Uthman were silent. 'Abd ar-Rahman said, 'Delegate me and, Allah is my witness, I will not fail you in choosing the best of you.' They said, 'Yes.' Then he went apart with 'Ali and said, 'You have that precedence in Islam and kinship with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, which you know. Allah is your witness; if I give you authority, will you be just, and if I give authority (to 'Uthman) over you, will you hear and obey?' He said, 'Yes.' Then he went apart with the other and said to him the same thing. When he had their agreement, he pledged allegiance to 'Uthman and 'Ali pledged allegiance to him.

'Umar said: If my term overtakes me, and Abu 'Ubaydah al-Jarrah is still alive, then I would appoint him as khalifah. If my Lord asked me, I would say, 'I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, "Every Prophet has a trustworthy (companion), and my trustworthy (companion) is Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah."' If my term overtakes me, and Abu 'Ubaydah al-Jarrah has died, I would appoint Mu'adh ibn Jabal as khalifah. If my Lord asked me, 'Why did you appoint him as khalifah?' I would say, 'I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, "He will be raised up on the Day of Resurrection a distance in front of the men of knowledge."' They had both died during his khilafah.

Abu Rafi' narrated that someone spoke to 'Umar at his death about the appointment of a khalifah, so he said, 'I have seen among my companions an unfortunate eagerness. If one of two men had reached me, and then I had entrusted this command to him, I would have been sure of him: Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah and Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.' 'Umar was struck on the Wednesday, four days before the end of Dhu'l-Hijjah, and he was buried on Sunday, the day of the new moon of al-Muharram, the Sacred (month). He was sixty-three years old. It has also been said that he was sixty-six, sixty-one, sixty (which al-Waqidi preferred). It has been said that he was fifty-nine, fifty-five and fifty-four. Suhayb performed the (funeral) prayer over him in the mosque.

In the Tahdhib of al-Mazini, there is that the engraving on the seal-ring of 'Umar was, 'Death is enough of an admonisher, 'Umar.' Tariq ibn Shihab said: Umm Ayman said, on the day 'Umar was killed, 'Today Islam has been rent.' 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Yasar said, 'I witnessed the death of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and the sun was eclipsed on that day.' The men who transmitted (this hadith) were trustworthy.
The things in which he was first

Al-'Askari said: He was the first to be called 'Amir al-Muminin', the first to date events from the Hijrah, the first to take a bait al-mal (see the chapter on Abu Bakr), the first to establish as a sunnah the standing (for prayer) in the month of Ramadan, the first who patrolled at night, the first who punished satire, the first who punished wine-drinking with eighty (lashes), the first who declared al-mut'ah (temporary marriage) haram (rather the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade it on the Day of Khaybarsee the Muwatta' of Imam Malik), the first to forbid the sale of female slaves who had borne children to their masters, the first to assemble for prayers over the dead with four takbirs, the first to have a register, the first to make conquests, the first to survey the Sawad (the cultivated land of Iraq), the first to convey food from Egypt upon the Aylah Sea (Gulf of 'Aqabah) to Madinah, the first who dedicated sadaqah (purely for the sake of Allah) in Islam, and the first who adjusted the division of inheritances (in cases where the calculated portions add up to more than the total inheritance), the first to take the zakah of horses, the first to say, 'May Allah lengthen your life,' (he said it to 'Ali) and the first to say, 'May Allah help you,' (he said it to 'Ali). This is the end of what al-'Askari mentioned.

An-Nawawi said in his Tahdhib that he was the first to adopt the whip. Ibn Sa'd mentions it in the Tabaqat, and he said: It used to be said, after him, 'The whip of 'Umar is more terrible than your sword.' He (an-Nawawi) continued: He was the first to appoint Qadis in the provinces, the first who established the provinces of (the cities of) Kufah, Basrah, and of Mesopotamia, Syria, Cairo (Egypt), and Mosul.

Isma'il ibn Ziyad said: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib passed by the mosques in Ramadan and in them there were lamps, so he said, 'May Allah illuminate 'Umar in his grave, as he has illuminated our mosques for us.' Ibn Sa'd said: 'Umar appointed a meal (flour) house and put flour in it, parched barley meal, dates, raisins and necessities, in order to help the traveller whose journey was interrupted (through need or other causes), and he established between Makkah and Madinah on the road that which would be useful to travellers whose journeys were interrupted. He demolished the Mosque of the Prophet, added to it, expanded it and floored it with pebbles. He was the one who evicted the Jews from the Hijaz (and sent them) to Syria, and evicted the people of Najran (and sent them) to Kufah. He was the one who moved the Station of Ibrahim back (from the Ka'bah) to where it is today, and it used to be adjoining the House.
Some accounts of him and of his judgements

'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz asked Abu Bakr ibn Sulayman ibn Abi Hathamah what was the reason that it used to be written, 'From the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,' in the time of Abu Bakr, then later 'Umar used to write at first, 'From the Khalifah of Abu Bakr.'? Then who was the first to write, 'From the Amir al-Muminin (the Commander of the Believers)'? He said, 'Ash-Shifa, who was one of the women of the Muhajirun, told me that Abu Bakr used to write, "From the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah," and 'Umar used to write, "From the Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah," until one day 'Umar wrote to the governor of Iraq, to send him two strong men whom he could ask about Iraq and its inhabitants. He sent to him Labid ibn Rabi'ah and 'Adi ibn Hatim, and they came to Madinah and entered the mosque where they found 'Amr ibn al-'As. They said, 'Get permission for us (to visit) the Amir al-Muminin.' 'Amr said, 'You two, by Allah, have hit upon his name!' Then 'Amr went in to him and said, 'Peace be upon you, Amir al-Muminin.' He said, 'What occurred to you about this name? You must explain what you have said.' He told him and said, 'You are the amir (commander) and we are the muminun (the believers).' Thus letters have continued to be written with that from that day.

An-Nawawi said in his Tahdhib: 'Adi ibn Hatim and Labid ibn Rabi'ah named him thus when they came as a deputation from 'Iraq. It has been said that al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah named him with this name. It has also been said that 'Umar said to people, 'You are the believers and I am your amir,' and so he was called Amir al-Muminin, and before that he was known as the Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah, but they changed from that expression because of its length.

Mu'awiyyah ibn Qurrah said: It used to be written 'From Abu Bakr the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah,' and then when it was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab they wanted to say, 'The Khalifah of the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah.' 'Umar said, 'This is lengthy.' They said, 'No. But we have appointed you as amir over us, so you are our amir.' He said, 'Yes, and you are the believers, and I am your amir.' Then it became written Amir al-Muminin.

Ibn al-Musayyab said: The first to write the date was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab two and a half years into his khilafah, and it was written down as the sixteenth year of the Hijrah, through the advice of 'Ali.

Ibn 'Umar related from 'Umar that he wished to record the sunan (customary practices of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and of his companions), so he sought Allah's choice in the matter (through the supplication known as the istikharah) for a month. Then he arose one morning with a clear resolve and said, 'I remembered a people who were before you who wrote a book, and then they turned to it and abandoned the Book of Allah.' Shaddad said: The first words that 'Umar would say when he ascended the mimbar were, 'O Allah, I am severe, so make me gentle, I am weak, so strengthen me, and I am miserly, so make me generous." 'Umar said, 'I have placed myself in respect to Allah's property in the same relation as the guardian of the orphan to his (the orphan's) wealth. If I am in good circumstances, I will refrain from it, and if I am in need I will eat of it in moderation, and if (again later) I am in good circumstances, I will repay." Ibn 'Umar said that when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab was in need, he used to go to the man in charge of the bait al-mal and seek a loan from him. Often he might be in difficulty and the man in charge of the public treasury would come to him, seek repayment of the debt and would oblige him to pay it, and 'Umar would be evasive to him. Then often 'Umar would receive his stipend and so pay his debt.

Al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur said that 'Umar went out one day until he came to the mimbar and he had been suffering from a complaint. The good qualities of honey were mentioned to him, and there was a receptacle (made of kid-skin) of it in the bait al-mal. He said, 'If you give me permission I will take it, but if not then it is haram for me.' They gave him permission.

Salim ibn 'Abdullah said that 'Umar used to insert his hand into the saddle sore of his camel and say, 'I fear that I will be asked about what is (wrong) with you.' Ibn 'Umar said: When 'Umar meant to forbid people from some wrong action, he would come to his family and say, 'If I come to know of anyone who becomes involved in something I have forbidden, I will double the punishment for him.' 'Umar ibn al-Khattab went out one night to patrol Madinahand he used to do that a lotwhen he came upon one of the women of the Arabs whose door was bolted against her (locking her in) and she was saying:

'This night, whose stars creep slowly, is wearisome and makes me sleepless, because I have no bedfellow with whom to sport, For, by Allah, if it were not that Allah's punishments are feared, his rights would have been removed from this couch.

However, I fear a Watchful One Who is in charge of our selves and Whose recorder is not negligent for an instant.

Fear of my Lord and modesty prevent me, and I honour my husband (too much) that his noble station should be conferred (on another).' So he ('Umar) wrote to his governors about military expeditions that no-one should be absent for more than four months.

Salman said that 'Umar said to him, 'Am I a king or a khalifah?' Salman said to him, 'If you collect a dirham from the land of the Muslims, or less or more, then you put it to an improper use, you are a king, not a khalifah.' 'Umar took warning from it.

Sufyan ibn Abi'l-'Arja' said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'By Allah, I do not know whether I am a khalifah or a king, for if I am a king then this is a tremendous matter.' Someone said, 'Amir al-Muminin, there is a distinction between the two of them.' He said, 'What is it?' He said, 'A khalifah does not take except what is due and he does not use it except in the right way, and you, praise be to Allah, are like that. The king treats people unjustly, and takes from this one and gives to that one.' 'Umar was silent.

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Umar mounted a horse and his robe disclosed his thigh. The people of Najran saw on his thigh a black mole and said, 'This is the one whom we find in our Book will exile us from our land.' Ka'b al-Ahbar said to 'Umar, 'We find you in the Book of Allah at one of the gates of Jahannam preventing people from falling into it. When you die, they will carry on plunging into it until the Day of Resurrection.' Abu Mash'ar said: Our Shaykhs told us that 'Umar said, 'This matter will not be correct but with the severity that has no haughtiness in it, and with the gentleness that has no weakness in it.'

Hakim ibn 'Umayr said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'Let not the amir of an army or a raiding party whip anyone for a hadd punishment until he arrives at Darb (Derbe near the Cilician Gates, a mountain pass through which the Muslims passed returning from raids into Byzantine territory) so that the rage of the shaytan does not carry him to the point that he joins with the kuffar.' Ash-Sha'bi said: The Byzantine Emperor wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'My messengers have come to me from you claiming that among you there is a tree which is not like anything else among trees: it produces something like the ears of the ass, it opens out (to reveal) something like a pearl, it becomes green so that it is like the green emerald, it reddens until it is like the red ruby, then later it ripens and matures so that it becomes like the sweetest honey-cake ever eaten, then later it dries until it becomes a defence (against want) for the house-dweller and a provision for the traveller. If my messengers have told me the truth, I can only imagine that this is one of the trees of the Garden.' 'Umar wrote to him, 'From the slave of Allah, 'Umar, the Amir al-Muminin, to Caesar, the king of the Byzantines. Truly your messengers have told you the truth. This tree, which is with us, is the tree which Allah made to grow over Maryam when she gave birth to 'Isa her son. So fear Allah and do not take 'Isa as a god apart from Allah, for truly, "The likeness of 'Isa with Allah is as the likeness of Adam, He created him from dust, ..."' (Qur'an 3: 59) to the end of the ayah.

Ibn 'Umar narrated that 'Umar ordered his governors, so they recorded their properties, and among them was Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas. Then 'Umar shared with them in their properties and took a half and gave them a half.

Ash-Sha'bi said that when 'Umar used to appoint a governor he would record his property.

Abu Imamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf said: 'Umar remained some time not eating anything at all from the property of the bait al-mal, until poverty and constriction came upon him in that. He sent for the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to seek their advice. He said, 'I have occupied myself with this command, so what is fitting for me from it?' 'Ali said, 'The midday and evening meals.' 'Umar took that.

Ibn 'Umar narrated that 'Umar performed the Hajj in the year twenty-three (A.H.) and spent sixteen dinars upon his Hajj. He said, ''Abdullah we have been extravagant with this property.' Qatadah and ash-Sha'bi said: A woman came to 'Umar and said, 'My husband stands at night (in prayer) and fasts during the day.' 'Umar said, 'You have praised your husband excellently well.' Ka'b ibn Sawwar said, 'She was complaining.' 'Umar said, 'How?' He said, 'She claims that she has no share in her husband (in his time).' He said, 'If you understood that much, then you decide between them.' He said, 'Amir al-Muminin, Allah has permitted him four (wives). So she has one day of every four days, and one night of every four nights.' Ibn Jarir said: One I trust informed me that 'Umar, while he was patrolling, heard a woman saying:

'This night stretches out and is grievous, and that I have no intimate to sport with has made me sleepless, For, if it were not for fear of Allah Whom nothing is like, his rights would have been removed from this couch.' 'Umar said, 'What is wrong with you?' She said, 'You sent my husband on an expedition some months ago, and I long for him.' He said, 'Do you mean to do wrong?' She said, '(I seek) the refuge of Allah!' He said, 'So restrain yourself; it is only (a matter of) the post to him.' He sent a message to him. Then he went to Hafsah and said, 'I want to ask you about a matter which concerns me, so dispel it for me. How long does a woman long for her husband?' She lowered her head and was shy. He said, 'Truly Allah is not shy of the truth.' She gestured with her hand, indicating three months, and if that is not possible, then four months. 'Umar wrote that armies must not be kept on service for more than four months.

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah narrated that he came to 'Umar to complain to him of the treatment he received from his women-folk. 'Umar said to him, 'We also find that, so much so that when I intend (going out for) some necessity, she says to me, "You are only going to the girls of Bani so-and-so to look at them."' 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said to him, 'Has it not reached you that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, complained to Allah about Sarah's character and it was said to him, "She has been created from a rib so have the enjoyment of her company as long as you don't see in her any unsoundness in her deen."' 'Ikrimah ibn Khalid said: One of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's sons went in to see him. He had combed and oiled his hair and dressed up in the very best clothing. 'Umar struck him with a whip until he made him weep. Hafsah asked him, 'Why did you strike him?' He said, 'I saw that his self had made him conceited, and I wanted to make it (his self) small for him.' Layth ibn Abi Salim narrated that 'Umar said, 'Do not name yourselves with the name al-Hakam (the ruler and judge) nor Abu'l-Hakam (possessor of judgement) for truly Allah, He is al-Hakam (the ruler) and don't call a road a sikkah.' (Sikkah is literally both a 'row' and a 'plough' and it is possible there is a reference to the tradition that 'The sikkah (plough) has not entered the abode of a people but that it humiliated them.') Ad-Dahhak said: Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, I wish that I were a tree by the side of the road which a camel passed by, and it took me into its mouth, chewed me, swallowed me, passed me out as dung, and that I were not a man.' 'Umar said, 'Would that I were my family's ram, which they were fattening as much as seemed right to them, until when I became as fat as could be, some people whom they love visit them, and they sacrifice me for them, make some of me into roasted meat, some of me into sun-dried meat, then eat me, and that I were not a human being.' Abu'l-Bakhtari said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to give the khutbah on the mimbar. Al-Hussein ibn 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up before him and said, 'Come down from my father's mimbar.' 'Umar said, 'It is the mimbar of your father and not the mimbar of my father. Who told you to do this?' 'Ali stood and said, 'By Allah, no-one told him to do this. I will certainly cause you (al-Hussein) some pain, traitor.' He ('Umar) said, 'Don't hurt the son of my brother, for he has told the truth, it is the mimbar of his father.' Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman and Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab narrated that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and 'Uthman ibn 'Affan were arguing over a certain question until an onlooker said, 'They will never reach an agreement.' Yet they only separated on the best and most beautiful terms.

Al-Hasan said: The first khutbah which 'Umar delivered, he praised Allah and then said, 'Right. I have been tested by you and you have been tested by me, and I have succeeded to the khilafah, amongst you, after my two companions. Whoever is here present, we will manage their affairs in person, and whoever is not here with us, we will appoint over him strong and trustworthy people. Whoever acts excellently well, we will increase him in excellent treatment, and whoever acts wrongly we will punish, and may Allah forgive us and you.' Jubayr ibn al-Huwayrith narrated that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, sought the advice of the Muslims on the recording of a register. 'Ali said to him, 'Divide up every year what is collected for you of property, and don't keep any of it.' 'Uthman said, 'I see much wealth, which is sufficient for the people and if it is not counted so that whoever takes is distinguished from whoever does not take, I am afraid that the matter will become confused.' Al-Walid ibn Hisham ibn al-Mughirah said, 'Amir al-Muminin, I went to Syria and I saw that its kings had recorded registers and organised the troops, so record registers and organise the troops.' He took his advice, and he called 'Aqil ibn Abi Talib, Makhramah ibn Naufal and Jubayr ibn Mut'im, who were genealogists of Quraysh, and said, 'Record people according to their ranks.' They recorded them beginning with Banu Hashim, then they followed with Abu Bakr and his people, then 'Umar and his people, according to the order of their khilafahs. When 'Umar saw it, he said, 'Begin with the close relatives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the closest, then the next closest until you place 'Umar where Allah placed him.'

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: 'Umar recorded the register in al-Muharram of the year 20 A.H.

Al-Hasan said: 'Umar wrote to Hudhayfah, 'Give the people their stipends and their provisions.' He wrote back to him, 'We have done that and a great deal remains.' 'Umar wrote to him, 'It is their spoils which Allah has given them. It is not 'Umar's nor 'Umar's family's. Divide it up among them.' Jubayr ibn Mut'im said: While 'Umar was standing on the mountain of 'Arafah he heard a man calling out, saying, 'Khalifah of Allah!' Another man heard him, and they were taking provisions for the way, so he said, 'What is wrong with you, may Allah split your uvulas?' I went towards the man and shouted at him. Jubayr continued: Then the next morning, I was standing with 'Umar at al-'Aqabah (the major pillar of stones in Mina) and he was stoning it, when there came a stray pebble and split (the skin on) 'Umar's head. I turned that way and heard a man from the mountain saying, 'I make it known, by the Lord of the Ka'bah, that 'Umar will not stand in this place after this year,' and it was the one who had called out among us the day before, and that disturbed me greatly.

'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: At the time of the last Hajj which 'Umar performed with the Mothers of the Believers (the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when we returned from 'Arafah, I passed by al-Muhassab and I heard a man upon his camel saying, 'Where was 'Umar, the Amir al-Muminin?' I heard another man saying, 'Here was the Amir al-Muminin.' He made the camel kneel down upon its breast, then he raised his voice in a wail saying:

'Upon you peace from an imam and may the hand of Allah bless that much-rent skin, Whoever hurries on or mounts the two wings of the ostrich, in order to overtake what you sent ahead the day before, will be outstripped.

You decided matters, then after them you left behind trials and misfortunes in their sleeves, not yet unloosed.'

That rider did not move and it was not known who he was, and we used to say that he was one of the Jinn, for 'Umar came back from that Hajj, was stabbed by the dagger and died.

'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abza said that 'Umar said, 'This authority is among the people of Badr as long as one of them remains, then it is among the people of Uhud as long as one of them remains, and among such and such, and such and such, and there is no part in it for a freed captive, nor the son of a freed captive, nor those who became Muslims at the Conquest (of Makkah).' An-Nakha'i narrated that a man said to 'Umar, 'Will you not appoint 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar as khalifah?' He said, 'May Allah fight you! By Allah, I never wanted this of Allah. Shall I appoint as khalifah a man who did not know how to divorce his wife properly?' Ka'b said: There was among the Tribe of Isra'il a king whom, when we remember him we are reminded of 'Umar, and when we remember 'Umar we are reminded of him. He had by his side a prophet who received revelation. Allah revealed to the prophet, peace be upon him, to say to him, 'Make your covenant and write your testament to me, for you are dead after three days.' The prophet informed him of that. When it was the third day, he fell down (dead) between the wall and the couch. He came to his Lord and said, 'O Allah, if You knew that I was just in my rule; that when matters differed, I followed Your guidance; and I was such and such, and such and such, then increase my life-span until my infant son grows up and my nation increases.' Allah revealed to the prophet that, 'He has said such and such and it is true and I have added fifteen years to his life-span. That is enough for his infant son to grow up and his nation to increase.' When 'Umar was stabbed, Ka'b said, 'If 'Umar were to ask his Lord, Allah would definitely let him stay.' 'Umar was told about that. He said, 'O Allah take me back to You without (my) being powerless and incapable or blameworthy.' Sulayman ibn Yasar related that the Jinn wailed in mourning for 'Umar.

Malik ibn Dinar said: A voice was heard on the mountain of Tabalah when 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was killed:

'Let him weep for Islam, whoever would weep, for they are on the point of being thrown to the ground and (their) appointed time has not been exceeded, And the world has declined and the best of it has gone, turning its back, and whoever is sure of the promise has become weary of it.'

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