Musnad Ahmad

Some people from Syria came to ‘Umar and said: We have acquired wealth and horses and slaves,and we want to pay zakah on them as a purification. He said: I shall do what my two predecessors did. He consulted the Companions of Muhammad (ﷺ), among whom was ‘Ali, and ‘Ali said: It is good, provided it does not become a regular tax that is taken from them after you are gone.

Which deed is best? He was told: Jihad for the sake of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. He wanted to go for jihad, but it was said to him: Have you done Hajj? He said no. So it was said to him: Go for Haji and 'Umrah, then go for jihad. So he set out and when he was in al-Hawa'it, he entered ihram for both Haji and 'Umrah together, Zaid bin Soohan and Salman bin Rabee'ah saw him and said: He is more astray than his camel, or he is no more guided than his camel. He went to ‘Umar and told him what they had said. He said: You have been guided to the Sunnah of your Prophet (ﷺ) . Al-Hakam said: I said to Abu Wa'il. Did as-Subayy tell you that? He said: Yes

‘Umar led us in praying Fajr in Jam', then he stood up and said: The mushrikoon used not to depart until the sun rose, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) differed from them and moved on before the sun rose.

My father said: I told Ibn 'Abbas and he said: What is so amazing about that? When ʼUmar called the prominent shaikhs among the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ, he would call me with them and say: Do not speak until they have spoken. He called us one day or one night and said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about Lailatal-Qadr what you know, so seek it in the odd numbered nights of the last ten nights; on which odd-numbered night do you think it is?

I heard 'Asim bin 'Amr al-Bajali narrate from one of those who asked ‘Umar bin al-Khattab. We have come to you to ask you about three things: A man's nafl prayer in his house, Ghusl in the case of janabah, and what it is appropriate for a man to do with his wife when she is menstruating. He said: Are you magicians? You have asked me about something that no one has asked me about since I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it, and he said: `A man's nafl prayer in his house is light, so whoever wishes, let him illuminate his house.` And he said with regard to ghusl in the case of janabah: `Let him wash his private parts, then do wudoo', then pour water over his head three times.` And he said concerning the menstruating woman: `The whatever is above the izar (waist wrapper).`

I saw Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas wiping over his khuffain in Iraq when he did wudoo’ and I objected to that When we met with 'Umar bin al-Khattab, he said to me. Ask your father about what you objected to me doing of wiping over my khuffain, I mentioned that to him and he said: If Sa'd tells you something, do not object to it, for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to wipe over his khuffain.

Yes, if Sa'd narrates some-thing to you from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), do not ask anyone else about it.

I saw a dream that I can only interpret as meaning that my death is near; I saw as if a rooster pecked me twice, and I was told that it was a red rooster. I told this dream to Asma’ bint 'Umais, the wife of Abu Bakr , and she said: You will be killed by a Persian man. The people are asking me to appoint a successor, but Allah will not cause His religion and His caliphate, with which He sent His Prophet ﷺ to be lost. If death comes to me soon, then the caliphate is to be decided by these six men with whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was pleased when he died. Whichever of them you swear allegiance to, then listen to him and obey. I know that some people will object to this matter. I have fought them with my own hands in the defence of Islam. They are the enemies of Allah and misguided kafirs. By Allah, I am not leaving behind anything that my Lord instructed me to do and I came to the position of caliphate on that basis that is more important to me than kalalah. By Allah, the Prophet of Allah ﷺ never emphasised any issue to me since I accompanied him more than the issue of kalalah, until he poked me in the chest with his finger and said: `Is not ayatas-saif (the verse of summer, i.e., it was revealed in summer), which appears at the end of Sooratan Nisa', sufficient for you?` If I live I will issue a decree that will be so clear that those who read the Qur'an and those who do not read it will be able to make decisions concerning it. I call upon Allah to bear witness over the governors of the regions, for I only sent them to be just and to teach the people their religion and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and to refer to me concerning any difficult matter. O people, you eat two plants which I find to be nothing but repugnant, this onion and garlic. I remember the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, if he noticed their smell coming from a man in the mosque, he would issue orders that he taken out from the mosque to al-Baqee'. Whoever must eat them, let him cook them to death.” He said: He addressed the people on Friday and was attacked on Wednesday.

Who did this to you? l said: I do not know. They treated my arms then they brought me to ‘Umar who said: This is the work of some Jews. Then he stood and addressed the people, and said: O people, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made a deal with the Jews of Khaibar on the basis that we could expel them whenever we want. They have attacked 'Abdullah bin ‘Umar and dislocated his arms, as you heard about their attack on the Ansari before him. We do not doubt that they are the ones who did it, as we have no other enemy but them. Whoever has property in Khaibar, let him go there, for I am going to expel the Jews. Then he expelled them.

Why are you coming late to the prayer? The man said: As soon as I heard the call, I did wudoo’. He said: Did you not also hear that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `Before one of you goes to Jumu'ah, let him do ghusl?`

A letter came to us from ‘Umar when we were in Azerbaijan (in which it said): O 'Utbah bin Farqad, beware of luxury, the clothing of the mushrikeen and wearing silk, for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade us to wear silk and said, “Except this much,` and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) held up two fingers to us.

Why are you weeping when Allah has granted victory to you and caused you to prevail over your enemies and granted you joy? 'Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: `Accumulation of worldly luxuries does not become available to any people but Allah, may He Be glorified and exalted, stirs up among them enmity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection, and that concerns me.`

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) what one of us should do if he becomes junub then wants to sleep before doing ghusl. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Let him do wudoo' as for prayer, then he may go to sleep.`

I heard 'Umar bin al-Khattab say: When ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was called to offer the funeral prayer for him, and when he stood by the deceased and was about to offer the prayer for him. I went and stood before him and said: O Messenger of Allah, (will you offer the funeral prayer) for the enemy of Allah who said such and such? and I listed what he had done. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was smiling until when I had said too much, he said: `Move away from me, O ‘Umar, for I was given the choice and I have chosen. It was said: `Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them- (and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness-Allah will not forgive them' . So after that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not offer the funeral prayer for any hypocrite or stand by his grave until he passed away.

If a man has only one garment, let him wrap it around his waist and then pray, for I heard 'Umar bin al-Khattab say that, and he said: Do not wrap it around the whole body if it is only one garment, as the Jews do. Nati' said: If I tell you that he attributed that to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I hope that I would not be lying.

Umar told me that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺsay: “Whoever dies believing in Allah and the Last Day, it will said to him: ‘Enter Paradise from whichever of the eight gates of Paradise you wish.`

A man struck a son of his with a sword and killed him. The matter was referred to 'Umar and he said. Were it not that I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “No father should be executed in retaliation for killing his son.` I would have executed you before you left.

I saw 'Umar look at the Black Stone and say: By Allah, were it not that I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kiss you, I would not have kissed you. Then he kissed it.

Was I not told that you do work for people, then when you are given your wages you do not accept it? I said: Yes. `Umar said: Why do you do that? I said: I have horses and slaves, and I am well off. I want my work to be an act of charity towards the Muslims. 'Umar said: Do not do that, for I wanted to do the same as you want to do. The Prophet ﷺ would give me some payment and I would say: Give it to one who is more in need of it than me. One day he gave me something and I said: Give it to one who is more in need of it than me. The Prophet ﷺ said: `Take it, keep it, and give it in charity, Whatever of this wealth comes to you when you are not hoping for it or asking for it, accept it, but if it does not come to you, do not hope for it.”

By Allah, I am certain that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade that.

I had a fight with a slave and he bit my ear and took a piece out of it, or I bit his ear and took a piece out of it. When Abu Bakr came to us for Hajj, our case was referred to him, and he said: Take them to 'Umar bin al-Khattab, and if the one who caused the injury has reached puberty, let retaliation be taken. When we were brought to ‘Umar, he examined us and said: Yes, this one has reached the age where retaliation may be sought. Call a cupper for me. When he mentioned the cupper, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: `I gave a slave to my maternal aunt and I hope that Allah will bless him for her, and I told her not to let him be a cupper, a butcher or a goldsmith.” It was narrated from a man from Banu Sahm, from Ibn Majidah as-Sahmi, that he said: Abu Bakr led us on Hajj, during his caliphate, and he mentioned the same hadeeth.

‘Umar addressed the people and said: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, granted whatever concessions. He willed to His Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet of Allah ﷺ has passed away, so complete Hajj and 'Umrah as Allah has commanded you, and guard the chastity of these women.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked: Can a man go to sleep when he is junub? He said: `Yes, if he does wudoo’.`

Don't you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to forbid this?

I went out looking for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ before I became Muslim, and I found that he had reached the mosque before me. I stood behind him and he started to recite Sooratal-Haqqah, and I was amazed by the way in which the Qur'an was composed. I said: By Allah, this man is a poet as Quraish said. Then he recited: `That this is verily, the word of an honoured Messenger . lle said: Then I felt an overwhelming attraction to Islam.

I have heard that there is a severe plague in Syria. I said: If my time comes, and Abu ‘Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah is still alive, I appoint him as my successor, And if Allah asks me why I appointed him as my successor to lead the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ , I will say: I heard Your Messenger ﷺ say: `Every Prophet has a close confidant and my close confidant is Abu 'Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah.` The people objected to that, and said: What about the prominent figures of Quraish? meaning Banu Fihr. Then he said: If my time comes, and Abu 'Ubaidah has died, then I appoint Mu'adh bin Jabal as my successor, and if my Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, asks me why I appointed him as my successor, I will say: I heard Your Messenger say:`He will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection as a leader of scholars.`

A boy was born to the brother of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ and they called him al-Waleed. The Prophet ﷺ said: “You have called him by the name of your pharaoh, for there will be among this ummah a man who is called al-Waleed and he will be worse to them than Pharaoh was to his people.”

Some men of good character, among whom was ‘Umar, testified before me, and the best of them in my view was ‘Umar, that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ used to say: `There is no prayer after 'Asr prayer until the sun sets, and there is no prayer after Fajr prayer until the sun rises.`

What brought you here? He said: (I came) to ask you about three things. He said: What are they? He said: A woman and I may be in a confined space and the time for prayer comes, but if we both pray she will be standing next to me, and if she prays behind me she will have to go out of the space, ‘Umar said: Put a cloth to serve as a screen between you and her, and let her pray alongside you if you wish. (And I asked) about the two rak'ahs after 'Asr and he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me not to do them. He said: (And I asked) about stories (for preaching), because they wanted me to tell them stories. He said: Whatever you want. It was as if he did not want to tell him not to do that. He said: I only wanted to follow what you say. He said: I am afraid that if you tell them stories (for preaching), you will think that you are better than them, then you will tell them stories and think that you are better than them, until you imagine that you are as far above them as the Pleiades, then Allah will put you that far beneath their feet on the Day of Resurrection.

I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, forbids you to swear by your fathers,` 'Umar said: By Allah, I never swore by them since I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbid it, and I never uttered (such words) whether I was swearing an oath or describing someone else doing so.

It was narrated from ʼUmar bin al-Khattab رضي الله عنه and Hudhaifah bin al-Yaman رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ did not take zakah on horses or slaves.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood before us as I am standing before you, and said: `I urge you to show respect to my Companions, then those who come after them, then those who come after them, then lying will become so widespread that a man will start to give testimony before he is asked to do so.Whoever among you wants to attain a spacious abode in Paradise, let him adhere to the jama'ah (main body of Muslims), for the Shaitan is with the one who is alone, but he is further away from two. And no one of you should be alone with a woman for the Shaitan will be the third one present. The one who is pleased with his good deeds and upset by his bad deeds is a believer.`

Umar bin al-Khattab said: Whoever would like to see the way of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, let him look at the way of 'Amr bin al Aswad.

'Umar said: We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey and a man said: No, by my father. Another man said: “Do not swear by your fathers.` I turned and saw that it was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه became (caliph) after him, and some of the Arabs apostatized,ʻUmar رضي الله عنه said: O Abu Bakr, how can you fight the people when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `I have been ordered to fight the people until they bear witness that there is no god except Allah. Whoever bears witness that there is no god except Allah has protected his wealth and his life from me, except in cases dictated by Islamic law, and their reckoning will be with Allah`? Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said: by Allah I shall certainly fight the one who separates prayer and zakah, for zakah is what is due from wealth. By Allah, whoever withholds from me a goat that they used to give (in zakah) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I shall fight them for withholding it. 'Umar said: By Allah, as soon as I realized that Allah had opened the heart of Abu Bakr to fighting, I realized that it was the right thing to do.

`There is no prayer after Fajr Prayer until the sun rises, or after 'Asr prayer until the sun sets.`

The Prophet ﷺ ruled that the owner of a mount is more entitled to ride on the front part of it.

Umar bin al-Khattab travelled to Syria for the second time and when he approached it, he and those who were with him heard that the plague was widespread therein. His companions said to him: Go back and do not enter it, for if you enter it when (the plague) is in it, we do not think that you should leave it. So he set off, heading back to Madinah, and he stopped to rest at the end of that night. I was the closest of the people to him, and when he woke up, I woke up with him and followed him, and I heard him say: They turned me away from Syria after I had got close to it because the plague was there. It would be a good idea to go to Madinah and finish some work that I have to do there, then I will go and enter Syria and stay in Homs, for I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will resurrect from it seventy thousand without any reckoning or punishment, and their place of resurrection will be between the olive trees and the garden at al-Barth al Ahmar near (Homs).`

“Whoever gets up when the sun has risen and does wudoo’. and does it well, then stands and prays two rak'ahs, his sins will be forgiven him and he will be as his mother bore him.` 'Uqbah bin 'Amir said: I said: Praise be to Allah Who has blessed me by enabling me to hear this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. 'Umar bin al-Khattab رضي الله عنه, who was sitting in front of me, said to me: Are you surprised by this? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said something even more amazing than this before you came. I said: What was it, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you? 'Umar said. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `Whoever does wudoo’ and does it well, then lifts his gaze towards heaven and says, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger,` the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him and he may enter by whichever of them he wishes.`

I visited 'Umar and he reached out and hit his wife. He said : O: Ash'ath, learn from me three things that I learned from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: Do not ask a man why he hit his wife, do not sleep until you pray Witr - and I forgot the third thing

I heard 'Umar bin al-Khattab رضي الله عنه say in his khutbah that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ` Whoever wears silk in this world will not be clothed with it in the Hereafter.`

Umar bin al-Khattab رضي الله عنه told me: he heard the Prophet ﷺ `A rider will travel through the streets of Madinah, then he will say: There used to be many believers here.`

O people, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: `Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where alcohol is being passed around; whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not enter a bathhouse unless he is wearing a waist wrapper; and whoever (among women) believes in Allah and the Last Day, let her not enter bathhouses (at all).”

I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Whoever shades the head of a fighter (mujahid), Allah will shade him on the Day of Resurrection; whoever equips a fighter until he has all that he needs, will have a reward equal to his until he dies (Yoonus said: or returns); whoever builds a mosque in which the Name of Allah may He be exalted, is remembered,Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.` ,

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ shared out (some booty) and I said: O Messenger of Allah, others are more deserving of this than them: ahlus-suffah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `You are giving me the choice of having you ask importunately or regard me as a miser, and I am not a miser.`

l saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ do wudoo’after minor impurity and he wiped over the khuffain.

You should note that I have not said anything about kalalah and I have not appointed anyone to succeed me. Whoever of Arab captives are present when I die, are to be freed although they are among the wealth of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Sa'eed bin Zaid said: Why don't you suggest a man among the Muslims so that the people may follow your advice? Abu Bakr did that and the people followed his advice and trusted him. ‘Umar said: I have noticed too much greed and ambition, and I will leave this matter to be decided by these six people with whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was pleased when he died. Then ‘Umar said: If one of the two men were still alive, I would have referred to this matter to him and I would have trusted him: Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifah and Abu 'Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah.

Some righteous men, including ‘Umar - and the most righteous of them in my view was 'Umar - confirmed when I was present that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises and there is no prayer after 'Asr until the sun sets.`

I know that you are only a stone; if I had not seen my Beloved kiss you or touch you, I would not have touched you or kissed you. “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad ﷺ) you have a good example to follow” (al-Ahzab 33:21].

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a ring of gold on a man's hand and he said: “Throw it away,” so he threw it away and acquired a ring of iron. He said: `This is even worse.` Then he acquired a ring of silver, and he did not say anything,