Lu'lu' wal-Marjan

Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were sitting in the company of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he asked, “Does anyone among you remember any hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding tribulations (fitnah)?” I said, “I have remembered it just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated it.” Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “You were very bold in asking the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about tribulations.” I said, “A person’s family, wealth, children, and neighbors are all sources of tribulation. And prayer, fasting, charity, enjoining good, and forbidding evil are expiations for these tribulations.” Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I am not asking you about this; tell me about the tribulation which will surge like the waves of the sea.” At this I said, “O Commander of the Faithful! Do not fear that. Between you and that tribulation is a closed door.” He asked, “Will the door be broken or simply opened?” I said, “It will be broken.” Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed, “Then it will never be closed again.” Shaqiq (the narrator of the hadith) said, “We asked Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him): Did Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) have knowledge about what the door referred to?” He replied, “Yes! Just as one knows that night follows day. I have narrated to you a hadith that is absolutely correct.” The narrator says, “We were afraid to ask Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) about what was meant by the door, so we asked Masruq to inquire. He asked, and Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, ‘The door was Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) himself.’”