Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 36078 — Reports on Tustar

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We besieged Tustar, and al-Hurmuzan submitted to the judgement of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) sent me to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with al-Hurmuzan. When we came into the presence of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), al-Hurmuzan said nothing and remained silent. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Speak." He said: "Shall I speak as a living man or as a dead man?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Speak; there is no harm for you." He said: "O people of Arabia, as long as Allah Almighty left us and you to one another, we used to kill you and drive you away. And now that Allah is with you, we have no power over you." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Anas, what do you say?" I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I have left behind me great strength and large numbers. If you kill him, the people will despair of life and this will make their strength fiercer, and if you leave him alive, the people will be hopeful." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Shall I leave alive the killer of al-Bara' bin Malik and Majza'ah bin Thawr?" Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I saw that he would kill him, I said: "You cannot kill him." He said: "Why? Have you received some financial help from him?" I said: "I have not done so. You said to him: 'Speak; no harm will come to you.'" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Bring witnesses to this, or I will punish you." So I went out looking for a witness and met Sayyiduna al-Zubayr, who also remembered what I remembered. He testified to this, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) released al-Hurmuzan; later he accepted Islam, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) fixed a stipend for him.