Hadith 16219

(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو سَلَمَةَ ، عَنْ الرَّجُلِ الَّذِي مَرَّ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ يُنَاجِي جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام ، فَزَعَمَ أَبُو سَلَمَةَ أَنَّهُ تَجَنَّبَ أَنْ يَدْنُوَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَخَوُّفًا أَنْ يَسْمَعَ حَدِيثَهُ ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ ، قَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تُسَلِّمَ إِذْ مَرَرْتَ بِي الْبَارِحَةَ " ، قَالَ : رَأَيْتُكَ تُنَاجِي رَجُلًا ، فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ تَكْرَهَ أَنْ أَدْنُوَ مِنْكُمَا ، قَالَ : " وَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَنْ الرَّجُلُ ؟ " ، قَالَ : لَا ، قَالَ : " فَذَلِكَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام ، وَلَوْ سَلَّمْتَ لَرَدَّ السَّلَامَ " ، وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ أَنَّهُ حَارِثَةَ بْنَ النُّعْمَانِ .
It is narrated from Abu Salamah that once the Prophet (peace be upon him) was whispering with Sayyiduna Jibreel, when a man passed by. Out of fear that he might overhear something important being said by the Prophet (peace be upon him), he did not approach. In the morning, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him, "When you passed by me last night, what prevented you from greeting me with salam?" He replied, "I saw that you were whispering with someone, and I was afraid that my coming near might be unpleasant for you." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Do you know who that person was?" He said, "No." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "That was Jibreel. If you had greeted me with salam, he would have replied to you as well." According to some chains of narration, the one who passed by was Harithah bin Nu'man.
Hadith Reference مسند احمد / مسند المدنيين رضي الله عنهم اجمعين / 16219
Hadith Grading حکم دارالسلام: إسناده صحيح