Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Selling and buying gold for gold and silver for silver is usury, except if it is done on the spot; trading wheat for wheat is usury, except if it is done on the spot; trading barley for barley is usury, except if it is done on the spot."

Abu Ubaid says that once, on the occasion of Eid, I was present in the service of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). He led the prayer before the sermon, then said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade fasting on these two days. On the day of Eid al-Fitr, because on that day your fasting ends, and on the day of Eid al-Adha, so that you may eat the meat of your sacrificial animal.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him. I am only a servant of Allah, so call me the servant and messenger of Allah."

Once, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "If a person becomes impure by choice, can he sleep in that state?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he wishes, he may perform ablution and then sleep (and if he wishes, he may sleep as he is)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a horse to someone in the way of Allah for riding. Later, he saw that the horse itself or its offspring was being sold in the market. He thought to himself that he should buy it, so he consulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade him from doing so and said: Do not buy it, and do not take back your charity.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perform Hajj and Umrah consecutively, for indeed their succession removes poverty and sins just as the furnace removes impurities from iron."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Actions are judged by intentions, and every person will have only what he intended. So whoever's migration was for Allah and His Messenger, then his migration is for Allah and His Messenger. And whoever's migration was for some worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration is for that for which he migrated."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sabi bin Ma'bad says: I was a Christian, then I accepted Islam. When I reached the Miqat, I entered into Ihram for both Hajj and Umrah. When Zaid bin Suhan and Salman bin Rabiah came to know, they said: "This person is more misguided than his camel." Their words weighed heavier on me than a mountain. So, when I presented myself before Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), I mentioned to him what Zaid and Salman had said. Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) turned towards both of them and reproached them, and then turned towards me and said: "You have been guided to the Sunnah of your Prophet."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once it was mentioned before Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Samrah had sold wine. He said: May Allah destroy him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: May Allah curse the Jews, for fat was made unlawful for them, but they melted it, turned it into oil, and began to sell it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the wealth obtained from Banu Nadir was from the category of Fay’ (spoils of war without battle), which Allah granted to His Prophet, and the Muslims did not have to ride horses or any other mounts for it. Therefore, this wealth was exclusively for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would give his pure wives their yearly maintenance from it at once, and whatever remained, he would use to provide horses and other weapons that could be used in jihad.

Once, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Sayyiduna Talha, Sayyiduna Zubair, and Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with them): I ask you by Allah, by Whose command the heavens and the earth are established, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Inheritance is not established in our wealth; whatever we leave behind is all charity?” They replied in the affirmative.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The child belongs to the (owner of the) bed."

Ya'la bin Umayyah says that I asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the command of shortening the prayer (qasr) in the Holy Qur'an has been given in the state of "fear," but now there is peace and security everywhere, so has this command ended? (If so, then why does this verse still exist in the Qur'an?) So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) replied that I was also surprised in the same way as you are, and I also asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is a charity from Allah which He has bestowed upon His servants, so accept this charity and kindness."

Qais bin Marwan says that once I presented myself before Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "O Leader of the Believers! I am coming to you from Kufa. There, I have left behind a man who is dictating the Noble Qur’an from his memory." Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became enraged, and his veins swelled so much that both sides of the saddle were filled by them. He asked me, "Alas! Who is he?" I mentioned the name of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him). I saw that as soon as he heard his name, Sayyiduna Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) anger began to subside, and that state started to disappear until he became normal, and he said to me, "Wretch! I swear by Allah, to my knowledge, among the people, no one is more deserving of this than him. And I will tell you a hadith about this. The blessed practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was that at night, he would go with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to consult about the affairs of the Muslims. Once, in the same way, at night, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was engaged in conversation with him, and I was also present there. After finishing, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left from there, we also left with him. We saw a man standing in the mosque, performing prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood to listen to his recitation. While we were trying to recognize the voice of that man, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Whoever wishes to recite the Qur’an as fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd.' Then that man sat down and began to supplicate. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, 'Ask, you will be given.' Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says, 'I thought in my heart that as soon as morning comes, I will surely give him this glad tidings.' So, when I went in the morning to give him this glad tidings, I found Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was already there. He had preceded me in this matter as well."

Abis bin Rabi'ah says that I once saw Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) kissing the Black Stone and addressing it, saying: "I know that you are a stone, but I am still kissing you. If I had not seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kissing you, I would never have kissed you."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once, while traveling, delivered a sermon at "Jabiyah" and said that once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood to deliver a sermon just as I am standing, and said: I advise you to treat my companions well, and this command is also for those who come after them, and for those who come after them as well. After that, there will come a people who will be ready to swear an oath before being asked to do so, and a man will be ready to give testimony before being asked for it. So whoever among you desires a place in Paradise should adhere to the "Jama'ah" (the main body), for the devil is with the lone person and is farther from two. Beware! None of you should sit in seclusion with a woman, for the third among them is the devil. And whoever is pleased by his good deed and saddened by his bad deed, he is a believer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that it was the blessed practice of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to visit Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) every night to consult regarding the affairs of the Muslims, and on one occasion, I was also present at that time.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that I never asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about anything more than I asked about "kalalah," until once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his finger on my chest and said: "The last verse of Surah An-Nisa, which was revealed in the summer, is sufficient for you."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The deceased is punished in his grave because of the lamentation made over him."

Abdullah, who was the servant of Sayyida Asma (may Allah be pleased with her), says that once Sayyida Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) sent me to Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said: "I have heard that you declare three things to be forbidden: silk embroidery on clothes, red-colored clothes, and fasting for the entire month of Rajab." He sent back the reply: "Regarding what you mentioned about declaring the fasts of Rajab forbidden, how can a person who himself fasts throughout the year say such a thing? (i.e., I did not say this.) And as for the matter of embroidery on clothes, I heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Whoever wears silk in this world will not be able to wear it in the Hereafter.'"

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once we were between Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when the new moon of the first (of the month) appeared to us. My eyesight was sharp, so I said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), “Do you see it?” He replied, “I will look now.” At that time, I was lying flat on the ground. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began to narrate a hadith regarding the people of Badr: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) showed us, a day before, all the places where the bodies of the disbelievers would fall. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would point out and say, “Here the body of so-and-so will fall, and insha’Allah, tomorrow so-and-so will be killed here.” And so it happened; they began to fall exactly at the places where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “By the One Who sent you with the truth, they did not deviate even a little from the places you had indicated.” After that, by the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), their bodies were dragged and thrown into a well. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to that well, stood by it, and called each one by name, saying, “Did you find the promise of your Lord to be true or not? I have found the promise of my Lord to be true.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Are you speaking to people who are dead?” He replied, “Whatever I am saying to them, you are not hearing any better than they are, except that they cannot reply (and you can reply).”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that once the Banu Mu’ammar bin Habib came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with a dispute regarding the guardianship (wala’) of their sister. He said: “I will judge between you in the same way as I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Whatever a child or a father accumulates, it will belong to his ‘asaba (male relatives on the father’s side), whoever they may be.’” Accordingly, he gave his verdict in accordance with this.

Yahya bin Ya’mar and Humaid bin Abdur Rahman Himyari say that once we met Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). We brought up the issue of predestination before him and also mentioned people’s objections. After listening to us, he said: When you return to those people, tell them that Ibn Umar is free from you and you are free from him. He said this three times and then narrated this tradition: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says, One day we were sitting in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when suddenly a man came walking. He had a beautiful complexion, beautiful hair, and was dressed in white clothes. Seeing this man, people looked at each other and signaled that we do not recognize him, and he does not even look like a traveler. The man said: O Messenger of Allah! May I come closer? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed him, so he sat down with his knees touching the Prophet’s knees and placed his hands on the Prophet’s thighs and said: What is Islam? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “To bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to give zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to the House of Allah.” He then asked: What is faith (iman)? He said: “To believe in Allah, His angels, Paradise and Hell, resurrection after the Day of Judgment, and in predestination.” He then asked: What is excellence (ihsan)? He said: “To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state, then (know that) He sees you.” He then asked: When will the Hour (Day of Judgment) come? He said: “The one being asked knows no more than the one asking, meaning we both are unaware in this matter.” He said: Then tell me some of its signs. He said: “When you see those who had tattered clothes and no shoes, who were poor and shepherds, today they will build tall buildings and boast over one another, and slave girls will give birth to their mistresses, then the Hour is near.” When that man left, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bring that man back. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) went out to look for him but saw nothing. Two or three days later, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “O Ibn Khattab! Do you know who that questioner was?” He replied, Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: “That was Jibreel (Gabriel), who came to teach you the important matters of your religion.” The narrator says that a man from the tribe of Juhainah or Muzainah also asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) this question: O Messenger of Allah! The deeds we do, has their decision already been made or do we act first? He said: “Their decision has already been made.” He said: O Messenger of Allah! Then what is the benefit of action? He said: “The deeds of the people of Paradise are made easy for the people of Paradise, and the deeds of the people of Hell are made easy for the people of Hell.”

Abu al-Hakam says that once I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the nabidh (fermented drink) made in a pitcher, so he replied that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade nabidh made in a pitcher and in a gourd, therefore, whoever wants to consider as forbidden what Allah and His Messenger have declared forbidden, should consider nabidh as forbidden. Abu al-Hakam says that then I asked the same question to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him), and he also said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade nabidh made in a pitcher and in a gourd. Then I asked the same question to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), so he narrated this hadith from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade (nabidh) in a gourd and in a green pitcher, and he narrated this hadith from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade (nabidh) in a pitcher, in a gourd, and from using hollowed-out wood as a vessel, and also forbade the wine of unripe and ripe dates.

Once, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the pulpit on a Friday to deliver the sermon. He mentioned the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), recalled Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and then said: I have seen a dream, and it seems to me that the time of my departure from this world is near. In my dream, I saw that a rooster pecked me twice. Some people are telling me to appoint my successor. It is certain that Allah will neither let His religion be lost nor the caliphate with which Allah sent His Prophet. Now, if my decision is made soon, I am appointing a council of those six people with whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased at the time of his passing. I know that some people will try to create discord in the matter of caliphate. By Allah! I have fought with these hands of mine in defense of Islam against such people. If they do so, they are the enemies of Allah, disbelievers, and misguided. I have not left behind any issue more important than the issue of kalalah. After accompanying the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not remember that he was ever displeased with me in any matter except the issue of kalalah, in which he was extremely displeased, and I have never argued with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as much as I did in the matter of kalalah, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his finger on my chest and said: “Is it not sufficient for you in this matter the last verse of Surah An-Nisa which was revealed in the summer?” If I remain alive, I will resolve this issue in such a way that both those who read this verse and those who do not will know the solution. Then he said: I make Allah a witness that the governors and rulers I have sent to various cities are only for the purpose that they teach people the religion, explain the Sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to them, distribute the spoils of war among them, do justice among them, and present before me those issues for which they have no solution. O people! You eat from two trees which I consider foul (one is garlic and the other is onion, which cause bad breath when eaten raw). I have seen that if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sensed this odor from someone’s mouth, he would order and that person would be taken by hand and removed from the mosque, and not only that, but he would be escorted to Jannat al-Baqi and then people would return. If anyone wants to eat them, let him cook them to remove their odor.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that once I heard Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) saying to Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him): "What is the matter, since the blessed passing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), you have become disheveled and covered in dust? Did you not like the caliphate of your cousin, that is, me?" He replied: "Allah's refuge! I should never do such a thing. The real matter is that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: 'I know a word that if a person says it at the time of death, it will make the soul's departure easy for him and on the Day of Resurrection it will be a source of light for him.' I regret that I could not ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this word, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself did not tell me either. That is why I am worried." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I know that word." Sayyiduna Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Alhamdulillah," and asked: "What is that word?" He replied: "The same word that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) presented before his uncle, that is, 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah)." Sayyiduna Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You have spoken the truth."

Tariq bin Shihab reports that a Jew came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: O Commander of the Faithful! You people recite a verse in your Book, if it had been revealed to us Jews, we would have made the day of its revelation a festival. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Which verse is that? He referred to the verse of the completion of religion. Upon this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I know the day and the time when this verse was revealed. This verse was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of Jumu’ah, on the eve of Arafah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man shot another with an arrow, causing his death. He had only one heir, and that was his maternal uncle. Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah wrote to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding this matter. In reply, he wrote back that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has no mawla, Allah and His Messenger are his mawla, and whoever has no heir, his maternal uncle will be his heir."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Umar! You are a strong man, do not push while kissing the Black Stone, lest you cause harm to a weak person. If you find an empty space, then perform istilam; otherwise, suffice with facing it and reciting tahlil and takbir."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Jibreel (peace be upon him) once asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "What is faith?" He replied: "Faith is that you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and its bad." Jibreel (peace be upon him) said: "You have spoken the truth." We were amazed that he was asking questions and also confirming the answers. Later, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that this was Jibreel who came to teach you the important matters of your religion.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the night comes from here and the day departs from there, then the fasting person should break his fast; by this is meant the east and the west."

Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila says that I was once with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), when a man came and said, "I have seen the crescent of Shawwal." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "People! Break your fast." Then he himself stood up, performed ablution from a vessel in which there was water, and wiped over his leather socks. That man said, "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful! I came to you just to ask whether you have seen anyone else wiping over leather socks?" He replied, "Yes! The one who was better than me. I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) doing so. At that time, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was wearing a Syrian cloak with tight sleeves, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inserted his hands under the cloak." After saying this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went to lead the Maghrib prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not declare the lizard to be unlawful, but he certainly disliked it.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once sought permission from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to go for Umrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted him permission and said, "Brother! Do not forget us in your prayers," or he said, "Brother! Remember us also in your prayers." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that if, in exchange for this one word «يا اخي», I were given everything upon which the sun rises, that is, the whole world, I would not prefer the whole world over this one word.

Once, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "The actions that we do, have they already been written or do our actions come first?" He replied, "No! Rather, they have already been written." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted, "Should we not then rely on that?" He said, "O Ibn Khattab! Continue to act, because for every person, the means for which he was created are provided, and that action is made easy for him. Then, the one who is destined for happiness does good deeds, and the one who is among the wretched does deeds of misery."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) while delivering a sermon said: "Be aware! Some people say, 'What is the meaning of rajm (stoning)?' In the Noble Qur'an, there is only mention of flogging, whereas the punishment of rajm was given by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, and we have also given it. If people did not say that Umar has added to the Qur'an, I would have written it in the Qur'an."

Ibn Samit says that once I happened to visit the land of "Dumin," which is eighteen miles from Homs. There, Sayyiduna Jubair bin Nufair prayed two rak‘ahs. I asked him, "What are these rak‘ahs?" He said, "Once I also saw Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) praying two rak‘ahs at Dhul-Hulaifah and asked him the same question. He replied to me, 'I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) doing the same.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was delivering the Friday sermon. During the sermon, a man came. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him, "What is this time to come?" He replied, "O Commander of the Faithful! I had just returned from the market. As soon as I heard the call to prayer, I performed ablution and came." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "And ablution only? While you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to perform ghusl (full ritual bath) for Friday."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the polytheists would not return from Muzdalifah before sunrise, but the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not follow their way and departed from Muzdalifah towards Mina before sunrise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula, so that none but Muslims shall remain there."