Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted men to wear silk equal to two fingers in width.

Abu Uthman says that we were with Sayyiduna Utbah bin Farqad (may Allah be pleased with him) when a letter from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, in which it was written: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever wears silk clothing in this world, except for such a small amount"—and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated with his finger—"he will have no share of silk in the Hereafter."

Ya'la bin Umayyah says that I asked Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the command of shortening the prayer in the Holy Qur'an has come in the state of "fear", but now there is peace and security everywhere, so has this command ended? (If so, then why is this verse still present in the Qur'an?) So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said 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, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is a charity from Allah which He has bestowed upon His servants, so accept His charity and kindness."

The previous hadith is also mentioned through this second chain of narration.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the last verse revealed in the Noble Qur'an was regarding usury, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not get the opportunity to fully explain it before his blessed passing. Therefore, abandon usury as well, and leave whatever contains even a little doubt.

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 that is done over him."

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 weeping of his family over him."

Sayyiduna Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that I heard Sayyiduna 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: "Save yourselves from destruction regarding the verse of Rajm (stoning), lest someone says that we do not find mention of two punishments in the Book of Allah. I have seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) carrying out the punishment of Rajm, and we ourselves have also carried out this punishment."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I have agreed with my Lord in three matters. Once, I submitted in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, "O Messenger of Allah! If only we could take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer." Upon this, the verse was revealed: "Take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer." Once, I submitted in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, "O Messenger of Allah! Good and bad people, all kinds, come to you. If you would command the Mothers of the Believers to observe veiling, it would be better." Upon this, Allah revealed the verse of Hijab. Once, I came to know about the displeasure of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with some of his pure wives. I went to each one of them individually and said, "You all should desist, otherwise it may be that their Lord will grant him wives better than you." Until I went to one of the noble wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and she said, "Umar! Is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not sufficient to advise his wives that you have come to advise them?" Upon this, Allah the Exalted revealed a verse of the Noble Qur'an with these very words.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "Do not even let your women wear silk garments, because I heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate this hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Whoever wears silk in this world will not be able to wear it in the Hereafter.'" After this, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, based on his own reasoning, that whoever cannot wear silk in the Hereafter will not enter Paradise, because the Qur'an states that the clothing of the people of Paradise will be of silk. (Note: This was the personal reasoning of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him); the majority of scholars are of the opinion that the prohibition of silk garments is for men, not for women.)

It is narrated from Imam Sha'bi, may Allah have mercy on him, that once Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by Sayyiduna Talha, may Allah be pleased with him, and saw him in a distressed state. He said, "Perhaps you are not pleased with 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, say: '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 mention it. That is why I am distressed.)" 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, "It is 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; you have removed the veil from me. If the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had known any word superior to this, he would have instructed his uncle with it."

Sayyiduna Ya'la bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that once I performed Tawaf with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When I reached the Yemeni Corner, I took the hand of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) so that he could perform Istilam. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Have you never performed Tawaf with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? I said: Why not! He said: Then did you see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performing Istilam of it? I said: No! He said: Then leave it, for indeed in the person of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) there is a beautiful example for you.

Sayyiduna Abu Wa'il says that Sabi bin Ma'bad was a man from the tribe of Banu Taghlib. He says: I accepted Islam and did not show any shortcoming in striving. Then, when I reached the Miqat, I put on the Ihram for both Hajj and Umrah. When I passed by the place of 'Udhayb near Zaid bin Suhan and Salman bin Rabi'ah, one of them said to the other, "This person is more astray than his camel." Sabi says: This statement made me feel as if my camel was on my neck. 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 (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no consideration for what they said; you have been guided to the Sunnah of your Prophet.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, "O Messenger of Allah! In the days of ignorance, I had vowed to perform i'tikaf for one night in Masjid al-Haram. What should I do now?" He said: "Fulfill your vow."

Sabi bin Ma'bad says that I had recently renounced Christianity. I intended to set out for Jihad or Hajj, so I consulted one of my tribesmen whose name was "Hadeem." He advised me to perform Hajj. I made the intention for both Hajj and Umrah. After that, they narrated the entire hadith.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the prayer during travel is two rak‘ahs, each of the two ‘Eids is two rak‘ahs, and Jumu‘ah is also two rak‘ahs, and all these prayers are complete; there is no shortening in any of them, as has been pronounced by the tongue of Prophethood.

It is narrated from Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) 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 same horse was being sold in the market. He thought to himself that he should buy it, so he consulted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from doing so and said: "Do not buy it, and do not take back what you have given in charity."

Qais says: I once saw Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in a state where he had a branch of a date palm in his hand and he was seating the people and saying, "Listen attentively to the words of the successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Meanwhile, the freed slave of our master Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), whose name was "Shadid," came with a paper and read it out to the people, stating that our master Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said in this paper: "The person whose name is written in this (after me will be the caliph), so listen to him and obey him. By Allah! I have exercised complete caution and effort in this matter." Qais says: After the passing of our master Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), I saw our master Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) seated on the pulpit (which meant that our master As-Siddiq Al-Akbar (may Allah be pleased with him) had written his name in that paper).

Imran Aslami, may Allah have mercy on him, says that once I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, about the nabidh (fermented drink) of a pitcher. He replied that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade the nabidh of a pitcher and of 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 the use of a gourd and a green pitcher. 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 the nabidh of a pitcher and of a gourd.

In the incident of the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis, various narrators mention that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Ka'b al-Ahbar, "In your opinion, where should I pray?" He replied, "If you want to act upon my opinion, then pray behind the rock, so that the entire Bayt al-Maqdis will be in front of you." Umar said, "You have spoken like the Jews; this cannot happen. I will pray at the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on the night of Mi'raj." Thus, he moved towards the qiblah and prayed there. After the prayer, he spread out his cloak and gathered all the rubbish of that place in his cloak, and the people followed him in this.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about kalalah, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The verse about kalalah that was revealed in the summer is sufficient for you." Asking the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about this issue was more beloved to me than acquiring red camels.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that once he asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "If I become impure, what should I do?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to wash his private parts, perform ablution as for prayer, and then go to sleep.

Qaza’ah says: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), “Will Allah punish the deceased because of the weeping and wailing of the people of the neighborhood?” He replied: “This statement was narrated to me by Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I have not falsely attributed it to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), nor did Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) falsely attribute it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and I was also with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was reciting the Qur'an at that time, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood to listen to his recitation. Then when Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) bowed and prostrated, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Ask, you will be given." Then while returning, he said: Whoever wishes to recite the Qur'an as fresh as it was revealed, he should recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I thought in my heart that I must convey this good news to him tonight. So when I knocked on his door, he said: Is everything alright at this hour of the night? I said: I have come to give you glad tidings from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said: Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has already preceded you. I said: If he has done so, then he is indeed foremost in doing good deeds. In whatever matter I tried to compete with him, he always surpassed me in every such matter.

Aseer bin Jabir says that once a delegation from Yemen came. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was searching for the rope of his she-camel and kept asking, “Has anyone among you come from ‘Qarn’?” He continued asking until he reached the people of ‘Qarn’ and asked them, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are from ‘Qarn’.” Meanwhile, the halter of the animals slipped from the hand of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) or Sayyiduna Uwais Qarni (may Allah have mercy on him). One of them picked it up and handed it to the other, and they recognized each other. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Uwais.” He asked, “Did you have a mother?” He replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Do you have any marks of smallpox on your body?” He replied, “Yes, but I prayed to Allah and He removed it, and now only a spot the size of a dirham remains near my navel, so that when I see it, I remember my Lord.” Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Pray to Allah for my forgiveness.” He replied, “You are a companion of the Messenger of Allah; you pray for my forgiveness.” Upon this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘The best of the Tabi‘een will be a man named Uwais, who will have a mother and will have marks of smallpox on his body. When he prays to Allah, Allah will remove the disease from him, leaving only a spot the size of a dirham near his navel. When he sees it, he will remember his Lord.’” Sayyiduna Uwais Qarni (may Allah have mercy on him) prayed for Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)’s forgiveness and disappeared into the crowd; no one knew where he went. Later, he came to Kufa. The narrator says that we used to form a circle and remember Allah with him; he would sit with us. When he spoke, his words affected our hearts more than anyone else’s.

The previous hadith has also been narrated through another chain of transmission, which is present in the text.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the last moments of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) approached, Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) began to weep and wail. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Hafsah! Did you not hear the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say that the one over whom people wail and cry, he is punished?" After that, when the same condition occurred with Sayyiduna Suhayb (may Allah be pleased with him), he said the same to him.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once delivered a sermon and said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever wears silk in this world will not be made to wear it in the Hereafter."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that such people have borne witness to me, whose word is trustworthy, among them Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is also included, who in my view is the most trustworthy of them all, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "There is no prayer after two prayers: after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises, and after the Asr prayer until the sun sets, no voluntary prayer should be performed."

This same narration has also been transmitted from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) through another chain of transmission.

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 which, if it had been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken the day of its revelation as 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, in the evening of Arafah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that when I came from Yemen to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), at that time he was in Batha. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me in the state of Ihram and asked, "With what intention have you put on Ihram?" I replied, "With the intention with which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has put on Ihram; my Ihram is the same as his." Then he asked, "Have you brought a sacrificial animal with you?" I replied, "No!" He said, "Then perform Tawaf of the Ka'bah, do Sa'i between Safa and Marwah, and become halal (come out of Ihram)." So I performed Tawaf of the House of Allah, did Sa'i between Safa and Marwah, then went to a woman from my people; she combed my hair and washed my head with water. Later, during the caliphate of the two Shaykhs (may Allah be pleased with them), I continued to tell people the same ruling. One day during the days of Hajj, I was standing somewhere when a man came to me and said, "Do you not know what new rulings the Commander of the Faithful has issued regarding the matters of Hajj?" Upon this, I said, "O people! Whoever I have given a fatwa to, let him listen: here is the Commander of the Faithful, follow him." When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, I asked him, "What new ruling have you issued in the rites of Hajj?" He replied, "If we take the Noble Qur'an, it commands us to complete Hajj and 'Umrah, and if we take the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not come out of Ihram before sacrificing the animal." (Benefit: In fact, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had prohibited combining both Hajj and 'Umrah in a single journey; this is what is mentioned here.)

Suwaid bin Ghaflah (may Allah have mercy on him) 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 merely a stone that can neither benefit nor harm anyone, but I have seen Abul Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him) showing kindness to you."

Amr bin Maymoon says that on one occasion, 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 be upon him) did not follow their way and departed from Muzdalifah towards Mina before sunrise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once said: Allah Almighty sent the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and revealed the Book to him, in which there was also the verse of stoning, which we read and memorized. I fear that after some time has passed, people may begin to say, "We do not find any verse regarding stoning," and thus a duty which Allah has revealed may be neglected. Remember! The proof of stoning from the Book of Allah is established for the one who is married, whether man or woman, when witnesses are present, or the woman becomes pregnant, or the person confesses to the crime.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once I heard Hisham bin Hakeem reciting Surah Furqan in prayer. He was reciting such words in it that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not taught me. I caught hold of his hand and brought him to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! You yourself taught me Surah Furqan, and I have heard him reciting it in such words which you did not teach me? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told Hisham to recite it. He recited it in the same way as I had heard him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This Surah has been revealed in this way." Then he said to me: Umar! You also recite. So I recited it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It has been revealed in this way also." After that, he said: "Indeed, this Qur'an has been revealed upon seven modes of recitation, so recite in whichever is easy for you."

This same narration has also been transmitted from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) through this second chain of transmission.

Once, Abdullah bin Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) came to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) during the caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, he said: "Are you the one about whom I have been told that you have been entrusted with some responsibility over the common people, but when you are given its salary, you express dislike in taking it?" Abdullah says, "I replied, 'Yes, that is so.'" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, "What is your intention in this?" I replied, "By the grace of Allah, I have horses and slaves and everything, and I am also financially well off, so I wish that my salary be used for the works of the Muslims." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Do not do so, because once I also wished the same. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to give me something, I would say, 'O Messenger of Allah! There are people more in need than me, please give it to them.' Similarly, once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me some wealth, and as before, I said, 'Please give it to someone more needy than me.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Take it, add it to your wealth, then give charity from it, and remember! If wealth comes to you without your desire and request, then take it, otherwise do not pursue it.'"

This same hadith is also narrated through another chain, as mentioned in the text.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that once I gave a horse to someone in the way of Allah for riding, but he wasted it. I thought of buying it back, because I thought he would sell it cheaply. But I consulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Do not buy it, even if he gives it to you in exchange for money, because the example of one who takes back his charity is like a dog that vomits and then licks it up again.