Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and with us were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); we were six people in total. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up from among us and left. He was delayed in returning, so we feared that perhaps he had been detained (i.e., that some harm had come to him). We became anxious. I was the first to become anxious and went after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) until I came to a garden belonging to an Ansari from Banu Najjar. I circled around it to see if I could find a door to enter. There, a branch of a tree was going through the garden wall. (The narrator says:) “Rub’i” means a branch. I moved it aside and entered to present myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, “Are you Abu Hurairah?” I replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, “Why have you come?” I said, “You stood up and left from among us, and you did not return for a long time, so we feared that perhaps you had been detained on the way, so we became anxious. I was the first to become anxious and came to this garden. I entered it as a fox enters. The people are behind me.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O Abu Hurairah! Take my sandals and go. With these sandals, whoever you meet outside this garden who bears witness with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, give him the glad tidings of Paradise.” (Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:) The first person I met was Sayyiduna Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked, “O Abu Hurairah! Whose sandals are these?” I replied, “These are the sandals of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave them to me as a sign and sent me with them. Whoever I meet outside this garden who bears witness with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, I am to give him the glad tidings of Paradise.” Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) struck his hand on my chest, and I fell backwards. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “O Abu Hurairah! Go back.” I returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and I was crying. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also came to me. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, “Abu Hurairah, what happened?” I said, “I met Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him about the message with which you sent me. He struck his hand on my chest, and I fell backwards. He said, ‘Go back.’” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O Umar, why did you do that?” He said, “May my parents be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! You sent Abu Hurairah with your blessed sandals and this message, that whoever he meets who bears witness with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, he should give him the glad tidings of Paradise?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Yes.” Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Please do not do this, for I fear that people will rely on this alone. Let them act (do good deeds).” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Let them act.”