Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We were sitting around the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were also with us. (What happened was that) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up from among us (and went somewhere), and he was delayed in returning. We became afraid that (God forbid) perhaps he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had been taken away from us and passed away. We became anxious and stood up, and I was the first to become anxious. I set out to search for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), until I reached the garden of the Ansar of Banu Najjar. I circled around looking for a door, but I did not find any door. A small stream, coming from the well of Kharijah, was entering the garden, so I squeezed myself through it and (finally) reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “Is it Abu Hurairah?” I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “What happened to you (why have you come here)?” I said: You were sitting with us, then suddenly you stood up and were delayed in returning, so we feared that you had been taken away from us and passed away, so we became anxious, and I was the first to become anxious. (While searching) I reached this garden and squeezed myself in like a fox (through such and such a hole). The rest of the people are coming behind me. He gave me his two sandals and said: “Abu Hurairah! Take these my sandals and go, and whoever you meet beyond this garden, who testifies with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, give him the glad tidings of Paradise.” (So it happened that) the first person I met was Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: Abu Hurairah! What are these sandals? I said: These are the sandals of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave them to me and sent me, that whoever I meet, who testifies with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, I should give him the glad tidings of Paradise. (Upon hearing this) Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) struck my chest, and I fell on my back. He said: Abu Hurairah! Come back. I started walking back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and I was close to tears out of grief, and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was following behind me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Abu Hurairah! What happened?” I said: I met Sayyiduna Umar, conveyed your message to him, he struck my chest, I fell on my back, and he said: Come back. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “Umar! What made you do that?” He said: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you, did you really give Abu Hurairah your sandals and send him, that whoever he meets, who testifies with certainty of heart that there is no god but Allah, he should give him the glad tidings of Paradise? He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Yes (I sent him).” Sayyiduna Umar said: Do not do this, I fear that people (upon hearing such glad tidings) will rely on it (and abandon deeds), let the people act. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Leave them (i.e., do not narrate this hadith).”