Bayhaqi 17516 — One from whom the smell of drink is found

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amir bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Sayyiduna Qudamah bin Maz'un (may Allah be pleased with him) as governor over Bahrain. He was the maternal uncle of the Mother of the Believers Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Al-Jarud (may Allah be pleased with him), the chief of Banu Abd al-Qays, came and said: O Commander of the Believers, Umar! Qudamah has drunk wine and become dead drunk. I have come to know of one of the prescribed punishments of Allah concerning him, so I have informed you. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Is there any other witness? He said: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). When he was asked, he said: I did not see him drinking wine, but he was vomiting in a state of intoxication. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have given half a testimony. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) summoned Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him) from Bahrain, and he came. Al-Jarud (may Allah be pleased with him) went to him and said: Apply the Book of Allah to this man. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you a witness or a plaintiff? He said: I am a witness. He said: Then you have already given your testimony. The next day al-Jarud (may Allah be pleased with him) made the same demand again, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are not acting as a witness but becoming a plaintiff. Al-Jarud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I adjure you by Allah. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Keep your tongue under control, or I will punish you. At this Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If our testimony is not accepted, then ask the daughter of al-Walid (who is Qudamah's wife). When she was asked, she too gave testimony. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him): I will apply the prescribed punishment to you. Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You cannot apply the prescribed punishment to me. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Why? He said: Because Allah Almighty says: "There is no sin upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have eaten." [Surah al-Ma'idah: 93] Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are interpreting it wrongly; if you feared Allah, you would never do what is forbidden. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted the people about flogging Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him), and they advised against it. He asked again, and they again advised against it, saying that he was ill. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I would rather present myself before Allah having had the lashes given than have this prescribed punishment become a collar around my neck. Then he sent for a whip and applied the prescribed punishment to Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and in that state the two of them performed Hajj. When they returned from Hajj and stopped at al-Suqya, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) woke from his sleep and said: Bring Qudamah to me. He was called, but he refused to come. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Bring him by force. So he was brought by force. He spoke with him and sought forgiveness for him, and this was their first reconciliation.
At the beginning of this story it is shown that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not apply the prescribed punishment to him on the basis of a mere smell and a single testimony until the matter was established.