Hadith 144

is chain from Ibn Abbas who said, ‘I entered to see Umar Bin Al-Khattab during the beginning of his caliphate, and a basket of dates had been cast to him. He called me for the eating. I ate one date, and he went on eating until he was satiation upon it. Then he drank from a cup which was with him, and wiped with his elbow sleeve of his, and he began praising Allah-azwj, repeating that. Then he said, ‘Where are you coming from, O servant of Allah-azwj? ’ I said, ‘From the Masjid’. He said, ‘How have you left son-asws of your uncle-as? ’ I thought he meant Abdullah Bin Ja’far, so I said, ‘I left him playing around with his equals’. He said, ‘I did not mean that one, and rather I meant the great one-asws of your People-asws of the Household? ’
I said, ‘I left him-asws behind walking with vigour at the palm trees of his-asws and he-asws was reading the Quran’. He said, ‘O servant of Allah-azwj! Upon you would be blood of the sacrificial animal if you were to conceal it. Does anything remain in himself-asws regarding the matter of the caliphate? ’ I said, ‘Yes’. He said, ‘Does he-asws (still) claim Rasool-Allah-saww had made it to be for him-asws? ’ I said, ‘Yes, and I shall increase for you. I asked my father about what he-asws claims, and he said, ‘He-asws speaks the truth’’. Umar said, ‘There was a peak regarding his-asws matter from Rasool-Allah-saww, from a word not proven by argument, nor cutting off excuses, and he-asws has been deceiving regarding his-asws command every time. And he-saww (said), during his-saww illness, to declare his-asws name, but I prevented from that in compassion and fear upon. No, by the Lord-azwj of this House! Quraysh will not unite to him-asws, ever, and if he-asws were to be in-charge of it, the Arabs from the outskirts would ruin him-asws. Rasool-Allah-saww knew that I knew what was within himself-saww, so he-saww withheld, and Allah-azwj Refused except the accomplishment of what had been Ordained’’. [110]