روي أنه قال عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما: حدثني أبي عمر بن الخطاب قال بينما نحن عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم إذ طلع علينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب شديد سواد الشعر لا يرى عليه أثر السفر ولا يعرفه منا أحد حتى جلس إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأسند ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه ووضع كفيه على فخذيه وقال: يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام. فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله وتقيم الصلاة وتؤتي الزكاة وتصوم رمضان وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا. قال: صدقت. قال [عمر]: فعجبنا له يسأله ويصدقه.
قال: فأخبرني عن الإيمان. قال: أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره. قال: صدقت.
قال: فأخبرني عن الإحسان. قال: أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك.
قال: فأخبرني عن الساعة. قال: ما المسئول عنها بأعلم من السائل.
قال: فأخبرني عن أمارتها. قال: أن تلد الأمة ربتها وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء يتطاولون في البنيان.
قال [عمر]: ثم انطلق فلبثت مليا ثم قال لي: يا عمر أتدري من السائل؟ قلت: الله ورسوله أعلم. قال: فإنه جبريل أتاكم يعلمكم دينكم
It is reported that Abd Allah ibn Omar (ra) said that his father Omar (ra) said: One day, while we were with the Prophet (pbuh) a man, with shining white clothes and jet black hair, appeared before us. We could see no indications of a journey on him and neither did anyone among us know him [to be a resident of Medinah]1. [He kept advancing towards us] till he sat himself in front of the Prophet (pbuh). [So close was he to the Prophet (pbuh) that] his knees touched the Prophet’s knees; he placed his hands on his legs. He asked: ‘Muhammad, inform me about Islam‘. The Prophet (pbuh) replied: ‘Islam is that you bear witness that there is no god, except the One God and that Muhammad is the messenger of God; that you establish Sala’h; that you pay Zaka’h; that you fast during [the month of] Ramadan; and that you undertake the Hajj of the Bayet Allah, if you are in a position to do so’2. He said: ‘You are right’. Omar said: ‘We were surprised at him. He asked the Prophet a question and then himself verified the Prophet’s answer’.
Then he said: ‘Inform me about Iman‘. The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Iman is that you believe in God, His angels, His books, His prophets; the Final Day3 and that you believe that the desirable and the undesirable events [in life] are all from God’4. He said: ‘You are right’.
Then he said: ‘Inform me about Ihsan‘. The Prophet replied: ‘Ihsan is that you serve God as if He was right in front of your eyes; for even if you cannot see Him, He definitely sees you’5.
Then he said: ‘Inform me about the Hour [when shall it happen?]’ The Prophet (pbuh) replied: ‘The person who is being asked is no more aware of it than the inquirer’.
Then he said: ‘Tell me about its signs’. The Prophet (pbuh) replied: ‘That the slave girl will give birth to the free woman6; that you shall see these bare footed, naked, and poor shepherds [of Arabia] competing with each other in making high buildings’7.
Omar continued: Then he went away and I kept sitting there for quite some time. Then the Prophet (pbuh) said to me: ‘Omar, do you know who this inquirer was?’ I said: ‘God and His messenger know best’. He said: ‘It was Gabriel. He came to you to teach you [some important aspects of] your religion’.
General Notes:
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i.e. the person was neither a resident of Medinah nor did he seem to have travelled from far away.
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The five stated elements are, in fact, the distinguishing observable elements of Islam.
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Each of these elements of belief is referred to as the essential elements of Islamic belief in Al-Baqarah 2: 285.
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This element of belief is the direct corollary of the belief in the omniscience of God and His absolute control over all the events that take place in the world.
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i.e. to perform all the deeds of piety in the best of manners. In the manner in which man would have performed these deeds had he been able to physically see God watching him perform these deeds.
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This seems to be a reference to the abolition of the institution of slavery. It refers to the time when a child born to a slave-girl would be a free person.
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i.e. when the affluence of the then destitute Arabs would be manifested in their competing with each other in building sky scrapers.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative:
This narrative or a part of it, with minor variations, has been reported in Bukhariy (narrative no. 48 and 4404), Muslim (narrative no. 9, 10 and 11), Tirmidhi (narrative no. 2535), Nasaa’iy (narrative no. 4904 and 4905), Abu Dawood (narrative no. 4075), Ibn Maajah (narrative no. 62 and 63), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (narrative no. 179, 346, 352, 2775, 5592, 9137, 16541 and 16851), Ibn Hibban (narrative no. 159, 168 and 173), Ibn Khuzaymah (2244 and 2504), Musnad Abu Haneefah (Vol.1, Pg. 152), Bayhaqiy (narraive no. 8393 and 20660), Darqutniy (49) and Ibn Abi Shaybah (narrative no. 30309, 37557 and 37558). The preferred narrative is the one reported in Muslim (narrative no. 9).
This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi