Salman, Suhayb and Bilal were sitting together when Abu Sufyan passed by them. They said, “The swords of Allah have not yet taken their full due from the neck of the enemy of Allah.” Abu Bakr remarked, “Do you say such words to the elder and chief of Quraysh?” When the Prophet ﷺ was informed of this he said, “O Abu Bakr, perhaps you have angered them; and if you have angered them, you have angered your Lord.” Abu Bakr returned to them and said, “My brothers, were you upset?” They replied, “No, Abu Bakr; may Allah forgive you.” (1)

ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl related—from Ḥamzah ibn Suhayb, from his father—that Suhayb said:

ʿUmar once told Suhayb, “You would be an exemplary man were it not for three traits!” Suhayb asked, “And what are they?” ʿUmar replied, “First, you have taken a kunya (teknonym) although you have no child. Second, you claim Arab lineage while you are a Byzantine. Third, there is excess in the way you eat.” Suhayb responded, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted me the kunya Abū Yaḥyā. As for my ancestry, I belong to the tribe of al-Namir ibn Qāsiṭ—the Byzantines captured me at Mosul when I was a boy who already knew his lineage. Concerning what you call excess in food, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘The best of you are those who provide food.’” (2)

Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr ibn ʿAlqamah narrated—from Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥāṭib, from his father—that ʿUmar said to Suhayb, “Were it not for three traits in you …” Some transmit this report omitting the link “from his father,” and they add: “Even if nothing remained of me but a single dung pellet split open, I would still claim descent from it.” (3)

Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated—from Zayd ibn Aslam—that ʿUmar said to Suhayb, “Were it not for three …"