Abū Bakr Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hamīd al-Wāsitī narrated to us, saying: Ismā'īl ibn Abī al-Hārith narrated to us, saying: Makkī ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us, saying: al-Juayd ibn Abd al-Rahmān narrated to us, from Yazīd ibn Khusayfa, from al-Sā'ib ibn Yazīd, who said:

Some people came to Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—and said, “O Commander of the Faithful, we encountered a man who asks about the interpretation of the Quran.” He said, “O Allah, deliver him into my hands!”

Then one day, as ⦗482⦘ Umar was serving the people lunch, a man dressed in robes and a turban came and joined them. When he had finished eating, he said, “O Commander of the Faithful: ‘By those [winds] scattering [dust] far and wide, and those [clouds] carrying a load [of water]’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 2].”

Umar said, “Are you the man?” He rose toward him, bared his forearms, and continued flogging him until his turban fell off. He then said, “By Him in whose hand is Umar’s soul, had I found you with your head shaven, I would have struck it off. Put his clothes back on him, place him upon a small camel saddle, and take him away until you bring him back to his own land. Then have him stand and publicly declare: ‘Ṣabīgh sought knowledge but failed to attain it.’” Thereafter, he remained a man of no standing among his people until he died, although he had once been their leader.