2 – With its chain of transmission: When ʿUmar reached Syria, Muʿāwiyah came out to greet him with an imposing procession. As Muʿāwiyah drew near, ʿUmar asked, “Are you the man with this grand cortege?” “Yes, Commander of the Believers,” he replied. ʿUmar continued, “Yet I am told that petitioners must wait a long time at your gate.” Muʿāwiyah answered, “Exactly as you have heard.” “And why do you do that?” ʿUmar asked. He responded, “We are in a land swarming with enemy spies, so we have to display the majesty of authority to make them fear us. If you command me, I shall persist; and if you forbid me, I shall desist.”

ʿUmar said, “Muʿāwiyah, whenever I question you, you leave me gnawing like a tooth caught in its own ridges. If what you say is true, it is the judgment of a shrewd man; and if it is false, it is the stratagem of a cultured one.” ⦗20⦘

Muʿāwiyah then said, “So give me your orders, Commander of the Believers.” ʿUmar replied, “I neither command you nor forbid you.” A man exclaimed, “Commander of the Believers, how skillfully the young man has emerged from the test you put him through!” ʿUmar said, “Because he manages every entry and exit so well, we endure from him what we endure.”