109 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-ʿAbdī narrated to us; he said: Marḥūm ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-ʿAṭṭār narrated to me, from Dāwūd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who said:

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz had two brothers in faith, both devoted servants of Allah: one was Ziyād, ⦗75⦘ the other Sālim. Ziyād once came in to see him while his wife Fāṭimah bint ʿAbd al-Malik was sitting with him. She started to rise, but ʿUmar said, “It is only Ziyād—your uncle.” Then he looked at him and remarked, “There is Ziyād, dressed in a rough woollen tunic, with no share at all in governing the Muslims’ affairs.” He then threw his cloak over his face and wept. He said to his wife, “What is this?” She answered, “This has been his way ever since he was entrusted with the caliphate.”

Sālim came in to see him, and ʿUmar said, “Sālim, I fear that I may be ruined.” He replied, “If you are afraid, do not despair. Take the example of a servant whom Allah fashioned with His own hand, breathed into him of His spirit, made the angels prostrate before him, and gave him free access to Paradise. He committed just one act of disobedience, and for that single sin Allah expelled him from Paradise.”