1038—Ja‘far ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Ya‘qub informed us: Muhammad ibn Harun al-Ruyani informed us: Abu Sa‘id al-Ashajj narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib, from Muharib ibn Dithar, from Ibn Buraydah, who said:

We came to Madinah and went to ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar. We said, “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, we are in a land where there are people who claim that there is no divine decree.”

He asked, “Are they Muslims who pray toward the qiblah?”

He replied, “Yes, they are among those who pray toward the qiblah.”

He became so angry that I wished I had not asked him. Then he said, “When you meet those people, tell them that ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar disavows them, and that they disavow him.” ⦗650⦘

Then he said, “If you wish, I shall relate to you something from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” I said, “Indeed.”

He said: We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when a man came to him, finely dressed, pleasantly scented, and handsome in appearance. He said, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah.” He replied, “And upon you.”

The man said, “O Messenger of Allah, may I come near you?” He said, “Come near.” We said, “We had never seen a man with finer clothing, a more pleasant scent, a handsomer face, or greater reverence for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, than this man.”

Then he again said, “O Messenger of Allah, may I come near you?” He said, “Yes.” So he came a little closer. We repeated what we had said before.

Then, for the third time, he said, “May I come near you, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Yes.” So he came near until he placed his knee against the knee of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

He then said, “O Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?”

He said, “That you establish the prayer, give zakah, fast Ramadan, make pilgrimage to the House, and bathe after major ritual impurity.”

He said, “You have spoken the truth.” We said, “We had never seen anyone like this man today; it was as though he were teaching the Messenger of Allah.”

He said, “And what is faith?”

He said, “That you believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Last Day, the angels, the Scripture, ⦗651⦘ the prophets, and the divine decree in its entirety—its good and its evil, its sweetness and its bitterness.”

He said, “You have spoken the truth.” We said, “By Allah, we had never seen anything like this before. By Allah, it was as though he were teaching the Messenger of Allah.”

He said, “O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be?”

He said, “The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner.”

Then the man departed. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Bring the man back to me.” We all rose to look for him, but although we searched for him, we could not find him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then said, “This was Gabriel. He came to teach you your religion. Never had he come to me in a form without my recognizing him before this occasion.”

1039—‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Umar informed us: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim narrated to us: ‘Ali ibn Harb al-Mawsili narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us: ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib informed us, from Muharib ibn Dithar, from Ibn Buraydah, from Yahya ibn Ya‘mur, who said:

We came to Madinah and met Ibn ‘Umar. We said, “We are people who travel throughout the land, and we encounter people who claim that there is no divine decree.” He then related it.

Shaykh Abu al-Qasim al-Hafiz said: This is more likely to be correct than the report of al-Ashajj. The hadith of Ibn Buraydah has also been narrated from ‘Alqamah ibn Marthad and others, from Yahya ibn Ya‘mur.