2653 – ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar informed us; Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan narrated to us; he said: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī narrated to us; he said: ʿAbbād ibn Mūsā al-Khuttalī narrated to us; he said: Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar, from Isrāʾīl, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, who said:
I performed the Hajj with ʿUmar and was present when he was stabbed. Nothing kept me from standing in the front row except the awe he inspired—for he was a formidable man—so I stood in the row behind him. ʿUmar would not pronounce the opening takbīr until he had turned to face the first row; if anyone was ahead of it or lagging behind, he struck him with his whip. That is what made me avoid the front row.
When he came forward to lead the prayer, Abu Luʾluʾah, the slave of al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, confronted him. ʿUmar spoke with him briefly at close range, and then the man stabbed him three times with a dagger he carried. I heard ʿUmar, his hands outstretched, calling out, “After him—the dog! Seize the dog, for he has killed me!” The congregation surged in confusion and thirteen others were wounded. A man rushed the attacker from behind, seized his arms and subdued him, while ʿUmar was carried to his house.
People were still milling about when someone cried, “Prayer, servants of Allah— the sun has risen!” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān stepped forward and led them, reciting the two shortest surahs in the Quran: “When the help of Allah comes and the conquest” and “Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar.”
Later ʿUmar sent for Ibn ʿAbbās, who announced among the people, “Was this done with the knowledge or collusion of any of you?” They replied, “Allah forbid; we neither knew of it nor suspected it.” Then ʿUmar said, “Bring me the physician.”
When the doctor arrived he asked, “Which drink do you prefer?” ʿUmar answered, “nabīdh” (a beverage made from dates). “Give him nabīdh,” the doctor said. They gave it to him, and it flowed out through some of his wounds. The people exclaimed, “That is pus—give him milk!” They gave him milk and it likewise came out through his wounds. The doctor said, “I do not think you will walk again; do whatever you had resolved to do.”
ʿUmar said, “ʿAbd Allāh, hand me the scapula tablet. If Allah ⦗1468⦘ had willed what is written on it to be fulfilled, He would have fulfilled it.” ʿAbd Allāh said, “I will erase it for you.” ʿUmar replied, “No, by Allah, no one will erase it but I,” and he wiped it out with his own hand. It had contained the ruling on the obligatory share of the grandfather.
He then said, “Call for me ʿAlī, ʿUthmān, Ṭalḥah, al-Zubayr, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, and Saʿd.” None of the six spoke except ʿAlī and ʿUthmān. ʿUmar said, “ʿAlī, these men surely recognize your kinship to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the understanding and knowledge he granted you. Should you be entrusted with this affair, then fear Allah regarding it.”
He then addressed ʿUthmān: “ʿUthmān, the people know your marital bond with the Messenger of Allah and your standing. If the matter is placed in your hands, then fear Allah, and do not set the Banū Abī Mughīrah upon the necks of the Muslims.”
Next ʿUmar said, “Call Suhayb for me.” When Suhayb was brought, he told him, “Lead the people in prayer for three days, and confine these six men in one house; when they agree upon one man, anyone who opposes them is to have his neck struck.”
When they turned to leave, ʿUmar said, “If they entrust it to the bald-headed one (al-Ajlaḥ)—meaning ʿAlī—he will guide them along the right path.” Someone asked, “Then what prevents you, Commander of the Believers, from appointing him yourself?” He replied, “I do not wish to shoulder its burden in life and in death.”
Of those whom Abu Luʾluʾah wounded, six—or seven—died. Kaʿb entered upon ʿUmar and recited, “The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt” (Āl ʿImrān 3:60), then said, “I told you that you would be a martyr, and you replied, ‘How could I attain martyrdom while I am in the Arabian Peninsula?’”