what he had done, but it was too late for remorse.

Now, we have been informed that there is an idea—or even a formal plan—to enlarge the area of circumambulation around the Kaaba and to move the Station of Abraham to some other spot. On this occasion I would urge those responsible to give priority instead to widening the very structure of the Kaaba and to rebuilding it upon the foundations laid by Abraham, peace be upon him, thereby fulfilling the noble Prophetic wish expressed in the foregoing ḥadith. Such a step would also spare the people the yearly congestion at the Kaaba’s doorway and put an end to the guard’s power to bar or admit whomever he pleases—often for a few paltry dirhams!

44 – “The best of you are those who provide food.”

Luwayn recorded it in his “Ahādīth” (25/2): “ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar narrated to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl, from Ḥamzah ibn Suhayb, from his father, who said:

‘ʿUmar said to Suhayb, “What an excellent man you are—were it not for three traits I see in you!”
Suhayb asked, “And what are they?”
He replied, “You have taken a kunya although you have no child; you claim Arab lineage while you are Roman; and you are extravagant with food.”
Suhayb answered, “As for your saying that I have adopted a kunya without having a child, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me the kunya Abū Yaḥyā. As for your saying that I ascribe myself to the Arabs though I am not one of them—you are a man of Roman stock—I am in fact from the clan of al-Namir ibn Qāsiṭ; the Romans captured me from Mosul when I was still a boy who already knew his lineage. And as for your saying that I am excessive in food, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say…”—and he quoted the ḥadith.’

Ibn ʿAsākir transmitted it in the same way.