al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad said, “Speech is shortened so that it may be memorised, and it is expanded so that it may be understood. We stand by the statement of ʿUmar when he declared: ‘I am about to say some words it has been decreed for me to say. Whoever comprehends them and retains them, let him convey them until his mount brings him to his destination; but whoever fears that he will not grasp them, I do not permit him to tell a lie about me.’ ⦗77⦘

Yahyā ibn Sulaymān narrated this to me, from Ibn Wahb, from Mālik, and from Yūnus, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿAbdillāh, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said that.

Allah, exalted is He, says: ‘Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of’ (17:36). May He guide us and you to the Straight Path and keep us far from ‘those who split up and differed after clear proofs had come to them.’

Ubayy ibn Kaʿb said about the words, ‘out of transgression among them’ (2:213): ‘It was transgression for the sake of the world—seeking its dominion, its glitter, and its adornment. Each wanted power and prestige over the people, so some of them wronged others and some of them struck the necks of others.’

As for His words, ‘Then Allah guided those who believed to the truth about which they had differed, by His permission’ (2:213), he continued: ‘They stood firm upon what the messengers had brought, established the prayer, paid the zakah, kept themselves clear of disputes, and on the Day of Resurrection they will bear witness against the people that their messengers had indeed conveyed the message while those people had denied their messengers.’