Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 1, Hadith 20
It was narrated that az-Zuhri said: Abu Bakr said, when he sent me to Syria: O Yazeed, you have relatives and you may give them precedence in allocating positions of authority; that is the most serious thing I fear for you, because the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: `Whoever is appointed in charge of any affairs of the Muslims and appoints over them anyone by way of favouritism, the curse of Allah be upon him and Allah will not accept any obligatory or nafl prayer from him until he admits him to Hell. And whoever allows anyone to transgress the sacred limits set by Allah has transgressed the sacred limits of Allah unlawfully, and on him will be the curse of Allah and Allah will forsake him.`
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي رَجُلٌ، مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْفِقْهِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّ رِجَالًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حِينَ تُوُفِّيَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَزِنُوا عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى كَادَ بَعْضُهُمْ يُوَسْوِسُ قَالَ عُثْمَانُ وَكُنْتُ مِنْهُمْ فَبَيْنَا أَنَا جَالِسٌ فِي ظِلِّ أُطُمٍ مِنْ الْآطَامِ مَرَّ عَلَيَّ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيَّ فَلَمْ أَشْعُرْ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ وَلَا سَلَّمَ فَانْطَلَقَ عُمَرُ حَتَّى دَخَلَ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ مَا يُعْجِبُكَ أَنِّي مَرَرْتُ عَلَى عُثْمَانَ فَسَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيَّ السَّلَامَ وَأَقْبَلَ هُوَ وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ فِي وِلَايَةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حَتَّى سَلَّمَا عَلَيَّ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ جَاءَنِي أَخُوكَ عُمَرُ فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ عَلَيْكَ فَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ تَرُدَّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامَ فَمَا الَّذِي حَمَلَكَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ قَالَ قُلْتُ مَا فَعَلْتُ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بَلَى وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ فَعَلْتَ وَلَكِنَّهَا عُبِّيَّتُكُمْ يَا بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ قَالَ قُلْتُ وَاللَّهِ مَا شَعَرْتُ أَنَّكَ مَرَرْتَ وَلَا سَلَّمْتَ قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ صَدَقَ عُثْمَانُ وَقَدْ شَغَلَكَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ أَمْرٌ فَقُلْتُ أَجَلْ قَالَ مَا هُوَ فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ تَوَفَّى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَبِيَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَبْلَ أَنْ نَسْأَلَهُ عَنْ نَجَاةِ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ قَدْ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ قَالَ فَقُمْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ بِأَبِي أَنْتَ وَأُمِّي أَنْتَ أَحَقُّ بِهَا قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا نَجَاةُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ قَبِلَ مِنِّي الْكَلِمَةَ الَّتِي عَرَضْتُ عَلَى عَمِّي فَرَدَّهَا عَلَيَّ فَهِيَ لَهُ نَجَاةٌ.
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 1, Hadith 20
The above hadith is from the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal collection of hadiths. The Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is a foundational work in Islamic hadith literature, highly valued for its comprehensive nature. Its most defining feature is its organizational method; it categorizes hadiths based on the companion of the Prophet who first reported them, with a dedicated section for each. This structure provides a unique window into the practices and sayings of the Prophet as witnessed and related by his diverse companions. Although the Musnad is held in extremely high regard and contains many authentic narrations, it is important to note that, due to its encyclopedic aim of collecting available reports, it also contains some hadiths with weaker chains of transmission that are subject to scholarly scrutiny.
Use the tags to drill down deeper and find connections and new streams of information to help you fill gaps in knowledge and better connect the dots. Eman and Life is a growing database of knowledge with the mission to help further us in our pursuit of the best lifestyle through the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.
For more Hadith in Book 1: Musnad Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra)