Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 2, Hadith 91
It was narrated that Ya’la bin Umayyah said: I have come from Koofah, O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, and I left behind in it a man who dictates the Mushaf From memory. ‘Umar got exceedingly angry and said: Who is he, woe to you? He said: ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ood. ‘Umar began to calm down, and went back to normal, then he said: Woe to you, I do not know of anyone who is more qualified to do that than him, and I will tell you about that. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to stay up at night talking with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه discussing some affairs of the Muslims. He stayed up talking with him one night, and I was with him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out, and we went out with him, and we saw a man standing and praying in the mosque. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ listened to his recitation, and as soon as we recognised him the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: `Whoever would like to recite the Qur’an fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm ‘Abd.` Then the same man sat and offered supplication (du’a’) and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ started saying to him: `Ask, you will be given;ask, you will be given.” ‘Umar said: By Allah, I shall go to him tomorrow and tell hirm the glad tidings. I went to him the next morning to tell him the glad tidings, and I found that Abu Bakr had beaten me to it and given him the glad tidings. By Allah, I never competed with him to do good but he beat me to it.
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ إِدْرِيسَ، أَنْبَأَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عَمَّارٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بَابَيْهِ، عَنْ يَعْلَى بْنِ أُمَيَّةَ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ قُلْتُ {لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنْ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا} وَقَدْ أَمَّنَ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ فَقَالَ لِي عُمَرُ عَجِبْتُ مِمَّا عَجِبْتَ مِنْهُ فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ صَدَقَةٌ تَصَدَّقَ اللَّهُ بِهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا صَدَقَتَهُ.
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 2, Hadith 91
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.
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For more Hadith in Book 2: Musnad `Umar b. al-Khattab (ra)