Jami' al-Saghir / Jam' al-Jawami' (al-Suyuti) 2-2346b

Translation

Machine translation, not reviewed

"Abu Bakr ibn Hafs ibn 'Umar narrated: 'A'ishah came to Abu Bakr while he was suffering what the dying suffer, his soul in his chest, and she recited this verse of poetry: 'By your life, wealth does not benefit a man when his breath rattles one day and the chest is constricted.' He looked at her as one who is angry and said: 'It is not so, O Mother of the Believers, but {And the agony of death has come in truth; that is what you were trying to avoid}. Indeed I have given you a garden, and in my soul there is something about it, so return it to the inheritance.' She said: 'Yes, I have returned it.' (He said): 'Indeed, since we took charge of the affairs of the Muslims, we have not eaten a dinar or a dirham of theirs, but we have eaten the coarse part of their food in our bellies and worn the rough part of their clothing on our backs. We have nothing of the spoils of the Muslims, little or much, except this Abyssinian slave, this water-carrying camel, and this coarse blanket. When I die, send them to 'Umar and be free of them.' She did so. When the messenger came to 'Umar, he wept until his tears flowed onto the ground, and said: 'May Allah have mercy on Abu Bakr, he has exhausted those after him! O boy, lift them.' 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said: 'Subhan Allah! You would take from the family of Abu Bakr an Abyssinian slave, a water-carrying camel, and a coarse blanket worth five dirhams?' He said: 'What do you command?' He said: 'Return them to his family.' He said: 'No, by the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, this will never happen in my rule, and Abu Bakr will not depart from them at death while I return them to his family. Death is nearer than that.'"

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