Jami' al-Saghir / Jam' al-Jawami' (al-Suyuti) 2-2913b

Translation

Machine translation, not reviewed

"It is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas who said: One day I was sitting with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab when he let out a breath, and I thought his ribs had come apart. I said, 'Nothing but evil comes out of this.' I said, 'O Commander of the Believers, nothing but evil comes out of you.' He said, 'Evil, by Allah. I do not know to whom I should leave this matter after me.' Then he turned to me and said, 'Perhaps you think your companion is worthy of it?' I said, 'He is worthy of it in his precedence and his virtue.' He said, 'He is as you have said, but he is a man with a sense of humour (du'abah).' I said, 'Then what about Talhah?' He said, 'That man has been arrogant (ba'a) since his finger was struck.' I said, 'Then what about al-Zubayr?' He said, 'He is an ill-tempered, bad-mannered fellow (wa'qah laqis). He would fight over a sa' in al-Baqi'. If a sa' of dates were withheld from him, he would draw his sword.' I said, 'Then what about Sa'd?' He said, 'The knight of knights.' I said, 'Then what about 'Abd al-Rahman?' He said, 'What an excellent man you mention, but he is weak.' I said, 'Then what about 'Uthman?' He said, 'He is fond of his relatives. By Allah, if I appointed him, he would carry the Banu Abi Mu'ayt on the necks of the people. By Allah, if he did so, he would be obeyed, and the Arabs would march until they killed him. This matter is not set right except by one who is firm without harshness, gentle without weakness, generous without extravagance, and frugal without miserliness.' Ibn 'Abbas would say: 'These qualities were only gathered in 'Umar.'"

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