Musnad Ahmad — Hadith #45289

Affan told us, Abu Awanah told us, Husayn told us, Saad bin Ubaidah told me, he said Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami and Hibban had a dispute. Ibn Atiyya, and Abu Abd al-Rahman said to Hibban, “I know what your companion dared to do,” meaning Ali, may God be pleased with him. He said, “What is it?” Is your father a father? He said a statement I heard from Ali, may God be pleased with him, saying: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, Al-Zubayr and Abu Murthad sent me. And we are all knights. He said, “Go until you reach Rawdat Khakh, for there is a woman there who has a newspaper from Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah to The polytheists, so bring her to me. So we set off on our horses until we reached her where the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, told us: she rides on the back of her camel. He said: He had written to the people of Mecca on the journey of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, so we said to her: Where is the letter that With you, she said, “I don’t have a book.” So we put her camel to sleep with it and sought her out, but we did not find anything in it. So my two companions said, “We don’t see a book with her.” So I said, “You both know that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, lied.” Then I swore, and by what I swear, if you do not produce the letter. I will strip you, so she went to her detention center while she was being held under a cloak. She took out the newspaper and they brought it to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. And he said hello. They said, “O Messenger of God, he has betrayed God, His Messenger, and the believers. Let me behead him.” He said, “O Hatib, what made you do what you did?” He said, “O Messenger of God, by God it is not my fault that I should not be a believer in God and His Messenger, but I wanted to have a hand with the people by which God would protect me from my family. And my money, and there was not one of your companions who did not have it. There was someone among his people whom God Almighty would protect on behalf of his family and his wealth. He said, “You have spoken the truth.” So do not say anything but good to him. Then Omar said, O Messenger of God, he has betrayed God and His Messenger and the believers. Let me behead him. He said, Is he not one of the people of Badr, and how do you know that perhaps God Almighty looked at them and said, “Do whatever you want, for Paradise has been destined for you.” Then the eyes of Omar, may God be pleased with him, filled with tears, and he said, “God Almighty and His Messenger know best.”