Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2062
sahih

Narrated 'Ubaid bin `Umair:

Abu Musa asked `Umar to admit him but he was not admitted as `Umar was busy, so Abu Musa went back. When `Umar finished his job he said, "Didn't I hear the voice of `Abdullah bin Qais? Let him come in." `Umar was told that he had left. So, he sent for him and on his arrival, he (Abu Musa) said, "We were ordered to do so (i.e. to leave if not admitted after asking permission thrice). `Umar told him, "Bring witness in proof of your statement." Abu Musa went to the Ansar's meeting places and asked them. They said, "None amongst us will give this witness except the youngest of us, Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri. Abu Musa then took Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (to `Umar) and `Umar said, surprisingly, "Has this order of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) been hidden from me?" (Then he added), "I used to be busy trading in markets."

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَخْلَدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَطَاءٌ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ، أَنَّ أَبَا مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيَّ، اسْتَأْذَنَ عَلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ فَلَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لَهُ، وَكَأَنَّهُ كَانَ مَشْغُولاً فَرَجَعَ أَبُو مُوسَى، فَفَرَغَ عُمَرُ فَقَالَ أَلَمْ أَسْمَعْ صَوْتَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ ائْذَنُوا لَهُ قِيلَ قَدْ رَجَعَ‏.‏ فَدَعَاهُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ كُنَّا نُؤْمَرُ بِذَلِكَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ تَأْتِينِي عَلَى ذَلِكَ بِالْبَيِّنَةِ‏.‏ فَانْطَلَقَ إِلَى مَجْلِسِ الأَنْصَارِ، فَسَأَلَهُمْ‏.‏ فَقَالُوا لاَ يَشْهَدُ لَكَ عَلَى هَذَا إِلاَّ أَصْغَرُنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ‏.‏ فَذَهَبَ بِأَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ أَخَفِيَ عَلَىَّ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَلْهَانِي الصَّفْقُ بِالأَسْوَاقِ‏.‏ يَعْنِي الْخُرُوجَ إِلَى تِجَارَةٍ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 34, Hadith 15
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 277 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to comply with the Prophet’s ﷺcommands and adhere to the Islamic etiquettes, and they (may Allah be pleased with them) left the most wonderful legacy attesting that. In this hadeeth, the Tabi’ee (Follower) ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr stated that Aboo Moosaa, ‘Abdullah ibn Qays Al-Ash’aree (may Allah be pleased with him) sought permission thrice to enter ‘Umar’s house, as recorded in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim. However, the Caliph ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was busy and did not give him permission to enter, and therefore he left. When ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) finished his task, he ordered that Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with him) should be given permission to enter, but he was told that he had left. ‘Umar summoned Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with them) and inquired about his reason for leaving instead of waiting to be given permission to enter. Aboo Moosaa told him that he was acting upon the command of the Prophet ﷺ in this regard. It has been narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When one of you seeks permission thrice to enter and it is not granted to him, he should go back.” Upon hearing the hadeeth, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was shocked that such etiquette should have missed him, while he (may Allah be pleased with him) accompanied the Prophet ﷺ in residence and travel! He (may Allah be pleased with him) feared that Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with him) might have been confused and therefore asked him to bring a witness to testify to the authenticity of this act of Sunnah so that people would not take lightly the attribution of a statement or an act to the Prophet ﷺ. Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Ansaar’s meeting place and asked them to testify with him that this hadeeth was authentically attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. Since this matter was well-known and quite common among the Ansaar, they sent with Aboo Moosaa a young Companion Aboo Sa’eed Al-Khudree to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and he testified as to the authenticity of the relevant hadeeth. Upon knowing that and learning of the authentic hadeeth on that act of Sunnah, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) attributed the reason for his lack of knowledge of it to his preoccupation with trade and spending a lot of time in the marketplaces. The Arabic word ‘Safq’ used in the hadeeth means handshakes upon concluding sales transactions. It is deduced from the hadeeth that Muslims are required to investigate the authenticity of any statement before attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ. It is also inferred that when a Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We were commanded”, it meant that the Prophet ﷺ commanded them. The hadeeth also highlights that senior Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) engaged in trade and worked to earn their living. It is also deduced from the hadeeth that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) complied with the Prophet’s command and accepted it upon verifying its authenticity. It is also inferred therefrom that even a knowledgeable scholar (like ‘Umar) may be ignorant of some knowledge issues that may be known to someone else who is less knowledgeable! .
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