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Sunan Abi Dawud 4656 (Book 42, Hadith 61) #24947
The Future of Caliphs According to a Bishop

SUMMARY: Umar ibn al-Khattab asked a bishop about the future caliphs and was told that the one after Uthman would be a pious caliph but would prefer his relatives, leading to bloodshed.

Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: Al-Aqra', the mu'adhdhin (announcer) of Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Umar sent me to a bishop and I called him. Umar said to him: Do you find me in the Book? He said: Yes. He asked: How do you find me? He said: I find you (like a) castle. Then he raised a whip to him, saying: What do you mean by castle? He replied: An iron castle and severely trustworthy. He asked: How do you find the one who will come after me? He said: I find him a pious caliph, except that he will prefer his relatives. Umar said: May Allah have mercy on Uthman: He said it three times. He then asked: How do you find the one who will come after him? He replied: I find him like rusty iron. Umar then put his hand on his head, and said: O filthy! O filthy! He said: Commander of the Faithful! He is a pious caliph, but when he is made caliph, the sword will be unsheathed and blood will be shed. Abu Dawud said: Al-Dafr means filth or evil smell.
حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ عُمَرَ أَبُو عُمَرَ الضَّرِيرُ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، أَنَّ سَعِيدَ بْنَ إِيَاسٍ الْجُرَيْرِيَّ، أَخْبَرَهُمْ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ شَقِيقٍ الْعُقَيْلِيِّ، عَنِ الأَقْرَعِ، مُؤَذِّنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ بَعَثَنِي عُمَرُ إِلَى الأُسْقُفِّ فَدَعَوْتُهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ وَهَلْ تَجِدُنِي فِي الْكِتَابِ قَالَ نَعَمْ ‏.‏ قَالَ كَيْفَ تَجِدُنِي قَالَ أَجِدُكَ قَرْنًا ‏.‏ فَرَفَعَ عَلَيْهِ الدِّرَّةَ فَقَالَ قَرْنُ مَهْ فَقَالَ قَرْنٌ حَدِيدٌ أَمِينٌ شَدِيدٌ ‏.‏ قَالَ كَيْفَ تَجِدُ الَّذِي يَجِيءُ مِنْ بَعْدِي فَقَالَ أَجِدُهُ خَلِيفَةً صَالِحًا غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ يُؤْثِرُ قَرَابَتَهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ عُمَرُ يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ عُثْمَانَ ثَلاَثًا فَقَالَ كَيْفَ تَجِدُ الَّذِي بَعْدَهُ قَالَ أَجِدُهُ صَدَأَ حَدِيدٍ فَوَضَعَ عُمَرُ يَدَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ فَقَالَ يَا دَفْرَاهُ يَا دَفْرَاهُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِنَّهُ خَلِيفَةٌ صَالِحٌ وَلَكِنَّهُ يُسْتَخْلَفُ حِينَ يُسْتَخْلَفُ وَالسَّيْفُ مَسْلُولٌ وَالدَّمُ مُهْرَاقٌ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ الدَّفْرُ النَّتْنُ

TOPICS
caliph  *  bishop  *  book  *  castle  *  muadhdhin  *  alaqra  *  aldafr  *  qalib  *  astath  *  kitab  *  fidri  *  tawaduaa

QUICK LESSONS:
Be fair and just in decision making; Do not let personal relationships cloud judgement; Respect those in authority; Praise those deserving of praise; Show mercy towards others; Be trustworthy and reliable .

EXPLANATIONS:
This hadith is about an exchange between Umar ibn al-Khattab and a bishop. The bishop was asked if he found anything in the book regarding Umar, to which he replied that he found him like an iron castle, meaning strong and reliable. When asked about who will come after him, the bishop said it will be a pious caliph who prefers his relatives. This made Umar think of his successor, Uthman, whom he praised three times for being pious. When asked about who will come after him however, the bishop said it would be like rusty iron - implying that there will be bloodshed due to this caliph's preference for his relatives over others. In conclusion, this hadith teaches us that we should not let our personal relationships cloud our judgement when making decisions as leaders or rulers as it can lead to negative consequences such as violence or unrest in society.

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