al-Ghurar fi Fadail Umar
- Author died
- 911 AH
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- al-Ghurar fi Fadail Umar
al-Ghurar fi Fadail Umar (The Eminent Traditions on the Virtues of Umar) is a hadith treatise by the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (849–911 AH / 1445–1505 CE) dedicated to the merits of the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction, al-Suyuti states that he compiled forty hadiths regarding the virtues of Umar, attributing each narration to its original collectors and following them with explanations of uncommon vocabulary and difficult expressions. In the epilogue, he notes that while the virtues of Umar are too numerous to be fully encompassed and too well known to require exhaustive mention, he compiled this modest collection to attain blessings through serving Umar's legacy and to benefit readers who are unfamiliar with his merits.
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into an introduction, forty sequentially numbered hadiths, and an epilogue (khatimah):
- Forty Hadiths: The central collection comprises prophetic traditions highlighting Umar's standing in Islam. These include traditions mentioning him among the ten promised Paradise and alongside Abu Bakr as the masters of the mature dwellers of Paradise, the Prophet's ﷺ supplication for Islam to be strengthened through his conversion, reports describing him as inspired (muhaddath or muallam) with truth placed upon his tongue and heart, traditions concerning his palace in Paradise, visions and dreams involving him, and reports describing him as a barrier against civil strife (fitnah).
- Epilogue: The work concludes with reports from the Companions, including statements transmitted by Abd Allah ibn Masud regarding four matters in which Umar surpassed others—his stance on the captives of Badr, his suggestion regarding the verse of the veil (hijab), the Prophet's ﷺ supplication for him, and his initiative in pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr—as well as remarks on how his conversion brought strength and public prayer to the early Muslims.
Method and Sources
Al-Suyuti records the text of each hadith followed by attribution to the hadith collections that recorded it. His cited sources include the works of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, al-Tabarani (in his al-Mujam al-Kabir and al-Mujam al-Awsat), al-Bazzar, Abu Yala, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, Abu Nuaym al-Isfahani, Ibn Asakir, Ibn Saad, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn al-Najjar, and al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws. He occasionally adds brief grading assessments (such as sahih) and provides lexical explanations for rare terms appearing in the texts, such as defining al-gharb (a large bucket), al-abqari (a strong man), and al-muallam (the inspired person).
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