al-Thani min Fadail Umar ibn al-Khattab
- Author died
- 600 AH
- Editions
- Manuscript published in the free program Jawāmi‘ al-Kalim affiliated with Islamweb
al-Thani min Fada'il 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (The Second Part of the Virtues of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab) is a hadith monograph attributed to the Hanbali traditionist Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (541–600 AH / 1146–1203 CE) . It constitutes the surviving second part (juz') of a collection dedicated to traditions and historical reports regarding the life and virtues of the second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab .
Structure and Content
The text comprises forty numbered traditions and historical reports (athar), transmitted with full chains of narration (asānīd) . The contents primarily cover pivotal historical episodes surrounding 'Umar’s caliphate and death, alongside prophetic reports detailing his standing and virtues:
- The Assassination and Death of 'Umar: The text recounts the assassination of 'Umar by Abu Lu'lu'ah in the mosque, his medical treatment, and his subsequent dialogue with Abd Allah ibn Abbas . It includes 'Umar sending his son Abd Allah ibn Umar to request permission from Aisha to be buried alongside the Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr .
- Counsels and Succession: It records 'Umar’s deathbed instructions to the community regarding the early Emigrants (Muhajirun), the Helpers (Ansar), the bedouins, and the protected non-Muslim subjects (ahl al-dhimmah) . It details his establishment of the six-member consultative council (Shura) consisting of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Uthman ibn Affan, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas .
- Praise and Virtues: The collection includes Ali's eulogy for 'Umar expressing admiration for his righteous deeds , as well as Prophetic traditions concerning 'Umar's merits . Among these are narrations designating Abu Bakr and 'Umar as the masters of the mature men in Paradise ( هذان سيدا كهول أهل الجنة ) , the Prophet's earthly ministers ( وزيراي من أهل الأرض ) , the command to emulate them ( اقتدوا باللذين من بعدي ) , and the prayer to fortify Islam through 'Umar .
Method and Transmission
The compiler presents narrations through chains received from his teachers, including Abu Tahir al-Silafi, Abu al-Qasim Yahya ibn Thabit ibn Bundar al-Baghdadi, al-Hafiz Abu al-Fadl Ahmad ibn Salih ibn Shafi' al-Jili, Fatimah bint 'Ali al-Wiqayati, and the grammarian 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn al-Khashshab .
Beyond straightforward narration, the work occasionally incorporates critical hadith commentary (naqd al-ḥadīth). It cites appraisals and narrator critiques from Ahmad ibn Hanbal and earlier traditionists such as Ibn Shahin, addressing problematic narrators and anomalous chains (munkar) .
Manuscript Preservation
A manuscript copy of this work has been preserved in the collections of the Zahiriyyah Library in Damascus and recorded in modern manuscript catalogues .
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