One day, while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man suddenly appeared before us. His clothes were intensely white and his hair intensely black. No trace of travel could be seen on him, yet none of us recognized him. He came up and sat down before the Prophet ﷺ, pressing his knees against the Prophet's knees and placing his palms on the Prophet's thighs.He said, "Muhammad, tell me about Islam."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the prayer, to give the zakat, to fast Ramadan, and to perform the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to find a way."The man said, "You have spoken the truth."We were astonished at him, questioning the Prophet and then confirming his answers.Then he said, "Tell me about iman."The Prophet replied, "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, both its good and its evil."The man said, "You have spoken the truth. Now tell me about ihsan."The Prophet said, "It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, for if you do not see Him, surely He sees you."The man said, "Tell me about the Hour."The Prophet replied, "The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner."The man said, "Then tell me about its signs."The Prophet said, "That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, and that you will see the barefoot, the naked, the destitute shepherds of sheep competing in constructing tall buildings."Then the man departed, and I remained for a while. Afterwards the Prophet said to me, "Umar, do you know who the questioner was?"I said, "Allah and His Messenger know best."He said, "That was Jibreel. He came to teach you your religion."
بينما نحن عند رسول الله ﷺ ذات يوم إذ طلع علينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب شديد سواد الشعر، لا يرى عليه أثر السفر، ولا يعرفه منا أحد، حتى جلس إلى النبي ﷺ فأسند ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه، ووضع كفيه على فخذيه، وقال: يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله، وتقيم الصلاة، وتؤتي الزكاة، وتصوم رمضان، وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا. قال: صدقت، قال: فعجبنا له يسأله ويصدقه. قال: فأخبرني عن الإيمان، قال: أن تؤمن بالله، وملائكته، وكتبه، ورسله، واليوم الآخر وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره، قال: صدقت، قال: فأخبرني عن الإحسان، قال: أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك. قال: فأخبرني عن الساعة، قال: ما المسئول عنها بأعلم من السائل، قال: فأخبرني عن أماراتها، قال: أن تلد الأمة ربتها، وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء يتطاولون في البنيان، قال: ثم انطلق فلبثت مليا، ثم قال لي: يا عمر أتدري من السائل؟ قلت: الله ورسوله أعلم، قال: فإنه جبريل أتاكم يعلمكم دينكم.
Reported by Muslim in the Book of Faith (8), through several chains from Yahya bin Yamar, who said, "The first person to speak of predestination in Basra was Mabad Juhani. So I and Humayd bin Abdul-Rahman Himyari set out together, either for hajj or umrah, and we said, 'If only we could meet one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and ask him about what these people are saying regarding predestination.' Then, by chance, we came upon Abdullah bin Umar bin Khattab entering the masjid, so I and my companion positioned ourselves on either side of him, one of us on his right and the other on his left. I thought my companion would leave the talking to me, so I said, 'Abu Abdul-Rahman, some people have appeared among us who recite the Quran and pursue knowledge,' and he mentioned something of their situation, 'and they claim that there is no predestination, and that matters occur spontaneously without any prior decree.' He said, 'When you meet those people, tell them that I disown them, and that they disown me. By the One by whom Abdullah bin Umar swears, if one of them had gold equal to the mountain of Uhud and spent it all, Allah would not accept it from him until he believed in predestination.' Then he said, 'My father, Umar bin Khattab, told me,' and he went on to relate the hadith."His saying, "so I and my companion positioned ourselves on either side of him" means that we placed ourselves on his two flanks. The two "kanafan" of a bird are its two wings.His saying, "yataqaffarun al-ilm" means they pursue its trace and seek it out. "Taqaffur" means tracking the trace of something.His saying, "the matter occurs spontaneously" means it is newly originated, with no prior decree or divine will preceding it. It is said, "a meadow that is 'anaf'" when it has not been grazed, and the "anf" of a thing is its beginning.Baghawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "In this hadith the Prophet ﷺ made 'Islam' a name for what appears outwardly in the form of deeds, and made 'Iman' a name for what lies hidden in belief. This is not because deeds are not part of faith, or because inward affirmation by the heart is not part of Islam. Rather, it is a detailing of a single whole, all of which is one thing, and the sum of it is 'the religion.' That is why he said, 'That was Jibreel, who came to teach you the matters of your religion.' Both affirmation and action are encompassed together by the terms Iman and Islam. This is indicated by His saying, "Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam" [Al Imran 3:19], "and I have approved Islam for you as religion" [Maidah 5:3], and His saying, "And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers" [Al Imran 3:85]. So He informed us that the religion which He approves of and accepts from His servants is Islam, and religion can only occupy the position of acceptance and approval when affirmation is joined together with action."Sharh al-Sunnah (1/10–11).