Abu Musa came to Umar's house seeking permission to enter. He said, "Peace be upon you. May I enter?"Umar said, "That is one." Then he was silent for a while.Abu Musa said again, "Peace be upon you. May I enter?"Umar said, "That is two." Then he was silent for a while.Abu Musa said, "Peace be upon you. May I enter?"Umar said, "That is three." Then Abu Musa left.Umar said to the doorkeeper, "What did he do?"The doorkeeper replied, "He went back."Umar said, "Bring him to me."When Abu Musa came, Umar said, "What is this that you did?"Abu Musa replied, "It is the sunnah."Umar said, "The sunnah? By Allah, you must bring me proof or evidence for this, or I will deal with you."Abu Musa said, So he came to us while we were a group of the Ansar sitting together. He said, "Ansar, are you not the most knowledgeable of people regarding the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ not say, 'Seeking permission is three times. If you are granted permission, enter, otherwise go back'?"The people began joking with him.Abu Saeed said, Then I raised my head to him and said, "Whatever punishment befalls you in this matter, I am your partner in it."So he went to Umar and informed him of that.Umar said, "I had not known of this."
حدثنا سفيان بن وكيع حدثنا عبد الأعلى بن عبد الأعلى عن الجريري عن أبي نضرة
استأذن أبو موسى على عمر فقال السلام عليكم أأدخل قال عمر واحدة ثم سكت ساعة ثم قال السلام عليكم أأدخل قال عمر ثنتان ثم سكت ساعة فقال السلام عليكم أأدخل فقال عمر ثلاث ثم رجع فقال عمر للبواب ما صنع قال رجع قال علي به فلما جاءه قال ما هذا الذي صنعت قال السنة قال آلسنة والله لتأتيني على هذا ببرهان أو ببينة أو لأفعلن بك قال فأتانا ونحن رفقة من الأنصار فقال يا معشر الأنصار ألستم أعلم الناس بحديث رسول الله ﷺ ألم يقل رسول الله ﷺ الاستئذان ثلاث فإن أذن لك وإلا فارجع فجعل القوم يمازحونه قال أبو سعيد ثم رفعت رأسي إليه فقلت فما أصابك في هذا من العقوبة فأنا شريكك قال فأتى عمر فأخبره بذلك فقال عمر ما كنت علمت بهذا
Muslim also narrated it in the book of manners, chapter on seeking permission, no. 2153/35b, from the hadith of Saeed bin Iyas Jariri, with the same wording. Its basis is found in Bukhari, no. 6245, from the hadith of Abu Saeed.There is also a report on this topic from Ali, which I could not find, and from Umm Tariq, the freedwoman of Saad [Ahmad 6/378].