It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that I used to come and go to Abdur Rahman bin Auf, and (at that time) we were with Hazrat Umar bin Khattab at Mina. I used to teach Abdur Rahman bin Auf the Qur'an, so I came to his residence but did not find him. It was said that he is with the Commander of the Faithful. So I waited for him until he came, and he informed me: Today Hazrat Umar became so extremely angry as he had never been before. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: I asked, Why is that? Abdur Rahman bin Auf replied: Hazrat Umar heard that two men from the Ansar mentioned the pledge of allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr, and then both of them said: By Allah! His pledge was sudden. He would strike his hand, and whatever happened, happened. The narrator says: Then Hazrat Umar intended to speak to the people. The narrator says: I submitted, O Commander of the Faithful! Do not speak (yet), for you are in a city where people from all the distant, unknown regions of Arabia have gathered. And if you say anything (now), it will be attributed to you and spread throughout the land. Then you do not know what will happen. The people you want are only those whom you know will return to Madinah.

2. Then when we came to Madinah, I went early in the morning until I took a place by the right pillar of the pulpit. Then Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail also came to me until he sat with me. I said to him: Today Hazrat Umar will speak words such as he has never spoken since becoming Caliph. Saeed asked: What will he say? I replied: You will soon hear it.

3. The narrator says: Then when the people gathered, Hazrat Umar came out until he sat on the pulpit. He praised Allah Almighty, then mentioned the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and sent blessings upon him. Then he said: Surely Allah Almighty kept His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) among us, and revelation would descend upon him from Allah, and through it he would declare what was lawful and unlawful. Then Allah Almighty took the soul of His Messenger, so whatever Allah wished to take with him, He took, and whatever He wished to leave, He left. Thus, we remained attached to some matters, and some matters escaped us. So among what we used to recite from the Qur'an was also this: "Do not turn away from your fathers, for it is disbelief on your part to turn away from your fathers." And the verse of stoning (rajm) was also revealed. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) carried out stoning, and we also stoned along with him. By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! Verily, I remembered that verse myself, understood it, and knew it. If I did not fear that people would say: Umar has written in the Qur'an what is not from it, I would have written the verse of stoning with my own hand. There are three conditions for stoning: clear pregnancy, or confession from the adulterer, or just witnesses, as is the command of Allah.

4. I have heard that some people have said regarding the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr that it happened suddenly. By my life! Even if it was so, Allah Almighty granted goodness and blessing to his caliphate and protected it from its evil. Which one of you is there for whom the necks (of people) would bow as they bowed for Hazrat Abu Bakr?

5. Surely, the matter of the people was such that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the matter was brought to us, and we were told: The Ansar are gathered with Saad bin Ubadah in the courtyard of Banu Sa'idah and are pledging allegiance to Saad. So I, Hazrat Abu Bakr, and Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah stood up in anxiety, fearing that they might cause a rift in Islam. So we found two truthful men among the Ansar: Uwaim bin Sa'idah and Ma'an bin Adi. They asked: Where are you going? We said: To your people, for we have heard something about them. Both of them said: Go back, for you will not be opposed, and nothing will be brought forth that you dislike. But we insisted on going forward. And I (Umar) was preparing the speech by which...