مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 111

It was narrated from al-Harith bin Mu'awiyah al-Kindi, that he travelled to meet 'Umar bin al-Khattab and ask him about three things. He came to Madinah and 'Umar asked him: What brought you here? He said: (I came) to ask you about three things. He said: What are they? He said: A woman and I may be in a confined space and the time for prayer comes, but if we both pray she will be standing next to me, and if she prays behind me she will have to go out of the space. 'Umar said: Put a cloth to serve as a screen between you and her, and let her pray alongside you if you wish. (And I asked) about the two rak'alts after 'Asr and he said: The Messenger of Allah told me not to do them. He said: (And I asked) about stories (for preaching), because they wanted me to tell them stories. He said: Whatever you want. It was as if he did not want to tell him not to do that. He said: I only wanted to follow what you say. He said: I am afraid that if you tell them stories (for preaching), you will think that you are better than them, then you will tell them stories and think that you are better than them, until you imagine that you are as far above them as the Pleiades, then Allah will put you that far beneath their feet on the Day of Resurrection.

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020