حَدَّثَنَا عَبْد اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ الْوَرَكَانِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مَعْشَرٍ نَجِيحٌ الْمَدَنِيُّ مَوْلَى بَنِي هَاشِمٍ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ وُضِعَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بَيْنَ الْمِنْبَرِ وَالْقَبْرِ فَجَاءَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حَتَّى قَامَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ الصُّفُوفِ فَقَالَ هُوَ هَذَا ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ مَا مِنْ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَلْقَاهُ بِصَحِيفَتِهِ بَعْدَ صَحِيفَةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ هَذَا الْمُسَجَّى عَلَيْهِ ثَوْبُهُ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 866
It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (RA) said: (The body of) 'Umar bin al- Khattab (RA) was placed between the minbar and the grave, and 'Ali came and stood before the rows. He said: Here he is, three times. Then he said: May the mercy of Allah be upon you; there is no one among the creation of Allah with whose record of deeds I would more like to meet Allah, apart from the Prophet (PBUH), than the one who lies here, covered with this garment.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020