Take these two sandals of mine and go. Whoever you meet beyond this orchard who bears witness that there is no god but Allah, with full certainty in his heart, give him the glad tidings of Paradise

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with a group of his Companions, including Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. Then he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and delayed returning. They feared that he might have encountered harm from an enemy, either by capturing or some other misfortune. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) stood up terrified, and the first to act was Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). He went to a garden belonging to Banu An-Najjār and started looking around, hoping to find an open gate, but he found none. However, he found a small opening in the wall through which water flowed. He squeezed his body through the opening and entered, where he found the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who said to him: Are you Abu Hurayrah? He said: Yes. He said: What is the matter with you? Abu Hurayrah said: You were among us, then you left and delayed returning, so we feared that you would be taken away from us. We became terrified, and I was the first to act. I came to this orchard and crouched down just as a fox crouches, and those people are behind me. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave him his sandals as a sign and proof of his truthfulness and said to him: Take these two sandals of mine and go. Whoever you meet beyond this orchard who bears witness that there is no god but Allah and that no deity is truly worthy of worship except Allah, with full certainty in his heart—whoever has these qualities is among the people of Paradise. The first person he met was ‘Umar, who asked him: What are these two sandals, O Abu Hurayrah? He replied: These are the sandals of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He sent me with them to give the glad tidings of Paradise to anyone I meet who bears witness that there is no god but Allah, with full certainty in his heart. ‘Umar struck Abu Hurayrah on his chest, causing him to fall on his back, and he said: Go back, O Abu Hurayrah. So, I returned to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), alarmed, with my face changed and on the verge of weeping. ‘Umar followed behind me, walking after me. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: What is the matter, O Abu Hurayrah? I said: I met ‘Umar and told him about what you sent me with, so he struck me such a strike that caused me to fall on my back and said: Go back. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: O ‘Umar, what caused you to do that? ‘Umar said: O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Did you send Abu Hurayrah with your sandals to give glad tidings of Paradise to anyone who bears witness that there is no god but Allah, with full certainty in his heart? He said: Yes. He said: Then do not do that, for I fear that people may rely only on saying this without acting upon it. Let them continue to work. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then let them.

Benefits

• The genuine love the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and their keenness to protect him against any harm.
• The permissibility of giving glad tidings with good news.
• Faith consists of words, deeds, and beliefs.
• Al-Qādi ‘Iyād and others said: The action of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and his arguing with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) were not acts of objection or rejection of his command. There was nothing in the Prophet’s instruction to Abu Hurayrah except to bring comfort to the hearts of the Ummah and give them glad tidings. However, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) believed that concealing this news was better for them and more likely to prevent them from relying solely on it. He thought this approach would ultimately bring greater benefit to them than the immediate glad tidings. When ‘Umar presented his reasoning to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), he approved of it.
• An-Nawawi said: This Hadīth indicates that if a leader or an elder sees something and one of his followers disagrees with him, the follower should present his view to the leader for consideration. If it becomes clear that the follower's opinion is correct, the leader should accept it. Otherwise, the leader should explain to the follower the reason behind his position and address any doubts the follower may have.
• The permissibility of withholding the dissemination of certain knowledge that is not necessary, for the sake of public interest or to avoid harm.
• The great glad tidings for the people of Tawhid (monotheism); that whoever dies while bearing witness that there is no god but Allah, with sincere belief in his heart, will enter Paradise.
• The strength of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), his wisdom, and his vast understanding.
• An-Nawawi said: This Hadīth indicates the permissibility of a person entering another's property without his permission if he knows that the owner would approve of it due to affection between them or other reasons.

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