Sahih Muslim Book 001, Hadith Number 0001.
Sahih Muslim Book 01. Faith
Chapter : Not known.
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya'mur that the first
man who discussed about Qadr(Divine Decree) in Basra was
Ma'bad al-Juhani. I along with Humaid b. 'Abdur-Rahman
Himyari set out for pilgrimage or for 'Umrah and said: Should it
so happen that we come into contact with one of the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
we shall ask him a bout what is talked about Taqdir (Division
Decree). Accidentally we came across Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibn
al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque.
My companion and I surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his
right and the other stood on his left. I expected that my
companion would authorize me to speak. I therefore said: Abu
Abdur Rahman! there have appeared some people in our land
who recite the Holy Qur'an and pursue knowledge. And then
after talking about their affairs, added: They (such people)
claim that there is no such thing as Divine Decree and events
are not predestined. He (Abdullah Ibn Umar) said: When you
happen to meet such people tell them that I have nothing to
do with them and they have nothing to do with me. And verily
they are in no way responsible for my (belief).
Abdullah Ibn Umar swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): If any
one of them (who does not believe in the Divine Decree) had
with him gold equal to the bulk of (the mountain) Uhud and
then, it (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it unless
he affirmed his faith in Divine Decree. He further said: My
father, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, told me: One day we were sitting
in the company of Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) when
there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes,
his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on
him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the
Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his
palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-
Islam.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam
implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish
prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform
pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear
the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have
told the truth. He (Umar Ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that
he would put the question and then he would himself verify
the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith).
He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in
Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of
Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about
good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth.
He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan
(performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That
you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you
don't see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said:
Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy
Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the
one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me
some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the
slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you
will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one
another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the
narrator, Umar Ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer)
went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a
long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this
inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He
(the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He
came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion.