The people of Kufa complained to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb about their governor Sa‘d. He dismissed him and appointed ‘Ammār as their governor
Authentic hadithعن جابر بن سمرة رضي الله عنهما قال: شكا أهل الكوفة سعدًا يعني: ابن أبي وقاص رضي الله عنه إلى عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه فعزله، واستعمل عليهم عمارًا، فشَكَوا حتى ذكروا أنه لا يُحسن يصلي، فأرسل إليه، فقال: يا أبا إسحاق، إن هؤلاء يزعمون أنك لا تُحسن تصلي، فقال: أمَّا أنا والله فإني كنت أصلي بهم صلاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا أَخْرِمُ عنها، أصلي صلاتَي العشاء فأَرْكُدُ في الأُولَيَيْنِ، وأُخِفُّ في الأُخْرَيَيْنِ. قال: ذلك الظن بك يا أبا إسحاق، وأرسل معه رجلًا -أو رجالًا- إلى الكوفة يسأل عنه أهل الكوفة، فلم يَدَعْ مسجدًا إلا سأل عنه، ويُثْنُونَ معروفًا، حتى دخل مسجدًا لبني عَبْسٍ، فقام رجل منهم، يقال له أسامة بن قتادة، يكنى أبا سَعْدَةَ، فقال: أما إذ نشدتنا فإن سعدًا كان لا يسير بالسَّرية ولا يَقْسِم بالسَّوية، ولا يَعْدِل في القضية. قال سعد: أما والله لأدعون بثلاث: اللهم إن كان عبدك هذا كاذبًا، قام رِياء، وسُمعة، فأطل عمره، وأطل فقره، وعرضه للفتن. وكان بعد ذلك إذا سئل يقول: شيخ كبير مفتون، أصابتني دعوة سعد. قال عبد الملك بن عمير الراوي عن جابر بن سمرة: فأنا رأيته بعد قد سقط حاجباه على عينيه من الكبر، وإنه ليتعرض للجواري في الطرق فيَغْمِزُهُنَّ.
Jābir ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The people of Kufa complained to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) about their governor Sa‘d (ibn Abi Waqqās) (may Allah be pleased with him). He dismissed him and appointed ‘Ammār as their governor. They lodged many complaints against Sa‘d and even alleged that Sa‘d does not know how to perform the prayers properly. ‘Umar sent for him and said: "O Abu Is'hāq, those people claim that you do not pray properly." He replied: "By Allah, I used to lead them in prayer exactly as I learnt from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). I prolong the first two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Ishā' prayer and shorten the last two." ‘Umar then said: "That is what I thought of you, O Abu Is'hāq." Then he sent a man (or more) with him to Kufa to ask the people about him. This man went there and did not leave any mosque without asking about Sa‘d. All the people praised him till he came to the mosque of the tribe of Banu ‘Abs; where a man called Usāmah ibn Qatādah, with a surname of Abu Sa‘d, stood up and said: "Since you asked, I am bound to tell you that Sa‘d never marched with the armies, nor did he ever divide the spoils of war fairly, nor was he ever fair in delivering justice regarding legal verdicts." This complaint reached Sa‘d and he said: "By Allah, I shall make three supplications: O Allah, if this slave of Yours is a liar and got up for showing off and speaking boastfully, then prolong his life, make him poor for the rest of his life, and afflict him with trials." This person suffered, following the invocation of Sa‘d and would tell people he was an old man subjected to trials because of Sa‘d’s invocation. ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Umayr, who narrated from Jābir ibn Samurah, said: "I saw this man afterwards in such a state that his eyebrows were shaggy and had fallen over his eyelids, because of old age; and he used to wink at young girls as they pass by in the roads.”
Explanation
The Commander of the Believers ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās (may Allah be pleased with him) as the governor of Kufa, but its people complained to ‘Umar about Sa‘d. They lodged many complaints against Sa‘d and even alleged that Sa‘d did not know how to perform the prayers properly, despite the fact that he was a revered Companion of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and one of the ten who were promised Paradise. Accordingly, ‘Umar sent for Sa‘d and told him that the people of Kufa filed many complaints against him and that they even claimed that he did not pray properly. Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) replied that he used to perform the prayer with them exactly as he learnt it from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) i.e. prolonging the first two Rak‘ahs of the ‘Ishā' prayer and shortening the last two. He mentioned the ‘Ishā' prayer, most likely because it was specifically mentioned by the complainers. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) commended Sa‘d and praised him saying: "That is what I thought of you, O Abu Is'hāq.” In other words ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) confirmed that Sa‘d was trustworthy, and that he was sure that he used to lead the people in prayer and perform it exactly as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Nevertheless, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) investigated the issue by sending men to the people of Kufa in order to inquire about Sa‘d and how he used to carry out his duties, because he knew well that he was responsible as a ruler of all Muslims. Those men went there and did not leave any mosque without asking about Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him). All the people praised him till they came to the mosque of the tribe of Banu ‘Abs. When they asked the people there, a man stood up and said: "Since you asked; I am bound to tell you that Sa‘d never personally marched in Jihad, nor did he ever divide the spoils of war fairly, nor was he ever fair in judging between people!" The man made three serious accusations against Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) who decided to make three invocations against that man. He asked Allah, the Exalted, to prolong the life of that man, make him poverty stricken throughout the course of his life, and afflict him with trials. Nevertheless, before making these invocations, Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If this slave of Yours is a liar and got up for showing off and speaking boastfully.” Allah, the Exalted, answered the supplication and that man lived long until his eyebrows became shaggy and fell over his eyelids, because of old age, and suffered poverty as well as trials. Despite his old age, he used to wink at the young girls as they pass by in the roads. This man also used to tell people that he was an old man subjected to trials because of Sa‘d’s invocation.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).