Discussion of the hadith: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain."

The Shaykh : I have traced a mawquf hadith with a benefit. Among what I recall now is that I traced a widely circulated hadith, namely: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain." I traced it because many people deny the authenticity of this narration, especially in Egypt, and more specifically those among them who subject the Prophetic hadiths to their intellects and deny the authentic ones because they do not align with their views. And you have in this country...The Shaykh : ...al-Ghazali. He published his well-known book recently. What did he name it? In fiqh, what?

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : In this book, he denied a great many authentic hadiths, for no reason other than his assumption, sometimes, that some of these hadiths contradict the Qur'an, sometimes that they contradict reason—in his claim!—and so on. He is Egyptian, and the Egyptians are, so to speak, broad in their denial of authentic hadiths; because many of them studied in foreign schools and were influenced by Western culture. Western culture subjects things to material, tangible aspects, and they understand everything that does not conflict with reason. Among this is the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when he sent an army to fight the People of Persia in his time. It happened that the Muslim army was on the verge of losing to the People of Persia and being overcome. While 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was delivering the Friday sermon on the pulpit, the people present were startled by words unrelated to what came before. He said: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain. Whoever entrusts a wolf with a flock has been unjust." The people retained this statement. It was not but a few days until a messenger, or a traveler sent by Sariyah, arrived. Sariyah was the commander of the Muslim army. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed—while on the pulpit—that Sariyah was in a critical position. It was as if it was revealed to him and he saw that the Persian army was about to encircle the Muslim army. So he said to him: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain"; meaning: take refuge in the mountain, retreat until the disbelieving army cannot encircle you. Sariyah heard the voice of 'Umar addressing him while he was in Medina. Where is Medina and where is Persia?! So he took refuge in the mountain, and they stood firm against the disbelievers, and Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) granted them victory over them. After a few days, a messenger from Sariyah came saying: We heard the voice of 'Umar saying: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain." This was among the karamahs of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and among the inspirations to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred in his saying: . So 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) is known for being inspired, and some verses, as you know, came in agreement with his opinion (may Allah be pleased with him).
The point is: This story is narrated in two ways in the books of history:
The first way is brief, which is what I mentioned earlier, and which I authenticated in "al-Silsilah."
The other way: It contains additions unique to a famous historian named al-Waqidi. But despite his fame in history, he is accused of lying in narration. He narrates that when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab was on the pulpit, it was revealed to him and he saw with his own eyes what Sariyah was facing in terms of the threat of being encircled, so he said: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain." This addition is unique to al-Waqidi, who is accused of lying; so it is not correct for us to narrate it. As for the story in brief and his saying: "O Sariyah, the mountain, the mountain"; this has come with a sound chain. In order to clarify the difference between this brief story and that it is authentic, and to clarify the addition unique to al-Waqidi, I saw it beneficial to mention it in "al-Silsilah," and as a refutation of some old Egyptians who used to deny the story from the start, even the brief authentic narration. But the principle is that in this book I do not mention except marfu' hadiths.