How did 'Umar ibn al-Khattab narrate the hadith on the minbar in front of a gathering of people, even though it is an ahad hadith?
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The questioner : The hadith of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), O Shaykh, he mentioned this hadith on the minbar, meaning in the presence of a gathering of the Companions, from among the Companions and others, and yet, despite that, only Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari narrated it from him, meaning four [narrators], which makes it an ahad report, and then after that...?
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, it is undoubtedly from the reports of the ahad, but it is a report supported by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, meaning its meaning is considered mutawatir.
The questioner : ...on the minbar on Friday, with a large gathering, only one person narrated it from him.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, the fact that he did not narrate it does not mean that they did not memorize it. For this reason, we say that Abu Hurayrah is the one who narrated the most hadith, or the most among the Companions in hadith. He was certainly not more knowledgeable than Abu Bakr and 'Umar, but he narrated, while those others were occupied with what they were occupied with regarding the affairs of the Muslims. So perhaps some people did not narrate it, but he was its narrator.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, it is undoubtedly from the reports of the ahad, but it is a report supported by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, meaning its meaning is considered mutawatir.
The questioner : ...on the minbar on Friday, with a large gathering, only one person narrated it from him.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, the fact that he did not narrate it does not mean that they did not memorize it. For this reason, we say that Abu Hurayrah is the one who narrated the most hadith, or the most among the Companions in hadith. He was certainly not more knowledgeable than Abu Bakr and 'Umar, but he narrated, while those others were occupied with what they were occupied with regarding the affairs of the Muslims. So perhaps some people did not narrate it, but he was its narrator.