Hadith about Iman

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
prilgrimage 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.