Arba'un 2 — the hadith of Jibril

الأربعون 2 — حديث جبريل

Umar ibn al-Khattab's famous hadith of Jibril, the second hadith of al-Nawawi's Forty and of Ibn Rajab's commentary: a man in strikingly white clothes asks the Prophet about islam and is answered with its five pillars, then about iman — assent to God, His angels, books, messengers, the Last Day and the decree, its good and its ill — then about ihsan — worshipping God as though you see Him, for He sees you — then about the Hour and its signs; Umar is told at the end that the questioner was Jibril come to teach them their religion. Transmitted by Muslim (8), who alone of the two Sahih collections includes it; also by Ahmad (1/27, 28, 51, 52), Abu Dawud (4695–4697), Ibn Majah (63), al-Tirmidhi (2610) and others; Ibn Rajab comments at length on the realities of islam, iman, ihsan and the Hour (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 70–120).