[AI] Umar said to me, “O enemy of God and enemy of Islam, you have betrayed God’s wealth.” He said: I said, “I am not an enemy of God nor an enemy of Islam; rather, I am an enemy of whoever is their enemy. I have not betrayed God’s wealth; rather, these are the prices of my camels and shares that have accumulated.” He said: So he repeated it to me, and I repeated these words to him. He said: So he fined me twelve thousand. He said: Then I stood in the dawn prayer and said, “O God, forgive the Commander of the Faithful.”

Then after that he wanted to appoint me to a post, but I refused him. He said, “And why, when Joseph asked for office and he was better than you?” I said, “Joseph is a prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet, the son of a prophet; and I am the son of Umaymah, and I fear three and two.” He said, “Will you not say five?” I said, “No.” He said, “Then what are they?” I said, “I fear that I will speak without knowledge, and that I will give legal opinions without knowledge, and that my back will be beaten, and that my honor will be insulted, and that my wealth will be taken by beating.”

قَالَ لِي عُمَرُ: يَا عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ، وَعَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ، خُنْتَ مَالَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ: قُلْتُ: لَسْتُ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَلَا عَدُوَّ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَكِنِّي عَدُوُّ مَنْ عَادَاهُمَا، وَلَمْ أَخُنْ مَالَ اللَّهِ، وَلَكِنَّهَا أَثْمَانُ إِبِلِي وَسِهَامٌ اجْتَمَعَتْ. قَالَ: فَأَعَادَهَا عَلَيَّ، وَأَعَدْتُ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْكَلَامَ. قَالَ: فَغَرَّمَنِي اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلْفًا. قَالَ: فَقُمْتُ فِي صَلَاةِ الْغَدَاةِ، فَقُلْتُ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.

فَلَمَّا كَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ أَرَادَنِي عَلَى الْعَمَلِ فَأَبَيْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: وَلِمَ، وَقَدْ سَأَلَ يُوسُفُ الْعَمَلَ وَكَانَ خَيْرًا مِنْكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ يُوسُفَ نَبِيٌّ ابْنُ نَبِيٍّ ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ ابْنِ نَبِيٍّ، وَأَنَا ابْنُ أُمَيْمَةَ، وَأَنَا أَخَافُ ثَلَاثًا وَاثْنَتَيْنِ. قَالَ: أَوَلَا تَقُولُ خَمْسًا؟ قُلْتُ: لَا. قَالَ: فَمَا هُنَّ؟ قُلْتُ: «أَخَافُ أَنْ أَقُولَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ أُفْتِيَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، وَأَنْ يُضْرَبَ ظَهْرِي، وَأَنْ يُشْتَمَ عِرْضِي، وَأَنْ يُؤْخَذَ مَالِي بِالضَّرْبِ».