Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 99
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النُّعْمَانِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ، أَنَّ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ اسْتَعْمَلَ رَجُلاً، فَقَالَ الْعَامِلُ: إِنَّ لِي كَذَا وَكَذَا مِنَ الْوَلَدِ، مَا قَبَّلْتُ وَاحِدًا مِنْهُمْ، فَزَعَمَ عُمَرُ، أَوْ قَالَ عُمَرُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لاَ يَرْحَمُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِلاَّ أَبَرَّهُمْ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu al-Nu‘man related to us: Hammad ibn Zayd related to us, from ‘Asim, from Abu ‘Uthman, that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, appointed a man to a position. The appointee said, ‘I have such-and-such number of children, and I have not kissed any one of them.’ ‘Umar said—or perhaps he said: ‘Allah, Mighty and Majestic, shows mercy among His servants only to those most dutiful.’’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لاَ يَرْحَمُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِلاَّ أَبَرَّهُمْ
The superlative أبرهم is from the root b-r-r and may mean the most dutiful or righteous among them; the precise object of dutifulness is unstated.
Which English term best conveys أبرهم without adding an unstated object?