Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibnMuhammad ibn Amribn Hazm that Abdar-Rahman ibn Hanthala az-Zurqi wasinformed by a mawla of Quraysh,who used to be known as Ibn Mursi, thathe was sitting with Umar ibn al-Khattab, and when they had prayeddhuhr, he said, "Yarfa! Bring that letter! (a letter which he hadwritten about the paternal aunt.) We asked about her and asked forinformation about her." Yarfa brought it to him. He called for a smallvessel or a drinking-bowl in which there was water. He erased theletter in it. Then he said, "Had Allah approved of you as an heir, wewould have confirmed you. Had Allah approved of you, we would haveconfirmed you."