Jarir b. ‘Abdullah al-Bajali reported that in a battle there was a man with Abu Musa al-Ash’ari who was very brave and damaging against the enemies. After the battle they collected the booty. Abu Musa granted the man only a portion of the booty he deserved and not all. The man refused to accept anything less than what he deserved. As a result, Abu Musa gave him ten lashes and shaved off his head. The man collected his hair and went off to ‘Umar as he was sitting in his gathering. He struck ‘Umar’s chest with his hair and said, ‘I swear by Allah! If it wasn’t for the fire of Hell, I would have dealt with your deputy myself!’ He then related to him what Abu Musa did to him. ‘Umar then wrote to Abu Musa saying, ‘To proceed; So-and-so has related to me such-and-such. If you did this to him in public, then I swear you must also sit in public view so the man could exact revenge. If you did this to him in private then you may sit privately.’ The man took the letter to Abu Musa. The people said, ‘Forgive him.’ ‘By Allah, I will not leave him for anyone!’ said the man. When Abu Musa sat down for him to exact revenge, the man looked up at the sky and said, ‘O Allah, I have forgiven him.’
Sirat ‘Umar b. al-Khattab by al-Baltaji 97-98.
Mohammad Awan 
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