Discourse with Hazrat Umar (ra)

Hazrat Suhaib (ra) was not a native speaker, i.e. his language [Arabic] was not as eloquent as the Arabs.

Zaid bin Aslam relates from his father, “I went with Hazrat Umar (ra) until he entered the garden of Hazrat Suhaib (ra) in Aliya. When Hazrat Suhaib (ra) saw Hazrat Umar (ra) he said ‘Yannaas, Yannaas’. Hazrat Umar (ra) thought he was saying ‘al-nas’ [people] so he said what has happened to him that he is calling people.” The narrator then says, “I replied by saying that he was calling his servant whose name was Yuhannas and he called him in this way due to the impediment in his speech.” After that, they discussed certain matters and Hazrat Umar (ra) said, “O Suhaib (ra), I see only three short-comings in you. If they were not present in you, I would not give any person superiority over you. I see that you associate yourself with the Arabs, whereas your language is foreign, you say that your appellation is Abu Yahya, which is the name of a prophet and you excessively spend out of your wealth.” Hazrat Suhaib (ra) replied, “As for what you said about me wasting money, the truth is that I spend only where it is required and not unnecessarily. Regarding my appellation, it was the Holy Prophet (sa) who gave me the title of Abu Yahya, therefore I shall never renounce it. As for my affiliation with the Arabs, the Romans had enslaved me when I was young, so that is why I learnt their language, but I belong to the tribe of Namir bin Qasit.”

Hazrat Umar (ra) had great love for Hazrat Suhaib (ra) and thought very highly of him. When Hazrat Umar (ra) sustained an injury, he mentioned in his will that Hazrat Suhaib (ra) would lead his funeral prayer and he would also lead the Muslims in prayer for three days until members of the electoral committee chose the Khalifa.