As-salaamu'alaykum,
Abu Salaamah said,
“I once came across Umar (radiyAllahu anh) as he was busy hitting men and women in The Inviolable Masjid – men and women who were standing beside each other and performing ablution from the same basin. Umar hit them in order to separate them (i.e., in order to separate men from women).”
Umar then said,
“O so and so,”
- to which Abu Salaamah replied,
“Here I am answering your call.”
Umar said,
“You have not answered my call or obeyed me! Did I not order you to make separate basins for men and separate basins for women (so that they do not have to come into contact with each other when they perform ablution)?”
Umar then rushed away; and later on, when he met Ali (radiyAllahu anh), he said to him,
“I fear that I have become destroyed!”
Ali asked,
“And what has brought about your destruction?”
Umar said,
“I hit men and women in Allah’s Inviolable Masjid.”
Ali said,
“O Leader of the Believers, you are a shepherd (or guardian) like any other shepherd (in that it is your job to take care of your flock). Therefore, if you are sincere and if you act with the intention of improving (the state of your people), then Allah will not punish you. But if you hit them for a false or wrong reason, then you are a wrongdoer.”
(Musannaf Abdur-Razzaaq, 1/75, 76 and the chain of this narration is Hasan (i.e., acceptable); refer also to Mahd as-Sawaab, 2/622).
Abu Salaamah said,
“I once came across Umar (radiyAllahu anh) as he was busy hitting men and women in The Inviolable Masjid – men and women who were standing beside each other and performing ablution from the same basin. Umar hit them in order to separate them (i.e., in order to separate men from women).”
Umar then said,
“O so and so,”
- to which Abu Salaamah replied,
“Here I am answering your call.”
Umar said,
“You have not answered my call or obeyed me! Did I not order you to make separate basins for men and separate basins for women (so that they do not have to come into contact with each other when they perform ablution)?”
Umar then rushed away; and later on, when he met Ali (radiyAllahu anh), he said to him,
“I fear that I have become destroyed!”
Ali asked,
“And what has brought about your destruction?”
Umar said,
“I hit men and women in Allah’s Inviolable Masjid.”
Ali said,
“O Leader of the Believers, you are a shepherd (or guardian) like any other shepherd (in that it is your job to take care of your flock). Therefore, if you are sincere and if you act with the intention of improving (the state of your people), then Allah will not punish you. But if you hit them for a false or wrong reason, then you are a wrongdoer.”
(Musannaf Abdur-Razzaaq, 1/75, 76 and the chain of this narration is Hasan (i.e., acceptable); refer also to Mahd as-Sawaab, 2/622).