anas ibn mâlik raDiyAllâhu `anhû narrates: we were with `umar ibn al khaTTâb riDwânAllahi `alayh when an egyptian came to him and said, "o amîr al-mu’minîn, i have come to seek your protection.." he [`umar] replied: "what befell you?" the egyptian said: “i let my horse with those of `amr ibn al-`âS; as my horse was winning, muHammad the son of `amr ibn al-`âS said ‘that’s my horse, by the Lord of ka`abah!’. as it came nearer, i recognized mine and said ‘that is MY horse, by the Lord of ka`abah’. so he stood up [muHammad] and lashed me with his whip and said: ‘take that; i am the son of a nobleman’.” [you dare compete with me?] as soon as `umar heard that, he asked the egyptian to sit and immediately wrote to `amr : "as soon as you receive this letter of mine, come hither, along with your son, muHammad." when the letter reached `amr, he called his son and said: "did you do anything? did you commit any crime?" the son replied, "no." [`amr] said: "then why does `umar write about you?" [however], `amr came to `umar. anas says: "by Allah, i was with `umar when `amr came unto us. and `umar was looking around, searching for the son who was following his father. `umar asked: "where is the egyptian?" the man said: "here i am" `umar gave him the whip and said: "now lash the son of the nobleman; lash him, the son of a nobleman" [ibn al-akramîn] so the egyptian whipped the son. `umar said: "now crack one on the bald pate [of `amr]; by Allah he [the son] didn’t whip you except by virtue of his father’s authority." the egyptian said: "amîr al-mu’minîn, i have lashed the one who struck me [and i don’t want to hit anyone else]". [`umar] said: "you could have lashed him [`amr] and we wouldn’t have interfered ; anyway, you yourself has let him go." turning to `amr he said: “o `amr, since when did you begin making slaves of people? and their mothers had given them birth as free men?” * he then told the egyptian: "now go your way and write to me if anyone troubles you again." * a yâ `amr, matâ ista`abaddtum an-nâsa wa qad waladathum ummuhum aHrâran?] ..and the west claims that the first article of equality was the magna carta!
