154 – Saʿīd ibn Sulaymān related to us; Khalaf ibn Khalīfa narrated to us; Abū Hāshim al-Rummānī said:

It has reached me that when Dhu’l-Qarnayn had journeyed to the farthest reaches of both the East and the West, he passed by a man who carried a staff and was turning over the bones of the dead. Whenever Dhu’l-Qarnayn entered a region, its people would come out to greet him, but this man did not. Dhu’l-Qarnayn was astonished, so he went up to him and asked, “Why did you not come to me and present your request?” The man replied, “I had no need of you, and I knew that if ever you needed me, you would come to me.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “What is this you are turning over?” He answered, “The bones of the dead. I have been doing this for forty years, trying to discern the noble from the lowly, but they have become indistinguishable to me.”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn then asked, “Would you like to accompany me and stay with me?” The man said, “I will, provided you guarantee me one thing.” “And what is that?” Dhu’l-Qarnayn asked. He replied, “That you protect me from death whenever it befalls me.” Dhu’l-Qarnayn said, “I am powerless to do that.” So the man responded, “Then I have no desire to accompany you.”