Al-Mufaddal al-Ghalabi said, “The ascetics of the Ansar are three: Abu al-Dardaʾ, ʿUmayr ibn Saʿd, and Shaddad ibn Aws.”
ʿAli ibn al-Madini related: ʿAbd al-Aʿla ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla narrated to us, from a man, from Mutarrif ibn al-Shikhkhir, from another man—whom I think belonged to Banu Mujashiʿ—who said:
“We set out heading for the House (the Kaʿba). We came upon a number of tents among which stood a pavilion, so I said to my companion, ‘Go to the man in the pavilion, for he is the leader of the people.’
“When we reached the door of the pavilion we offered the greeting of peace. He returned the greeting and an elder came out to us. The moment we saw him, we were struck with a reverence greater than we had ever felt for a father or a ruler.
“He asked, ‘Who are you two?’
“We replied, ‘Young men intending the House.’
“He said, ‘I had the same thought myself, and I shall accompany you.’
“Then he called out, and youths emerged from the surrounding tents. He gathered them, addressed them, and said, ‘I have remembered my Lord’s House and I do not think but that I shall visit it.’ They began to sob for him, weeping.
“I turned to one of the youths and asked, ‘Who is this elder?’
“He said, ‘Shaddad ibn Aws. He was once a governor, but when ʿUthman was killed he withdrew from public life.’
“He then ordered some sawiq (roasted barley meal) to be brought, and started crushing ⦗1⦘ it for us, feeding us and giving us drink.
“We went out with him, and when we had climbed some high ground he said to a servant of his, ‘Prepare for us a little dish that will put an end to our hunger’—using a diminutive expression—and we laughed.
“He said, ‘It seems to me I shall part company with you two.’
“We replied, ‘May Allah have mercy on you. You scarcely ever speak, and when you did we could not keep from laughing.’
“He said, ‘Let me equip you with a hadith the Messenger of Allah used to teach us whether on journey or at home.’ He then dictated it to us and we wrote it down:
‘O Allah, I ask You for steadfastness in the affair, and I ask You for the resolve that leads to right guidance. I ask You to enable me to be grateful for Your blessing and to worship You well. I ask You for true certainty and for a heart…’