It so happened that the people of Kufa travelled as a delegation to ʿUmar, and among them was a man who had made a habit of mocking Uways.

ʿUmar asked, “Is there not a man here from the Qarani clan? (1)” The man stood up, whereupon ʿUmar said,

“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘A man will come to you from Yemen whose name is Uways. In Yemen he will leave behind no one but a mother of his. He once suffered from a white skin-blemish; he prayed to Allah and He removed it from him except for a spot the size of a dirham. Whoever among you meets him, let him instruct him (2) to ask Allah to forgive you.’”

ʿUmar continued, “He did come to us here. I asked, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am Uways.’ I said, ‘Whom have you left behind in Yemen?’ He answered, ‘My mother.’ I asked, ‘Did you not have a white patch which you asked Allah to remove, and He removed it from you?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Then ask Allah to forgive me.’ He said, ‘O Commander of the Believers, should someone like me seek forgiveness for someone like you?!’ I said, ‘You are my brother; do not leave me.’ Yet he slipped away from me, and I was later informed that he had reached you in Kufa.

“The man then began to belittle him in light of what I had said about him, repeating, ‘What are you talking about? We do not even know this man (3).’ I said, ‘Indeed, he is a man of such-and-such qualities.’ Still he kept disparaging him (4), saying, ‘He is only a fellow among us that we ridicule.’ I asked him, ‘Uways?’ He replied, ‘That is the one. Go after him, though I doubt you will catch him.’

“So the man set off and reached him before Uways even arrived at his own home. Uways said, ‘This is not your usual way; what has prompted you? I adjure you by Allah.’ He replied, ‘I met ʿUmar, and he said such-and-such; so ask Allah to forgive me.’ Uways said, ‘I will not do so until you pledge that you will never mock me again, nor will you mention what you heard from ʿUmar to anyone.’ He answered, ‘I give you my word.’ So Uways prayed for his forgiveness.

“Usayr added: Before long the story of Uways spread through Kufa. I visited him and said, ‘My brother, do you see how you have become the wonder of the town while we knew nothing?’ He replied, ‘There is nothing in this that I could exploit before people, and every servant will be rewarded only for his own deeds.’ When the report became widespread, he fled and left (5).”