And through this same chain, Abū Nuʿaym said (1): “Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; Isḥāq narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us; Maʿmar narrated to us from Qatādah, who said:
‘Mutarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh and a companion of his were travelling on a pitch-dark night when the tip of one of their whips began to shine. The companion remarked, “If we were to tell people about this, they would brand us liars.”
‘Mutarrif replied, “The one who denies is the bigger liar”—that is, whoever denies a blessing of Allah is the most deceitful of people.’
And through this chain: Abū Ḥāmid ibn Jabalah narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq narrated to us; al-Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr narrated to us; Ḥajjāj narrated to us, from Mahdī ibn Maymūn, from Ghīlān ibn Jarīr, who said:
‘Mutarrif returned from the desert with a nephew of his—he used to spend time out there—and while he was riding along he heard from the tip of his whip something like glorification (tasbīḥ). The nephew said, “If we told people about this, they would deny it.”
‘He answered, “The denier is the greatest liar among people.” (2)
And through this chain: Abū Bakr ibn Mālik narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Ḥisāb narrated to us; Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us; Abū al-Tayyāḥ said:
‘Mutarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh used to stay in the countryside. On Thursday night he would set out on his horse, and sometimes his whip would radiate light. One night he set off, and when he reached the graveyard he nodded off (3) while still on his horse.
‘I then saw the inhabitants of the graves—each person sitting upon his own grave. When they caught sight of me they said, “This is Mutarrif coming for the Friday prayer.”
‘I asked, “Do you know among yourselves when Friday comes?”
‘They replied, “Yes, we know it from what the birds say on that day.”
‘I asked, “And what do the birds say?”
‘They said, “Peace, peace—from a righteous day.”’
Its chain of transmission is sound (4).
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar al-Raqī said: “Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAmr al-Fazārī narrated to us, from Thābit…”