Al-Khaṭīb then said: “Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Bakr informed us; al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-ʿAlawī informed us; my grandfather Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying:

‘Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar was known as ‘the righteous servant’ on account of his devotion in worship and his earnest striving.

Our companions report that he once entered the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), prostrated at the very beginning of the night, and was heard in his prostration saying: “My sin looms large before me, so let the pardon that comes from You be most gracious, O You who are worthy of piety, O You who are worthy of forgiveness.” He kept repeating these words until dawn.

He was generous and magnanimous. If he heard that someone had spoken ill of him, he would send that person a purse containing one thousand dinars. He would tie up purses of three hundred, four hundred, or two hundred dinars and distribute them throughout Medina; whoever received one of those purses became financially independent.

(This is an interrupted report, and Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥasan himself is deemed suspect.)

Yaḥyā went on: “Ismāʿīl ibn Yaʿqūb narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bakrī narrated to us, saying:

‘I arrived in Medina to collect a debt. I said to myself, ‘If only I could go to Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar and lay my case before him.’ So I met him at Naqma ⦗1⦘ on his estate. He came out to me, I ate with him, and I told him my story; he gave me three hundred dinars.’

Yaḥyā continued: ‘More than one person told me that a man from the household of ʿUmar who lived in Medina used to abuse him and revile ʿAlī. Some of Mūsā’s attendants said to him, “Allow us to kill him.” He forbade them and rebuked them.

It was mentioned to him that this ʿUmari was cultivating a piece of land, so Mūsā mounted and rode out to him in his field. Finding him there, he entered on his donkey. The ʿUmari shouted, “Do not trample our crop!” Mūsā rode the donkey across the plants until he reached him, dismounted, bantered with him and asked, “How much have you spent on this crop of yours?” He replied, “One hundred dinars.”

Mūsā asked, “And what do you hope it will bring you?” He answered, “I do not know the unseen, but I hope it will yield me two hundred dinars.” So Mūsā gave him three hundred dinars,