Allah through charity, for nothing brings a servant nearer to Him than that.

I then flung down my cloak and said, “This is all I can give—so give in charity!” People began to donate until even the women threw in their earrings, and the cloak overflowed with offerings. The heavens then poured down rain, and the crowd dispersed through the mud. I handed the collection over to al-Layth and Ibn Luhayʿah; when they saw how large the sum was, they appointed trustworthy people to oversee it. I myself set off for Alexandria, and while I was walking around its fortress a man kept watching me. I said, “What is the matter with you?”

He asked, “Are you the one who spoke on Friday?”

I replied, “Yes.”

He said, “You have become a trial; people are saying that you are al-Khidr—he prayed, and his prayer was answered.”

I answered, “No; I am only a sinful slave.”

When I returned to Egypt, al-Layth allotted me fifteen faddans of land. (1)

Abu Dawud reported: Qutaybah narrated to us, from Mansur, who said:

I arrived in Egypt during a drought, so I delivered an exhortation and the people offered abundant charity. Al-Layth sent for me and said, “What made you speak without authorisation?”

I replied, “May Allah set you right. I shall first consult you; if you find it objectionable, you may forbid me.”

He said, “Speak,” so I spoke.

He then said, “Stand up, for it is not permissible that I alone should hear this.”

He brought out for me a slave girl valued at three hundred dinars, together with one thousand dinars, and said, “Do not let my son learn of this, lest it become trivial in his eyes.” (2)

Abu Hatim said: Sulaym ibn Mansur narrated to us, my father narrated: “Al-Layth gave me one thousand dinars.”

ʿAli ibn Khushram said: I heard Mansur say, “The eminent orators are three: al-Hasan al-Basri, ʿAwn ibn ʿAbd Allah, and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz.” (3)