80 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to us; Ayyūb ibn Suwayd narrated to us; Abu al-Haytham narrated, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Ghālib, who related the following:

He said: I once set out for al-Jazīrah. We boarded a ship, and it put us ashore beside an ancient, deserted village on the slope of a ruined mountain where no one lived. I disembarked and wandered through the ruins, contemplating the traces of the people who had once dwelt there. Then I entered a house that still looked as though it might be inhabited, and I thought to myself, “There is surely something significant here.”

I returned to my companions and said, “I need a favor from you.” They asked, “What is it?” I replied, “Stay here for one night on my account.” They agreed.

I went back into that house and said, “If anyone lives here, he will come back to it once night falls.”

When darkness settled, I heard a voice descending from the top of the mountain, glorifying, magnifying, and praising Allah. The sound kept drawing nearer until it entered the house. Inside I saw nothing except a jar that contained nothing and a vessel with no food in it.

The man performed as much prayer as Allah willed, then turned to that vessel and ate some food from it, after which he praised Allah. He next went to the jar and drank from it, and then he stood and prayed until dawn. When morning came, he established the prayer, and I prayed behind him.

He said, “May Allah have mercy on you; you entered my house without my permission.”

I replied, “May Allah have mercy on you; I meant only good. I saw you go to this vessel and eat food from it, even though I had checked it beforehand and found nothing inside.”

He said, “Indeed. Whenever I desire any food that people normally eat, I find it in this vessel; and whenever I want any drink that people drink, I drink it from this jar.”

I asked, “Even if you wanted fresh fish?”

He answered, “Even if I wanted fresh fish.”

I said, “May Allah have mercy on you. This ummah has not been commanded to live as you are living. It has been commanded to stay with the congregation, to frequent the mosques, to prefer prayers performed in congregation, to visit the sick, and to follow funeral processions.”

He responded, “There is a village nearby that has everything you have just mentioned, and I am going to it.”

He corresponded with me for a while, then his letters ceased and I assumed he had died. When ʿAbd Allah ibn Ghālib passed away, a scent of musk was perceived emanating from his grave.