- ʿAbd Allah narrated to us—ʿAli ibn Abi Maryam reported from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, from Hakim ibn Jaʿfar, from Ibn Abi Nuh—that a man in Mecca said:
“A man was circling the Kaaba, weeping and sobbing without pause. I thought to myself, ‘He must possess great goodness,’ so I began to watch him. I said, ‘When he leaves the mosque I will follow him.’ He never went out except at about midnight. One night he left, so I followed him. He reached the mountain pass, went beyond it, passed the houses, and came out onto the open plain while I walked behind him and he had no idea I was there.
He turned to face the Kaaba and said, ‘My God, my Creator, my Master! I have grown weary from continually looking at ⦗45⦘ the people who disobey You; if You wish to grant me relief from this, then hasten it quickly, O Most Generous!’
He then sat down, drew the cloak he was wearing around his knees, and, facing the Kaaba, waited. Suddenly a man came to him carrying a tray with food and a bucket of water. He set the tray in front of him, whereupon the worshipper began to eat from it; then he took the bucket and drank. The man holding the bucket did not sit but remained standing until the worshipper had taken the bucket from him.
When the bearer departed, I followed him, saying to myself, ‘I will ask him about that man and his state.’ Yet it was as though the earth split open and he vanished into it—I could see no trace of him. Afterward I made every effort to find the worshipper again in the tawaf, but I never saw him.”