21 – al-Ḥusayn narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Ziyād ibn Ayyūb narrated to us; he said: Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī narrated to us; he said: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad narrated to me, from al-Anbāʾ; he said:

“They mentioned, in the presence of Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, a devotee from among the Children of Israel who would come down from his hermitage only once each year. When he did, he went to the refuse heap by the king’s gate and picked through the leftovers of the royal table.

A man sitting with her remarked, ‘Considering his spiritual standing, why does he not ask Allah to grant him his provision by some other means?’

Rābiʿa replied, ‘Good sir, when Allah’s elect are met with a decree, they do not object to it.’"