- Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī narrated to me; he said: Abū Usāmah narrated to us; he said: al-Aʿmash narrated from Muslim, from Masrūq, who said:
“A desert man owned a ⦗62⦘ dog, a donkey, and a rooster. The rooster woke them for prayer; the donkey carried their water and their tent; and the dog guarded them. One day a fox came and snatched the rooster, and they were saddened by its loss. The righteous man said, ‘Perhaps that is for the best.’
They stayed on as Allah willed. Then a wolf came, ripped open the donkey’s belly, and killed it. Again they grieved, and the righteous man said, ‘Perhaps that is for the best.’
They remained for as long as Allah willed, after which the dog too was struck down. The righteous man said, ‘Perhaps that is for the best.’
Some time later they awoke one morning and saw that all the households around them had been taken captive, while they themselves were left unharmed. Those people were seized only because of the noise and commotion their animals made, whereas this man’s dog, donkey, and rooster were gone, so nothing was left to draw attention to them.”