1591 — Abū Ubayd Alī ibn al-Husayn ibn Harb al-Qādī narrated to us; he said: ⦗2098⦘ Abū al-Ashath Ahmad ibn al-Miqdām narrated to us; he said: Abū Bakr al-Hanafī narrated to us; he said: Fitr ibn Khalīfa narrated to us, from Ismāīl ibn Rajā, from his father, from Abū Saīd al-Khudrī, who said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—emerged from one of his wives’ chambers, and the thong of his sandal broke. Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—took the sandal and remained behind to mend it. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—stood waiting, and we stood with him. He then said:

“Indeed, among you is one who will fight for the interpretation of the Quran just as I fought for its revelation.”

The people looked up expectantly, among whom were Abū Bakr and Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“No; rather, it is the man with the sandal.”

We therefore went to give him the glad tidings, but he did not even raise his head at the news, as though it were something he had heard before.