642 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd narrated to us, saying: Hārūn ibn Abī Burda narrated to us, saying: Abū Yahyā al-Himmānī narrated to us, from Ismāīl ibn Abd al-Malik, from ⦗1060⦘ Alī ibn Rabīa al-Wālibī, who said: I was riding behind Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—on the open plain outside Kufa. He said, “There is no deity but You. Forgive me my sins, for none forgives sins but You.” Then he looked at me and laughed. I said, “O Commander of the Faithful, you ask your Lord’s forgiveness, then turn toward me and laugh?”

He said: I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—at the edge of al-Harra. He then said, “There is no deity but You. Glory be to You! Forgive me my sins, for none forgives sins but You.” Then he looked up at the sky, turned toward me, and laughed. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, you ask your Lord’s forgiveness, then turn toward me and laugh?” He said, “I laughed because my Lord—Mighty and Majestic—laughed. He marvels at His servant: he knows that none forgives sins but Allah—Mighty and Majestic.”