66 – ʿIsmah b. al-Faḍl related to us; Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā transmitted it; from Muḥammad b. Nashīṭ; from Bakr—meaning Ibn ʿAbd Allah—who said:

He once caught up with a porter staggering beneath his load while repeating, “All praise belongs to Allah; I seek Allah’s forgiveness.” Bakr continued, “I waited until the man set his burden down and asked him, ‘Do you say nothing else?’

“He replied, ‘Indeed, I say much that is good: I recite the Book of Allah. Yet a servant is always suspended between a blessing and a sin; therefore I praise Allah for His abundant favors and seek His forgiveness for my sins.’

“At that I remarked, ‘The porter possesses deeper understanding than Bakr.’”