464 – Al-Qāsim ibn Hāshim narrated to me; Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim narrated to us. He said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn relay to me what Aflah, the freedman of Abū Ayyūb, said:

“ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb used to have robes woven for the veterans of Badr and distribute them among them. He sent one such robe to Muʿādh ibn ʿAfrāʾ. Muʿādh said, ‘Sell this, O Aflah.’ So I sold it for one thousand five hundred dirhams. He then told me, ‘Use the proceeds to buy slaves.’ I bought five and brought them to him. He said to me, ‘By Allah, anyone who would choose to spend that much on wearing a robe rather than freeing five souls is surely wanting in judgment. Go—you are all free.’