- Mahdi ibn Ḥafṣ informed us; he said: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us, from Bakkār ibn ʿAbdullāh, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said:
“There was once a tyrant among the Children of Israel who would execute anyone who refused to eat the flesh of swine. The matter continued in this fashion until it reached one of their devoted worshippers. The people were greatly distressed, so the chief of police said to him, ‘I will slaughter a young goat for you. When the tyrant summons you to eat, go ahead and eat.’
“When the tyrant did invite him to eat, however, he refused. The tyrant ordered, ‘Take him out and behead him!’
“The chief of police then said to the worshipper, ‘What prevented you from eating, after I informed you that it was goat meat?’ He replied, ‘I am a man whom people look up to, and I did not want anyone to take me as a precedent in disobeying Allah.’ So the tyrant put him to death.”