39 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh al-ʿAqadī narrated to us. He said: ʿAbbād al-Munaqqirī said:

“I went out one day heading for the cemetery (al-Jabbān). There I found three men carrying a bier, and a woman was with them. I helped them bear it until we reached the cemetery. I said, ‘Perform the funeral prayer for your companion.’ They replied, ‘You lead it; we are only the bearers.’ So I offered the prayer ⦗46⦘ over him, and we buried him.

While I was sitting there, drowsiness overcame me and I was shown a vision in my sleep. It was said to me, ‘Allah has forgiven the deceased.’ I awoke in alarm and asked about his story. I was told, ‘Ask the woman; she is his mother.’

I questioned her, and she said, ‘What makes you inquire about that?’ I told her what I had experienced. She praised Allah and said, ‘My son used to wrong himself greatly. When death approached him he said, “Mother, press my cheek to the earth,” and I did so. Then he said, “Place your feet upon it and plead with my Lord to grant me to you as a gift; perhaps He will show me mercy. Remove the set stone from my ring, for it bears the words la ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah), and place it in my hand—maybe that will benefit me.”’ She added, ‘So I did as he asked.’

Abū Bakr said: I asked Bishr ibn Muʿādh, ‘Who reported this to you from ʿAbbād?’ He answered, ‘Someone I trust from among our companions related it to me.’