141 — Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Bāhilī al-Sawwāf narrated to us: ʿAbd Allah ibn Bakr al-Sahmī narrated to us: al-Hajjāj ibn Furāfisa narrated to us; he said:

“Two men were conducting a sale in the presence of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, and one of them kept swearing oaths. A man passed by, stopped beside them, and said to the one who was swearing repeatedly, ‘O servant of Allah, fear Allah and do not swear so many oaths. Swearing will not increase your provision, nor will refraining from it diminish your provision.’

“He replied, ‘Go and concern yourself with what matters to you.’

“The man said, ‘This is indeed something that concerns me.’ As he began to leave them, he said, ‘Know that one of the signs of faith is to prefer the truth when it harms you over a lie when it benefits you; not to say more than you put into practice; and to beware of falsehood when relating the words of others.’ He then departed.

“ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar said to one of the two men, ‘Catch up with him and ask him to write these words down for you.’ The man rose and caught up with him, saying, ‘Write these words down for me—may Allah have mercy on you.’

“He replied, ‘Whatever Allah, Mighty and Majestic, decrees shall come to pass.’ He then repeated the words to him until he had memorized them. The man walked with him, but as soon as he set foot in the mosque, he lost sight of him.”

He said, “It was as though they believed that he was al-Khidr or Elijah—peace be upon them both.”