452 — He said: Abū Abd Allah al-Ijlī said: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us; Ibn Ishāq related to us and said: My father, Ishāq ibn Yasār, related to me and said: An elder from Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr informed me. He said:

A cousin of mine from the desert came to me and said, “A nephew of mine has killed someone intentionally. I asked the victim’s kin to accept blood money from me, and they agreed. But my clan left me to bear it alone and refused to contribute, saying, ‘We contribute in cases of accidental killing, but not intentional killing.’ I have therefore come to seek assistance from these people of Quraysh.”

I ordered a meat-and-flour stew to be prepared for him, and we served it to him for lunch. Then I said, “Come with me to the best and chief of the people: the grandson of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—al-Husayn ibn Ali, may Allah be pleased with them both.” We went to look for him at his home but did not find him. We then went out and met him at al-Balāt. I said, “There is the man you need.”

We asked him to stop, and he stopped and leaned against the wall. I said, “O grandson of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—a nephew of mine has killed someone”—and he recounted his story—“and I have come to seek help from these people of Quraysh in paying his blood money. I thought I should begin with you.”

He replied, “By Allah, in whose hand is the soul of al-Husayn, there was not a single dinar or dirham in my house this morning. I went to the market only to arrange a credit transaction to meet some of our expenses and indispensable needs. However, I see that you are a strong man, and the crop from my property at Dhū al-Marwa, at the spring of Yuhannas, is ready to harvest. Go there and oversee it and its workers. Then harvest it, thresh it, and sell it. Its proceeds will settle the payment for you, and you will not need to ask anyone for anything.”

He said, “I shall—may my father and mother be your ransom.” Al-Husayn then wrote to his steward: “Attend to so-and-so son of so-and-so and give him unrestricted access to the harvest of your land, for I have given it to him.”

The man went out, harvested it, and sold its produce for twenty thousand dirhams. He paid twelve thousand and was left with a surplus of eight thousand.