456 — Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to me, saying: Kathīr ibn Hishām narrated to me, saying: Īsā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Qurashī narrated to us, saying: A man from Basra informed me, saying:

I came to Medina and stayed with Muāwiya ibn Abd Allah ibn Jafar. I asked him about his father’s character and customary conduct. He replied, “He had been endowed with a disposition that left him incapable of acting otherwise.”

A Bedouin came to ask him for assistance, so he said, “Tell me what you wish for, and be ambitious in your wishes.”

The Bedouin said, “A young camel to carry my saddle home to my family, a fine set of garments to wear when I return to my people, a cloak for everyday use during my journey, and enough provisions to see me safely back to them.”

He said, “Your aspirations have fallen far short! Why did you not ask me for everything I possess, so that I might hand it all over to you?” He then ordered that the man be given one hundred sets of garments, one hundred she-camels, and one hundred thousand dirhams.

The Bedouin said, “As for the stones”—meaning the money—“I have no need of them. As for the garments, one of them is enough for me. But as for the camels, by Allah, I shall drive them home to my family.”

He therefore drove away the camels and left the money and garments behind. Abd Allah then ordered that they be distributed among the poor of Medina.