the judge and devoted it all to the cause of Allah.

He was once accompanied by several of his companions, and for two whole months they could find nothing to eat. Ibrāhīm said to one of them, “Go into that grove”—it was a bitterly cold day. The man relates: “I went in and found a tree laden with many peaches, so I filled my satchel and came back out.” Ibrāhīm asked, “What are you carrying?” I replied, “Peaches.” He said, “O you of weak certainty! Had you waited a little longer you would have found fresh, ripe dates like those that were bestowed upon Mary, daughter of ʿImrān.”

On another occasion a companion complained to him of hunger. Ibrāhīm prayed two units of prayer, whereupon a large number of gold dinars appeared around him. He said to the man, “Take one dinar.” The man took it and bought food for them all.

They recount that Ibrāhīm would earn his living as a hired laborer, then go out and buy eggs and butter, and at other times roast meat, jawdhābāt (1), and khabīs (2). He would feed these delicacies to his companions while he himself was fasting; and when he broke the fast he would eat coarse food, denying himself the fine fare so that he might honor people, win their affection, and endear himself to them.

The jurist al-Awzāʿī once hosted Ibrāhīm ibn Adham. Ibrāhīm ate sparingly, so al-Awzāʿī asked, “Why are you eating so little?” He replied, “Because you offered only a little.” Later, Ibrāhīm prepared an abundant meal and invited al-Awzāʿī. Al-Awzāʿī said, “Do you not fear that this is extravagance?” Ibrāhīm answered, “No. Extravagance applies only to what is spent in disobedience to Allah; what a man spends on his brothers is part of the religion.”

They also relate that he once earned twenty dinars for reaping a harvest. Sometime afterward he and a companion sat down at a barber-cupping surgeon to have their heads shaved and be cupped. The barber seemed annoyed with them and turned to other customers, which irritated Ibrāhīm’s companion. When the barber finally approached and asked, “What do you want?” Ibrāhīm said, “I want you to shave my head and cup me.” After he had done so, Ibrāhīm handed him the twenty dinars and said, “I wanted to ensure that from this day on you would never look down on a poor man again.”

Maḍāʾ ibn ʿĪsā said, “Ibrāhīm did not outstrip his peers by fasting or prayer, but by his charity and generosity.”

Ibrāhīm used to say, “Flee from people as you would flee from a savage lion, but never miss the Friday prayer or the congregational prayer.”

Whenever he travelled with one of his companions, Ibrāhīm would converse with him; and whenever he was present in an assembly, it was as though birds were perched upon the heads of those in attendance—so great was their awe and reverence.

He and Sufyān al-Thawrī would sometimes converse through a cold night until dawn, and al-Thawrī would be exceedingly guarded in his speech in Ibrāhīm’s presence.

He once saw a man and was told, “This is the man who killed your maternal uncle.” He went up to him, offered the greeting of peace, presented him with a gift, and said, “I have heard that a person does not attain the rank of certainty until even his enemy feels safe from him.”

(1) jawdhābāt: a type of sweet confection.
(2) khabīs: a sweet dish made from dates or flour and butter.