[The Account of the Three—the Blind Man, the Leper, and the Bald Man]

Al-Bukhārī (1) and Muslim (2) both transmit, through several chains, from Hammām ibn Yaḥyā, from Isḥāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ṭalḥah, who said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī ʿAmrah related to me that Abū Hurayrah narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

“Among the Children of Israel there were three men—a leper, a bald man, and a blind man—whom Allah (3) wished to test, so He sent (4) to them an angel.

“The angel came to the leper and asked, ‘What is most beloved to you?’ He replied, ‘A good complexion and sound skin, for people have come to loathe me.’ The angel then stroked him, whereupon the affliction left him and he was granted a pleasing complexion and sound skin. The angel continued, ‘What kind of wealth do you prefer?’ He answered, ‘Camels’—or he said, ‘Cattle.’ (5) The narrator was unsure, for between the leper and the bald man one of them said camels and the other said cattle. So he was given a pregnant she-camel, and the angel said, ‘May blessing be granted to you in her.’

“Then he came to the bald man (6) and asked, ‘What is most beloved to you?’ (7) He replied, ‘Fine hair, and that this affliction (8) be removed from me, for people detest me.’ The angel stroked him, the condition vanished, and he was given beautiful hair. He then asked, ‘What kind of wealth do you prefer?’ He said, ‘Cattle.’ So he was given a pregnant cow, and the angel said, ‘May blessing be granted to you in her.’ (9)

“Next he came to the blind man and asked, ‘What is most beloved to you?’ He said, ‘That Allah restore my sight so I may see people.’ The angel stroked him, and Allah restored his sight (10). He then asked, ‘What kind of wealth do you prefer?’ He replied, ‘Sheep.’ So he was given a nursing ewe. The first two animals produced offspring and the third likewise, until the first man possessed a valley full of camels, the second a valley full of cattle (11), and the third a valley full of sheep.

“Then (12) the angel came to the leper in his original form and condition and said, ‘I am a poor traveller; my provisions have been exhausted on the journey, and today I have no means (13) save Allah and then you. I ask you—by the One who granted you the fair complexion, sound skin, and wealth—to give me a camel with which I may reach my destination…’”