56 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ narrated to me; al-Munḏir b. Ziyād al-Ṭāʾī—or, it may have been ʿĪsā b. Abī ʿĪsā al-Kindī—narrated to us, from my father, who said: ⦗55⦘

ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib would frequently say, whenever he delivered the Friday sermon, “People, persist in beneficence, and remember the deed of the jinnī.” My father therefore said to al-Ashṭar, “Come, let us go to the Commander of the Believers and ask him about this jinnī, for he mentions it a great deal.” So al-Ashṭar and I went to him and entered while he was in the Public Treasury. He said, “What has brought you at this hour?” We replied, “Commander of the Believers, we heard you say, ‘Persist in beneficence, and remember the deed of the jinnī.’” He asked, “Do you not know what that means?” We said, “No.” He said, “That incident took place among you.” They asked, “Among whom?” He answered:

“Mālik b. Ḥarīm al-Hamdānī set out on pilgrimage with a company of his companions. When they had reached a certain point along the road he said to them, ‘Pull over and rest, for water is near.’ They stopped and fell asleep. As they lay there, the moon rose late in the night and a serpent slid down upon them from the mountain and began to circle the group. One of the youths noticed it, reached for his staff, and watched while it circled the people. When it came up to the elder, the youth struck at it, fearing it would reach him first and bite him, but he missed. The elder was alarmed and cried, ‘Mah!’⦗56⦘ The serpent said, ‘He has sought refuge beneath you.’ The elder replied, ‘Since he has sought my protection, I have granted it.’ The serpent thereupon withdrew and returned whence it had come, saying, ‘Sleep; you have water within your reach.’

“They did not awaken until the sun had risen. Rising, each man took the lead-rope of his mount in search of water, but they found themselves off the trail. When the serpent saw this it called to them from the mountain:

O travelling band, no water lies ahead of you
until you drive your mounts all day in toil;
Then turn to the right—water is close at hand:
a brimming spring whose drink dispels all fatigue.

“So they turned to the right and there lay a still pool; they drank, filled their skins, watered their camels, and set out again. Later, when they had returned and were near the foot of the mountain, they said, ‘Abū Ḥarīm, if only we could take some of that sweet water!’ They climbed toward the mountain seeking the spring, but again they lost the way. When the serpent saw this it called to them from the mountain:

O Mālik, may Allah reward you with goodness—
a farewell and greeting I send to you.
Never tire of showing kindness to anyone,
for whoever is denied beneficence is truly deprived.
I am the serpent you saved from peril;
I thank you—gratitude is duly apportioned.
Whoever does good will never lose its reward
so long as he lives, and evil’s outcome is blame.”