51 – Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: Ishāq ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; Qabīṣah narrated to us; Sufyān narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith concerning Dhū al-Kifl. He said:

A prophet once said to the people with him, “Is there anyone among you who will guarantee me that he will never become angry, so that he will share my rank and, after me, take my place among my community?” A young man from the gathering replied, “I will.”

The prophet repeated the offer, and the young man again said, “I will.”

When the prophet passed away, the young man assumed his position. Iblīs then came to provoke his anger.

The young man told one of his attendants, “Go with him.” The attendant went and returned, saying he had seen nothing. Iblīs came again, so he sent another attendant, who likewise returned, saying, “I saw nothing.”

Finally, the devil came once more; the young man seized him by the hand, but Iblīs slipped free.

He was therefore called Dhū al-Kifl (“the guarantor”) because he had guaranteed that he would not become angry.