84 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh narrated to me; Ḥammād ibn Wāqid narrated to us, from Thābit, who said:

We were with Ibn al-Zubayr in the rural outskirts of Kufa when I entered an orchard to pray two rak‘ahs. I began my recitation with, “Ḥā Mīm” (Al-Aḥqāf 1), “The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing” (Ghāfir 2), “Forgiver of sin, Accepter of repentance, severe in punishment, Possessor of vast bounty” (Ghāfir 3). Suddenly a man behind me, mounted on a dapple-gray mule and wearing patched Yemeni garments, said:

“When you recite ‘Forgiver of sin,’ say: ‘O Forgiver of sin, forgive my sin.’
When you recite ‘severe in punishment,’ say: ‘O Severe in punishment, do not punish me.’
When you recite ‘Possessor of vast bounty,’ say: ‘O Possessor of vast bounty, bestow upon me mercy from You.’”

I turned, but there was no one there. I went out to the gate and asked, “Did a man in patched Yemeni clothes pass by here?” They replied, “No one passed us.” They therefore believed that it could only have been Elijah.