- ʿAbdullāh narrated to us; he said: Mahdī ibn Ḥafṣ narrated to us; he said: Khalaf ibn Khalīfa narrated to us, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: ⦗127⦘
“Allah revealed to Moses—peace be upon him—saying, ‘I am about to send down to you a fire, so use it to light the lamps in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).’ Moses therefore summoned Aaron—peace be upon him—and said, ‘Allah has singled me out with a fire, and I have in turn chosen you for it.’ Aaron then called his two sons and said, ‘Allah has favored Moses with a fire, He has chosen me for it, and I have chosen the two of you for it.’
The two young men sat awaiting the fire, while Moses and Aaron watched. Growing impatient, the youths went to an ordinary earthly fire and lit the lamps of Bayt al-Maqdis with it. Instantly a fire descended upon them from the sky and consumed them. Aaron sprang forward to save them, but Moses restrained him, saying, ‘By Allah, leave them until they taste the punishment for what they have done.’
Allah then revealed to Moses: ‘Thus do I deal with any of My close servants who disobey Me—so how will it be with those who are My enemies?’ Aaron spent forty days grieving in deep sorrow. Then Allah revealed to him: ‘I have forgiven them both and made them martyrs together with the two of you in Paradise.’