1419 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Sayyār narrated to us; Jaʿfar narrated:

I heard Mālik ibn Dīnār asking Hishām ibn Ziyād al-ʿAdawī about this report, and he related it to us that very day. He said:

A man from al-Shām had readied himself to perform Hajj. He lay down to sleep, and someone came to him in a dream saying: “Go to Iraq, then to Basra, then ⦗205⦘ to the clan of Banū ʿAdī; there you will find al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād. He is a man with a chipped front tooth, constantly smiling; give him the glad tidings of Paradise.” The man said, “It is only a dream—nothing of consequence.”

When the second night came he slept, and someone appeared again, saying: “Will you not go to Iraq and then to Basra…,” repeating the same words. On the third night the visitor came with a threat: “Will you not go to Iraq, then to Basra, then to Banū ʿAdī, and meet al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād—a man of medium build, with a split lip, always smiling—and give him the glad tidings of Paradise?”

At day-break he rose, gathered his provisions, and set out for Iraq. As he left the houses, behold, the one who had appeared in his dream was walking ahead of him; he could see him whenever he moved on, but whenever he halted he lost sight of him, and did not see him again until he entered Kūfah—then he lost him once more. He equipped himself again, departed Kūfah, and saw him walking ahead of him until he reached Basra. He went to Banū ʿAdī, entered the house of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād, and stood at the door, giving the greeting of peace.

Hishām said: I came out to him. He asked, “Are you al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād?” I replied, “No,” and added, “Dismount—may Allah have mercy on you—set down your saddle and your baggage.” He said, “No. Where is al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād?” I answered, “He is in the mosque.”

Al-ʿAlāʾ used to sit in the mosque, making certain supplications and conversing. Hishām said: I went to al-ʿAlāʾ; he cut short his discourse, prayed two rakʿahs (units of prayer), and then came. When al-ʿAlāʾ saw the stranger he smiled so that his incisor became visible, and said, “By Allah, this is the man who was described to me.”

Al-ʿAlāʾ then said, “Could you not have removed the man’s saddle and helped him to dismount?” I replied, “I invited him, but he refused.” Al-ʿAlāʾ said, “Dismount—may Allah have mercy on you.” The man said, “Grant me a private audience.” So al-ʿAlāʾ entered his house and said, “O Asmāʾ, move to the other room,” and she moved. The man entered, conveyed to him the glad tidings of the dream, then departed and mounted his ride.

Al-ʿAlāʾ stood up, shut his door, and wept for three days—or, he said, seven—during which he tasted neither food nor drink and opened his door to no one. Hishām said: I heard him in the midst of his weeping saying, “Me! Me!” We were afraid to open his door, and I feared he would die; so I went to al-Ḥasan (may Allah have mercy on him) and informed him, saying, “I fear he is dead; he neither eats nor drinks, but only weeps.”

Al-Ḥasan came and knocked, saying, “Open up, my brother.” When he heard al-Ḥasan’s voice he rose and opened, and he was in a state of affliction known only to Allah. Al-Ḥasan spoke to him and then said, “May Allah have mercy on you; you are, if Allah wills, among the people of Paradise. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Hishām said: Al-ʿAlāʾ related the dream to me and to al-Ḥasan and said, “Do not tell anyone about it for as long as I am alive.”