1503 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ al-Bazzār Abū Jaʿfar narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us, from Ibn ʿAwn who said:

Muhammad ibn Sīrīn used to gather his brothers together and would say to the people, “Eat.” Al-Hasan said, “Where is ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him? Food is too refined to be quibbled over.”

Ibn ʿAwn continued: We would visit al-Hasan while he was keeping a low profile; one group would enter, then another would follow. Each time he would have food brought for the newcomer and insist, “By Allah, you must eat; by Allah, you must eat!” Perhaps yet another person would arrive, and he would again call for food. The maidservant would say, “We have nothing left,” whereupon he would say, “Then bring sawīq (roasted barley flour).”