2011 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Hudbah ibn Khalid narrated to us; Mubarak ibn Fudala narrated to us; Abu al-Asfar related to me, from Saʿsaʿah ibn Muʿawiyah, who said:

Uways ibn ʿAmir al-Qarani was a man from the tribe of Qarn. He belonged to the generation of the Successors and resided in Kufah. A patch of leukoderma broke out on his skin, so he prayed to Allah—exalted is He—to remove it, and He removed it. After that he said, “O Allah, leave in my body something by which I may remember Your favor upon me,” and thus He left in his body what enabled him to remember that favor.

Uways used to remain in the main mosque with a circle of his companions. He had a cousin who frequented the court of the rulers and was obsessed with belittling him: if he saw him among affluent people he would say, “He is only living off them,” and if he saw him among the poor he would say, “He is only deceiving them.” Uways, for his part, spoke of his cousin only in good terms, yet whenever he passed by him he would conceal himself, fearing that he might commit a sin because of him.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab would question every delegation that arrived from Kufah: “Do you know Uways ibn ʿAmir al-Qarani?” They would answer, “No.” Then a delegation came in which that very cousin was present. ʿUmar asked, “Do you know Uways ibn ʿAmir al-Qarani?” The man replied, “He is my cousin; a corrupt, insignificant fellow—not someone worthy of your notice, O Commander of the Believers.” ʿUmar said, “Woe to you—you are ruined! When you return, convey my greetings to him and order him to come to me.”

Back in Kufah, the man did not even take off his travel clothes before he went to Uways and found him in the mosque. Without presuming to lead him in prayer he said, “Seek forgiveness for me, O cousin.” Uways replied, “May Allah forgive you, my cousin.” The man continued, “And may Allah forgive you as well, O Uways ibn ʿAmir. The Commander of the Believers sends you his greetings.” Uways asked, “Who mentioned me to the Commander of the Believers?” He answered, “He himself did, and he ordered me to tell you—so present yourself to him.” Uways said, “Listening and obedience to the Commander of the Believers.”

He then set out with a delegation to ʿUmar. When he entered, ʿUmar asked, “Are you Uways ibn ʿAmir al-Qarani?” He replied, “Yes.” ʿUmar said, “Are you the one on whom leukoderma appeared, so you asked Allah—exalted is He—to remove it and He removed it, and you said, ‘O Allah, leave in my body something by which I may remember ⦗279⦘ Your favor upon me,’ whereupon He left in your body what reminds you of Allah’s favor upon you?” Uways responded, “How did you come to know this, O Commander of the Believers? By Allah, no human being ever knew of it!” ʿUmar said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us that among the Successors there will be a man from Qarn called Uways ibn ʿAmir al-Qarani. A patch of leukoderma will afflict him; he will supplicate Allah to remove it, and He will remove it. Then he will say, ‘O Allah, leave in my body something by which I may remember Your favor upon me,’ and so Allah will leave in his body what reminds him of His favor. Whoever among you meets him and is able to ask him to seek forgiveness for him, let him do so. Therefore seek forgiveness for me, O Uways ibn ʿAmir.”

Uways said, “May Allah forgive you, O Commander of the Believers.” ʿUmar replied, “And may Allah forgive you as well, O Uways ibn ʿAmir.”

When the people heard what ʿUmar had reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one man said, “Ask forgiveness for me!” and another said, “Seek forgiveness for me, O Uways!” As they crowded around him, he slipped away and departed, and has not been seen to this very day.