2195 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; from ʿAffan; Mahdi ibn Maymun narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Hamid, the associate of al-Ziyadi, narrated to us from Ibn Munabbih, who said:

“There was a man among those who lived before you who devoted himself to worship for a long time. He then sought a need from Allah—exalted is He—and fasted for seventy Saturdays, eating on each Saturday only eleven dates. He asked Allah for his need, but it was not granted. So he turned upon his own soul and said, ‘O soul, it is because of you that I have been denied. Had there been any good in you, your need would have been fulfilled; but there is no good in you.’

At that very moment an angel descended to him and said, ‘O son of Adam, this hour in which you have humbled yourself before your own soul is better than all the worship you have performed up to now, and Allah has granted you the need for which you asked.’”