- ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; my father narrated to us; Wakiʿ—and likewise Yazīd ibn Hārūn—narrated to us; Abū al-Ashhab informed us, from Khālid al-Rabaʿī, who said:
“Luqmān—peace be upon him—was an Abyssinian slave who worked as a carpenter. His master once said to him, ‘Slaughter a sheep for me.’ So he slaughtered it. The master then said, ‘Bring me the two finest morsels in it,’ and Luqmān brought him the tongue and the heart. The master asked, ‘Was there nothing in it better than these two?’ He replied, ‘No.’ The master said nothing further.
“Later he said to him, ‘Slaughter another sheep,’ so he slaughtered it. The master then said, ‘Cast aside the two worst pieces of it,’ whereupon Luqmān threw away the tongue and the heart. The master exclaimed, ‘I told you to bring me the two choicest morsels and you brought me the tongue and the heart; now I have told you to discard the two worst pieces and you have discarded the tongue and the heart!’ Luqmān replied, ‘There is nothing better than these two when they are wholesome, nor anything worse than them when they are corrupt.’”