ʿAbd Allah narrated to us—he said: Abu ʿAbd Allah al-Sulamī told me; he said: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Salm, from someone who related it, say:

“Jacob was the most honored person on earth in the sight of the Angel of Death. The Angel of Death, upon him be peace, asked his Lord—Glorified and Exalted is He—for permission to go to Jacob, and permission was granted. When he came to him, Jacob said, ‘O Angel of Death, I adjure you by the One who created you—or by the One by whom you make your requests—have you taken the soul of Joseph among the souls you have seized?’ He replied, ‘No.’

The Angel of Death then said, ‘O Jacob, shall I teach you some words (or, he said: something)?’ Jacob answered, ‘Yes, indeed.’ He said, ‘Say: O Possessor of unending bounty, which none can enumerate but You.’ Jacob invoked with these words that very night, and dawn had not yet broken before the shirt was thrown over his face and he regained his sight.”