704. ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; ʿAli ibn Muslim related to me; ʿUbayd ibn Musa narrated to us; from ʿUthman ibn Thabit Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Hamdani; from his grandmother, on the authority of her mother, who said:

ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—came to the marketplace of Furāt. He said to a tailor, “Do you sell shirts? Do you know who I am?” The tailor replied, “Yes.” Ali said, “Then I have no need of it.”

He went to another tailor and asked, “Do you know who I am?” The man answered, “No.” Ali said, “Sell me a karābīs shirt”—a coarse, simple garment. The man sold it to him, and Ali said, “Unfold the shirt.” When it reached the tips of his fingers he told him, “Cut off whatever extends beyond that,” after which the tailor hemmed it. Ali put the shirt on and remarked, “Praise be to Allah, who has clothed me with something by which I can conceal myself and appear presentable among His creation.”