951 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Yazid al-Kufi al-ʿIjli narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us; al-Salt ibn Matar narrated to us, from Qudamah ibn Hamata, the nephew of Sahm ibn Minjab, who said:

I heard Sahm ibn Minjab say: We set out on campaign with al-ʿAlaʾ ibn al-Hadrami to Darin, and on that expedition he offered three prayers, each of which was answered.

We halted at one location and he asked for water so that he could perform wudu, but none was available. He therefore stood, prayed two rakʿahs, and supplicated: “Allāhumma innā ʿabīduka wa-fī sabīlika nuqātilu ʿaduwwaka; Allāhumma isqinā ghaythan natawaḍḍaʾu minhu wa nashrab, fa-idhā tawaddaʾnā lam yakun li-aḥadin fīhi naṣībun ghayrunā” – “O Allah, we are Your servants, and in Your cause we fight Your enemy. O Allah, send us rain with which we may perform ablution and from which we may drink, and once we have performed our ablution let no one share it with us.” We travelled only a little before, as soon as the sky cleared, we came upon water. We performed wudu from it, filled our vessels, and stocked up. I filled my own containers but left them there, wanting to see whether his supplication had indeed been answered.

We moved on a short distance, after which I said to my companions, “I have forgotten my containers.” When I returned to that spot, it was as though water had never touched it.

We continued until we reached Darin, with the sea lying between us and the enemy. He then said, “Yā Ḥalīm, yā ʿAlī, yā ʿAẓīm (O Forbearing One, O Most High, O Magnificent), innā ʿabīduka wa-fī sabīlika nuqātilu ʿaduwwaka; Allāhumma fajʿal lanā ilayhim sabīlan – we are Your servants, and in Your cause we fight Your enemy; O Allah, make for us a path to reach them.” He urged his mount into the sea, and we followed. We crossed, the water rising no higher than the padding of our saddles, and emerged on the other side.

On the return journey he was seized by stomach pains and died. We searched for water to wash his body but found none, so we wrapped him in his clothes and buried him. We had not gone far when we came upon abundant water. Some of us said to one another, “Let us go back, exhume him, and wash him.” We returned and searched but could not find the grave.

One of the men said, “I heard him say, ‘Yā ʿAlī, yā Ḥakīm, yā ʿAẓīm (O Most High, O All-Wise, O Great), conceal my death from them’—or words to that effect—‘and do not let anyone look upon my nakedness.’” So we left him and went on our way.