wish to tell you a story today that would make you pleased with me, only for Allah to become angry with me on that account.’

Look at the strength of his faith! He said, ‘I simply cannot speak to you falsely. Even if I were to lie so that you would be satisfied with me today, Allah’s anger would soon fall upon me.’

So he informed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, of the unvarnished truth, and the Prophet honored him for it.

From this incident we derive several lessons:

First: Allah, Exalted is He, may confer a special favor upon a servant by safeguarding him from sin whenever He knows that the servant’s heart harbors a sincere intention. Kaʿb—may Allah be pleased with him—was on the verge of inventing a tale for the Messenger—peace be upon him—yet Allah cleared that notion from his heart, removed it entirely, and inspired him to speak the truth.

Second: Whenever a person returns to his hometown, he should go to the mosque before entering his house and perform two units of prayer there; this is the Prophet’s sunnah in both word and deed. His practice is demonstrated in the report of Kaʿb ibn Mālik, and his verbal instruction appears in the story of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah—may Allah be pleased with him. On the journey, Jābir sold his camel to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on the condition that he could ride it until they reached Madinah, a condition the Prophet accepted. Jābir arrived in Madinah after the Prophet had already reached the city, so he went straight to the Messenger of Allah