and self-righteous pride may take hold of him so that he will not yield to you, whereas if you approach him with what is finer he will benefit.

It is related that, in earlier times, a man from the ḥisba — one of those who command right and forbid wrong — passed by a laborer who, at the call to Maghrib, was drawing water from a well for his camels. Such workers customarily chanted poetry to urge the animals on, for camels are roused by verse. The ḥisba officer, accompanied by others, addressed the weary laborer with coarse words; the man, worn out by his work and already distressed, struck him with a long, sturdy staff he kept at hand. The officer bolted, went to the mosque, and met a shaykh — a scholar descended from Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, may Allah have mercy on him. He said, “I did such-and-such, and the man struck me with his staff.”

The following day, shortly before sunset, the shaykh himself went to the spot. He performed ablution, placed his cloak on a beam near the well, and when the Maghrib call to prayer was given he stood as though to retrieve his cloak. Addressing the worker he said, “Brother, may Allah reward you. You are seeking what is good through this work, and you are upon good, but now the Maghrib call has been given. If you go and pray and then return, you will miss nothing.” He spoke with gentleness.

The man replied, “May Allah reward you. Yesterday a rough fellow came and scolded me; he spoke badly and angered me, and I could not restrain myself, so I struck him with the staff.”

The shaykh said, “There is no need for hitting; you are a sensible man,” and continued addressing him softly. The worker then rested the staff he used to prod the camels against the well and went off to pray, compliant and content.