Aslam

paper to one with whom you meet first. Then I went out and handed over the paper to a man riding on an ass. He wept at this and said :
Where is the writer of the letter ? I said : He is in a certain mosque.
He handed over me a purse of 600 dinars. Then I met a man to whom I asked about the rider of the ass. He said that he is a Christian. I came to Ibrahim and told him all the details to which he said : Don't touch it. He will come presently. After a while the Christian came to Ibrahim Kissed his head and embraced Islam.

(3) Abu Eakub Basari said : I was without food at Mecca for ten days. Then I thought to go out and went by a hillock to find something to appease my hunger. I found a turnip thrown on the path way and took it but a voice came from within myself: You are without food for the last ten days, but at last your fate has supplied you a rotten turnip. I threw it away and returned to the mosque when an unknown person advanced to me and took his seat and handed over to me a box containing biscuits sugar and kernel of almond and said : This is for you. I said : Why have you selected me for this ? He said : Know that I was in sea for ten days in a journey. When my boat was about to sink, I took an oath that I would present this thing to a servant whom I will meet first if God saves me from this trouble. You are the first man who came to my notice. I said : Open it and accept it. Then he opened it and it contained biscuits, kernel, almond and refined sugar. I took one handful from this and a handful from that and said to him :
The rest is my present to your companions. I accepted it. Then I said to myself : Provision has come to you easily, but you were searching it for the last ten days near the village.

(4) The saint Momshed Dinawari said: I had debts for which I became troubled in mind. One day I saw in a dream that one man said to me: O miser, you have given Me such amount of debt your duty is to accept and My duty is to give. Thereafter I did not take accounts from the seller of vegetables or meat or anybody else.

(5) The sage Bunan Hammad said: I started towards Mecca from Egypt. I had sufficient provisions with me. A woman came to me and said: O Bunan, you are a labourer. You bear burdens on your shoulder and think that God will ftot give you provision. He

• said: Then I threw away my provisions. Three days passed away consequitively over me without any food. Then I found a silver ornament on the way and said to myself: I shall bear it till its

Vol-IV THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES . 221

owner comes perhaps he may give me something of it after I return it to him. Suddenly the woman came to me and: You are a tradesman, you say that you would take something of it, if its owner comes. Then she gave me some dirhams and said: Spend it. I took them and came to Mecca.