Khālid b. Yazīd reported that al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said: حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ، نَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، نَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عُمَرُ الْبَصْرِيُّ، عَنْ خَالِدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ؛ قَالَ: قَالَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيّ: I went to a cloth merchant in Makkah to buy a thawb.
وَقَفْتُ عَلَى بَزَّازٍ بِمَكَّةَ أَشْتَرِي مِنْهُ ثَوْبًا، He started praising his products and making oaths (ie: that his products are good). فَجَعَلَ يَمْدَحُ وَيَحْلِفُ، And so I left him and said to myself: “I should not buy from such a person.” فَتَرَكْتُهُ وَقُلْتُ:
لا يَنْبَغِي الشِّرَاءُ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ، And I bought it from someone else. وَاشْتَرَيْتُ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، Two years later I made Ḥajj, ثُمَّ حَجَجْتُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ بِسَنَتَيْنِ، And went to that merchant but this time I did not hear him praising his products or making oaths.
فَوَقَفْتُ عَلَيْهِ، فَلَمْ أَسْمَعْهُ يَمْدَحُ وَلا يَحْلِفُ. I said to him: “Are you not the man to whom I came two years ago?” فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: أَلَسْتَ الرَّجُلَ الَّذِي وَقَفْتُ عَلَيْهِ مُنْذُ سَنَوَاتٍ؟ He said: “Yes.” قَالَ: نَعَمْ. I said: “And what made you leave doing
what I saw you doing back then? قُلْتُ لَهُ: وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَخْرَجَكَ إِلَى مَا أَرَى؟ Now I do not see you praising your products or making oaths!” مَا أَرَاكَ تَمْدَحُ وَلا تَحْلِفُ! He said: “I had a wife, and whenever I came to her with less, she would look down on me.
فَقَالَ: كَانَتْ لِيَ امْرَأَةٌ إِنْ جِئْتُهَا بِقَلِيلٍ نَزَرَتْهُ، And whenever I came to her with much, she considered it to be little. وَإِنْ جِئْتُهَا بِكَثِيرٍ قَلَّلَتْهُ، Then Allah looked at me (ie: had mercy with me) and she passed away. فَنَظَرَ اللهُ إِلَيَّ
فَأَمَاتَهَا، And I married another woman after that. فَتَزَوَّجْتُ امْرَأَةً بَعْدَهَا، Whenever I wanted to go to al-sūq (ie: the market), she used to grab the collar of my thawb, فَإِذَا أَرَدْتُ الْغُدُوَّ إِلَى السُّوقِ أَخَذَتْ بِمَجَامِعِ ثِيَابِي And she would say:
'O so-and-so! Ittaqillah (ie: fear Allah) and do not feed us except with ṭayyibā (ie: pure ḥalāl earnings). ثُمَّ قَالَتْ: يَا فُلانُ! اتَّقِ اللهَ وَلا تُطْعِمْنَا إِلا طَيِّبًا، If you come to us with less, we will increase it. إِنْ جِئْتَنَا بِقَلِيلٍ كَثَّرْنَاهُ،
And if we receive nothing, we will support you with our spinning wheels (ie: by sewing and selling clothing).'” وَإِنْ لَمْ تَأْتِنَا بِشَيْءٍ أَعَنَّاكَ بِمِغْزَلِنَا. al-Dīnawarī, al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir al-ʿIlm 5/251 #2091 الدِّينَوري، المجالسة وجواهر العلم ٥/٢٥١ #٢٠٩١
