And had they observed the Torah and the Gospel and what was revealed to them from their Lord, they would surely have received nourishment from above them and from beneath their feet…That is, if they acted according to what God revealed to Muḥammad , and if you acted according to it, you would attain this rank, just as those who acted according to it attained it. Furthermore, if you had turned to the Provider (al-Razzāq), your provision would have been taken care of. Then he said:You are not greater than ʿAmr b. Layth, who would march with one thousand horsemen and one thousand foot soldiers in his charge, each one holding a mace of gold and silver. Eventually it came to pass that he was imprisoned in a house after being handed over to the Caliph, who subsequently deprived him of food and drink. When his door was opened they found him dead with his mouth full of straw and clay due to his intense hunger. Then he [the Caliph] said, ‘Truly I have advised you and truly I am among those who give you good counsel.’It was related by Mālik b. Dīnār, from Ḥammād b. Salma and Ḥammād b. Yazīd, that these two came to visit Rābiʿa, and mentioned something concerning the matters of this world. So Rābi‘a said, ‘You are talking about this world a lot. I think you must be hungry, so if you are hungrygo over to that pot with the flour and make yourselves whatever takes your fancy.’ Then, one of those who were with her remarked, ‘If only we had some garlic.’ Ḥammād continued, ‘Then I saw Rābiʿa’s lips moving and she had not even finished before a bird came with a clove of garlic in its beak which it cast down and then flew off. His words, Exalted is He:
, and if you acted according to it, you would attain this rank, just as those who acted according to it attained it. Furthermore, if you had turned to the Provider (al-Razzāq), your provision would have been taken care of. Then he said:You are not greater than ʿAmr b. Layth, who would march with one thousand horsemen and one thousand foot soldiers in his charge, each one holding a mace of gold and silver. Eventually it came to pass that he was imprisoned in a house after being handed over to the Caliph, who subsequently deprived him of food and drink. When his door was opened they found him dead with his mouth full of straw and clay due to his intense hunger. Then he [the Caliph] said, ‘Truly I have advised you and truly I am among those who give you good counsel.’It was related by Mālik b. Dīnār, from Ḥammād b. Salma and Ḥammād b. Yazīd, that these two came to visit Rābiʿa, and mentioned something concerning the matters of this world. So Rābi‘a said, ‘You are talking about this world a lot. I think you must be hungry, so if you are hungrygo over to that pot with the flour and make yourselves whatever takes your fancy.’ Then, one of those who were with her remarked, ‘If only we had some garlic.’ Ḥammād continued, ‘Then I saw Rābiʿa’s lips moving and she had not even finished before a bird came with a clove of garlic in its beak which it cast down and then flew off. His words, Exalted is He: