Jami' al-Saghir / Jam' al-Jawami' (al-Suyuti) 4-651b

Translation

Machine translation, not reviewed

"The Prophet ﷺ, when he was asked for something and intended to do it, would say: Yes; and when he intended not to do it, he would remain silent. He never said 'No' to anything. A Bedouin came to him and asked, and he remained silent; then he asked again and he remained silent; then he asked, and the Prophet ﷺ said to him, as one rebuking: Ask whatever you wish, O Bedouin. We envied him and said: Now he will ask for Paradise. The Bedouin said: I ask you for a riding beast. The Prophet ﷺ said: That is yours. Then he said: I ask you for provision. He said: That is yours. We marveled at that, and the Prophet ﷺ said: How far is the difference between the Bedouin's request and the old woman of the Children of Israel? Then he said: When Musa was commanded to look at the sea, he came to it, and the faces of the animals turned and went back. Musa said: What is wrong with me, O Lord? He said: You are at the grave of Yusuf, so carry his bones with you. The grave had become level with the ground, and Musa did not know where it was. They said: If any of you knows where it is, it is the old woman of the Children of Israel; perhaps she knows where it is. Musa sent to her and said: Do you know where the grave of Yusuf is? She said: Yes. He said: Then show it to me. She said: No, by Allah, not until you give me what I ask of you. He said: That is yours. She said: I ask you that I be with you in the rank you will have in Paradise. He said: Ask Paradise. She said: No, by Allah, except that I be with you. Musa kept repeating it, so Allah revealed to him: Give her that, for it will not diminish anything of yours. So he gave it to her, and she showed him the grave; he brought out the bones and crossed the sea."

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