Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) recounted a profound story from his time in Basra. One day, he found the people gathered in the grand mosque, praying and supplicating to Allah from the time of Dhuhr prayer until Isha prayer. They were begging Allah for rain, as the skies had withheld their water and the rivers had dried up. Malik joined them, praying and supplicating alongside the people, but the rain did not come.

After the prayers, everyone returned to their homes, but Malik, who had no home of his own, stayed in the mosque. That night, a man entered the mosque. He was black in complexion, with a flat nose, a large belly, and dressed in two rags—one covering his lower body and the other draped over his shoulder. He prayed two short rak’ahs, then looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no one but Malik, he raised his hands toward the Qibla and began to supplicate:

Malik said: “By Allah, no sooner had he lowered his hands than the sky darkened, and clouds gathered from every direction. The rain poured down like the mouths of water skins.”

Amazed by this, Malik followed the man as he left the mosque. The man walked through the alleys and streets until he entered a house. Malik could find no distinguishing mark on the house except for its mud walls, so he marked the door with some mud and returned the next morning.

The next day, Malik traced his steps back to the marked door, only to find it was the house of a slave trader. He entered and asked to buy a slave. The trader showed him many slaves—tall, short, and handsome—but Malik refused them all. The trader insisted there were no others, but Malik noticed a small hut near the door and asked if there was anyone inside. The trader replied, “No one in there is worth buying. You want to buy a slave, and the one in there is useless.”

Malik insisted on seeing him. When the man was brought out, Malik recognized him as the same person who had prayed in the mosque the night before. He said to the trader, “I will buy him.” The trader was surprised and said, “You might think I am deceiving you. This man is of no use! He cannot do any work.” But Malik insisted and bought him for a low price.

When they arrived at Malik’s home, the man raised his head and asked, “O my master, why did you buy me? If you wanted strength, there are stronger men. If you wanted beauty, there are more handsome men. If you wanted skill, there are more skilled men. So why did you buy me?”

Malik replied, “Last night, the people were in the mosque from Dhuhr to after Isha, supplicating to Allah for rain, but their prayers were not answered. But when you entered, raised your hands, and supplicated to Allah with such sincerity and urgency, Allah answered you immediately and sent the rain.”

The man asked, “Are you sure it was me? How do you know it wasn’t someone else?” Malik said, “It was you.” The man asked, “Did you recognize me?” Malik said, “Yes.” The man asked, “Are you certain?” Malik said, “Yes.”

The man then turned away from Malik, fell to the ground in prostration, and said:

And with that, his soul departed to its Creator.