started snatching belongings from travellers. Yet, none of them troubled me in the slightest.

One of the robbers asked, “What do you have?”

I replied truthfully, “I have forty dinars.”

He asked where they were, to which I explained, “They are sewn into this pocket under my arm.”

The robber thought I was joking and moved ahead. After a short while, another came and asked me the same question, to which I gave the same reply. He also then moved ahead. When both robbers informed their chief about me, I was taken to him as per his orders. At that time, they were all dividing among themselves the possessions they had stolen. Their chief asked about what I had, and I said the same as before, that I had 40 dinars sewn into my thobe.

At his order, my pocket was cut open and the robbers saw I was telling the truth. The chief was profoundly shocked. مَاحَمَلَکَ عَلَی ہٰذا الْاِعْتِرَافِ – “What compelled you to admit this?” he asked.

I said, “My mother made me promise to always tell the truth and not go against this vow.” The chief burst into tears and exclaimed, “Here you are, upholding the promise you made to your mother. Here I am, spending years going against the promises I made to Allah.”

The chief repented to Allah Almighty right then and there. The other robbers said, “We were with you throughout these robberies. Now, we will join you in repentance.” They all