(Marfu‘ hadith) Marwan ibn Mu‘awiyah narrated to us, ‘Umar ibn Hamzah al-‘Umari narrated to us, Salim ibn ‘Abdullah narrated to us, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Whoever among you is able to be like the companion of the measure of rice, let him be like him." They said: O Messenger of Allah, and who is the companion of the measure of rice? He said: "Three men set out, and the sky became cloudy over them, so they entered a cave. Then a rock came down from the top of the mountain and blocked the entrance upon them. They tried to move it, but they could not. So some of them said to others: You have fallen into a grave matter, so let each man supplicate to Allah with the best deed he has done, perhaps Allah, the Exalted, will deliver us from this. One of them said: O Allah, You know that I had two elderly parents, and I used to milk for them, and I would come to them and they had slept, so I would spend the night standing with the milk in my hand, disliking to give precedence to anyone before them, or to wake them from their sleep, while my children were crying around me. If You know that I did this out of fear of You, then relieve us. He said: The rock moved. The second said: O Allah, You know that I had a cousin, and there was nothing of Your creation more beloved to me than her. I sought her for herself, and she said: By Allah, not without a hundred dinars. So I gathered them and gave them to her, and when I sat with her as a man sits with a woman, she said: Fear Allah, and do not break the seal except by its right. So I got up from her. If You know that I did this out of fear of You, then relieve us. He said: The rock moved until the sky appeared. The third said: O Allah, You know that I hired a laborer for a measure of rice, and when evening came, I offered him his due, but he refused to take it and left me. I was uneasy about it, so I invested it for him and improved it until I bought with it cattle and their herdsman. After some time, he met me and said: Fear Allah and give me my wages, and do not wrong me. I said: Go to those cattle and their herdsman and take them. He said: Fear Allah and do not mock me. I said: I am not mocking you. So he went and took them. If You know that I did this seeking Your pleasure, out of fear of You, then relieve us. The rock rolled away, and they went out walking."