Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

Mu‘āwiyah ibn al-Hakam As-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: While I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) a man sneezed, so I said: "May Allah have mercy upon you." People looked at me disapprovingly, so I said: "May my mother lose me, why do you stare at me?" They began to strike their thighs with their hands, and when I saw them urging me to be silent I said nothing.

When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer – and may my father and mother be sacrificed for him! I have never seen a mentor before him nor after him who gave better instruction than him. By Allah, he neither scolded me, nor beat me, nor insulted me, rather he said: ‘In prayer, nothing of people's ordinary speech is allowed. Only Tasbīh, Takbīr, and recitation of the Qur'an are allowed." Or he said something similar to that.

Then I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have recently abandoned the beliefs of the pre-Islamic era, and Allah has brought Islam to us, and there are men among us who go to diviners." He said: "Do not go to them." I said: "There are men who believe in omens." He said: "That is something which they find in their hearts, but let it not prevent them (from doing whatever they intend to do) (Ibn As-Sabbāh said: let it not prevent you)." I said: "Among us are men who draw lines." He said: "There was a prophet who used to draw lines, so if their lines are as his, then that will be good." He (Mu‘āwiyah) added: "I had a bondmaid who tended sheep for me by the side of Uhud and Al-Jawwāniyyah.

One day, I happened to pass that way and found that a wolf had snatched a ewe from her flock. As a normal human being, I got angry and gave her a slap.

Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who considered my act of slapping her grievous, so I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, should I emancipate her?' He said: 'Bring her to me.' So I brought her to him, and he said to her: 'Where is Allah?' She said: 'He is in the heaven.' He said: 'Who am I?' She said: 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'Set her free, for she is a believing woman.'"