She said: 'Seek him in the mosque.' A man said to him: 'I mentioned someone with something, so how may I excuse myself to him?' He said: 'Say to him: By Allah, Allah knows that I did not say any of that.' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to joke, and he would say nothing but the truth (16). His joking consisted of causing the listener to imagine something other than what he intended by his speech, which is ta'wil (figurative interpretation). He said to an old woman: 'No old woman shall enter Paradise' (17), meaning that Allah will recreate them as virgins, beloved, and of the same age. Anas said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, carry me [provide me a mount].' The Messenger of Allah said: 'We will carry you on the offspring of a she-camel' (18). He said: 'And what shall I do with the offspring of a she-camel?' He said: 'Do she-camels give birth to anything but offspring?' Narrated by Abu Dawud (19). He said to a woman, when she mentioned her husband to him: 'Is he the one who has whiteness in his eyes?' She said: 'O Messenger of Allah, he has healthy eyes' (20). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended by the whiteness the part surrounding the iris (21). He said to a man who embraced him from behind: 'Who will buy the slave?' (22) The man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you will find me to be unsellable then.' He said: 'But with Allah, you are not unsellable' (23). All of this is from the realm of ta'wil and ma'arid (innuendo), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called it truth, saying: 'I do not say anything but truth' (16). It is narrated from Shurayh that he left Ziyad while he was dying, and it was said to him: 'How did you leave the Amir?' He said: 'I left him commanding and forbidding.' When he died, it was said to him: 'How could you say that?' He said: 'I left him commanding patience and forbidding crying and anguish.' It is narrated from Shaqiq that a man proposed to a woman while he had another wife, and they said: 'We will not marry you to her until you divorce your wife.' He said: 'Bear witness that I have divorced three.' So they married her to him, and he remained with his wife. They said: 'You have divorced