of hair, then he performed ablution and bathed and entered his place of prayer. He prayed as much as Allah willed. When he finished his prayer, he stood upright, facing the Qibla. He aligned his feet until they were level, joined his heels, aligned his toes with his toes, and placed his right hand over his left upon his chest. He lowered his gaze and bowed his head in humility, then let his eyes shed tears, and his tears continued to flow down his cheeks and drip from the edges of his beard until the earth became wet in front of his face from his humility. When he saw that, he invoked Allah, saying: "O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table from the heaven."

His saying, the Exalted: "Send down to us a table."

[The First Aspect]

Regarding the one who interpreted it as a sufra (a dining mat):

[7020] Through it, from Salman: "Send down to us a table from the heaven." So Allah sent down to them a red sufra between two clouds, one cloud above it and one cloud below it.

[The Second Aspect]

Regarding the one who interpreted it as a khwan (a platter or tray):

[7021] My father mentioned, Ahmad ibn 'Uthman ibn Hakim narrated to us, Muhammad ibn al-Salt narrated to us, he said: I heard Qays, from al-A'mash, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, he said: "The table (al-ma'ida) is the khwan (tray)."

His saying, the Exalted: "Send down to us a table from the heaven."

[The First Aspect]

[7022] My father narrated to us, al-Hasan ibn Qaza'ah al-Bahili narrated to us, Sufyan ibn Habib narrated to us, Sa'id ibn Abi 'Aruba narrated to us, from Qatada, from Khilas, from 'Ammar ibn Yasir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) he said: "The table descended from the heaven [containing] bread and meat, and they were commanded not to betray, not to hide, and not to store away. He said: So the people betrayed, hid, and stored away, and Allah transformed them into monkeys and swine."

[The Second Aspect]

[7023] Al-Fadl ibn Ya'qub al-Rukhami narrated to us, Abu 'Asim al-Nabil narrated to us, Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatada, from Khilas, from 'Ammar, he said: "The table descended [as] fruit from the fruits of Paradise."