In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful Allah’s blessings be on you,
O Saaheb al-Amr, help us and forsake us not
رُوِيَ أَنَّ دَاوُدَ اَلرَّقِّيَّ قَالَ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فَقَالَ لِي مَا لِي أَرَى لَوْنَكَ مُتَغَيِّراً
It is narrated that Dawood al-Raqqi said: I was in the presence of Abu Abdillah, Imam al-Sadeq (peace be upon him). He said to me: “Why do I see the colour of your face changed?”
قُلْتُ غَيَّرَهُ دَيْنٌ فَاضِحٌ عَظِيمٌ وَ قَدْ هَمَمْتُ بِرُكُوبِ الْبَحْرِ إِلَى السِّنْدِ لِإِتْيَانِ أَخِي فُلَانٍ
I replied: “It is because of a burdensome, humiliating debt. I was considering traveling by sea to Sind to go to my brother so he might help me.”
قَالَ إِذَا شِئْتَ قُلْتُ يُرَوِّعُنِي عَنْهُ أَهْوَالُ الْبَحْرِ وَ زَلَازِلُهُ
He (peace be upon him) said: “If you wish.”
I said: “The terrors of the sea and its quakes frighten me from going.”
قَالَ إِنَّ الَّذِي يَحْفَظُ فِي الْبَرِّ هُوَ حَافِظٌ لَكَ فِي الْبَحْرِ يَا دَاوُدُ لَوْ لاَ اِسْمِي وَ رُوحِي لَمَا اطَّرَدَتِ الْأَنْهَارُ وَ لَا أَيْنَعَتِ الثِّمَارُ وَ لَا اخْضَرَّتِ الْأَشْجَارُ
He (peace be upon him) said: “The One who protects on land is the same Protector for you in the sea. O Dawood, if it were not for my name and my spirit, the rivers would not flow, fruits would not ripen, and trees would not become green.”
قَالَ دَاوُدُ فَرَكِبْتُ الْبَحْرَ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُ بِحَيْثُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنْ سَاحِلِ الْبَحْرِ بَعْدَ مَسِيرَةِ مِائَةٍ وَ عِشْرِينَ يَوْماً خَرَجْتُ قَبْلَ الزَّوَالِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ فَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ مُتَغَيِّمَةٌ وَ إِذَا نُورٌ سَاطِعٌ مِنْ قَرْنِ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى جَدَدِ الْأَرْضِ
Dawood said: So, I embarked on the sea until I reached, by the will of Allah, from the seashore after a journey of 120 days. I disembarked before midday on Friday, and the sky was overcast. Suddenly, a radiant light appeared, stretching from the edge of the sky to the surface of the earth.
وَ إِذَا صَوْتٌ خَفِيٌّ يَا دَاوُدُ هَذَا أَوَانُ قَضَاءِ دَيْنِكَ فَارْفَعْ رَأْسَكَ قَدْ سَلِمْتَ
Then I heard a hidden voice saying: “O Dawood, this is the time for the settling of your debt. Raise your head; you are safe.”
قَالَ فَرَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي وَ نُودِيتُ عَلَيْكَ بِمَا وَرَاءَ اَلْأَكَمَةِ اَلْحَمْرَاءِ فَأَتَيْتُهَا فَإِذَا صَفَائِحُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ أَحْمَرَ مَمْسُوحٌ أَحَدُ جَانِبَيْهِ وَ فِي اَلْجَانِبِ اَلْآخَرِ مَكْتُوبٌ هذا عَطاؤُنا فَامْنُنْ أَوْ أَمْسِكْ بِغَيْرِ حِسابٍ
So I raised my head and was called: “Go to what is beyond the red hill.” I went there and found red plates of gold, one side smooth, and on the other side written: “This is Our gift, so bestow or withhold without account.” [Surah Swad (38): Verse 39].
فَقَبَضْتُهَا وَ لَهَا قِيمَةٌ لاَ تُحْصَی فَقُلْتُ لاَ أُحْدِثُ فِيهَا حَتَّی آتِيَ اَلْمَدِينَةَ
I gathered them, and their value was beyond measure. I said to myself: “I will not produce this (in front of anyone) until I return to Madinah.”
فَقَدِمْتُهَا فَدَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ لِي يَا دَاوُدُ إِنَّمَا عَطَاؤُنَا لَكَ اَلنُّورُ اَلَّذِي سَطَعَ لَكَ – لاَ مَا ذَهَبْتَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ اَلذَّهَبِ وَ اَلْفِضَّةِ وَ لَكِنْ هُوَ لَكَ هَنِيئاً مَرِيئاً عَطَاءً مِنْ رَبٍّ كَرِيمٍ فَاحْمَدِ اَللَّهَ
When I arrived in Madinah, I entered upon him (Imam al-Sadeq, peace be upon him). He said to me: “O Dawood, our true gift to you was the light that shone for you – not the gold and silver you went to. But that too is for you, pure and pleasant, as a gift from a Noble Lord. So, praise Allah.”
قَالَ دَاوُدُ فَسَأَلْتُ مُعَتِّباً خَادِمَهُ فَقَالَ كَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ اَلْوَقْتِ يُحَدِّثُ أَصْحَابَهُ مِنْهُمْ خَيْثَمَةُ وَ حُمْرَانُ وَ عَبْدُ اَلْأَعْلَی مُقْبِلاً عَلَيْهِمْ بِوَجْهِهِ يُحَدِّثُهُمْ بِمِثْلِ مَا ذَكَرْتَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرَتِ اَلصَّلاَةُ قَامَ فَصَلَّی بِهِمْ فَسَأَلْتُ هَؤُلاَءِ جَمِيعاً فَحَكَوْا لِيَ اَلْحِكَايَةَ
Dawood said: Then I asked his servant Mu’attib, and he said: “At that very time, he (Imam al-Sadeq, peace be upon him) was speaking with his companions – among them Khaythamah, Humran, and Abd al-A‘la – turning towards them, narrating to them the same account you mentioned. When the prayer time came, he stood and led them in prayer. I later asked all of them, and they all told me the same story.”
References: 1. Al-Kharaaej wa al-Jaraaeh, vol. 2, pp. 622-623, H. 23; 2. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 48, p. 100, H. 120