Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Amir, may Allah have mercy on him, says that a man came to Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, "O Commander of the Faithful! Fulfill the promise you made to me." He, may Allah be pleased with him, asked, "What promise did I make to you?" The man said, "You promised that you would increase my stipend by one hundred dirhams." He said, "Did you do any work?" The man replied, "Yes!" He asked, "Who knows about this?" The man said, "Aswad," or he said, "Ibn al-Aswad." He said, "O Ibn al-Aswad, what does he say?" He replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, you had increased his stipend." He ordered that the increase be given. Then he struck one hand on the other and said, "I do not grieve over the fact that I ordered an increase of one hundred dirhams for a man, but I regret my own negligence that I increased the stipend of one of the Muhajireen by one hundred dirhams and then forgot about them." Upon this, Ibn al-Aswad said, "O Commander of the Faithful! Will he be fearless regarding these dirhams?" He replied, "Yes!" He said, "By Allah, you did not increase anything for him, but whoever invites me to testify for him regarding money he receives from a chief, I testify for him. Likewise, whoever asks me to testify for him regarding the removal of some harm he fears from a person of status, I testify for him."