A man from the Children of Israel asked another to lend him one thousand dinars

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that a man from the Children of Israel requested a loan of one thousand dinars from another man. The man said to him: "Bring someone to bear witness that you have taken one thousand dinars." The man who needed the loan said: "Allah is sufficient as witness", meaning: it is sufficient for both of us that Allah is a witness over us. Then the man said to him: "Bring me a surety."

So he said: "Allah is sufficient as surety", meaning: Allah is sufficient for you as a guarantee. So he replied: "You are right." So he gave him one thousand dinar for a specific period of time. So the man who requested the loan went on a ship in the ocean with the money with him in order to do business. When the appointed time to repay the loan came, he searched for a boat so that he could repay the man he took the loan from, but he did not find any.

He took a piece of wood and made a hole in it and put the one thousand dinars inside the wood along with a letter from him to the debtor, saying: "From so-and-so, to so-and-so: I paid your money to an agent who will pay you on behalf of me." Then he covered the hole in the wood and sealed it.

Then he took the piece of wood to the ocean and said: "O Allah you know that I have borrowed one thousand dinars from this person, and he asked me for a guarantor, and I said: 'Allah is sufficient as guarantor,' and he was pleased with you as guarantor. And he asked me for a witness and I said to him: 'Allah is sufficient as witness,' and he was pleased as you as witness. I exerted my effort in trying to find a boat to send the money that I owed, but I was not able to find any boat.

And I leave it with you as a trust and deposit." Then he threw the piece of wood into the ocean until it disappeared inside the water. He left and continued to search for a boat that was going to the country of the man whom he borrowed one thousand dinar from, thinking that what he initially did was insufficient.

As for the debtor, he went outside at the time of payment, looking for the boat that may be coming with his money that he lent to the man, expecting that he might send it with someone or come by himself. However, he did not find any boat. Suddenly, he saw the piece of wood that contained the money and took it to his house to use it for firewood, and he did not know that the money was inside. When he cut it with a saw, he found the money and the letter that the man had written.

Then the man who had taken the loan came with another one thousand dinars. He said to the man who had given him the loan: "I exerted my efforts greatly in searching for a boat to come to you and pay back your loan, but I did not find any boat before now." The debtor said: "Did you send anything to me?" He said: "I am telling you that I did not find any boat before this boat that I came by now."

Thereupon, the debtor said to him: "Allah has paid the one thousand dinars that you sent in the piece of wood on your behalf, so you may leave with the other one thousand dinars while being guided on the straight path."