Abu Nu'aym and al-Lalaka'i preserve an account about a man from Herat who repeatedly met an elderly man at Zamzam before dawn. On three mornings, the witness says the remaining drink tasted in turn like fine almond sawiq, water mixed with honey, and milk mixed with sugar. After the witness asked who he was and promised not to reveal his identity until his death, the elderly man reportedly said that he was Sufyan ibn Sa'id al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him.
Abu Nu'aym and al-Lalaka'i preserve an account about a man from Herat who used to enter the Zamzam area before dawn. There he encountered an elderly man who came quietly to the well, drew water, drank from it, and left some of the drink behind. The witness did not initially know who the man was, but the repeated early-morning encounters drew his attention and led him to observe what remained after the man had finished.
On the first morning, the Herati witness says he drank from what the elderly man had left and found its taste like exceptionally fine almond sawiq. The next morning he again encountered the same man at Zamzam. When he drank the remainder that time, he described it as tasting like water mixed with honey. The repetition of the encounter made the episode more striking, because the witness was now seeing the same hidden figure return before dawn.
A third encounter followed. On that morning, the witness says the leftover drink tasted like milk mixed with sugar. Abu Nu'aym's version also adds that the drink was enough for him until the next corresponding time and that he did not feel hunger or thirst during that interval. This additional detail belongs to Abu Nu'aym's wording, while the three changing tastes form the central sequence shared in the classical account.
After these encounters, the witness wanted to know the identity of the elderly man. The report says that the man agreed to identify himself only after receiving a promise that his name would not be disclosed until after his death. Once that promise was given, he reportedly said, “I am Sufyan ibn Sa'id.” The story thus identifies the mysterious visitor with Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him.
The account closes with that disclosure. Its memorable order is simple: repeated visits to Zamzam before dawn, three mornings of unexpectedly different tastes, and finally the revelation of the elderly man's identity. Abu Nu'aym preserves the narrative in Hilyat al-Awliya, and al-Lalaka'i also records the same core story in material concerning Sufyan al-Thawri's karamat.
On the first morning, the Herati witness says he drank from what the elderly man had left and found its taste like exceptionally fine almond sawiq. The next morning he again encountered the same man at Zamzam. When he drank the remainder that time, he described it as tasting like water mixed with honey. The repetition of the encounter made the episode more striking, because the witness was now seeing the same hidden figure return before dawn.
A third encounter followed. On that morning, the witness says the leftover drink tasted like milk mixed with sugar. Abu Nu'aym's version also adds that the drink was enough for him until the next corresponding time and that he did not feel hunger or thirst during that interval. This additional detail belongs to Abu Nu'aym's wording, while the three changing tastes form the central sequence shared in the classical account.
After these encounters, the witness wanted to know the identity of the elderly man. The report says that the man agreed to identify himself only after receiving a promise that his name would not be disclosed until after his death. Once that promise was given, he reportedly said, “I am Sufyan ibn Sa'id.” The story thus identifies the mysterious visitor with Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him.
The account closes with that disclosure. Its memorable order is simple: repeated visits to Zamzam before dawn, three mornings of unexpectedly different tastes, and finally the revelation of the elderly man's identity. Abu Nu'aym preserves the narrative in Hilyat al-Awliya, and al-Lalaka'i also records the same core story in material concerning Sufyan al-Thawri's karamat.
Conclusion
The story ends with the elderly man identifying himself as Sufyan al-Thawri after three dawn encounters at Zamzam and three reported tastes from the drink he left behind.
Sources
Abu Nu'aym, Hilyat al-Awliya, report 9924: Herati witness enters Zamzam at dawn
Abu Nu'aym, report 9924: first leftover described as almond sawiq
Abu Nu'aym, report 9924: second leftover described as water mixed with honey
Abu Nu'aym, report 9924: third leftover described as milk mixed with sugar
Abu Nu'aym, report 9924: concealed man identifies himself as Sufyan ibn Sa'id
Abu Nu'aym, report 9924: route-specific addition that the drink sufficed until the next time without hunger or thirst
al-Lalaka'i preserves the same three-morning Zamzam story through Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Makki and a truthful shaykh from Herat
Abu Nu'aym's route names the Herati witness as Abd Allah al-Harawi and passes through Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Makki
al-Lu'lu' al-Munazzam fi Fadl Ma' Zamzam, pp. 226-227: 'وقد وردت قصة مشابهة لسفيان الثوري إلا أن إسنادها لا يثبت' and identifies Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'qub and his informant as unknown
CAND-0179 Task 1 V2.0 evidence synthesis from verified source layers