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It was narrated that Ja'far ibn Zayd al-'Abdi said, "We went out on campaign to Kabul [the capital of Afghanistan today] looking forward to conquest it, and among the army was Silah ibn Ashyam. When the darkness of the night spread while we were on our way, the soldiers stopped to eat and then they sought some rest. I followed Silah to see what he will do, so he did the same, and he went to sleep as they all did…" He used to do so out of sincerity; Silah did not want to make any noises while he heads to offer his night prayers. "I said to myself, 'Is this Silah who is known by his worshiping at night to such an extent that his feet get swollen?' Then I decided to watch him all night to see what he will do.
When the other soldiers fell in deep sleep, Silah left his bed and started walking away from the camp disguised by darkness, then he entered a lush jungle covered with wild grass on which no man set a foot for a long time. I decided to follow him, and upon reaching a far spot in that wood, he headed towards Qiblah, offered Takbeer and started his prayer. I looked at his face and all I saw was a radiant moon, a calm body and a tranquil soul. He seemed to find affability in estrangement, closeness to Allah in being away from people and brightness in the dark night. As he continued offering his Salah, a big lion approached him from the east side of the wood, and I felt as if my heart was dislocated from its place out of fear till the lion was few steps away from Silah. By Allah, he did not flinch away from his Salah, or give the lion any attention, so when he prostrated, I said to myself, "Now the lion will pounce upon him", but when he raised his head from Sujood and sat, the lion stood before him as if it was checking him out, Silah looked at the lion in complete calmness, and he uttered few words with his tongue which I could not hear…" It seems that he sought refuge with Allah from this lion. "Suddenly, the lion turned around and went away just like it came."
"When the Fajr came, Silah offered Fajr and started praising Allah in words I have never heard before. He said, 'O Allah I ask You to ransom me from Hellfire, for will the like of me dare to ask You (for) Paradise?'. Then, he went back to the camp in a state as though he had spent the night on his mattress so that they would think that he spent the night sleeping as they did. So I returned to my bed, and woke up in a state of laziness and tiredness."
[Siyar Alam An-Nubala vol.4 page.478]
