A long time ago, in the holy city of Mecca, a servant of a wealthy merchant went to the market to buy groceries. In the crowd, he saw Death giving him a toothy grin. Terrified, he forgot all about his shopping and returned home to ask his master for help. The kind-hearted master lent him a swift horse so that he could flee to Medina for temporary refuge. Afterwards, when the master himself went to the market to buy groceries, he also spotted Death in the crowd. The master confronted Death, asking why he had given such a malicious smile to his servant. Was it a sign that harm would come to him? With an innocent expression, Death replied that at the time he had simply been curious as to why, if the servant was supposed to be in Medina that very evening, he was still lingering in Mecca.