100th post!
The Best of Friends

In old, worn out shabby looking clothes, Amir Al-Mu’minin, Ali Bin Abi Taleb, sat saying grace to Allah.

Abu Mariam, one of the servants, sat on his knees close to Ali and whispered:
“Amir Al-Mu’minin, I have something to ask of you.”
Ali said: “What is it that you want to ask?”
Abu Mariam said: “That you throw away the clothes you are wearing. They are old and ripped and do not go well with your position.”
Ali Bin Abi Taleb put the tip of his clothes on his eyes and started to cry until his weeping was loud.
In embarrassment, Abu Mariam said: “O Amir Al-Mu’minin, if I knew that it meant so much to you I would not have asked you to take it off.”
Ali said while wiping his tears: “O Abu Mariam, my love for this jacket is increasing. It was a gift from my friend and beloved companion.”
Oddly, Abu Mariam asked: “And who is this friend of yours O Amir?”
Ali said: “ ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattab. He was the best of friends.”

He then started to weep once again until the sound of his suppressed cries could be heard from afar.

Source: Translated from “100 Stories from the Life of Ali Bin Abi Taleb” by Muhammad Sedeeq Al Minshawi, Dar Al Fadeela Publishing, 2002.