I went to Sham and was offering a two-rak`at prayer; I said, "O Allah! Bless me with a (pious)companion." Then I saw an old man coming towards me, and when he came near I said, (to myself),"I hope Allah has given me my request." The man asked (me), "Where are you from?" I replied, "I amfrom the people of Kufa." He said, "Weren't there amongst you the Carrier of the (Prophet's) shoes,Siwak and the ablution water container? Weren't there amongst you the man who was given Allah'sRefuge from the Satan? And weren't there amongst you the man who used to keep the (Prophet's)secrets which nobody else knew? How did Ibn Um `Abd (i.e. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud) use to reciteSurat-al-lail (the Night:92)?" I recited:--"By the Night as it envelops By the Day as it appears in brightness. And by male and female." (92.1-3) On that, Abu Darda said, "By Allah, the Prophet (ﷺ) made me read the Verse in this way after listeningto him, but these people (of Sham) tried their best to let me say something different."