The Cloth and the Caravan

One day, an honest merchant had to travel for business. He entrusted his cloth shop to a salesman. A Jewish man came to buy a piece of cloth, and, unaware, he bought one with a defect.

When the merchant returned and did not find that piece of cloth, he asked the salesman where it was. 

The salesman said, “I sold it to a Jewish man for 3,000 dirhams, without informing him of its defect.” 

The merchant got angry and asked, “Where is that man?”

The salesman answered, “He traveled.” 

The Muslim merchant took the money the Jew had paid and went out to catch up with the caravan. He caught up with it three days later and searched for the Jew. 

When he found him, the merchant said, “You bought a piece of cloth with a defect from my shop. Here is your money and give me the cloth.” 
The Jew wondered why the merchant did so. The merchant replied, “According to the teachings of Islam, we have to be honest. It is forbidden to cheat others, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘He who cheats us is not one of us.’”

The Jew was amazed. He told the merchant that the money he had paid for the cloth was forged. The Jew then embraced Islam, saying, “I believe in Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.”