mahfouz alnaqqash accompanied me from the mosque at night. when i was near his house which was closer to the mosque than mine he asked me to spend the night with him saying where are you going in this rain and cold and my house is your house and you are in the dark and you have no fire with you and i have colostrum the likes of which people have never seen and dates worthy of mention of such goodness that they are only good for it. so i went with him. he waited an hour then brought me a bowl of colostrum and a plate of dates. when i had stretched it out he said o abu uthman it is colostrum and its thickness which is the night and its stagnation then a night of rain and humidity and you are a man who has advanced in age and you still suffer from paralysis and thirst continues to rush to you and you are not originally a person who eats dinner. if you eat colostrum and do not overdo it you will neither eat nor leave and your nature will be agitated then you will cut off the most delicious food to you.
صحبني محفوظ النقاش من مسجد الجامع ليلا. فلما صرت قرب منزله، وكان منزله أقرب إلى مسجد الجامع من منزلي، سألني أن أبيت عنده، وقال أين تذهب في هذا المطر والبرد، ومنزلي منزلك، وأنت في ظلمة وليس معك نار، وعندي لبأ ١ ، لم ير الناس مثله، وتمر ناهيك به جودة، لا تصلح إلا له . فملت معه. فأبطأ ساعة ثم جاءني بجأم لبأ وطبق تمر، فلما مددت قال يا أبا عثمان إنه لبأ وغلظه، وهو الليل وركوده، ثم ليلة مطر ورطوبة وأنت رجل قد طعنت في السن، ولم تزل تشكو من الفالج طرفا، وما زال الغليل ٢ يسرع إليك، وأنت في الأصل لست بصاحب عشاء. فإن أكلت اللبأ ولم تبالغ، كنت لا آكلا ولا تاركا، وحرشت طباعك ٣ ، ثمن قطعت الأكل أشهى ما كان إليك.