The Story of Safina, former slave of Allah’s messenger, with a lion
Safina, a former slave man of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “At that time, I rode in a boat, and out of the blue, my boat wrecked. I saved myself by climbing onto a remaining piece of that boat. Suddenly, a strong gush of wind blew me until I found myself in a jungle that was inhabited by a lion. The lion came to me, and I said to it, “O Abu Haris – an epithet for a lion -, I am a former slave of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-“.
Then it nodded. It approached me and pushed me with its shoulder until we got out of the jungle. I was escorted until a particular roadside. After that, it roared. It seemed to me that it was saying its farewell. That was the end of my encounter with a lion.” (See: Al-Isti’ab: 2/684)
Source: (99 Stories of The Pious People), by Muhammad Ibn Hamid Abdul Wahab, published by Darul Haq, fifth edition, Shafar 1430/2009.