Hakeemul Ummah Hazrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi Sahib رحمه الله has said that respect is indeed a great asset. A robber who had passed away was seen in a dream by his friend who enquired about his (the robber’s) fate. The robber happily said that Allah Ta’ala جل جلاله had forgiven him on the basis of one deed of Adab (respect). Once he was sitting on the banks of a river making Wudhu, he observed an old man sitting on lower ground also making Wudhu. The robber recognised that the old man was Hazrat Imām Ahmad bin Hambal رحمه الله. Thinking that it was disrespectful for him (the robber) to sit on the higher ground while his maa’-e-musta’mal (used water) was flowing towards the great Imām رحمه الله, the robber stood up and went to sit on a lower level. Allah Ta’ala جل جلاله forgave all his sins on account of the respect he had shown to this great Servant of Allah Ta’ala جل جلاله.
(SOURCE: MALFOOZAAT OF HAZRAT MOULANA ASHRAF ALI THAANWI SAHIB رحمه الله, PART 6)