The Khali (Wine Turned to Vinegar)

4. Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Bandar has narrated from his father from Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hamadaniy who has said the following: “A man in Khurasan once was with al-Rida’ عليه السلام, and the table-spread with food inside, vinegar and salt, was brought to him. He (the Imam) began with vinegar and the man said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, have you commanded us to begin with salt?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘This is like that’, meaning vinegar, ‘and that vinegar strengthens the mind and increases the ability to understand.’”