Bishr ibn Harith Al-Hafi was from city of Merv and spent some part of his life in sin. One day Imam Kadhim/Kazim (AS) was passing the alley where Bishr lived, and the door of his house opened and one of the maids/slaves came out of the house. The slave saw and recognized Imam Kadhim (AS) and Imam (AS) also knew that house belonged to Bishr. Imam (AS) asked the slave: Is your master a free person or a slave? The slave replied: He is free. Imam (AS) said: He is what you said! Because if he was a servant (of God), he would have acted accordingly and would have obeyed his master.

Imam (AS) said his words and went, and the maid/slave returned home and told whatever Imam Kadhim (AS) had said to Bishr. The words of Imam (AS) caused fundamental change inside Bishr, he stood up and rushed out of the house barefoot and managed to catch up with Imam Kadhim (AS) and repented and adopted the path of Divine Obedience. Because he was barefoot at the time of his repentance, and for the sake of that prosperous moment, he did not wear shoes to the end of his life, and always used to walk barefoot. That is why he became famous as Bishr Al-Hafi; meaning the barefoot Bishr [1].

[1] Tattemat-ul-Montaha, Sheikh Abbas Qomi, Page 329.

Source: Shafaqna