105 – Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās related to me; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rāshid passed it on; al-Mawq transmitted from al-Ḥasan, who said that ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ was once present at a funeral. He sat down beside a sunken grave, and a member of the deceased’s family walked by showing a trace of indifference. ʿUthmān called out, “Sir!” When the man approached, he said, “Look into your house.”

The man looked and said, “I see a house that is cramped, dry and dark, with no food, no drink and no wife. Yet I have left behind a house with food, drink and a wife.”

ʿUthmān replied, “Even so, by Allah, this is your real house.”

The man said, “You are right. By Allah, if I could go back, I would transfer my concern from that house to this one.”