123 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn narrated to us. Khalaf ibn Tamīm narrated to us. al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Yūnus narrated to us; he said: We have heard that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said to Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik,

“O ⦗117⦘ Maslamah, who buried your father?”

He replied, “Our retainer, so-and-so.”

ʿUmar asked, “And who buried al-Walīd?”

He answered, “Our retainer, so-and-so.”

ʿUmar then said, “I shall tell you what he told me. He informed me that when he buried your father and al-Walīd and had placed them in their graves, he went to loosen the knots of their shrouds and found that their faces had been turned back toward the napes of their necks. So listen, Maslamah: when I die and you have buried me, feel for my face and see whether the same befalls me or whether I have been spared.”

Maslamah said, “When ʿUmar died and I placed him in his grave, I felt for his face, and it was in its proper place.”