161 – Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Azdi related to us; he said: Hamed ibn Ahmad ibn Usayd reported: One day I took ‘Ali ibn Jubala by the hand and we went to visit Abu al-‘Atahiya. We found him in the public bath, so we waited for him. Before long he emerged, and soon afterward Ibrahim ibn Muqatil ibn Sahl—an exceedingly handsome man—entered. Abu al-‘Atahiya fixed his gaze on him and, quoting poetry, said:

O fair-faced ones, you shall surely die,
And those faces will decay beneath the soil.

‘Ali ibn Jubala stepped forward and said, “Write this down:

You who pamper your youth—into dust you will go;
Decay will toy with that tender bloom.
O possessors of lovely, well-guarded faces
And bodies supple, delicate, and soft.”

Abu al-‘Atahiya then said, “Recite, Hamed!” I asked, “Together with you and with Abu al-Hasan?” He replied, “Yes.” So I said:

Enjoy its pleasures, be they many or few;
Soon you will hand them over to the dusty earth.
The passing days have issued a true obituary:
A parting from brothers and companions awaits.
Those graceful faces delighted in life, yet all your guarding of them
Was only to consign them to the grime of the soil.
They donned soft garments, but in the grave-pit
They will be stripped of every thread.
You see how the young still die,
Though they seek refuge in the water of youth.