170 – Muhammad ibn ʿAbbad ibn Musa told me; Kathir ibn Hisham transmitted it; from ⦗146⦘ Mubarak ibn Fadala, from al-Hasan, from ʿUthman ibn Abi al-ʿAs:

He was once attending a funeral when he noticed a caved-in grave. He said to one of his relatives, “Come to your house—the house that truly belongs to you.” The man came closer and said, “I see no house here with food, drink, or clothing.” ʿUthman replied, “Yet, by Allah, it is your house.” The man said, “You speak the truth,” then went back and declared, “By Allah, I shall place everything that is now in my house into that one!”

Al-Hasan remarked, “By Allah, this is harsh extremism and ruin; you must learn to be patient or you will perish.” He then recited:

Is there any blame on a grieving soul
that knows with certainty it will be buried tomorrow?

He is ready for death; he hoards no worldly debris
while others guard it with zeal.

We all cast abundant blame on the world,
yet every lover of it is laid in the grave.

Pile up treasures as you wish—
what suffices you is the paltry share you already hold.

Do you think that those who once possessed it all
escaped the pledges and liens that bind you and them?

Where are our fathers? And where their fathers before them?
Where are the generations—where are the generations?

Surely the decreed deaths will reach us,
even were you perched atop the highest fortress.

How many people were there—then the days overtook them
until it was as though they had never been.

Any counsel that calls one to obey Allah
is a generous and blessed counsel.