209 – Muḥammad narrated to me; Sajf ibn Manẓūr narrated to me; Sulaymān al-Naḥīf said:

Mālik ibn Dīnār’s companions missed him, so they asked, “Where have you been, Abū Yaḥyā?” He replied, “I went out to al-Ubulla.”

They said, “You must have seen the countryside and those ⦗164⦘ estates along the River of al-Ubulla. What was the finest thing you saw there?”

He answered, “I saw nothing that impressed me except a woman engaged in prayer.”

They said, “Abū Yaḥyā, and nothing else caught your eye from all you beheld?” He replied, “In Bahrain I came upon a lofty and elegant palace, and written upon its gate were the words:

I sought the happiest portion life could give,
And dwelt amid its pleasures in delight;
Yet, by the Lord of humankind, ere noon had come,
I was stripped of every kinsman and dear friend.

I asked, ‘Whose palace is this?’ They said, ‘It belonged to the most pampered man in Bahrain. He died and requested that he be buried in his palace and that these lines be inscribed upon its gate.’”

Mālik said, “I marveled at his awareness—but why did he not meet death with repentance instead?” Then Mālik wept.