219 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn narrated to us. Ṣijʿam (or Ṣubʿam) ibn Bashīr—or perhaps Ibrāhīm al-Ṭāʾī—narrated to me; he said, “All of us heard Abū Muḥammad al-Ghāfiqī, one of Allah’s exemplary worshippers, say:

‘I once passed by a grave on the road to Syria on which was written:

O caravan, pause and take a lesson;
then resume your journey—ponder and remember.
How many a man have we, and you, seen waste away;
after hope and luxury they now lie buried in the dust.

‘We left that spot and continued on. Night had already grown dark when we heard a voice proclaim:

O travellers, press on! How many
who set out at daybreak never reach the evening,
and how many who travel by night never see the dawn.
So strive in what pleases Allah that you may succeed;
do not fling my counsel away like chaff before the wind.

‘We pushed ahead until one night we halted beside a thicket, at the edge of which were graves. We had begun the pre-dawn prayer when a voice arose from among those graves, saying:

Death alone suffices as a reminder; in death there is, indeed, a lesson.
Do you not see those who preceded you?
Just as they were, you are the advance guard for those who follow.
Without doubt you will join us, and they will join you.

‘The voice then added, “I entrust you to Allah, and I inform you that Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik has died, and that the earth is now governed by a just leader whose name matches the name of one of the two ministers of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” ⦗174⦘

‘When we reached our homeland we discovered that Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik had in fact died and that the caliphate had passed to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz—may Allah have mercy on him.’