We do not deny that; it springs from your own merit.
He (ʿUtbah) then said, “Now that matters have come to this, by Allah I shall never return to Basra again.”
ʿUmar refused, however, and ordered him back. He set out but died on the way, struck down by an abdominal illness.
His servant Suwayd arrived with his estate and handed it over to ʿUmar in the year 17 AH.
He had died on the road from Basra while travelling as a delegate to Medina that same year. Others say he died in 15 AH and lived for fifty-seven years.
He has a hadith recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
Abu Naʿāmah as-Saʿdī narrates—from Khālid ibn ʿUmayr and Shuways (1)—that they said:
“ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān addressed us and declared:
‘Truly, this world has announced its departure and swiftly turned its back (2); nothing of it remains but the last drops that trickle from a vessel. You are living in a dwelling from which you will surely move on, so depart with the best provisions you can carry…,’ and he went on to relate the remainder of the ḥadīth (3).”
(1) He is Shuweys b. Jiyash al-Adawi al-Basri, also known as Abu al-Ruqad. Ibn Hibban classed him among the reliable transmitters, and several scholars narrated from him. The printed edition has mistakenly garbled his name as “Shuwaysh.”
(2) That is, “swiftly.” The printed edition has corrupted it to “hada.”
(3) Muslim, no. 2967 (Book of Zuhd, chapter on its opening themes), through the isnad of Humayd b. Hilal from Khalid b. Umair al-Adawi: ʿUtba b. Ghazwan delivered a sermon, praised Allah, and said: “To proceed: this world has announced its severance and turned away at speed; nothing remains of it except the remnant that drips from a vessel which its owner sips. You are moving on to an abode that never ceases, so depart with the best provisions you possess. We have been told that a stone is cast from the edge of Jahannam and falls in it for seventy years without reaching the bottom—by Allah, it will yet be filled. Do you marvel at that? And we have been told that the span between two leaves of the gates of Jannah is a forty-year journey, and a day will come when it is crammed with people. I remember myself as the seventh of seven with the Messenger of Allah, our only food being tree leaves until the corners of our mouths cracked. I found a cloak, split it with Saʿd b. Malik, and each of us tied half around his waist. Today not one of us awakes without being a governor of some province. I seek refuge in Allah from being great in my own sight while small before Him. Never has prophethood ceased in a community without the last stage becoming kingship. You will soon see and experience the rulers after us …”