Abu Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn Allah said, “I heard him declare:
‘Tomorrow, when people stand for the Reckoning, no one will embrace the maidens in the Gardens of Bliss except the one who has already embraced abasement, shared the bed of patience, and left this world as pure as when he first entered it. A human being has never been granted a gift like well-being, has never given charity equal to a word of admonition, and has never asked for anything greater than forgiveness.’ (1)

Khalid ibn Saʿid reported: People said that Abu Wahb was of ʿAbbāsid stock, yet he never laid claim to it. He lived in seclusion, and shortly before his death he sold the few utensils he owned. Someone asked, ‘What is this for?’ He replied, ‘I am getting ready for a journey.’ He died a few days later. (2)

Ibn Ḥafṣun recounted: I said to Abu Wahb, ‘You know my house is large; come live with me. I will serve you and share with you both the sweet and the bitter.’ He answered, ‘I will not. I divorced the world only yesterday—shall I take her back today? A man divorces a woman for her ill-temper and scant goodness, and reason does not permit a return to what one loathes. The hadith says, “A believer is not stung from the same hole twice.” (3)’

A faqir said: One night I said to Abu Wahb, ‘Come with us to visit so-and-so.’ He replied, ‘And how, then, is knowledge to be preserved? The ruler must be obeyed, and he has forbidden people to walk about at night.’

Yunus ibn Mughith said: Abu Wahb arrived unexpectedly in Córdoba; he was outstanding in piety and renunciation. It was said that he was descended from al-ʿAbbās. Ascetics would seek him out and feel at ease with him, yet if someone came whom he did not recognize he would feign madness and bewilderment. When asked, ‘Where are you from?’ he would answer, ‘I am —’