39 — My father and others narrated to me from Ismāīl ibn Ibrāhīm, from Ayyūb, from Abū Qilābah, who said: Abū al-Dardā said, “Indeed, part of a man’s understanding is reflected in the way he walks, where he enters, and where he sits.” Abū Qilābah then said, “How aptly the poet put it:

[Tawīl meter]
Ask not about a man; look instead at his companion.”