only an hour ago, perfectly well.” ʿAbbād then sat down at his head and wept, after which he set about the funeral preparations, led the prayer over him, and buried him; a great many people gathered for the funeral.

When the Day of Sacrifice came I said, “By Allah, I shall read the letter.” I opened it, and found inside:

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

To proceed: You, my brother—may Allah cause your kindness to profit you on the Day when people will be desperate for their righteous deeds, and may He reward you well for the companionship you showed us. The one who does good will find beside him on the Day of Resurrection a place to rest. My request of you—once Allah has discharged your obligations—is that you travel to Jerusalem and deliver my estate to my heir. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah.”

I said to myself, “Everything about you—may Allah have mercy on you—is astonishing, and this is the most astonishing of all. How am I to reach Jerusalem when you have not named anyone for me, given me no description of the place, and I have no idea to whom I must hand it over?”

He had left behind a wooden cup, that same pouch, and the staff on which he used to lean. We shrouded him in his two garments of iḥrām and wrapped the cloak over that. When the pilgrimage was over I said, “By Allah, I shall set out for Jerusalem; perhaps I will come upon this man’s heir.”

So I travelled until I reached Jerusalem. I entered the mosque and found there circle after circle of poor, destitute men. As I walked around looking over the people, unsure whom to ask, a man from one of those circles called me by name: “O so-and-so!” I turned toward him, and there was an elderly man who looked exactly like my companion.

He said, “Bring the inheritance of So-and-so.” I handed him the staff, the cup, and the pouch, and then turned to leave.

By Allah, I had not yet left the mosque when I said to myself, “You have come all the way from Mecca to Jerusalem; you saw what you saw from the first shaykh and what you have just seen from this second one—will you not ask these people anything about their story, inquire about their affair, find out who they are?”

I turned back, resolving not to part from this second shaykh until he died or I did. I went round the circles, striving to recognise him or come upon him, but I could not find him. I kept asking after him and remained several days in Jerusalem searching for him, but no one could direct me to him. So I set off, returning to Iraq.