49 – Muhammad narrated to me; Shihab ibn ʿAbbad narrated to me, on the authority of Suwayd al-Kalbi, that Zirr ibn Hubaysh wrote a letter to ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan, admonishing him. At the end ⦗64⦘ of his letter he wrote:

“Do not, O Commander of the Believers, let the outward soundness of your body lure you into hoping for a long life. You are better acquainted with your own condition. Remember what the ancients used to say:

(Rajaz metre)
When a man has sired his children,
And age has worn his body thin,
When ailments visit him again and again—
Those are fields whose harvest is near.”

When ʿAbd al-Malik read the letter he wept until the hem of his garment was soaked. Then he remarked, “Zirr has spoken the truth; had he written to us about anything else, it would have been kinder.”