32 – With his chain of transmission he said: al-Fudayl related that a delegation from Iraq came to Muʿāwiyah; among them was ⦗33⦘ Saʿsaʿah ibn Ṣawḥān. Muʿāwiyah greeted them, saying, “Welcome, and what an excellent arrival! You have come to your caliph, who is a shield for you; you have come to a land that holds the graves of the prophets; you have come to the Holy Land and the land of the Gathering.”

Saʿsaʿah replied, “As for your words, ‘Welcome,’ such a greeting truly befits the one who arrives before Allah while Allah is pleased with him. As for your saying, ‘You have come to your caliph, who is a shield for you’—how can we rely on a shield once it has been burned? As for your saying, ‘You have come to the Holy Land,’ know that it does not sanctify a disbeliever. As for your saying, ‘You have come to a land that holds the graves of the prophets,’ more Pharaohs lie buried here than prophets. And as for your saying, ‘You have come to the land of the Gathering,’ distance from it will not harm a believer, nor will nearness to it benefit a disbeliever.”

Muʿāwiyah retorted, “Be quiet—you have no land.” Saʿsaʿah answered, “Nor do you, O Muʿāwiyah, for the earth belongs to Allah; He grants it as an inheritance to whom He wills among His servants.” Muʿāwiyah said, “By Allah, I used to loathe seeing you stand as a preacher.” Saʿsaʿah replied, “And by Allah, I used to loathe seeing you as the caliph.”