he will have gratified a craving and left behind disgrace—
whenever such deeds are recalled they fill every mouth. ⦗1⦘

Imam Ahmad ⦗2⦘ reported: “ʿAlī ibn Isḥāq narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah—meaning Ibn al-Mubārak—narrated to us; Ibn Lahīʿah informed us; Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb related to me that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shumāsah told him:

When death approached ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ he wept. His son ʿAbd Allah said to him, ‘Why do you weep? Is it fear of death?’ He replied, ‘No, by Allah, but rather fear of what comes after death.’ His son said, ‘You have lived in goodness,’ and began to remind him of his companionship with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and of the conquest of Syria.

ʿAmr said, ‘I leave behind something better than all of that: the testimony that there is no god but Allah. I have passed through three stages ⦗3⦘, and in each of them I know myself well. At first ⦗4⦘ I was a disbeliever, the most hostile of people toward the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; had I died then, the Fire would surely have been mine. When I pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I became the most bashful of people toward him; I never filled my eyes with his sight, nor did I ever argue with him about anything I desired, until he was taken to Allah, out of shyness toward him. Had I died that day, people would have said, “Congratulations to ʿAmr; he accepted Islam, lived righteously, and died—we hope Paradise for him.”

‘After that I became entangled with authority and other matters, and I do not know whether they are for me or against me. So when I die, let no mourning woman weep for me, and let neither panegyrist nor fire follow my bier. Tighten my waist-cloth, for I shall soon be called to account; and spread the earth over me evenly ⦗5⦘, for my right side has no greater claim to the soil than my left. Do not place any beam or stone in my grave, and when you have buried me, remain by me for the length of time it takes to slaughter a camel and divide it up ⦗6⦘, that I may be comforted by your presence.’

Muslim has recorded this ḥadith in his Ṣaḥīḥ ⦗7⦘ through Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb with a similar chain, adding several fine details, among them his words: ‘…so that I may be comforted by you while I consider how I shall answer the messengers of my Lord—Exalted is He.’

[In one version, after this he turned his face toward the wall and kept saying, ‘O Allah, You commanded us and we disobeyed; You forbade us and we did not desist; we have no refuge but in Your pardon.’

In another version, he placed his hand where a shackle would rest upon his neck, raised his head toward the sky and said, ‘O Allah, I am not strong enough to triumph, nor innocent enough to offer excuse; I am not arrogant, rather I seek forgiveness. There is no god but You.’ He continued repeating this until he died (may Allah be pleased with him).] ⦗8⦘