so he said, “Enough! Your companion was never the one who provided for you; the One who provides for you is Living and never dies. Nor has your companion filled any of your pits—he has only filled the pit meant for his own self. Indeed, every one of you has a pit he must—by Allah—one day occupy. When Allah, mighty and majestic, created this world, He decreed its ruin and the annihilation of its people. No house is ever filled with delight ⦗1⦘ without being filled in turn with tears, and no gathering ever forms without eventually dispersing—until Allah inherits the earth and all who are upon it. Therefore, whoever among you must weep, let him weep for himself, for what your companion has gone to today all people will go to tomorrow.

Maymūn ibn Mihrān said, “I once went out with ʿUmar to the graveyard. He said to me, ‘Abū Ayyūb, these are the graves of my forefathers from Banū Umayyah, as though they had never shared the people of the world in their pleasures and comforts. Do you not see them lying here, struck down, upon whom retributions ⦗2⦘ have descended and trial has taken full hold?’ Then he wept until he lost consciousness. When he revived he said, ‘Let us go, for by Allah I know no one more fortunate than those who have reached these graves and are now safe from Allah’s punishment, [awaiting Allah’s reward] ⦗3⦘.”

Another narrator related: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz attended a funeral; after the burial he said to his companions, ‘Stand here while I visit the graves of my loved ones.’ He approached them, weeping and supplicating, when suddenly the earth seemed to call out to him, saying, ‘O ʿUmar! Will you not ask what I have done to the beloved ones?’
‘And what have you done to them?’ he asked.
The earth replied, ‘I tore their shrouds apart, consumed their flesh, smashed their eye sockets, devoured their eyeballs, pulled the hands from the forearms, the forearms from the upper arms, the upper arms from the shoulders, the shoulders from the spine, the feet from the shins, the shins from the thighs, the thighs from the hips, and the hips from the backbone.’ All the while ʿUmar wept.
When he turned to leave, the earth said, ‘O ʿUmar, shall I point you to shrouds that never decay?’
‘What are they?’ he asked.
‘Taqwā (God-consciousness) and righteous deeds,’ it replied. ⦗4⦘

On another occasion he said to one of those seated with him, ‘I lay awake last night, deep in thought.’
‘About what, O Commander of the Believers?’ the man asked.
‘About the grave and its inhabitant,’ he answered. ‘If you were to see the dead person after three days in his grave and behold what he has come to, you would be repelled from drawing near to him after once enjoying his company. You would see a dwelling in which vermin roam, pus flows, and worms burrow; the stench has changed, and the shroud has decayed after its former elegance, pleasant scent, and clean fabric.’ Then he gave a deep gasp and fell unconscious. ⦗5⦘