and with conclusive proof you brought light to a matter that had been obscured,
and with that same proof you extinguished a fire that had been blazing. (1)
So who will convey my words to the Prophet Muhammad? Every soul shall be repaid for what it has sent ahead.
You straightened the path of truth after it had been crooked, when its ancient pillars had collapsed.
He rose, sublime, above the Throne of our Lord; the station of Allah has ever been the highest and the most majestic.
ʿUmar said, “Which of them is at the door?”
“It is ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabīʿah,” came the reply.
He said, “Is he not the one who says:
Then I roused her and she awoke, a budding maiden,
a mere girl who could scarcely shape her reply.
After a moment she said,
‘Woe to us! You have hurried, O son of the noble!
Have you come unannounced, stealing past the heads of sleepers?
You have not attained the aim you desire,
nor have you come as a night-visitor bent on strife.’ (2)
Had the enemy of Allah, when he committed his vice, only kept it hidden and covered himself, by Allah he would never enter to see me. Who, then, is at the door besides him?”
“Hammām ibn Ghālib—meaning al-Farazdaq.”
ʿUmar said, “Is he not the one who recites:
They lowered me down from eighty cubits in the air,
like a dark-plumed hawk that swoops with broken wings;
and when my feet were level with the ground they asked,
‘Is he alive, that we may hope, or slain, that we must fear?’ (3)
By Allah, he shall never tread my carpet, for he is a liar. Who else is at the door?”
“Al-Akhtal.”
He said, “Is he not the one who declares:
I will not fast the month of Ramadan of my own accord, (4)
nor will I eat the meat of the sacrificial animals;
I do not drive camels at daybreak
toward the open valley of Mecca seeking success;
I do not visit that distant House in Mecca
hoping thereby to mend my state;
I do not stand like a donkey calling out
before dawn, ‘Come to success!’
Rather, I shall drink the pure wine
and prostrate myself when the morning light appears. (5)
By Allah, so long as he remains a disbeliever he shall never be admitted to me. Is anyone else at the door besides the ones you have mentioned?”
“Yes—al-Aḥwaṣ.”
He said, “Is he not the one who says…"