(1) He was in the desert, enduring the heat by day and the cold by night, when a man passed by and saw his extreme condition. He said, “O ‘Abd Allah, what has befallen you? You look so afflicted.” He replied, “What you see is the remembrance of Jahannam (Hell); how then will it be when I fall into it?” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 4:32–33.) (2) He said, “The al-battāl (idler) can never be counted among the wise, nor do the zānāt (fornicators) inherit the kingdom of the heavens.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 30:4.) (3) Wahb said in his admonition: “Today the fortunate one (as-sa‘īd) is admonished, and the intelligent (al-labīb) increases his gains. O son of Adam, I have gathered the benefits of this day only to ward off the harm of ignorance from you. On this day the lamps of guidance have been lit to awaken your party, yet never have I seen anyone more bewildered by their light, calling for medicine to heal a sound one. O son of Adam, none is stronger than the Creator nor weaker than the creature; none more powerful than the One from whom I seek and who holds all in His hand, nor weaker than the one in the hand of his seeker. You have lost wealth that will not return to you, yet you possess things that will perish. Why fret over what is inevitable? Why hope for what is unattainable? What device can preserve what must be lost? Desist from seeking what you cannot attain, from reaching for what eludes you, and from desiring what does not exist; cut off your hopes as things have cut you off. Know that many a sought object harms its seeker. Patience is demanded only in affliction, and worse than the affliction is bad character under trial. Consider time: it has three days—one past you cannot recover, one certain to come, and one future you cannot guarantee. Yesterday is a witness against you, accepted and reliable, a wise teacher who struck you and left you its lesson. Today is a departing friend, long absent yet swift in its passing; it came to you without your coming to it. Before it another truthful witness departed; if it held benefit for you, intercede with its like—together their testimony is firmer. The people of this world are travelers who only settle their camps elsewhere and are beset by hardships. How fitting, then, is gratitude to the Bestower and submission to what lies ahead! Everything is of its kind: before us went the roots of which we are branches. How can a branch remain once its root has perished? Branches endure only after their roots. The greatest misfortune for the mind is to lose certainty and err in deeds. Life continues after annihilation: we were created from nonexistence, we shall be tested, and then return. Today’s ease is tomorrow’s trial, and a severe deprivation or abundant gift may come upon us. Therefore, reconcile what you undertake with what you may regret later. O people, in this world you compete for which death chooses its participants, and your possessions are prizes touched by calamities. You cannot enjoy a blessing without relinquishing another; no one lengthens his life except at the expense of another term; no one increases his wealth except as his earlier provision diminishes; no one preserves life without dying in turn. We ask God to bless for us and for you this admonition that has passed.” (Narrated at length by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 4:30–31.) (4) Qutayba ibn Sa‘īd said: “Kathīr ibn Hishām told us, Ja‘far ibn Marwān narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih that he used to say: ‘al-īmān (faith) is the leader, al-‘amal (action) is the rider, and the nafs (self) is the steed. If the leader falters, it veers from the path and does not heed its rider; if the rider tires, it lags and does not follow its leader. When united, it goes straight, willingly or unwillingly—and none can achieve this except through willingness and unwillingness. Indeed, whenever a man detests anything in his religion, he forsakes it and is on the verge of losing all of his religion.’” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya, vol. 4:31; also by Ibn al-Jawzī in Sifat al-Safwa, vol. 2:215.) (5) Wahb said: “Among God’s wisdom … He created the creatures with diverse natures and measures: some endure as long as the world without being diminished by days or aged by time, yet they die; some are neither fed nor sustained; and some are fed and provisioned. God created them and created …” [text cuts off]