= The prophethood unraveled beneath it just as the ruba‘ (the spring-born lamb, the first produce) unravels under a heavy load. The ruba‘ is so called because when it walks it lengthens its stride and bounds; it unravels under a burden it cannot bear (see Lisān al-‘Arab under fasakh and ruba‘). He therefore threw it from his hand and fled. Then God, exalted be He, said to His Prophet ﷺ: “So be patient, as were those of determination among the messengers” (al-Aḥqāf 46:35). And He said: “So be patient for the decision of your Lord, and be not like the companion of the fish when he cried out while he was in distress” (al-Qalam 68:48). (Narrated by Abū Nu‘aym in al-Ḥilya 4/50.) Yūnus ibn Bukayr related from Abū Isḥāq ibn Wahb ibn Munabbih, from his father, that God commanded the wind that no creature utter anything on earth except that He would cast it into Solomon’s ear; hence he heard the speech of the ant. (Ibid.) Sufyān reported from ‘Amr ibn Dīnār, from Wahb, that a man from among the Children of Israel who wandered for forty years would, by then, see something as if a sign of acceptance. It is said that a man of the descendants of Zanīyah—read in some copies “descendants of Rabī‘ah” by scribal error, the corrected reading in al-Ḥilya—wandered forty years but saw nothing. He then said, “O Lord, if I have done good while my parents erred, what is my fault?” He was then shown what others had seen. (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Ḥilya 4/51.) In another variant he said, “O Lord, if my parents have erred, shall I be deprived of Your kindness and righteousness?” Thereupon a cloud overshadowed him. ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak reported from Rabbāḥ ibn Zayd, from ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Ḥawrān—read in some copies “‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Marwān” by error; his biography is in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr 6/18, al-Jarḥ wa-l-Ta‘dīl 5/380, al-Thiqāt of Ibn Ḥibbān 7/111, and Mīzān al-I‘tidāl 4/363; some wrote a mīm but the correct is with jīm—that he heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say: “The example of this world and the Hereafter is like two mistresses: if you please one, you displease the other.” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Ḥilya 4/51.) He also said: “The gravest of sins before God, after polytheism, is sorcery.” (Ibid.; some copies add “and mocking people.”) ‘Abd al-Raz̄āq transmitted from his father, on the authority of Wahb: “When one fasts, his sight becomes dim; when he breaks the fast with sweetness, his sight returns.” (Ibid.) Ibn al-Mubārak related from Bakkār ibn ‘Abd Allāh—read in some copies “Bakr” by error; his biography in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr 2/121—that he heard Wahb say: “A devout man passed by another devout man whom he saw deep in thought. He asked, ‘What troubles you?’ He replied, ‘I marvel at so-and-so, who reached such a high level of worship yet was turned aside by worldly life.’ He said, ‘Do not marvel at one who is turned aside—at what caused his turning— but marvel at one who remains steadfast—at what enabled his steadfastness?’” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Ḥilya 4/51.) ‘Abd Allāh ibn Aḥmad also said: My father reported to us, Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid reported from ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān: I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say: “The Children of Israel were struck by punishment and hardship, so they said to one of their prophets, ‘We long to know what pleases our Lord so that we may follow it.’ God revealed to him: ‘Your people say [thus]; so tell them: If they desire My pleasure, let them please the needy—for if they please them, I will be pleased; if they anger them, I will be angry.’” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Ḥilya 4/52; text in brackets omitted here.) He also said: My father reported to us, Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid from ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān: I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say: “Indeed, ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) was standing at a grave with the Hawāriyyūn—or a group of his companions—when he said: =