And the occupant of the grave is let down into it. He said: They mentioned the darkness and constriction of the grave. Jesus replied: “You were once in something even tighter than this—inside your mothers’ wombs—and when Allah wills to enlarge [your condition], He does so.” Or words to that effect (previous source). And ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Mubārak said: “Bakkār ibn ʿAbdallāh reported to us that I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih say: A devout itinerant worshipper was attacked by Satan through desire, lust, and anger, yet Satan could not succeed in any of these. Then, as the man was praying, he appeared to him in the form of a serpent. The worshipper pressed on without looking back. The serpent coiled around his legs, but he did not turn; it then crept under his garments and pressed its head against his, yet he still did not look or hesitate. When he went to prostrate, the serpent wound itself around his place of prostration. As he lowered his head, it opened its mouth to seize his head. He placed his forehead to the ground and struggled until he completed his prostration. Afterwards, the apparition came to him in human form and said: ‘I am your companion who terrifies you. I approached you earlier through lust, anger, and desire, and I used to appear to you as wild beasts and serpents, but I could not overcome you. It now seems best to befriend you and to cease attacking you in your prayer.’ The devotee replied: ‘Not on the day you frightened me did I ever fear you, nor do I now need your friendship.’ He [the demon] said: ‘Ask me whatever you wish, and I will tell you.’ He [the worshipper] said: ‘What could I ask you about?’ He said: ‘Ask me what will happen to your wealth after you.’ He said: ‘If I cared about that, I would never have separated from it.’ He said: ‘Then why do you not ask me about your household—who among them will die and who will remain?’ He said: ‘I shall die before them all.’ He said: ‘Then why not ask me what leads people astray?’ He [the worshipper] said: ‘You are the worst of them; so tell me what is strongest within me by which I mislead humankind.’ The demon said: ‘Three traits: miserliness, harshness, and drunkenness. When a man is miserly, we diminish his wealth in his own sight and incline him toward others’ wealth. When he is harsh, we toss him among ourselves like children playing with a ball; even if he could revive the dead by his invocation, we would still not despair of him—yet with a single word we raze all he has built. When he is intoxicated, we drive him to every evil, disgrace, and humiliation—just as one might lead a cat by its ear wherever one pleases.’” (Reported by Ibn al-Mubārak in al-Zuhd, pp. 518–519; and by Abū Nuʿaym in al-Hilya, 4: 52–53.) Wahb said: “Job was afflicted for seven years, Joseph was left in prison for seven years, and Nebuchadnezzar was transformed among the beasts for seven years.” (In manuscript Q; in al-Hilya 4: 53: “He chastised Nebuchadnezzar and kept him among the beasts for seven years.”) Wahb was asked about dinars and dirhams; he replied: “They are the seals of the Lord of the Worlds on earth for the livelihood of humankind. They are neither eaten nor drunk; wherever you carry the seal of the Lord of the Worlds, your need is fulfilled. They are the snares of the hypocrites, by which they are led into desires.” (Same source.) Dāwūd ibn ʿUmar al-Ḍabbī narrated from Ibn al-Mubārak, from Muʿammar, from Simāk ibn al-Faḍl—(in Q: “Simāk ibn al-Mufaḍḍal,” a scribal error; the correct name appears in al-Hilya, and his biography is in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr 4: 174 and Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 5: 249)—from Wahb who said: “The example of one who invokes without action is like that of one who shoots without a bowstring.” And Ibn al-Mubārak in his al-Zuhd (pp. 72–73) related from ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Maḥlab—(in al-Hilya misrecorded as “ibn Ma hdī,” but correctly “ibn Maḥlab,” as confirmed in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr 6: 173; al-Jarḥ wa-l-Taʿdīl 6: 121; and Mashāhīr ʿUlamāʾ al-Amṣār p. 192)—that he heard Wahb say: “A sage said: I would be ashamed before Allah to worship Him merely in hope of Paradise’s reward, like a worthless hireling who works only if paid; and I would be ashamed before Allah to worship Him solely out of fear of the Fire, like a miserable slave who labors only under threat. Rather, may Allah draw from me a love of Him that none besides Him can extract.” (Abū Nuʿaym, al-Hilya 53: 4–5.) And al-Surrī ibn Yaḥyā said: Wahb wrote to Makhūl: “You have attained what of the knowledge of Islam has become apparent among the people: love…” and said…