It is related that Jesus (peace be upon him) looked upon its people, jinn, reptiles, cattle, and birds. He paused to observe them for a while, then turned to his companions and said: “They died only by a punishment from Allah; otherwise they would have perished scattered.” Then Jesus called out, “O people of the village!” One answered, “Here I am, O Spirit of Allah.” He asked, “What was your sin and the cause of your destruction?” He replied, “The worship of taghut (false deities) and the love of the dunya (world).” He asked, “And what was your worship of taghut?” He answered, “Obedience to the people of sin is the worship of taghut.” He asked, “And what was your love of the dunya?” He said, “Like a child’s love for its mother: when she approached we rejoiced, and when she departed we grieved, along with distant hope, turning away from obedience to Allah and toward that which earns His displeasure.” He asked, “How was your destruction?” He said, “We spent the night in security and awoke in a pit.” He asked, “What is the pit?” He said, “Sijjin.” He asked, “And what is Sijjin?” He said, “A coal of fire the size of all the plates of the world; our souls were buried in it.” He asked, “Why do your companions not speak?” He answered, “They are unable to speak.” Jesus asked, “How so?” He replied, “They are mu‘laghamun (muzzled) with fiery bits.” Jesus then asked, “How do you speak to me among them?” He said, “I was among them when the punishment befell, but I was neither of them nor among their deeds. When the calamity came it enveloped me as I hung by a hair in the pit, uncertain whether I would be trampled or saved.” Then Jesus (peace be upon him) said to his companions: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, barley bread, drinking clear water, and sleeping among refuse are—for the welfare of this world and the Hereafter—better than the comforts of worldly life.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4, pp. 61–62.) Al-Tabarani also reports from him that he said: “A person will not be truly wise until he obeys Allah; whoever disobeys Allah is not wise, and only a fool disobeys Him. Just as the day is not complete without the sun, and the night is known only by it, so wisdom is not complete without obedience to Allah, and a wise person does not disobey Him. As a bird cannot fly without two wings, so no one can obey Allah unless He grants him the power, and no one can perform Allah’s work unless He enables him. Just as fire cannot remain in water until it is extinguished, so the deed of ostentation does not endure but perishes. And just as an adulteress’s act reveals her secret and shame, so the evil deed of one who praises pleasant words in his companion’s presence but does not act upon them is exposed.” (In al-Hilya: “A companion is deceived by pleasant words when he utters what he does not do.”) “And just as the excuse of a thief is belied by his stealing when it appears in his possession, so the sin of one who recites the Quran for other than Allah is belied by that recitation.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4, p. 62.) Al-Tabarani further relates that Muhammad ibn al-Nadr told us, from Ali ibn Bahr ibn Bari, from Isma‘il ibn ‘Abd al-Karim, from ‘Abd al-Samad ibn Ma‘qal, who said: I heard Wahb say in the Psalms of the family of David: “Blessed is he who walks the path of the woodcutters and does not sit with the idle; blessed is he who follows the way of the Imams and remains steadfast in the worship of his Lord. His likeness is a tree planted by a stream—always alive and ever green.” (Same source.) Al-Tabarani also reports that he said: “When the Hour is established, the stones will cry out like women, and the ‘idha’—thorn-bearing trees such as talh, salam, samar, and sidr—will drip blood.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4, p. 63.) It is also reported from him that he said: “Nothing appears small then grows, except calamity: it appears great then diminishes.” (Same source.) And he is further cited as saying: A beggar stood at the door of David (peace be upon him) and said, “O people of the House of Prophethood, give alms to one whom Allah has provided for, like a merchant settled among his family.” David said, “Give him something. By Him in whose hand is my soul, it is in the Zabur.” (Same source.)