and nothing remained of him but his memory and the tales told about him,
while his bereaved wives cry out in mourning over him.

He lived only ten days after that and then he died. (May Allah have mercy on him), forgive him, and admit him to Paradise by His mercy. Āmīn.

It is related that when the hātif (unseen caller) said to him:
“It is as though I behold this palace whose people have perished,
Whose landmarks and dwellings have been effaced,”

al-Mahdī replied:
“Such is the lot of mankind: whatever is new will wear away,
And every youth, one day, will see his deeds decay.”

The caller said:
“Take provision from this world, for you are surely dying;
You will be questioned—what then will you say?”

Al-Mahdī answered:
“I shall say that Allah is the Truth, and I have borne witness to Him—
A testimony whose merits cannot be numbered.”

The caller continued:
“Take provision from this world, for you are about to depart;
The decree which will befall you has drawn near.”

Al-Mahdī said:
“When will that be? Inform me, may you be guided,
So that I may do what you have urged and hasten to it.”

The caller replied:
“Wait three nights after twenty nights,
Until the end of the month—and you will not complete it.”

They said: He lived only twenty-nine days after that before he died. May Allah, Exalted is He, have mercy on him.

Ibn Jarīr (1) records several opinions regarding the cause of his death. It is said that he set off in pursuit of a gazelle while the hounds ran before him; the gazelle fled into a ruined structure, the hounds followed, and the horse, driven on, plunged after them into the ruin where its back was broken, and this was the cause of his death.

Others say that one of his favored concubines sent poisoned milk to another; the messenger passed by al-Mahdī, and he tasted it and died.

Still others report that she sent her a tray of pears, placing a single large, poisoned one on the top. Al-Mahdī was particularly fond of pears. When the maidservant carrying the tray passed by him, he saw it, summoned her, took the pear that lay on top, and ate it.