wait for this world, for (1) it is already at hand;
before long it will bring forth the Hereafter.

He also said (2):
Give, O soul, and present
repentance before death arrives;
Before fate strikes us with parting and dispersion,
Fail me not when I am gone and the dirges rise above me, (3)
For the true keeper of my covenant is he who stays loyal after my demise. (4)

The Sufi narrated:
During the lifetime of his father the caliph, Ibn al-Muʿtazz caught sight of a slave-girl whose beauty captivated him; love for her laid him low with sickness. His father came to visit him and asked, “How do you find yourself?” Ibn al-Muʿtazz answered with these verses:
O you who censure me, censure me no more—
Consider the splendour of her face and you will pardon me;
Look closely: do you see any fairer than she?
Should you behold her equal, then blame me as you wish.
His father investigated the matter, confirmed the report about the girl, then sent for her owner, bought her for seven thousand dinars, and sent her to him. (5)

We have already noted that in Rabīʿ al-Awwal of this year the commanders, notables, and judges agreed upon deposing al-Muqtadir and installing this ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz, styling him al-Murtaḍā, or al-Muntaṣif billāh. He occupied the caliphate for only a day—or part of a day—whereupon al-Muqtadir prevailed, slew most of those who had risen with him, and detained Ibn al-Muʿtazz in the Palace under the custody of Muʾnis the Eunuch. He was killed at the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, two nights having passed of the month.

It is said that on the last day of his life [while in detention] (6) he recited:
O soul, be patient; perchance good awaits you—
After such a long season of safety your world has betrayed you.
At dawn a bird flew by; I called to it:
“Blessed are you! Would that I were you—how blessed you are!”
If your flight is eastward, then convey my greeting to
The bank of the Ṣarāt, (7) carry it there if that is truly your way.