51 – Harun ibn ʿAbd Allah related to me, saying: “Sayyar ibn Hatim told us; Jaʿfar ibn Sulayman told us; Thabit al-Bunani told us:

‘Ṣilah ibn Ashyam used to go out to the cemetery to devote himself to worship. Whenever he passed a group of young men wasting their time in idle play, he would say to them, “Tell me about a people who have set out on a journey: during the day they keep leaving the road, and at night they go to sleep. When, then, will they ever reach their destination?” Thus he would admonish them.

One day he came upon them again and repeated the same words. A young man among them was roused and said, “My friends, by Allah, he means no one but us: we spend the day in amusement and the night asleep.” He then followed Ṣilah and continued to accompany him to the cemetery, worshipping alongside him, until he died—may Allah Most High have mercy on him.’