174 – Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Yazīd ibn Khunays reported to us; Sufyān al-Thawrī narrated, saying: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: ⦗83⦘ “Do not be distressed when much of what you desire in your worldly life is given to you quickly, so long as you still yearn for the affairs of your Hereafter.”

ʿAbd-Allah narrated to us; he said: Aḥmad ibn Mūsā al-Thaqafī recited to me:

Ignorant—no warning ever checks him,
You meet him only heedless and astray.

He revels in his day with sport and play,
Unaware that tomorrow brings calamity.

I passed his palace, saw a wondrous sight—
A lesson and a stern rebuke for all.

There he lay upon the couch; I asked, “Who is he?”
They said, “That vaunting king.”

I saw the doorway draped in black, the maid-servants
Wailing as they smashed their instruments of mirth.

So recognize the dwelling you inhabit;
Do not grow fond of it—know well what it is.