189 – ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd al-Jawharī narrated to us; he said: al-Mubārak ibn Faḍālah narrated to me, from al-Ḥasan, who said:

ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān delivered a sermon to the people of Basra. He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said:

“O people, this world has announced its severance and sped away; nothing of her ⦗93⦘ remains save a few drops, like the dribble that clings to the bottom of a vessel. You are bound to leave her without fail, so depart from her with the finest provisions you presently possess.

By the One in whose hand is my soul, every prophetic mission before yours kept being handed down until its last phase became kingship—and you will surely be tried by rulers after us.”

Al-Ḥasan added: “In the aftermath we met with many admonitions.”

ʿUtbah continued, “I seek refuge with Allah from being great in my own sight yet small with Him. I remember myself as the seventh of seven with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for nearly a month, with no food but what we could gather from tree leaves, until the corners of our mouths cracked from chewing them. I once found a cloak, tore it in half, and shared it with Saʿd ibn Mālik. Of those seven, I know of none alive today except that he has become a governor over a garrison town. Are you amazed? What will follow you is even more astonishing.

By Him in whose hand is my soul, if a stone were hurled from the brink of Hell it would not reach its bottom for seventy years. By Him in whose hand is my soul, it will surely be filled. And by Him in whose hand is my soul, the width between the two gateposts of Paradise is the distance of forty years’ travel—and, by Him in whose hand is my soul, a time will come when it will be crowded to capacity.”