256 – Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi narrated to me; he said: A man from ʿAbd al-Qays declared:

“Where are you going?—Rather, to what end are you being driven? The driver of death is pressing hard behind every breath, swift of step, resolved to sweep souls from the dwelling of transience to the abode of permanence, and eager to lay waste to bodies that have been luxuriating in ease.”