268 – Yaʿqūb ibn ʿUbayd narrated to me; he said: Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Ḥaḍramī narrated to me; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from al-Ḥakam, from Ibn Abī Laylā, from ʿAbdullāh ibn Rabīʿah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was once in his house when he noticed a dead goat. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “Do you think this animal is of little worth to its owner?” They answered, “Yes.” He said, “The present world is even more trivial to Allah than this goat is to its owner.”

One of the sages, reflecting on this world, said:

How many a radiant day—after a multitude of new moons—has dawned for me, its sky clear, its shade cast wide over me! Its passing hours supplied me with hopes, and it smiled upon every desire of mine amid luxuriant ease. Carefree moments overflowed with bliss; I roamed in a meadow where wishes were quickly granted, where every favourable circumstance hastened toward me, and the first glad tidings of loved ones sparkled before my eyes. All the images of splendour gathered there, beyond the compass of one’s gaze.

Yet when every thread of its joy had knit itself around me, its brightness was suddenly eclipsed; the dread of parting dimmed its light and scattered us to the far horizons. We had once been like harmonious limbs, like fresh dew-laden branches that bend together, but our familiar quarter awoke to find time had erased its landmarks and the days had worn away every trace of our old bond. So ⦗130⦘ my heart is seized, whenever they are mentioned: it is almost torn apart by the anguish of their loss and the pain of their distance. My glances retreat behind my lids, driven back by the heat of sorrow and wounds that will not heal. What, then, have I to do with lingering among pastures of heartache, lairs of mortal blows, and storehouses of calamity?