357 – al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ narrated to me; al-Walīd ibn Shujāʿ related to us, from Hishām ibn Ismāʿīl, who said:

There was once a king who, whenever he seized anyone from the people who believed in God, would at once order that the man be crucified. A believer was brought before him, and he commanded that he be crucified. The victim was told, “Make your last bequest.” He replied, “What should I bequeath? I was ushered into this world without being consulted, I have lived in it ignorant, and I am being taken out of it against my will.”

Hishām added: In those days no one went out without carrying a round purse of the sort the Persians make, filled with gold or silver. When the man was killed, they hurried to snatch his purse, thinking it held gold or silver, but they found inside a note on which were written three maxims:

If destiny is a reality, then grasping avarice is futile.
If treachery is people’s inborn trait, then trusting everyone is weakness.
And if death lies in wait for every soul, then seeking reassurance in this world is sheer folly.