370 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ismāʿīl related to me. He said: Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us. He said: ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad al-Makkī told me: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz once delivered a sermon in which he said:

“This present world is not the place where you will settle forever. It is a realm upon which Allah has decreed obliteration, and upon whose people He has decreed departure. How many a flourishing habitation will, before long, lie in ruins, and how many a satisfied resident will, before long, be on the move. So—as Allah has mercy on you—make your journey out of it excellent, by taking from what you have at hand the finest provisions. Stock up, for the best provision is taqwā (god-consciousness).

The world is but like the fleeting shade of a cloud: it gathers, then contracts and disappears. While the child of Adam is here, competing for its share, content and at ease, Allah suddenly summons him at the appointed decree, strikes him with the day of his death, strips him of his deeds and his possessions, ⦗170⦘ and hands over his estates and comforts to another people.

Truly, the world does not gladden to the extent that it harms; it pleases only a little, yet saddens with a long-lasting grief.”