451 – Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us, from Qurra ibn Tammām, from Abū Bishr, from Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, who said: “There is not a single day that Allah grants to the people of this world without it calling out, ‘Son of Adam, make the most of me—perhaps you will have no day after me!’ Nor does any night arrive without it calling out, ‘Son of Adam, make the most of me—perhaps you will have no night after me!’”

ʿUmar ibn Shabbah then recited to me, on the authority of Ḥāriṯah ibn Badr: ⦗194⦘
[al-Baḥr al-Ṭawīl]
I have found that life is nothing but a fleeting distraction,
and that time is a madman, forever turning.
No day is there save the likeness of yesterday now past,
and the likeness of tomorrow to come—yet all will disappear.

Abū Jaʿfar al-Qurashī recited to me, saying that ʿĪsā al-Aḥmar had recited:
[al-Baḥr al-Basīṭ]
Ah, death’s onslaughts, the sundering, the destined hour—
every gathering in this world ends in separation.
How long shall we keep on counting passing days
when truly we possess but the span between two?
A day that has slipped away, and a day we still hope for—
perhaps the swiftest courier bringing our final term.
How many a pair of dear companions has time torn apart
till it seems they had never once been two of a kind!
I have witnessed the world’s own hand scattering companions;
trust not the world’s hand to keep even a pair united.