488 – Ṣāliḥ ibn Mālik related to me; he said: Abū ʿUbayda al-Nāji related to me, from al-Ḥasan, who said:

O child of Adam, do not fasten your heart to this world, for you would be binding it to the worst thing it could be bound to. Sever its ropes and lock its doors. What little brings you to your final stop is enough for you, O man. How foolish to vaunt your wealth! How foolish to boast of your children—while you stand in the very anguish of the Hour. Far, far away! The world has gone its way, while deeds remain, hanging like necklaces on the necks of the children of Adam.

One of the wise poets said:

Do you hope to endure in a dwelling doomed to fade?
Your very wish and longing are folly enough.
I have seen the powers of this world only grow in decline,
And the clearest of its pleasures call forth their own dregs.
Each day brings you a fresh parting;
You deem its blow immense, though it be slight.
By your life, this world does not abide—
Nor does anyone within it—so how can you crave to stay?

And another sage among the poets said:

Youth has departed; he sits in sorrow,
While grey has crept across his temples.
Would that I knew—what can I still hope for of this world
When no beloved remains to me upon it?
Hardships have isolated me from those I love;
Alas, what more do these calamities want of me?
Each day another friend is lost—
What life can taste sweet amid such partings?