526 – Muḥammad ibn Idrīs narrated to me; he reported from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ghaffār, who said: Zuhayr ibn Nuʿaym wrote to Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ⦗226⦘ ʿAbd al-Ghaffār:
“Peace be upon you. I praise to you Allah—there is no god but He—and I urge myself and you to fear Allah, to obey Him, and to submit to His command in every circumstance. The final outcome is only for the God-fearing, and every people will be repaid for what they used to do.
Now then: I write to you, my nephew, while I am in good health yet on a journey toward death, whatever state it finds me in. What our hands have sent on ahead is fully preserved against us. So—for Allah’s sake, for Allah’s sake, my nephew—take care of your soul: ponder often the death of your father and mother, distance yourself from this world’s excess, and be content with little of it. Most heedlessness and forgetfulness stem from chasing worldly surplus.
May Allah satisfy you and us with the least share of it, grant us within it abundant deeds for the Abode of the Hereafter, and take you and us out of this world while He is not displeased with us, by His grace and mercy—for none bestows such favor but He.
If you can, my nephew, do not forget Allah’s words: “Or do they think that We do not hear their secret talk and their private counsel? Yes indeed, and Our messengers are with them, writing it all down.” (al-Zukhruf 80)”