531 – Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf narrated to me: I heard Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith. When he was told, “So-and-so has passed away,” he replied, “He amassed the world and has gone on to the Hereafter; he has ruined himself.” People said to him, “But he used to do this and that,” and they listed a number of righteous deeds. He retorted, “What good are those deeds when he spent his time hoarding the world?” ⦗228⦘

Abū Bakr said: One of the sages remarked, “A person’s life in this world is fraught with the gravest peril: either a blessing that will fade, a calamity that is descending, a misfortune already underway, or a decisive death-blow. If he becomes heedless, his livelihood turns turbid: amid blessings he is in danger, before afflictions he must be watchful, and concerning death he is absolutely certain.”