542 – Muhammad b. Jaʿfar b. Mihrān al-Baṣrī related to me, from a man, from his father, that a servant of ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān wrote to him: “In front of us there is a great rock beneath which, it is said, lies a treasure that will require some expense to unearth.” ʿAbd al-Malik wrote back: “Keep spending until you have brought that treasure out.” They worked at it until the rock was overturned, but no treasure was found beneath it. Instead, they discovered an inscription that read:
[al-Baḥr al-Ṭawīl]
Whoever extols the world for a life that pleases him … By my life, before long he will surely condemn it;
When it advances toward a man it becomes his sorrow, And when it turns away, its worries are many. ⦗231⦘
Abū Bakr said: It was asked of one of the sages, “What is the world?” He replied, “Do you mean the world that is disparaged on the tongues of the prophets and the wise?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “It is disobedience.”
It was asked, “Which ascetic is best?” He answered, “The one with the smallest share of the world.”
They asked, “When is the reliance born of renunciation completely pure?” He said, “When no created being is attached to a person because of it.”
Abū Bakr said: One of the sages also said, “Son of Adam, you never rejoiced in what perishes except after forgetting what endures; you never leaned toward the finery of this world except by forsaking your share of the Garden of Refuge; you never amused yourself with vain promises except after embracing this world; and you never strove to fatten your body until you forgot that you will one day lie wrapped in your shroud.”
Abū Bakr said: It was asked of another sage, “Who is most acquainted with the defects of the world?” He replied, “The one who remembers death the most.”
They asked, “Why do we dislike death?” He said, “Because you prefer the world.”
They asked, “When is a servant judged to be heedless?” He said, “When he inclines to the world.”
They asked, “When do wisdom and knowledge depart from us?” He said, “When they are pursued for the sake of the world.”
They asked, “What keeps a person from seeking the Hereafter?” He said, “Love of the world.”
They asked, “What is the sign of turning away from the world?” He said, “Seeking the Hereafter.”
They asked, “To whom does the world belong?” He said, “To the one who abandons it.”
They asked, “To whom does the Hereafter belong?” He said, “To the one who seeks it.”
Abū Bakr said: One of the sages remarked, “The world is a house of ruin, and more ruined still is the heart of the one who builds it up; Paradise is a house of flourishing, and even more flourishing is the heart of the one who pursues it.”