156 – Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to me; ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Taymi narrated to him; Zuhayr al-Saluli narrated:
A man from the tribe of Bal‘anin had taken to constant weeping; we could scarcely ever see him without tears. One day one of his brothers asked, “What is it—may Allah have mercy on you—that makes you weep so long and so much?” At that, he himself began to weep and then said (metre: al-baḥr al-wāfir):

I weep for my sins, so grievous is my crime;
It is only right that every sinner should weep.
If tears could drive away the care that haunts me,
My blood would gladly mingle with my tears.

He then wept until he fainted, whereupon the man stood up and left him.