250 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Hārūn ibn Sufyān narrated to me; he said: I heard Saʿīd ibn ʿĀmir say: “Your Khurāsānī told me.” He was asked, “Do you mean ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubārak?” He replied, “Yes.” He went on:

“A devotee worshiped his Lord for seventy years. One day Gabriel passed by him, and the man asked, ‘O Gabriel, where are you going? ⦗169⦘’ He answered, ‘To such-and-such a city; I am going to turn it upside-down, making its lowest part uppermost.’ The man said, ‘Why, O Gabriel?’ He replied, ‘Because its people have been disobeying Allah for twenty years.’ The man said, ‘Does Allah really grant His servants a respite of twenty years?’ He said, ‘Yes.’

“Gabriel then went on his way, while the worshiper returned to his household. He gathered his children and asked, ‘How am I to you?’ They said, ‘The best of fathers.’ He said, ‘Then I adjure you: take up your weapons so that we may waylay travelers on the road.’ They exclaimed, ‘Father, after seventy years of worship?’ Gabriel passed by again and said, ‘As for you, no repentance will be accepted.’”