1011 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Shujaʿ ibn al-Walid narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Qays, from someone who reported it to him from Muʿadh (may Allah have mercy upon him). When death drew near to him he said, “See whether we have reached the morning.” Someone went out, returned, and said, “It is not yet morning.” He repeated, “Look—have we reached the morning?” The messenger went out again and came back with the same reply: “It is not yet morning.” This continued until, on one of those occasions, the messenger returned and said, “You have now reached morning.”

Muʿadh then said, “I seek refuge in Allah from a night whose morning ends in the Fire. Welcome, O death! Welcome—an unseen yet beloved visitor who comes at a time of need. O Allah, I used to fear You, but today I put my hope in You. O Allah, if You know that I never loved this worldly life or a long stay in it for diverting rivers or planting trees, but rather for the thirst of the midday fasts, for striving through the long hours of prayer, and for pressing my knees against those of the scholars in the circles of remembrance.”