1020 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Jarawi narrated to us; Ayub ibn Suwayd narrated to us, from Ibn Jabir, who said:

Abu Saʿid ibn al-Nuʿman related: A caravan passed by me and each member offered me some advice. Riding behind them was a young man whose gaze remained fixed on the space between the tip of his foot and the head of his mount, as though he were watching something that had been put under his care. I said to him, “Give me counsel, may Allah have mercy on you.” He replied, “The whole group has already advised you.” I insisted, “And you—may Allah have mercy on you—advise me as well.”

He said, “No one can dispense with his allotted share of this world, yet he is in greater need of his portion in the Hereafter. So if two matters contend for your attention—one for the Hereafter and one for this world—begin with the concern of the Hereafter and give it preference. For it will inevitably overtake the other: you will then have weaned yourself from the worldly matter completely, treated it with due respect, and moved along with it wherever it goes.”

By Allah, it was as though the people’s earlier counsels were erased from my chest, and Allah—exalted is He—caused his words to settle firmly within me. When he had gone on, I asked, “Who is that man?” and it was said, “Muʿadh ibn Jabal—may Allah have mercy upon him.”