1081 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to us; Hāshim narrated to us; ʿĀṣim narrated to us, from ʿUmar ibn Ḥamza, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, who said:

“I was sitting with my father—may Allah have mercy on him—when a man passed by. My father asked, ‘Tell me, what was it that you said to ʿAbd Allah the day I saw you speaking with him at al-Jurf?’

I answered, ‘I said to him, “O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, your body has become delicate and your years have increased, while those who sit with you do not recognize your due or your honor. Why not instruct your family to set aside something gentle for you, so they may comfort you with it when you return to them?”’

He replied, ‘Woe to you! I have not eaten my fill for eleven years, or twelve, or thirteen, or fourteen—not even once. What would become of me if I did, when all that remains of me is no more than the parched gullet of a donkey?’