Al-Zuhd - Ahmad Ibn Hanbal - (189)

1290 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Rawḥ narrated to us; Hisham narrated to us, from al-Hasan, who said:

Harim ibn Ḥayyān and ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmir set out for the land of al-Ḥijāz. While they were travelling on their two mounts, they passed by a spot where there was kalaʾ (pasture), ḥuliyy, and naṣiyy. Their animals began to nose their way into that growth. Harim ibn Ḥayyān said, “O Ibn ʿAmir, would you be pleased to be one of these trees—eaten by this mount of yours, excreted as dung, and then fashioned into a dried dung-cake?” He replied, “No, by Allah. What I hope for of Allah’s mercy—exalted is He—is dearer to me than that.”

Harim ibn Ḥayyān retorted, “But by Allah, I would love to be a tree from among these trees: this she-camel would eat me, then drop me as dung so that I became a dung-cake, and I would not have to endure the Reckoning on the Day of Resurrection—whether it lead to Paradise or to the Fire. Woe to you, Ibn ʿAmir! I dread the supreme calamity.”

Al-Hasan added, “By Allah, he was the more knowledgeable of the two and the one who had deeper awareness of Allah—exalted is He.”

١٢٩٠ - حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحٌ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ: خَرَجَ هَرِمُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَامِرٍ يُرِيدَانِ أَرْضَ الْحِجَازِ قَالَ: فَبَيْنَمَا هُمَا يَسِيرَانِ عَلَى رَاحِلَتَيْهِمَا إِذْ مَرَّا عَلَى مَكَانٍ فِيهِ كَلَأٌ وَحُلِيٌّ وَنِصِيٌّ قَالَ: فَجَعَلَتْ رَاحِلَتَاهُمَا يُخَالِجَانِ ذَلِكَ الشَّجَرَ فَقَالَ ابْنُ حَيَّانَ: يَا ابْنَ عَامِرٍ أَيَسُرُّكَ أَنَّكَ شَجَرَةٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرِ أَكَلَتْكَ هَذِهِ الرَّاحِلَةُ فَقَذَفَتْكَ بَعْرًا فَاتُّخِذْتَ جُلَّةً؟ قَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ لَمَا أَرْجُو مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ – Exalté soit-Il – أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ هَرِمُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ: وَلَكِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي شَجَرَةٌ مِنْ هَذَا الشَّجَرِ أَكَلَتْنِي هَذِهِ النَّاقَةُ فَقَذَفَتْنِي بَعْرًا فَاتُّخِذْتُ جُلَّةً وَلَمْ أُكَابِدِ الْحِسَابَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ؛ إِمَّا إِلَى جَنَّةٍ وَإِمَّا إِلَى نَارٍ، وَيْحَكَ يَا ابْنَ عَامِرٍ إِنِّي أَخَافُ الدَّاهِيَةَ الْكُبْرَى، قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: كَانَ وَاللَّهِ أَفْقَهَهُمَا وَأَعْلَمَهُمَا بِاللَّهِ – Exalté soit-Il – "