1707 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar ibn Maysarah al-Khathʿamī al-Qawārīrī narrated to us; Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us; Hishām ibn Abī Hishām narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, who said:

When ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz—may Allah have mercy on him—was invested with the caliphate, he summoned me while I was in Madinah. I came to him, and when I entered I kept staring at him, unable to turn my eyes away, so amazed was I. He said, “Ibn Kaʿb, you are looking at me in a way you never used to.” I replied, “Indeed, I am astonished.” He asked, “What astonishes you?” I said, “O Commander of the Believers, I am struck by how your complexion has changed, how your body has grown thin, and how your hair has fallen out.” He said, “What would you think if you saw me three days after I have been lowered into my pit—into my grave—when my eyeballs have melted onto my cheeks and pus and worms are oozing from my nostrils? You would find me far more repulsive then. Now relate to us a report we can retain from Ibn ʿAbbās.”

I said, “Ibn ʿAbbās informed us, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: ‘Among the most noble of gatherings are those in which one faces the qiblah. Do not pray behind someone who is asleep or who is talking. Do not barter free persons for clothing. Kill the snake and the scorpion even if you are in prayer. Whoever looks into his brother’s book without his permission is, in fact, looking into the Fire.’”