1880 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us, ʿAli ibn Muslim narrated to us, Sayyār narrated to us, and Jaʿfar narrated: I heard Mālik ibn Dīnār say:

“I once fell ill, and birsām (pleurisy) struck me, though I remained fully conscious. Al-Hasan ibn Abī al-Hasan came to visit me; he set his cloak beside my head, then went in and performed wuḍūʾ (ablution). He returned and sat down at my head.

I said, ‘Abū Saʿīd, I have resolved that if I die from this illness, my arms be fastened with a strap and my legs bound, then I be carried to my Lord—exalted is He—just as a servant is taken to his master.’

Al-Hasan said, ‘Your companion is raving,’ meaning that I was delirious.

I replied, ‘By Allah, Abū Saʿīd, I am not raving.’

Later I recovered, and he said to me, ‘O man of the strap! You were in one of the earth’s dark places, yet now you have been restored.’

Then al-Hasan turned toward me, exhorting me; he was ever the teacher and the disciplinarian.”