2106 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Abu Musa narrated to me; he said: I heard Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah say that Ibrahim al-Taymi said:

“I imagined myself in the Fire, struggling with its shackles and blazing heat, eating of its zaqqum (the accursed tree) and drinking its zamharir (the ice-cold draught). I then said, ‘O soul, what do you crave?’ It replied, ‘Return me to the worldly life so that I may perform a deed by which I will escape this punishment.’

Next, I pictured myself in Paradise, amidst its houris, clothed in its sundus, istabraq, and finest silk. I said, ‘O soul, what do you crave?’ It replied, ‘Return me to the worldly life so that I may perform a deed through which I may receive even more of this reward.’

So I said, ‘You are already in the world—and still in the realm of aspiration.’”