519 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us—my father narrated to me—ibn Atash narrated to us—Mundhir related, on the authority of Wahb, who said:

“There was a wandering ascetic who was accompanied by an assistant. The ascetic said to his assistant, ‘Go into the village and buy me a shroud, for this very hour—meaning, I am about to die—so make haste.’ The assistant entered the village and found that one of its chief dignitaries had just died. The townspeople had gathered for the burial and had shut their shops, so the assistant was unable to purchase anything until they dispersed. When the people returned, he bought a shroud and some ḥināṭ (embalming spices), then went back to his companion. He arrived to find that the ascetic had died and that a wild beast had devoured his face. The man cried out in grief and regret, saying, ‘So-and-so the tyrant was shrouded, perfumed, and buried, while so-and-so has had his face eaten!’

It was said to him, ‘As for so-and-so the tyrant, he had but a single good deed, so Allah willed to remove him from this world with no share for him in the Hereafter. As for so-and-so, the ascetic, he had committed a minor offense, so Allah took him from this world without letting him feel the pain of its punishment.’”