Book: Al-Muhtadirin [The Dyings] by ibn-abi-duniya

What the princes and kings said when death descended upon them

103 - Narrated to us by 'Abdullah who said: Narrated to us by Abu Zaid Al-Numairi who said: Narrated to us by Abu Ghasan Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Kinani, from 'Abdul Aziz bin 'Imran Al-Zuhri, from Muawiya bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Buhair bin Rayisan, from his father who said: "When the death of 'Amr bin Al-'Aas approached, his son said to him: "O my father, indeed you used to say to us: If only I could meet an intelligent man at the time of death to describe to me what he experiences, and you are that man. Describe to me death. He said: "By Allah, my son, it is as though my side is in a vice, and as though I am breathing through the eye of a needle, and as though a thorny branch is being dragged from my feet to my forehead."

Then he said:[The light sea]"If only I had been before what had appeared to me ... in the bottoms of the mountains I would herd sheepand by Allah, if only I had been menstruating ... The camels would have passed me by on a path of thistles."

104 - Abdullah told us, he said: Abu Khaithama told us, he said: Wahb bin Jarir told us, he said: Aswad bin Shayban narrated from Abu Nawfal ibn Abi Aqrab, he said ⦗94⦘: When Amro bin Al-As was seriously ill, he placed his hand at the place of the collar around his neck and said: "O Allah, You commanded us and we neglected, You forbade us and we transgressed, and we have nothing but Your forgiveness". So that was his deathbed utterance until he died.

105 - Narrated to us by Abdullah who said: My father, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated to me from Hisham Ibn Muhammad, from Muhammad Ibn Qais Al-Asadi: that Amr Ibn Al-As said while on his deathbed: “O Allah, You are the one with power, I have no power to defend myself, and I have no innocence to excuse myself. O Allah, indeed I acknowledge, I am a sinner, I seek Your forgiveness.”

106 - We were told by 'Abdullah who said: 'Abdur-Rahman ibn Saleh informed me, he said: Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us, from Ash'ath, from Al-Hasan who said: "When 'Amr ibn Al-'As was on his deathbed, he looked at his chests, and said to his sons: "Who will take them with what's in them? I wish it was livestock."

He then ordered for guards, and they surrounded his palace. His sons said: "What is this?" He said: "What do you see? Does any of this bring me any benefit?"

107 - We were told by Abdullah, who said: we were told by Al-Fadl ibn Ja'far, who said: we were told by Abu Asim, the noble, who said: we were informed by Haywat ibn Shuraih, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from ibn Shamasah, who said: We had attended Amro ibn al-As while he was on his deathbed. He began to weep and turned his face towards the wall. His son asked, "What makes you cry? Did not the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, give you glad tiding of such and such?" He turned his face and said,

"Indeed, the best of what you recount to me is the testimony that there is no deity but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. When I die, do not follow me with wailing or fire. When you bury me, heap the soil well over me. Stand by my grave for the length of time it takes to slaughter a camel and distribute its meat, so that I may feel your proximity and see how to respond to the messengers of my Lord."

108 - Abdullah informed us, he said: Hasan bin Yusuf bin Yazeed told us, he said: Baqiyyah bin Walid told us, he said: Muhammad bin Ziyad [96] informed us: that when death approached Amr bin Al-Aas he said: "O Allah, you commanded us things which we left, and you forbade us things and we violated them, but I testify that there is no god but Allah - then he gripped it with his right hand - and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger - then he gripped it with his left hand -."

He said: Then he passed away while both his hands were clenched.

109 - Abdullah narrated, he said: Abu Salih Al-Marwazi reported from Abdul Aziz ibn Abi Rizmah, from Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak who said: Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah said when death approached him, "O Allah, if the people of Kufah were truthful about me, then do not bless whatever is in my future, and make my end the worst of ends. But if they lied about me, then make it an expiation for what they do not know of my sins."

110 - We were told by Abdullah who said: We were told by Sa'eed bin Yahya bin Sa'eed Al-Qurashi who said: My father told me, who was told by Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abi Mulayka who said: I saw Abdulaziz bin Marwan when death was upon him, he was saying: "Oh, how I wish I was not something mentioned, oh how I wish I was like this running water, or a plant from the earth, or a shepherd in the outskirts of Hejaz from Bani Nasr bin Mu'awiyah, or Bani Sa'd bin Bakr."

111 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: "Ismah Bin Al-Fadl told me, he said: Yahya Bin Yahya narrated to us, from Dawood Bin Al-Mughira, he said: 'When Abdul Aziz Bin Marwan was on his deathbed, he said: "Bring me the shroud in which you will wrap me." And when it was placed before him, he looked at its backside and they heard him saying: "Uff to you, uff to you. How short is your long, and how less is your much."

112 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: Salamah ibn Shabeeb narrated to us, he said: Sahl ibn Aasim told us about himself, from one of his elders, from Al-A'mash, from Abu Waeil, who said: "When Bishr ibn Marwan was dying he said: 'By Allah, I wish I was a Habashi (Ethiopian) slave owned by the worst people of the Bedouin tribes, tending to their sheep, and I wish I had not been in the situation I was.' Shakiq responded: 'Praise be to Allah, the One who made them flee towards us and we do not flee towards them. Indeed, they see in us a lesson, and we see in them a warning.'

113 - We were told by Abdullah who said: We were told by Abu Zaid Al-Numairi who said: We were told by Bakr, son of Abdullah, son of Aasim, from Malik ibn Dinar who said:

"Bishr bin Marwan died and was buried, then Aswad died and was buried next to him. I passed by their graves after three days and could not distinguish one from the other. I remembered the poet's saying: [The sea of sand] and the gifts are shared between them... and the grave of a generous person is indistinguishable from that of a stingy one."

114 - We were told by Abdullah who said: Abu Zaid Al-Numairi told me: Abu Ghassan Muhammad ibn Yahya Al-Kinani told me: Abd Al-Aziz ibn Imran, from Hammad ibn Musa Al-Kushani told me: When Abdullah ibn Abdul Malik was on his deathbed, Bashir came to him, bringing him news of his wealth which was in Egypt when he was its governor. He said, "This is your wealth, three hundred mudds of gold". Then he said: "What is it to me? I would rather it had been a herd of camels in Najd."

115 - Narrated to us by 'Abdullah who said: "Zakaria bin Yahya narrated to me that he was informed by Abu Al-Ashhab, from Hasan, that a king was visited by death. The people of his kingdom gathered around him and asked: 'To whom will you leave the wealth and prosperity?' He responded: 'O people, do not be ignorant, for you are in the dominion of one who does not care whether a small or a large person takes it.'

116 - Abd Allah narrated to us, saying: Ahmad ibn Ibrahim told us that Bishr ibn Mubashir told him, reporting from Hammad Thabit, that a man was working, and put his wealth in a caravan. But when he was on his deathbed, he said: "Burn this caravan." So it was burned, and the wealth was scattered. He said: "Would that it had been a burden, would that it had been a burden."

117 - Narrated to us by Abdullah, he said: Abdullah Ibn Bastam narrated to me, he said: "One of the kings was on his deathbed, and he began to say: Oh, the one whose kingdom does not vanish, have mercy on the one whose kingdom has vanished."

118 - Abdullah narrated to us, saying: Harun ibn Yahya told me, from an elder of Quraysh, that Shafiq ibn Thawr said when death was near to him: "This is the debt of Allah on our necks, which we must pay whether in hardship or ease. Then he said to his children: When I die, let no one weep for me, and let there be no lamentation over me, and supplicate for my forgiveness plenty."

Translate the following Arabic text into English with HTML formatting: 119 - Narrated to us by Abdullah who said: Narrated to us by Ali ibn Al-Ja'ad who said: I was informed by Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Salama Al-Majishoon, from Muhammad ibn Al-Munkadir who said, "Umar ibn Abdulaziz disliked Al-Hajjaj, and a word was imposed on him which he said: Oh Allah, forgive me, for they claim that you will not do so"

120 - Narrated to us by Abdullah who said: And some of the people of knowledge narrated to me saying: It was said to Al-Hasan: Indeed, Al-Hajjaj said at the time of his death such and such. He said, "Did he say it?" They said: "Yes." He said: "Perhaps..."

121 - Abdallah narrated to us, he said: My father, may Allah have mercy on him, told me from Hisham bin Muhammad. He said: Abu al-Muqawwim al-Ansari, Yahya bin Tha'laba, told me from his mother Aisha, from her father Abdul Rahman bin Al-Saib. He said ⦗102⦘: "Ziad gathered the people of Kufa and filled the mosque, the desert, and the castle to present them with the innocence of Ali. Abdul Rahman said: I was with a group of Ansar, and people were in a great matter, he said: So I had a thought, and I saw something coming long-necked, like the neck of a camel, thin and weary, So I said: Who are you? He said: I am the critic with the neck, I was sent to the owner of the castle. So I woke up frightened and said to my companions: Did you see what I saw? They said: No. So I informed them. He said: And a stranger comes out from the castle and says: The prince says to you: Go away, for I am busy with you. And the disaster has struck him and Abdul Rahman bin Al-Saib began to say: [The Simple Sea]⦗103⦘There was end to what he intended for us ... until the critic with the neck took him

So he confirmed the split from him, a strike that is confirmed ... as the owner of the wilderness took injustice.

122 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: My father, may Allah have mercy on him, informed me from Hisham bin Muhammad, who said: Al-Haytham bin Al-Aswad visited Ziyad during his reign while he was in that state, and it was said to him: "Al-Haytham is at the door with your promise concerning Al-Hijaz." He said: "Woe to you, what can I do with Al-Haytham and what he brings? By Allah, sipping water is more beloved to me than Al-Haytham and what he has brought."

123 - Abdullah narrated to us, he said: Abu Zaid Al-Numairi narrated to me, he said: Al-Asma'i narrated to us, he said: Ibn Abi Al-Zinad informed us, he said: When Ziyad was on his deathbed, his son said to him: "Oh father, I have prepared for you sixty shrouds to enshroud you in." He said: "Oh my son, a garment draws near to your father, better than this."

124 - Abdullah told us. He said: Zakaria bin Yahya narrated to me, from 104 Abdul-Salam bin Mutahar, from Ja'far bin Suleiman, from Abd Rabbeh Abu Ka'b Al-Jurmozi: that Ziyad, when he came to Kufa as a ruler, asked: "Who is the most devout of the people of Kufa?" It was said: "So-and-so the Himyari. So, he sent for him, and behold, he was pious and humble in his ways. Ziyad commented: "If this man deviates, the people of Kufa would deviate with him." He said: "I sent for you with an intention of goodwill." He replied: "I am in need of goodwill indeed." Then Ziyad said: "I sent for you intending to support you monetarily and give you gifts, on the condition that you stay at your home and not leave."

The man exclaimed: "Praise be to Allah, a single prayer in congregation is dearer to me than the whole world, and visiting a brother or tending to him is dearer to me than the whole world. Thus, there is no way to what you suggest. Ziyad then said: "Then go out, pray in congregation, visit your brothers, attend to the sick, and hold your tongue." The man retorted: "Praise be to Allah, should I see a good deed and not speak of it? Should I see a wrong and not condemn it? By Allah, just one stand against these is dearer to me than the whole world."

Ziyad said: "O Abu so-and-so", - Ja'far said: "I think the man was Abu Al-Mughira" - "Bring me the sword". Upon hearing "the sword?" 105 Ziyad affirmed: "Yes, the sword". He then ordered its use, and the man’s neck was struck. When Ziyad was on his death bed, he was told: "Rejoice". He responded: "How can I while Abu Al-Mughira is on the way?"