When he had done， he read the seventy-fourth chapter （of the Koran）， beginning， "O thou that coverest thyself！" till he came to where God says， "When the trumpet is blown，" and fell down dead." It is said that Thabit el Benani wept till he well nigh lost his eyes. They brought him a man to tend him， who said to him， "I will cure thee， provided thou do my bidding." "In what respect？" asked Thabit. "In that thou leave weeping，" replied the physician. "What is the use of my eyes，" rejoined Thabit， "if they do not weep？" Said a man to Mohammed ibn Abdallah， "Exhort me." "I exhort thee，" replied he， "to be an abstinent possessor in this world and a greedy slave in the next." "How so？" asked the other； and Mohammed said， "The abstinent man in this world possesses both this world and the world to come." Quoth Ghauth ben Abdallah， "There were two brothers among the people of Israel， one of whom said to the other， "What is the worst thing thou hast done？" "One day，" answered the other， "I came upon a nest of young birds； so I took out one and threw it back into the nest； but the others drew apart from it. This is the worst thing I ever did； so now tell me what is the worst thing thou hast ever done." "When I betake myself to prayer，" rejoined the first， "I am fearful to have done so only for the sake of the reward. This is the worst thing I have done." Now their father heard what they said and exclaimed， "O my God， if they speak the truth， take them to Thyself！" Quoth one of the wise men， "Verily these were of the most virtuous of children."" Quoth Said ben Jubeir，[FN#74] "I was once in company with Fuzaleh ibn Ubeid and said to him， "Give me some good counsel." "Bear in mind these two things，" replied he.
"Attribute no partner to God， and do no hurt to any of His creatures." And he repeated the following verses：
Be as thou wilt and banish dread and care， For God is bountiful and debonair；
So of two things， the doing hurt to men And giving God a partner，thou beware."
And how well saith the poet：
If thou neglect with pious works for death to furnish thee And after meet with one equipped with store of piety，Thou wilt， when all too late， repent that thou wert not like him And didst not for the other world make ready as did he."
Then the second damsel withdrew and a third came forward and spoke as follows. "Indeed， the chapter of piety is a very wide one； but I will mention what occurs to me thereof， concerning pious men of old time. Quoth a certain holy man， "I rejoice in death， though I am not assured of ease therein， save that I know death interposes between a man and his works； so I hope for multiplication of good works and cessation of evil ones." Itaa es Selemi， when he had made an end of an exhortation， was wont to tremble and weep sore. It was asked him why he did this and he replied， "I purpose （or am about） to enter upon a grave matter，and it is the standing up before God the Most High， to do in accordance with my exhortation." In like manner Zein el Aabidin[FN#75] was wont to tremble when he rose to pray. Being asked the reason of this， he replied， "Do ye not know before whom I stand and to whom I address myself？" It is said that there lived near Sufyan eth Thauri[FN#76] a blind man who， when the month of Ramazan came， went out with the folk to pray， but remained silent and hung back （in repeating the prayers）. Said Sufyan， "On the Day of Resurrection， he shall come with the people of the Koran[FN#77] and they will be distinguished from their fellows by excess of honour." Quoth Sufyan， "Were the soul stablished in the heart as it befits， it would fly away， for joy and longing for Paradise and grief and fear of hell-fire." It is related also of Sufyan that he said， "To look upon the face of a tyrant is a sin.""
Then the third damsel retired and a fourth came forward， who said， "I will treat of sundry traditions of pious men. It is related that Bishr el Hafi[FN#78] said， "I once heard Khalid say， "Beware of secret hypocrisy." Quoth I， "What is secret hypocrisy？" He answered， "When one of you， in praying， prolongs his inclinations and prostrations till a cause of impurity[FN#79]
