পৃষ্ঠা 99: প্রথম অধ্যায়: দূরবর্তী আলামতসমূহ যা ইতিমধ্যে প্রকাশ পেয়ে অতিক্রান্ত হয়েছে

O wolf crying out in the early dawn, come hither, let me tell you of what has become clear to me.

It has become clear to me that I have been orphaned, and that I am the sole remnant of a people who have bequeathed me sorrow and weeping.

And there is no harm, for I shall soon follow those who have passed away, and whoever remains after me shall surely follow me.

Ibn Abi al-Dunya said: Al-Fadl ibn Ja'far narrated to me, saying: Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Bajali narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Taymi narrated to me, saying: An Arab clan settled near us, and plague struck them. They all perished except for a sick young girl who remained. When she regained consciousness, she began asking about her father, her mother, and her sister, and it was said to her: 'He has died; she has died; she has died.' So she raised her hands and said:

'Were it not for shared sorrow, I would not have lived among people for a single hour; but whenever I cry out, one who is like me answers me.'

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: In Egypt, there was a plague in the year sixty-six, and then another in the year of the death of 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Marwan in the year eighty-five (and it was said: the year eighty-two, or eighty-four, or eighty-six). There was also a plague in the Levant (al-Sham) in the year seventy-nine, as mentioned by Ibn Jarir and others.

Then the Plague of the Young Maidens (Ta'un al-Fatayat) occurred in Basra in the year eighty-seven.

It was called so due to the vast number of young women and virgins who perished in it.

Ibn Abi al-Dunya said in 'al-I'tibar': Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Utham al-Kilabi narrated to me, saying: I heard Hamid ibn 'Umar ibn Hafs al-Bakrawi saying: Abu Bahr al-Bakrawi narrated to me, on the authority of his mother, who said: We fled from the Plague of the Young Maidens and camped near Sanam. She said: A man from the Arabs arrived with his ten sons and settled near us. Only a few days passed before all of his sons died. He used to sit between their graves and say:

'May my soul be ransomed for the young men who all perished, on a hillock adjacent to Sanam.'

'Whenever I recall their memory, I say: May my soul be ransomed for those departed souls and skulls resting in the graves.'

'Never have I seen the likes of them all perish together, nor have I ever witnessed a year like this year.'

She said: 'And he would make anyone who heard him weep.'