Page 165: Chapter 12: Contemplating the Inevitability of the Grave and Dissolution of the Body

...after this, how much does the dust consume from the body of the son of Adam, and how many pathways do worms bore through it! And indeed, I warn you and myself, O people, of the presentation before Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

Al-Hafiz Abu Nu'aym narrated with his chain of transmission that 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz once followed a funeral of a member of his family, then turned to his companions and admonished them. He mentioned the worldly life and censured it, and mentioned its inhabitants, their indulging in its pleasures, and the graves to which they ended up. Among his words he said: 'If you pass by them, call out to them if you are to call, and summon them if you are to summon. Pass through their encampment and look at how close their dwellings are to one another. Ask their wealthy: What remains of his wealth? And ask their poor: What remains of his poverty? Ask them about the tongues with which they used to speak, and about the eyes with which they used to gaze upon pleasures. Ask them about the delicate skins, the handsome faces, and the tender bodies: what have the worms done to them beneath the shrouds? They have consumed the flesh, covered the faces in dust, erased all beauty, broken the vertebrae, separated the limbs, and torn the bodies apart! Where are their chamberlains and domes? Where are their servants and slaves? Where are their hoards and treasures? It is as though they never stepped upon a bed, never leaned upon a cushion, never planted a tree, nor made the grave their eternal abode. Are they not in dwellings of solitude? Are not night and day the same to them? Are they not in pitch darkness? A barrier has been placed between them and deeds, and they have parted from loved ones. How many a pampered man and pampered woman have ended up with their faces decayed, their heads severed from their necks, their joints torn apart, their pupils melted onto their cheeks, their mouths filled with blood and pus, and the creeping creatures of the earth crawled through their bodies, scattering their limbs! Then, it was not long before the bones turned to ashes. They have departed the gardens, and after abundance they have ended up in tight confines. Their women have remarried, their children wander in the streets, and their relatives have divided their homes and estates. Yet among them, by Allah, is the one for whom his grave is made spacious, who is fresh and joyful within it, delighting in its bliss. O dweller of the grave tomorrow, what deceived you concerning the worldly life? Where is your spacious mansion and your flowing river? Where are your ripe fruits? Where are your fine garments? Where is your fragrance and incense? Where is your clothing for summer and winter? Did you not see him when the decree befell him, unable to ward off any harm from himself, sweating profusely, smacking his lips in thirst, tossing and turning in the agonies and stupor of death? The command arrived from heaven, and the overwhelming decree and destiny came to pass. Alas! O you who closed the eyes of the father, the brother, and the son, and washed him! O you who shrouded the deceased, entered him into the grave, and turned away from him! If only I knew, on which of your two cheeks did decay begin? O neighbor of the perished, you have settled in the abode of death! If only I knew, on which of your two cheeks did decay begin? O neighbor of the perished, you have settled in the abode of death! If only I knew, with what will the Angel of Death meet me upon my departure from this world, and what message will he bring me from my Lord!'

Then he departed, and after that, he lived for only a week.