when they arrived there, Saʾîd said to them, "O all ye people! I have been respected by you, and have been your companion, and I feel certain that my end draws near, and that my time is accomplished. Leave me alone, therefore, this night, that I may make provision for death, and prepare for Múnkar and Nakîr,[1] and reflect upon the torments of the grave, and that I must lie beneath the ground. And in the early morning I will come to any spot you may choose as a meeting-place between us."
Then said some among them, "We do not want to be following traces, having the man himself." And another one said, "And surely you would wish your desires fulfilled, and that the Amîr should deem you worthy of his favour; therefore leave him not alone." But then another said, "I take it upon myself to restore him to you, if it be the will of God."
Then they looked at Saʾîd, and tears were flowing
- ↑ Two angels through whom the dead, when laid in the grave, undergo a strict examination as to their past lives. There is a difference of opinion amongst Muslims as to these angels. Some hold that there are only two (Múnkar and Nakîr) by whom all human beings, whether true believers or infidels, are examined. Others maintain that these angels are four in number, Mûnkar and Nakîr being for infidels, and two other angels, named Mubâshir and Bashîr, for true believers.
