Amir al-mu'minīn's nocturnal reflections on asceticism

I saw that one night Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, came out from his bed and looked at the stars, then he said to me: “O Nawf, are you awake or sleeping?” I said: “I am awake, O Amīr al-mu’minīn.” Then he said:

O Nawf! Blessed be those who abstain from this world and are eager for the next world. They are the people who regard this earth as a floor; its dust as their bed-cloth; and its water as their perfume; they recite the…

O Nawf! The prophet Dāwūd (David), peace be upon him, rose up at a similar hour one night and said, “This is the hour when whatever a person prays for is granted to him unless he is a tax-collector, an intelligence man,…

As-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: It is also said that “‘arṭabah” means ‘ṭabl’ (drum) and “kūbah’’ means ‘lute’.