Nahj al-Balāgha
Hadith 1623وَأُقْسِمُ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَوْ لَا بَعْضُ الِاسْتِبْقَاءِ لَوَصَلَتْ إِلَيْكَ مِنِّي قَوَارِعُ، تَقْرَعُ الْعَظْم، وَتَهْلِسُ اللَّحْمَ!
I swear by Allāh that, had it not been for (my) giving you time, you would have faced from me catastrophe that would have crushed the bones and removed the flesh.