33 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn narrated to me, he said: Abū al-Walīd ʿAyyāsh ibn ʿĀṣim al-Kalbī narrated to me, he said: Saʿīd ibn Ṣadaqa Abū Muhalhil narrated to me, he said: Sufyān al-Thawrī, may Allah have mercy on him, took me by the hand and took me out to the graveyard, so we withdrew to a side away from the path of the people. Then he wept and said: "O Abū Muhalhil! If you are able not to mix with anyone in this time of yours, then do so. Let your concern be the repair of your provision for the Hereafter, and beware of approaching these rulers. Turn fervently to Allāh, Almighty and Majestic, for your needs with Him, and devote yourself to Him concerning whatever burdens you. You must remain independent of all people, so raise your needs to the One for Whom no needs are too great. By Allāh, I do not know anyone today in al-Kūfa such that if I turned to him for a loan of ten dirhams and he lent them to me, he would not keep it secret for me, to the point that he would go about saying: 'Sufyān came to me asking for a loan, so I lent it to him.'" (1).