“O son of Adam, you are but a collection of days; whenever a day passes, part of you passes away.”

Al-Hasan al-Basri (21–110 AH / 642–728 CE) was among the great figures of the generation after the Companions, and Abu Nu‘aym al-Isbahani preserves this saying of his in Hilyat al-Awliya’. Some transmissions continue it: “and when part of you has gone, it is not long before all of you goes.”