Arabic (Original)
قَالَ وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ رَجُلًا حَضَرَهُ الْمَوْتُ فَلَمَّا أَيِسَ مِنْ الْحَيَاةِ أَوْصَى أَهْلَهُ إِذَا أَنَا مُتُّ فَاجْمَعُوا لِي حَطَبًا كَثِيرًا جَزْلًا ثُمَّ أَوْقِدُوا فِيهِ نَارًا حَتَّى إِذَا أَكَلَتْ لَحْمِي وَخَلَصَ إِلَى عَظْمِي فَامْتَحَشَتْ فَخُذُوهَا فَاذْرُوهَا فِي الْيَمِّ فَفَعَلُوا فَجَمَعَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ وَقَالَ لَهُ لِمَ فَعَلْتَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ مِنْ خَشْيَتِكَ قَالَ فَغَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ قَالَ عُقْبَةُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو أَنَا سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ وَكَانَ نَبَّاشًا.
English Translation
He said: And I heard him say: "A man was visited by death, and when he despaired of life, he instructed his family: 'When I die, gather for me much firewood, in large logs, then kindle a fire in it, until it has consumed my flesh and reached my bone and charred it - then take it and scatter it into the sea.' So they did. Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, gathered him back to Himself and said to him: Why did you do that? He said: Out of fear of You. So Allah forgave him." Uqbah ibn Amr said: "I heard him say that, and he [the man in the account] had been a grave-robber."