Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drew a square (a rectangular diagram) and drew a line in the middle of it, and drew lines around it, and drew a line that extended outside the square. He said:“This middle line is man,”and regarding the lines in the shape of the square, he said:“This is his appointed term (death),”and regarding the small lines, he said:“These are incidents (the illnesses and calamities that befall a person). If one incident misses him, another seizes him, and the man dies. And the line that extends outside is hope and desire.”