Reference: Siyar A'laam an-Nubalaa v11 p177
al-Marwathee said, I said to :
'How are you this morning?'He [Ahmad ibn Hanbal رحمه الله] replied:
'How can one be in the morning when his Lord demands he fulfil [his] religious obligations, and his Prophet demands he uphold the Sunnah, and the two Angels [on each shoulder] demand he rectify his actions, and his soul demands he pursue his desires, and Iblees demands he pursue forbidden deeds, and his family demands he provide for them - [all while] the Angel of Death watches over, [waiting] to seize his soul?!'
