Sayyiduna Hasan Basri reports that when Sayyiduna 'Umar went to Syria, a Christian monk came to him. He was an old man, and on account of his religious exercises and great endeavors, his face was exhausted, his body was dry and his dressing was miserable. When Sayyiduna 'Umar & looked at him, he began to weep. People asked him about the cause of his weeping. He replied: "I pity the condition of this old man. This poor soul worked so hard and showed such readiness to lay down his life to achieve a particular purpose (that is, to gain the pleasure of Allah) but, alas! He could not achieve it. Then he recited the following verse: Many faces on that day will be looking down (disgraced because of embarrassment and fear). (Among these shall be) He who suffered affliction and who endured many difficulties (thinking that he was pleasing Allaah whereas his beliefs and actions did not conform with the injunctions of Allaah). Ghaashiyah: 2-3