"My ears have never heard anything of knowledge except that it has rested upon my heart (i.e. I have memorised it).

Whilst I would walk through the market of Baghdad, I could hear the sound of female singers from the rooms, so I would put my fingers in my ears (to block out the sound) out of fear that it may rest upon my heart (i.e. I may end up memorising the words)."

"If we carefully consider that which many of the du'aat are upon today, we find some of them are overcome by enthusiasm and as a result cause offence, such that the people have an aversion to their invitation (da'wah).

If they find someone doing something which is haraam, they make such a big thing of it and forcefully say: Don't you fear Allaah? or something similar to this, such that the person has an aversion to them, and this is not good because this is dealing with the issue in completely the opposite manner to that which is correct."

"That he who has knowledge does not become tired in protecting it.

This is because, if Allaah bestows knowledge upon you, then its place is in the heart and there is no need for containers or keys or the like.

It is protected in the heart and soul, and in time itself it is a protector for you, because it protects you from danger, with Allaah’s permission.

So knowledge protects you, whilst with property, you protect it by placing it in locked up containers, and despite all this, you still remain insecure about it."

"So the expiation (of sins) is by good actions.

And this means that if a person fears Allaah (has taqwa), Allaah will make it easy for him to do good actions with which he can make expiation (for the sins)."

"I heard ash-Shaafi’ee say: Adhere to the people of hadeeth, for certainly they are the most correct people."

"Knowledge is that which benefits, not that which is memorised."

"A man who is a miser with his knowledge is worse than a man who is a miser with his money, for the money-miser is afraid of using up what he possesses but the knowledge-miser is being mean with something which does not get used up and is not lost when it is given away."

"The most noble branches of knowledge are those which bring you close to the Creator and help you to be pleasing to Him."

"When you compare yourself with others in matters of wealth, position, and health, you should look at people less favoured than yourself. When you compare yourself with others in matters of religion, knowledge and virtue, look at people who are better than yourself."

"Anyone who spends his time studying something inferior, abandoning higher studies of which he is capable, is like someone who sows corn in a field capable of growing wheat, or who plants bushes in a soil which could support palm trees and olives."

"For 20 years, I have not heard a man narrate hadeeth except that I know more about it than him; (however) I had forgotten some knowledge (the extent of which) if a man was to memorise that (which I had forgotten) he would be an 'aalim."

"For 20 years I have not heard from any man who narrates hadeeth except that I know more about it than him."

"Certainly, I consider/regard a man who has forgotten knowledge which he used to know/possess to be the result of the sins he used to do."

"I drank some (Zam Zam water) once, whilst I was (just) beginning my studies in hadeeth, and asked Allaah to bless me with the level/calibre of ath-Thahabee in memorising hadeeth. I then performed hajj after a period of about 20 years, and found myself to have exceeded that level/calibre. So I asked Allaah for more than that, and I hope that Allaah will grant me that."

"I do not say this as a dedicated fanatic since he was my teacher, but I simply never saw anything comparable to him."