Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

[eesa the kiwi]

Never Give Up Re-pent-ing

It is reported that a man came to ʿAlī – Allāh be pleased with him – and asked, What do you think about a man who committed a sin? He replied, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. [The man] said, He did that, but then sinned again? [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man again said, He did that, but returned to sin. [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man said for the fourth time, He did, but then sinned again. ʿAlī then said, Until when?Then he said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him; and not give up until it is Shayṭān who is defeated [overcome].

Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 910

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported that Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī was asked:

Is knowledge today greater or lesser [in amount]? He replied, “There is more speech today, but there was more knowledge in the past.”

Al-Fasawī, Al-Ma’rifah wa Al-Tārīkh 2:136.

 

[eesa the kiwi]

Delving into Falsehood (I’ll take what’s good)

It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Ad-ham – Allāh have mercy on him – saidelving into falsehood removes the ability to recognize the truth from the heart.

Abu Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 8:22.

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

How fast these days are in doing away with our lifespans, and how fast this year is in doing away with its months, and how fast this month is in doing away with its days.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-ʿUmr was Al-Shayb article 25.

 

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Ya’lā b. ‘Ubayd said,

“We entered upon Ibn Sūqah, who said: ‘O nephew, let me relate to you something that will hopefully benefit you; for it benefited me. ‘Atā b. Abī Rabāh once said to us:'”Those before you used to consider idle talk to be anything other than the Book of Allāh, or the enjoining of good, or the forbidding of evil, or speaking for the sake of your basic living needs. Do you deny that there are recording angels appointed over you? Sitting on your right and your left? Never is a word said except there is an observer prepared to record? Are you not afraid (ashamed) that your record of words and deeds be spread open only to discover that there is nothing of the hereafter in it?

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 5:86

 

[eesa the kiwi]

Two Rare Things in Decline

It is reported that Yūnus b. ‘Ubayd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:I do not know anything rarer than a good dirham (money earnt lawfully) whose owner spends it on something right, or a brother in Islām in whose company one finds peace. And they are only getting rarer.Abu Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 3:17

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported from Abû Hurayrah – Allâh be pleased with him – that he said:

Shall I not point you to comfortable proceeds? People responded, “And what is that o Abû Hurayrah?” He replied, “Fasting in winter.”

The Arabs used to refer to matters which were relatively easy to gain as being cool. In this narration, the relative ease of fasting in winter and its consequent reward is likened to acquiring war proceeds without the heat of violence.

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported from ‘Umar – Allâh be pleased with him – that he said:

Winter is booty for the devout worshippers.

This is further explained in the following narration:

It is reported from ‘Ubayd b. ‘Umayr – Allâh have mercy on him – that he said:

It used to be said when winter came: O people of the Qur`ân, the night has become long so you can pray (more) and the day has become short for you to fast.

 

['Abdullah]

ʿAbdullah b. Mas’ūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Falling asleep when remembering Allāh is from Shayṭān; if you want you can test this: when you lie down and want to fall asleep, try remembering Allāh ‘azza wa jall.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Shaykh Al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Vol. 1 p490.

 

[eesa the kiwi]

A Preserved State of Knowledge

It is reported that ‘Adī b. Hātim – Allāh be pleased with him – said:You will remain in a good state as long as you do not approve what you used to know to be wrong or censure what you used to know to be right, and as long as the knowledgeable (scholar) amongst you can speak amongst you without fear.

Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā article 26.

 

[MazharShafiq]

There is nothing that corrupts a person or rectifies him more than [his] companion.

Sufyān Al-Thawrī, Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā (504)

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr said,

“I asked my grandmother Asmā` (bint Abī Bakr) – Allāh be pleased with her, ‘How were the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh peace and praise be upon him – when they heard the Quran?’
She replied, ‘their eyes would shed tears and they would tremble (with fear), as Allāh described them (in the Quran).
I said, ‘There are some people here who, when they hear the Quran, fall down unconscious,’
She said, ‘I seek refuge with Allāh from the accursed Shayṭān.’”

Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Īmān 3:417; Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq 3:54 with a slightly variant wording.

It is also reported that Asmā` was asked,

“Did any of the Salaf used to faint out of the fear of Allāh?” She replied, “No, but they used to cry.”

Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p214.

It is reported that Ibn ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with him – once passed by a man from Iraq who had dropped unconscious.

He asked, “What is wrong with him?” [People] replied, “When the Quran is recited to him or he hears the remembrance of Allāh he falls unconscious out of his fear of Allāh.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “We fear Allāh and we do not drop unconscious!”

Ibid p214; Al-Baghawī in his Tafsīr, Sūrah Al-Zumar: 23 with a slightly variant wording.

It is reported that Anas b. Mālik was asked about people who drop unconscious when the Quran is recited to them. He said,

“That is the behavior of the Khawārij.”

Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p215.

It is reported that Muḥammad b. Sīrīn said, having been asked about a man who drops unconscious when the Quran is recited to him,

“Make an appointment between us and him, we will sit on a wall, and the Quran – from beginning to end – will be recited unto him. If he falls off the wall, he is as he claims.”

Ibid., Al-Baghawī, op. cit.

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported from Al-Awzāʿī that he said:

Whoever remembers death often will find a small amount (of worldly things) sufficient for him; and whoever includes his speech in his deeds will speak little.

Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Al-Awzāʿī.

 

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr said,
Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Īmān 3:417; Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq 3:54 with a slightly variant wording.

It is also reported that Asmā` was asked,
Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p214.

It is reported that Ibn ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with him – once passed by a man from Iraq who had dropped unconscious.
Ibid p214; Al-Baghawī in his Tafsīr, Sūrah Al-Zumar: 23 with a slightly variant wording.

It is reported that Anas b. Mālik was asked about people who drop unconscious when the Quran is recited to them. He said,
Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p215.

It is reported that Muḥammad b. Sīrīn said, having been asked about a man who drops unconscious when the Quran is recited to him,
Ibid., Al-Baghawī, op. cit.

May Allah bless you

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Al Fudail Ibn 'Iyaad said;

Do not feel lonely on the paths of guidance just because few people travel them, and do not be deceived by the abundance of destroyed travelers [on the paths of misguidance].

[The Book of Manners by Fu'ad Ibn 'Abdul-'Azeez Ash-Shulhoob, Page 31]

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported that if Hishām Al-Dustawā`ī – Allāh have mercy on him – didn’t have a torch on at home, he would toss and turn in bed until his wife would come with a torch. She asked him about this once, to which he replied:

“If I don’t have a torch, I think about the darkness of the grave.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of Hishām Al-Dustawā`ī.​

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Do not be hasty in praising people or blaming them, for perhaps what pleases you from a person today will displease you tomorrow, and perhaps what displeases you today, will please you tomorrow. Indeed, people change. It is Allāh who forgives the sins. And Allāh is more merciful to his servant the day he meets him than a mother who lays out a bed for her child in an empty patch of land and feels [the ground]: if there is a risk of being stung, it will be her instead of him (her child), and if there is a risk of being pricked by a thorn, it will be her instead of him.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān article 6177, and others.

 

['Abdullah]

It is reported that Imām ‘Abdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – was asked:

“Who are the [best] people?”
He replied, “The scholars.”
He was asked, “Who are the [real] kings?”
He replied, “the ascetics.”
He was asked, “And who are the dregs [of society]?”
He replied, “Those who use their religion as a means of devouring [wealth].”
He was asked, “Who are the rabble?”
He replied, “Khuzaymah b. Khāzim and his companions.”
And he was asked, “And who is the low person?”
He replied, “The one who talks about the rise in prices to his guest.”

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 2:181.

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

How fast these days are in doing away with our lifespans, and how fast this year is in doing away with its months, and how fast this month is in doing away with its days.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-ʿUmr was Al-Shayb article 25.

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Whoever hears of a bidʿah, let him not tell it to those who are with him, lest he cast it into their hearts.

Commenting, Al-Dhahabī states, “The majority of the Imāms of the Salaf are upon this; they see that the hearts are weak, and specious arguments ensnare.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 7:261.

 

[MazharShafiq]

It is reported that Imām Al-Awzāʿī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Learn what not to take like you learn what to take.

Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿu Bayyān Al-ʿIlm article 435.