Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

It is reported that Masrūq – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
To (be guaranteed) one day in which I issue correct and just verdicts (fatwā) is more beloved to me than fighting in battle (ghazwah, jihād) for a year.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 4:66
 
Anas b. Mālik reports:

A young man who had stolen was brought to ʿUmar (for punishment). He said, “By Allāh I have never stolen before this time.” So ʿUmar responded, “You lie, Allāh would not (or does not) surrender a servant of His on the first sin.”

Abū Dāwūd, Al-Zuhd article 56, and others. Graded ṣaḥīh by Ibn Kathīr and others.
 
ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān b. Abī Laylā reports:

A man from his people, from the Anṣār, went out one night to pray ʿIshāʾ with his people [during the Caliphate of ʿUmar], but some jinn abducted him, and he went missing. His wife went to ʿUmar and told him [of her missing husband]. ʿUmar asked his people about him, and they confirmed that he had gone out to pray ʿIshāʾ but had gone missing. [ʿUmar] told the woman to wait for four years.

When four years had passed, the woman went back to ʿUmar and informed him [of her case]. He asked her people and they confirmed the case. He told her she could now marry, and she did. But her [first] husband returned and raised a dispute [over the marriage] to ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb – Allāh be pleased with him. ʿUmar said, “One of you disappears for ages, his family does not know whether he is alive or not [and then he turns up, making claims]!” The man replied, “O Leader of the Believers, I have an excuse.” He asked, “And what is your excuse?” The man replied, “I went out to pray ʿIshāʾ one night, but some jinn captured me, and I [was held captive] by them for a long time. Then, some Muʾmin – or Muslim (one of the reporters, Saʿīd, was not sure of the exact word used) jinn waged an attack on them, fought them and beat them, and took captives. They took me amongst the captives, but said, ‘We see that you are a Muslim man, and it is not allowed for us to keep you captive.’ So they gave me the choice of staying with them or returning to my family. I chose to return to my family. They set off with me. By night, no one would say anything to me; but by day there would be a stick I would follow.”

ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with him – asked the man, “What was your food when you were amongst them?” He replied, “Difficult [stolen?] food, and what had not had the name of Allāh mentioned over it.” ʿUmar asked, “And what did you drink when you were amongst them?” He replied, “Al-jadaf (a type of drink that does not ferment).”
 
Two Rare Things in DeclineIt 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
 
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

The Prophet (ﷺ) was the most generous amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel visited him, and Gabriel used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet (ﷺ) used to recite the Holy Qur'an to Gabriel, and when Gabriel met him, he used to be more generous than a fast wind (which causes rain and welfare).
 
It is reported that Ḥudhayfah b. Al-Yamān – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

True misguidance is that you approve now what you used to repudiate before (because it was wrong) and repudiate now what you used to approve before; and be aware of changing colours in the religion, for the religion of Allāh is one.

Ibn Baṭṭah, Al-Ibānatu Al-Kubrā ḥadīth 25, and others.
 
It is reported that ʿAdī b. Ḥātim – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

You will remain upon good as long as you do not start approving of what you used to repudiate and as long as you do not repudiate what you used to know (to be right), and as long as your scholar can speak amongst you without fear.

Op. cit. ḥadīth 26.
 
Who are The Jama’ah (Main Body of the Muslims)?It is reported that Isḥāq b. Rāhuway – Allāh have mercy on him – said:


If you ask the ignorant: ‘Who are Al-Sawād Al-Aʿẓam (Main Body of the Muslims)?’ they will say, ‘All the people (together).’ But they do not know that The Jamā’ah (Main Body) is a scholar who follows the footsteps of the Prophet – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him – and his way. So whoever is with him and follows him is [one of] The Jamā’ah, but whoever contradicts him in it leaves The Jamā’ah.


Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā` 9:238,239 et al
 
[h=2]The Revival of Knowledge[/h]It is reported that Imām Al-Zuhrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Those of our scholars who went before us used to say,”Adherence to the Sunnah is salvation, but knowledge is taken away quickly, so the revival of knowledge means the stability of religion and worldly affairs, and the loss of knowledge means the loss of all that.”
​
Al-Lālakā`ī, Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah article 136
 
Umar b. Al-Khattāb once entered upon Abū Bakr – Allāh be pleased with them both – and found him pulling at his tongue. He said, “Oh, what are you doing?” Abū Bakr replied, “It is this (i.e my speech) that has brought me so much trouble.”
​
Mālik, Al-Muatta 2:988
 
It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī said:

Son of Ādam, you will never find the reality of īmān as long as you fault people for doing what you yourself are guilty of, until you clear yourself of that fault and correct it. Then, you will not correct a fault in yourself except that you will notice another, so your occupation will become correcting yourself, and this is the most beloved thing to Allāh, when you are like this.

Al-Khaṭīb Al-Baġdādī, Al-Muntakhab min Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqāʾiq, article 41.
 
It is reported that ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

We only used to own a single ram’s skin (leather mat), we used to sleep on one end of it and Fāṭimah used to knead dough on the other end.

Wakīʿ b. Al-Jarrāḥ, Al-Zuhd article 114.
 
It is reported that Abū Ḥāzim Salamah b. Dīnār – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

You cannot be a scholar unless you have three traits: you do not transgress against those above you, you do not look down on those lesser than you, and you do not take any dunyā in return for your knowledge.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān 3:282, article 1655.
 
It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

I have not seen less zuhd (abstinence) in anything than leadership; you can see a man renouncing food, drink, wealth and clothing, but if his leadership is contested, he vehemently defends and has enmity over it.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 7:262.
 
[h=2]The Highest Standard[/h]
It is reported that Sufyān b. ‘Uyainah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Verily, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ is the highest standard; things are measured by him: his character, lifestyle and behavior. Whatever agrees with [these] is true and correct, and whatever contradicts [them] is wrong.
Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī, Akhlāq Al-Rāwī wa Ādāb Al-Sāmi’ article 8.
​
 
It is reported that Ḥudhayfah b. Al-Yamān – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

True misguidance is that you approve now what you used to repudiate before (because it was wrong) and repudiate now what you used to approve before; and be aware of changing colours in the religion, for the religion of Allāh is one.

Ibn Baṭṭah, Al-Ibānatu Al-Kubrā ḥadīth 25, and others.
 
It is reported that ʿAdī b. Ḥātim – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

You will remain upon good as long as you do not start approving of what you used to repudiate and as long as you do not repudiate what you used to know (to be right), and as long as your scholar can speak amongst you without fear.

Op. cit. ḥadīth 26.
 
It is reported that Al-Nuʿmān b. Bashīr – Allāh be pleased with him – said during a sermon he was delivering in Homs:

Total destruction lies in doing bad deeds during a time of calamity and tribulation.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-ʿUqūbāt article 327
 
It is reported that Al-Nuʿmān b. Bashīr – Allāh be pleased with him – said during a sermon he was delivering in Homs:

Total destruction lies in doing bad deeds during a time of calamity and tribulation.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-ʿUqūbāt article 327.
 
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

The insightful and wise do not trust that they are safe from four things: a past sin about which it is not known what the Lord Almighty will do, the remaining lifespan wherein it is not known what destruction lies, some (apparent) advantage a person is given but which could be a lure (from Allāh) in recompense for his wrongdoing, a misguidance that has been beautified – so that he thinks it is guidance – and a momentary deviation of the heart, for a person can be stripped of his religion without realizing it.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:406.
 

Similar Threads

Back
Top