Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

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The Integrity of a Man and his Prayer

It is reported that Abū Al-‘Āliyah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

I would travel for days to a man to hear [knowledge/ḥadīth ] from him, and the first thing I would check about him is his prayer: if he performed it properly I would stay and hear [knowledge] from him, but if he neglected it, I would return without hearing from him, and I would say, ‘He will be even more neglectful of other matters.’

Al-Khaṭīb Al-Baghdādī, Al-Riḥlah fī Ṭalab Al-Ḥadīth article 22; Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 4:209.
 
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Abū Isḥāq [Al-Fazārī] states:

The enemy was never able to stand up to the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him, so when the news of the defeat of the Romans came to Heraclius at Antioch he asked [his people], “Woe to you, tell me about these people who fight you, are they not humans like you?” They replied, “Indeed, they are.” He asked, “So are you more in number or them?” They replied, “We outnumber them greatly in all places.” He said, “So how is it that you are defeated whenever you meet them [in battle].” A senior and esteemed elder amongst them replied, “Because they stand in prayer at night, fast during the day, fulfill their agreements and promises, enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil, they are fair and just amongst themselves; and because we drink wine, fornicate, commit sin, break our agreements, steal, oppress and do injustice, enjoin the committing of what angers Allāh and forbid what pleases Allāh the Mighty and Majestic, and we cause evil and corruption in the land.” Heraclius said, “You are the one who has told me the truth.”

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 4:91.
 
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The Age of Knowledge

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.
 
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It is reported that when Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī was on his deathbed, some of his companions came to him and said:

O Abū Sa’īd, offer us some words you can benefit us with. He replied, “I will equip you with three words, then you must leave me to face what I am facing. Be the farthest of people from those things you have been forbidden, and be the most involved of people in the good you have been commanded to do; and know that the steps you take are two steps: a step in your favor and a step against you, so be careful where you come and where you go.”

Abū Nu’yam, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā` 2:154
 
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Abdullāh b. ʿAwn – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

There are three things that I like for myself and for my brothers:

That the Muslim man looks to the Qurān; he learns it, recites it, ponders it and refers to it. Second, that he looks to the narrations and the Sunnah; he asks about it and follows it with all his efforts. Third, that he leaves alone all these people except when doing good.

Al-Bukhāri, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, no. 97 (in annotative, discontiguous form). The chain of transmission is connected in Al-Marwazī, Al-Sunnah, no. 108.
 
:assalam:

It is reported that Bilāl b. Saʿd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

A brother who, whenever you meet him, points out to you one of your faults (for you to correct yourself) is better for you than a brother who, whenever you meet him, puts a dīnār (money) in your hand.

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm no. 1428.
 
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It is reported that Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Beware of lying, for lying is far removed from īmān.

Abū Bakr Al-Ḵallāl, Al-Sunnah no. 1467, 1470; Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān no. 4463.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said in Al-Fawāʾid, …Thus, every good action – both outer and inner – comes from truthfulness, and every evil corrupt action – both outer and inner – comes from falsehood and lying
 
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It is reported that ʿAlī b. ʾAbī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Do not be with the sinner (fājir), for he will beautify to you the things he does, and he will want you to be like him; and he will beautify to you the worst of his practices; and his entrance upon you and leaving from your company will cause ignominy and discredit [of you].

And do not accompany the fool (aḥmaq), for he will exhaust himself [to help you] but will not benefit you, and he may want to benefit you but end up harming you; his silence is better than his speaking, his distance is better than his closeness, and him dying is better than him living.

And do not accompany the liar, for life will not benefit you with him, he will tell others what you say, and tell you what others say; and if you speak the truth, it will not be believed.

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir AlʿIlm no. 1379.
 
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It is reported that Yaḥyā b. Abī Kathīr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

It used to be said, “People have never honoured themselves with anything [better] than the obedience of Allāh, and they have never dishonoured themselves with anything [worse] than disobedience to Allāh.”

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Muḥāsabatu Al-Nafs article 98.
 
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It is reported that Abu Al-ʿĀlyah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

There are two blessings I have been blessed with, I know not which of them is greatest: that Allāh guided me to Islām, and that he did not make me a Ḥarūrī (from the Khawārij extremists).

ʿAbd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣanʿānī, Al-Muṣannaf ḥadīth 18667.
 
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It is reported that Saʿīd b. Jubayr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Verily, fear (al-khashyah) is that you fear Allāh such that your fear comes between you and your disobedience (of Allāh). That is khashyah. And dhikr (remembrance) is obedience to Allāh: whoever obeys Allāh has remembered Him; and whoever does not obey Him is not a rememberer of Him, even if he says a lot of tasbīḥ and recites a lot of Qurān.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 4:326.
 
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It is reported from Ḥabīb Al-Jallāb that he asked ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him:

“What is the best thing a person is ever given?” He replied, “Innate intelligence.” He then asked, “And if not that?” He replied, “Good conduct.” He then asked, “And if not that?” He replied, “A compassionate brother to consult.” He then asked, “And if not that?” He replied, “Long silence.” He asked, “And if not that?” Ibn Al-Mubārak replied, “Then an early death.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:397.
 
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It is reported that the inscription on the ring of Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī – Allāh be pleased with them – read:

You know, so now act (علِمت فاعمل).

Op. cit. article 1280.
 
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Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī reports that Abū Qilābah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

O Ayyūb, when Allāh brings about knowledge for you, bring about worship of him, and do not let your [sole] concern be to narrate it.

Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm, article 1279.
 
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It is reported that Al-Zuhrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said to Yūnus b. Yazīd:

O Yūnus! Do not try to overcome knowledge, for verily knowledge is [like vast] valleys: whichever of them you take will stop you before you traverse it. Instead, take it over the days and nights. And do not take knowledge all at once, for whoever tries to take it all at once will lose it all at once. Rather take it bit by bit over the days and nights.

Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm article 652.
 
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It is reported that Yaḥyā b. Abī Kathīr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

It used to be said, “People have never honoured themselves with anything [better] than the obedience of Allāh, and they have never dishonoured themselves with anything [worse] than disobedience to Allāh.”

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Muḥāsabatu Al-Nafs article 98.
 
Asalamu alaikum rahmatullah wa barakatu

It is reported that Abū Ḥāzim Salamah b. Dīnār – Allāh have mercy on him – was once asked:

“O Abū Ḥāzim, do you not see how prices have risen?” He replied, “And what is the worry? Verily, he (Allāh) who provides for us during deflation is the one who will provide for us during inflation.”

Abū Nuʿaym, Ḥilyatu Al-ʾAwliyāʾ 3:239.
 
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It is reported that Bakr b. ʿAbdillāh Al-Muzanī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

When you see someone older than you, say: he has preceded me in īmān and righteous actions so he is better than me; and when you see someone younger than you, say: I have preceded him in sinning and disobedience so he is better than me. And when you see your brothers honouring and revering you, say: this is a virtue they have attained; and when you see them falling short (in their treatment of you) say: this is [because of] a sin I committed.

Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifatu Al-Ṣafwah, article 505: Bakr b. ʿAbdillāh Al-Muzanī.
 
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The Strangeness of Iman
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-ʿAmr b. Al-ʿĀṣ – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Nifāq (hypocrisy) used to be something unusual amongst all the Īmān. Soon, Īmān will be something strange amongst all the nifāq.

Ibn Baṭṭah, Al-Ibānah 1:173 article 6
 
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ʿAbbād b. Al-ʿAwwām narrates:

Sharīk b. ʿAbdillāh came to us around fifty years ago, and we said to him, “O Abū ʿAbdillāh, here amongst us there are people from the Muʿtazilah who reject these āḥādīth [like]: ‘Allāh descends to the lowest heaven’, and ‘the people of Jannah will see their Lord’. So Sharīk narrated to me around ten such narrations, then said: ‘As for us, we have taken our religion from the sons of the Tābiʿīn, from the Ṣaḥābah. Who have they taken from?’”

Al-Ḏahabī, Al-ʿUluw. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Al-Albānī in Mukhtaṣar Al-ʿUluw article 146.
 

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