Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

Required Learning [What is a Muslim Required to Study?]
It is reported that Hasan b. Rabī’ asked ‘Abdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – about the meaning of the hadith, “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim”. He replied:
It is not [the expert knowledge of hadith and fiqh] you are seeking. Seeking knowledge is an obligation when a man comes to something concerning his religion (dīn): he is to ask about it until he knows it.

Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī, Al-Faqīh wa Al-Mutafaqqih article 162.

It is reported that ‘Alī b. Al-Hasan b. Shaqīq asked ‘Abdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him, “What knowledge is considered obligatory upon people to learn?”
He replied:
A man must not proceed to do anything except upon knowledge, He is to ask and learn. This is what is obligatory upon people as regards learning knowledge.
He explained further:
If there is a man who has no wealth, it is not obligatory upon him to learn Zakāh. When he has 200 dirham, it becomes obligatory upon him to learn how much (Zakāh) he has to pay, when he has to pay, and who he has to pay. This is also the way with everything else.

Al-Baghdādī, op. cit. article 163.

It is reported that Ibn Wahb once mentioned knowledge, to which Imām Mālik – Allāh have mercy on him – commented:
Knowledge is surely good, but look to what is binding upon you from the beginning of your day to its end, and from the end of your day to the following morning, adhere to that and do not give preference to [learning] anything else.

Al-Baghdādī, op. cit. article 165.

It is reported from ‘Abdullāh b. Ahmad b. Hanbal that he asked his father (Imām Ahmad) – Allāh have mercy on him – whether it is obligatory upon a man to seek knowledge. He replied:
As for [the knowledge] through which he can uphold his prayers, and other matters of his religion like fasting, Zakāh – and he mentioned the other main aspects of the religion – then a man should know about that.

Al-Baghdādī, op. cit. article 166.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/required-learning-muslim-required-study/
 
Hypocrisy Today

Ḥudhayfah b. Al-Yamān – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
The munāfiqūn (hypocrites) amongst you today are worse than those in the time of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him.
He was asked, “How is that o Abū ʿAbdillāh”?
He replied:
Because those [in the time of the Prophet] used to hide their nifāq (hypocrisy), whereas the hypocrites of today commit [hypocrisy] openly.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ hadith 7113.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/hypocrisy-today/
 
The Madhab of Imam Malik

Ma’an b. ‘Īsā reports that Imām Mālik said, “I am but a man. I make mistakes sometimes and I am correct sometimes, so examine my opinions and accept anything that agrees with the Book and Sunnah; and leave anything that does not agree with the Book and Sunnah.”

Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihi Vol.2 p465.
 
How the Salaf studied the Quran
Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

When a man amongst us learned ten verses [of the Quran], he would not move on [to the next verses] until he had understood their meanings and how to act by them.
Al-Ṭabarī, Al-Tafsīr 1:80. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ.

Abū ‘Abd Al-Raḥmān Al-Sulamī said:

Those who used to teach us the Quran (the Companions) told us that they used to learn the Quran from the Prophet – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him; when they had learnt ten verses they would not move on until they put into practice what was in them. So we learnt knowledge and deeds (implementation) together.
Ibid. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ also.
 
True Goodness
It is reported that ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Goodness is not in your wealth and offspring being plentiful; true goodness is when your [good] deeds are plenty and you have great understanding and forbearance, and when you compete to worship your Lord. If you do good you praise Allāh and thank Him, and if you sin you beg Allāh’s forgiveness. There is no good in this life except with two types of men:

  1. A man who sins but then corrects himself through repentance, &
  2. A man who strives and hastens to get [the good] of the hereafter.


Ibn ‘Asākir, Al-Tawbah article 13.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/true-goodness/
 
It is reported that Abū Ayyūb Al-Anṣārī – Allāh be pleased with him – said, “A person might do a single good deed, rely on it and forget sins that he regards insignificant, but then meet Allāh (on the Day of Judgment) with those sins surrounding him. And a man might commit a sin, but never stop fearing its consequences, until he meets Allāh safe and sound.”

Al-Ḥāfidh Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ Al-Bārī, references this narration to Asad b. Mūsā’s Al-Zuhd. A slightly different wording is reported by Ibn Al-Mubārak in Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq Vol.1 p170.
 
[h=2]A Comfortable Life[/h]It is reported that ʿUmar b. ʿAbd Al-‘Azīz once wrote to Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī to get a brief exhortation from him, so Al-Ḥasan wrote back , “The dunyā distracts and preoccupies the heart and body, but al-zuhd (asceticism, not giving importance to worldly things) gives rest to the heart and body. Verily, Allāh will ask us about the ḥalāl things we enjoyed, so what about the ḥarām!”
Al-Bayhaqī, Al-Zuhd Al-Kabīr, article 26.
 
Intentions First

The Prophet Muhammad – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – said:

Actions are but by intentions, and everyone will have what he intended. So whoever migrated to Allah and His Messenger, he migrated to Allah and His Messenger. But whoever migrated for some worldly benefit, or to take a woman in marriage, then his migration was only to what he migrated to.

Al-Bukhāri, Muslim and others.

Traditionally, Muslim scholars chose to begin their works by quoting this hadīth, or report, from the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Here is a brief commentary taken from Ibn Rajab’s Jāmi’ Al-‘Ulūm wa Al-Hikam, in which he explains the entire Forty Hadīth collection of Al-Nawawi:

Imām Al-Bukhārī (as Al-Nawawi later did in his Forty Hadīth) begins his Sahīh collection with this hadīth, reminding us that any deed through which Allah’s pleasure is not sought is futile; it will bear no fruits in this life or the hereafter.

ʿAbd Al-Rahmān b. Mahdī, the great scholar of hadīth, said, “If I were to compile a work in chapters, I would place this hadīth at the beginning of each one.” He also said, “Whoever wishes to author a book, he should begin with the hadīth about intentions.”

This hadīth forms a fundamental principle of Islām and an axis around which this way of life revolves.

It is reported that Imām Al-Shāfi’ī said, “This hadīth constitutes a third of all knowledge, and it relates to seventy areas of fiqh (correct understanding of the religion).”

It is reported from Imām Ahmad that he said, “The foundations of Islām are upon three hadīth: the one reported by ʿUmar – ‘Actions are but by intentions’, the one reported by ‘Āishah – ‘Whoever does a deed that does not conform to our commands will have it rejected’ and the one reported by Al-Nu’mān b. Bashīr – ‘The halāl and harām are clear…’”

This hadīth teaches us the principle that acceptance of our deeds and whether or not they are regarded as righteous depends primarily on what the intention behind them is. If the intention is good and pure – to receive Allah’s pleasure and reward, the deed is righteous. Otherwise the deed is futile and false. This is the first thing that needs to be dealt with.

The second condition which needs to be met for our deeds to be accepted by Allah is that they should be in conformity with Islām’s true teachings as taught to us by the Prophet – peace and blessing be upon him – and as understood and applied by the Righteous Predecessors. Hence, the Prophet stated:

Whoever does a deed that does not conform to our commands will have it rejected.

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/intentions-first/
 
One of the reported instructions ʿUmar wrote to Abū Mūsā Al-Ash’arī and those under his governance during the former’s Caliphate was, “Seek knowledge and understanding of (fiqh) the Sunnah and seek knowledge and understanding of Arabic.”
Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf Vol.6 p126.
It is reported that he said, “Learn Arabic, for it strengthens the intelligence and increases one’s noble conduct (al-murū`ah).”
Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Īmān Vol.4 p187.
 
Three Laughs and Three Tears

It is reported form Abū Al-Dardā – Allāh be pleased with him – that he said, “Three make me laugh, and three make me cry.

Those that make me laugh are a person who puts his hopes in this worldly life while death pursues him, a person who is heedless [of his Lord] while [his Lord] is not heedless of him, and a person who always laughs while he does not know whether he has pleased Allāh or angered Him.

What makes me cry is being separated from my beloved: Muhammad and his party (the Companions), the horrors of the time of death, and standing in front of Allāh ‘azza wa jall on the Day when the secrets will be revealed and I do not know will I then go to Paradise or Hell?”

Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq article 250.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/three-laughs-and-three-tears/
 
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh’s mercy be upon him – was criticized for spending on [other people in] other lands and not his own

. In response, he said, “I know the locations of virtuous, sincere and truthful people who seek and study ḥadīth and do it well because people are in need of them. They are needy, and if we leave them, their knowledge will be lost; but if we help them, they will spread knowledge to the Ummah of Muḥammad – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him. I do not know of anything more virtuous, after Prophecy, than spreading knowledge.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak.
 
The Zuhd of Abu Ubaydah and the Tears of Umar

It is reported from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar:
When ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb arrived in Al-Shām, he said to Abū ʿUbaydah – Allāh be pleased with them: “Take us to your home.” Abū ʿUbaydah said, “And what will you do with my home?” ʿUmar replied, “Just take us there.” Abū ʿUbaydah said, “You only want to cry your eyes out over me.” So he entered his house and saw nothing [by way of furnishings] in it. ʿUmar asked, “Where are your things? I see nothing but rags, a water-skin and a dish (tray), and you are a governor! Do you have food?” So Abū ʿUbaydah went over to an old pail (bucket) and took out some scraps, and ʿUmar began to weep. Abu ʿUbaydah said to him, “I told you you would cry your eyes out over me. O Commander of the Believers, sufficient for you from the dunyā is what delivers you to your place of rest.” ʿUmar said, “The dunyā changed us all except you Abū ʿUbaydah.”

Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 123, and others.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/zuhd-abu-ubaydah-tears-umar/
 
It is reported from Ka’b Al-Aḥbār – Allāh have mercy on him – that he said:

Allāh chose from the months the month of Ramaḍān, from all the lands He chose Makkah, from the nights He chose Laylatu Al-Qadr (The Night of Decree), and chose the times for prayers; so a believer is always between two good deeds: one he has done and the other he is waiting to do.

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.2 p458.
 
Four Signs of the Wretched
It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Four signs of wretchedness are: [having] a hard heart, dry eyes [that never cry], extended hopes [about this life], and greed and keenness to amass worldly things (the dunyā).
Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 36.

https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/four-signs-of-the-wretched/

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[TR][TD]Four Signs of the Wretched - Sayings of the Salaf
It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrī - Allāh have mercy on him - said: Four signs of wretchedness are: a hard heart, dry eyes , extended hopes , and...[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
Seeking Reputation
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with them – said:
Whoever tries to make people hear of his deeds, Allāh will make [some] of His creation hear of him (expose him), and belittle him. Ibn ʿUmar then began to cry.
Wakīʿ b. Al-Jarrāḥ, Al-Zuhd #308.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/topic/the-heart/

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[TR][TD]the heart - Sayings of the Salaf
Topic: the heart ....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
It is reported that Ma’rūf Al-Karkhī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
When Allāh chooses good for a person He opens the door to action for him, and closes the door to argumentation; and when Allāh chooses evil for a person he opens the door of argumentation and closes the door to action.
Al-Khaṭīb Al-Baghdādī, Iqtḍā Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal, article 123.
 
Umar on the Virtue of Hajj
It is reported that ʿUmar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with him – once came out and saw a travelling party; he asked:
Who is this travelling party? They replied, “Pilgrims (on Hajj).” He asked them three times, “And nothing else has brought you forth?” They replied, “Nothing else.” He said, “If the travelers [on Hajj] knew who they were coming to, they would feel the delight of having great virtue after forgiveness [from Allāh]. By He in whose hand is ʿUmar’s soul, never does [the pilgrim’s] camel raise its hoof and place it back down except that Allāh raises [the pilgrim] in rank, forgives one of his sins and writes for him a good deed.”
ʿAbd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣan’ānī, Al-Muṣannaf 5: 4, 5.
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/umar-on-the-virtue-of-hajj/
 
[h=2]Won’t you collect your Share?[/h]Abū Hurayrah – Allāh be pleased with him – once passed by the market in Medinah. He stopped at the market and said, “O people of the market, how incapable you are!” They said, “And how is that Abū Hurayrah?” He replied, “Over there the inheritance of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – is being distributed and you are here! Won’t you go and take your share?” “Where is it?” they asked. He replied, “In the Masjid.” So they hurried to the Masjid and Abū Hurayrah waited for them until they returned. When they came back, he said, “What’s the matter?” They replied, “Abū Hurayrah! We went to the Masjid but we didn’t see anything being distributed.” Abū Hurayrah asked them, “And you didn’t see anyone in the Masjid?” They replied, “Indeed we did; we saw people praying, others reciting Qur`ān and others studying the regulations of ḥalāl and ḥarām.” So Abū Hurayrah said, “Woe to you! That is the inheritance of Muḥammad – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.”
Al-Ḥāfidh Al-Mundhirī said in Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb, “Reported by Al-Ṭabarāni in Al-Awsaṭ with a ḥasan chain of narrators.” Also graded ḥasan by Shaykh Al-Albānī. See his Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb Vol. 1 p19.
 
The Takbīr for ‘Eid

Ibn Mas’ūd – Allāh be pleased with him – used to say the takbīr during the Days of Tashrīq thus:

eid-takbeer

Allāh is Greatest, Allāh is Greatest, none deserves worship but Allāh. Allāh is Greatest, Allāh is Greatest, and to Him is all praise.

Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf Vol.2 p74. Shaykh Al-Albānī said its chain of narration is Ṣaḥīḥ.

‘Alī – Allāh be pleased with him – used to say the takbīr following the Fajr prayer on the Day of ‘Arafah until the ‘Aṣr prayer of the last day of Tashrīq – he used to say it after ‘Aṣr prayer (then stop).

Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf Vol.2 p72. Shaykh Al-Albānī said its chain of narration is good.

See Irwā Al-Ghalīl Vol.3 p125
https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/the-takbir-for-eid-al-adha/
 
ʿAbdullāh b. ‘Amr – Allāh be please with them both – said:
It would be better for a person to be turned to dust than to deliberately walk in front of a person who is praying.
Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Al-Tamhīd. Graded sahīh by Shaykh Al-Albānī in Sahīh Al-Targhībi wa Al-Tarhīb Vol. 1 p135.
 

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