Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

It is reported that Yūnus b. ʿUbayd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

There is no one who is mindful of what he says except that you will see the good of it in the rest of his actions.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-Ṣamt wa Ādāb Al-Lisān article 60.
 
It is reported that Al-Nuʿmān b. Bashīr – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

The example of the son of Adam and death is that of a man who has three friends. He says to one of them: “What do you have?” [The first friend] replies, “I have your wealth, take from it what you wish, and whatever you do not take, you will no longer possess.” Then he asks the second, “What do you have?” He replies, “I will look after you, and when you die, I will bury you and then leave you.” The man then asks the third, “What do you have?” He replies, “I will be with you wherever you go.” [Al-Nuʿmān] said, “As for the first one, it is the wealth of a person: whatever he uses is his, and whatever he does not use is not. As for the second, it is a man’s family and kin: when he dies they take care of him, then they leave him. As for the third, it is a man’s actions: wherever he goes (before and after death), they go with him.”

Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf ḥadīth 34723.
 
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Verily a man continues to be truthful until he is written with Allāh as a true believer (ṣiddīq); and he persists in truthfulness until there is not even the space of a needle for sinfulness left in his heart to settle. And a man lies and persists in lying until there is not even the space of a needle for goodness in his heart to settle.

Wakīʿ b. Al-Jarrāḥ, Al-Zuhd ḥadīth 398.
 
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.
 
Al-Muzanī reports:
I heard Al-Shāfiʿī say:

A man once asked Ubay b. Kaʿb – Allāh be pleased with him, “Exhort me with something I can benefit by and by which I will be rewarded.” He replied, “Be brotherly with brothers according to how righteous they are, do not expend your speech on those who are not interested in it, do not seek anyone to meet your need who does not care if he does not fulfil it, and do not envy the living except for something you would envy the dead.”

Al-Ājurrī, Juz fīhi Ḥikāyāt ʿan Al-Shāfiʿī article 24.
 
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.

bidʿah, daʿwah, knowledge, relationships
Sufyān Al-Thawrī
 
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
 
[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.
 
Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab said:

“Whoever decorates himself by displaying to the people some characteristics that Allaah knows are contrary to his real characteristics, will be disgraced and dishonoured by Allaah.” [Ad-Daaraqutnee, 4/207]
 
Al-Hasan Al-Basree said:

“To endure short-lived difficulties that are followed by long lasting ease, is better than hurrying for a short-lived ease that is followed by ever-lasting hardship.” [Al-Hilyah, 2/134]
 
Al-Fadl Ibn Muhammad Ash-Sha’raanee said:

“I never saw ‘Abdullaah Ibn Saalih (137-223H) except that he was narrating ahaadeeth or saying tasbeeh.” [Siyaar A’laamun Nubulaa, Vol. 10, Pp. 405-416]
 
Ash-Sha’bee said:

“For 20 years I have not heard a man narrate hadeeth except that I know more about it than him. I had forgotten some knowledge, the extent of which if a person were to memorize (it), he would be a scholar.”[]
 
Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyaad (d. 187) said:

“Whoever marries his beloved daughter to an innovator has cut off the ties of relationship with her.” [Al-Barbahaaree, An Explanation of the Creed, 137]
 
Mu’aadh ibn Jabal (ra) said:

“O’ people, you must seek knowledge before it is taken away, for indeed when its people (the scholars) die, it wll be taken away. And beware of bid’ah, innovation and sophistication, and adhere to the ancient way [i.e., the way of the Prophet (saw)].” [Al-Bidaayah wan-Nahy ‘anha by Ibn Waddaah]
 
Abû Bakr Al-Matû’î said:I sat in the circle of Abû ‘Abdillâh Ahmad b. Hanbal for twelve years while he read the Musnad to his children, and I never wrote a single hadîth, I only looked at his behavior, character and etiquette.
Ibn Al-Jawzî, Manâqib Ahmad, article 210.
 
It is reported from Al-Awzâ’î – Allâh have mercy on him – that he said:
I have been told that it used to be said, “Woe to those who study [their religion] for a purpose other than worship, and those who seek to permit what is forbidden through doubts and specious arguments.”
Al-Khattîb Al-Baghdâdî, Iqtdâ Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal, p77.
 
It is reported from Al-Hasan Al-Basrî – Allâh have mercy on him – that he said:

The life of this world is made up of three days: yesterday has gone with all that was done; tomorrow, you may never reach; but today is for you so do what you should do today.


Al-Bayhaqî, Al-Zuhd Al-Kabîr p197.
 
It is reported that Ḥabīb b. ʿUbayd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Learn knowledge, understand it and benefit from it (live by it); and do not study it in order to decorate yourself with it, for if you live long you will likely see a time when knowledge will be used for beautification like a man beautifies himself with his garments.

Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqāʾiq no. 1056.
 
It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Safety lies in not wanting to be known.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 7:258
 
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
 

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