Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

[h=2]Praying for the Tawbah of the Sinner[/h]It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
If you see a man amongst you having committed a sin, do not supplicate Allāh against him and do not revile him; instead, pray to Allāh to cure him and accept his repentance, for when we used to see a man die upon something good, we would have hope for him, and when we used to see a man die upon wrongdoing, we would fear for him.
​
Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Tawbah article 112.
 
[h=2]How to Become the Most Devout, Careful and Richest Person[/h]It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Fulfil what Allāh has obligated you to do and you will be from the most devout of people, stay away from what Allāh has forbidden you and you will be from the most careful of people, and be satisfied with what Allāh has apportioned for you and you will be from the richest of people.
​
Hannād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd, article 1032.
 
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. Ḥusayn – Allāh have mercy on him – would sometimes ride to Makkah and return without entering it (meeting anyone there), and he used to sit with Aslam the freedman of ʿUmar (himself a scholar), so it was said to him, “You leave Quraysh, and instead sit with the slave of Banī ʿAdī!” So he replied, “A man [should] sit where he benefits.”
​
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 4:388.
 
It is reported that a man once came to Al-Shaʿbī – Allāh have mercy on him – and asked him about something, so he replied:
“Ibn Masʿūd used to say such-and-such [about this issue].” The man asked, “But tell me your opinion.” He replied, “Are you not all astonished by this man? I inform him of what Ibn Masʿūd [said] and he asks me my opinion. My religion is more important to me than that. By Allāh, I would rather sing a song than inform you of my opinion.”
​
Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan ḥadīth 108.
 
[h=2]The Diagnosis and the Cure[/h]It is reported that Qatādah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Verily the Qurān guides you to your disease and your treatment: as for your disease, it is your sins; and as for your treatment, it is to seek the forgiveness of Allāh.
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Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān 9:347 no. 6745.


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[TR][TD]The Diagnosis and the Cure - Sayings of the Salaf
The Quran tells us both what is wrong with us and how to fix it....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
[h=2]Arguing with a Scholar or an Ignoramus[/h]Yūnus reports: Maymūn b. Mihrān once wrote to me saying:
Beware of dispute and argumentation about the religion, and do not argue with a scholar nor an ignoramus. As for the scholar, he will withhold his knowledge from you, and will not be concerned with what you do. As for the ignorant person, he will only cause roughness in your heart and he will not obey you [anyway].
​
Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan no. 302.
 
It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
We used to narrate: Whoever faults his brother for a sin he has repented to Allāh from, Allāh will try him with that very sin.
​
Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Al-Zuhd p342 (Al-ʿIlmīyah ed., 1983).
 
[h=2]Benefiting from Happiness and Sadness[/h]It is reported that ʿIkrimah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Everyone gets happy and gets sad, but you should turn your happiness into gratitude (to Allāh) and your sadness into patience (ṣabr).
​
Ibn Kathīr, Tafsir of Al-Ḥadīd: 23.


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[TR][TD]Benefiting from Happiness and Sadness - Sayings of the Salaf
You can turn your emotions and feelings into worship....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
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.
 
[h=2]The Companion that Stays[/h]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:
ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn – Allāh have mercy on him – would sometimes ride to Makkah and return without entering it (meeting anyone there), and he used to sit with Aslam the freedman of ʿUmar (himself a scholar), so it was said to him, “You leave Quraysh, and instead sit with the slave of Banī ʿAdī!” So he replied, “A man [should] sit where he benefits.”
​
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 4:388
 
[h=2]Three Traits of the Scholar[/h]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.
 
[h=2]The Correct Place of Opinion[/h]Al-Awzāʿī reports that Caliph ʿUmar b. ʿAbd Al-ʿAzīz – Allāh have mercy on him – wrote (in his orders):
There is no place for anyone’s opinion [when it comes to] what is in the Book (revelation). The opinion of the imāms (great scholars) is only regarding what the Book did not come down with, and regarding which no Sunnah has passed from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. And the opinion of no one is counted in the face of a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ.
​
Al-Ājurrī, Al-Sharīʿah #113 et al.
 
[h=2]The Best Things a Person Can be Given[/h]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.”
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Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:397.
 
[h=2]Taking Knowledge in Stages[/h]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.
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Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm article 652.
 
[h=2]Knowledge is the Good of this Life[/h]It is reported that Abū Al-Dardāʾ – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
There is no good in this life except for one of two men: a man listening carefully, receiving and holding [knowledge]; or someone knowledgeable speaking.
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Ibn Ḥibbān, Rawḍatu Al-ʿUqalāʾ 1:42.


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[TR][TD]Knowledge is the Good of this Life - Sayings of the Salaf
There is no good in this life without knowledge....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
It is reported that Al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad said:
Men are of four types: There is the man who knows and he knows that he knows. He is knowledgeable, so follow him and ask him. And there is the man who does not know, and he knows that he does not know. He is ignorant, so teach him. And there is the man who knows, but he does not know that he knows. He is heedless, so remind him. And then there is the man who does not know, but he does not know that he does not know (he thinks he knows). This is the fool (idiot), so beware of him.
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Ibn ˁAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiˁ Bayān Al-ˁilm wa Faḍlihī article 1538.
 
It is reported that ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān – Allāh be pleased with him – once addressed the people in a sermon. He praised Allāh, then said:
O people! Fear Allāh and obey Him, for piety is a valuable prize. Verily the most intelligent person is he who takes account of himself and works for what comes after death, and acquires through the light (guidance) of Allāh a light for the darkness of the grave.
The servant of Allāh should fear lest Allāh the Mighty and Sublime resurrects him blind though he used to see. A few comprehensive words can be enough for a wise man, whereas the deaf (who does not listen to guidance) is being called from afar.
And know that whoever Allāh the Mighty and Sublime is with has nothing to fear; but whoever Allāh the Mighty and Sublime is against, then in whom can he hope after Allāh?!
​
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm 4:116,117.
 
It is reported that Masrūq – Allāh have mercy him – said: There is no house better for the believer than the niche of his grave, for then he will rest from the worries of this world, and be secured from the punishment of Allāh.
 

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