Gems Pearls of Wisdom of the Salaf

It is reported that a man saw Ibn ʿAbbās – Allāh be pleased with them – holding the tip of his tongue saying:
Woe to you, say what is good and you will reap gain, and be silent from speaking evil and you will be safe.
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The man asked him:
O Ibn ʿAbbās, what is the matter that I see you holding the tip of your tongue saying such-and-such?
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He replied:
It has reached me that the servant of Allāh will not be as angry at anything on the Day of Resurrection as he will be at his tongue.
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Imām Aḥmad, Al-Zuhd p236
 
[FONT=&quot]It is reported that Muhammad Al-Bâqir – Allâh have mercy on him – said, “Never does any pride enter the heart of a man except that his intelligence decreases by the same amount.”[/FONT]

Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ`, in his biography of Muhammad Al-Bâqir.
Muhammad b. ‘Alî b. Husayn b. ‘Alî b. Abî Tâlib, known as Al-Bâqir, was the great-great grandson of the Prophet – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him.
 
[h=2]Comprehensive Reliance[/h]Saʿīd b. Jubayr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Tawakkul (reliance and trust in Allah) comprehends all of Īmān.
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Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd #534.


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[TR][TD]Comprehensive Reliance - Sayings of the Salaf
Reliance and trust in Allah is what brings together the various aspects of faith....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
It is reported that Imām Al-Zuhrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
We used to sometimes come to a scholar and what we learned of his manners was more beloved to us than the knowledge we took from him.
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Abū Nuʿaym, Ḥilyatu Al-ʾAwliyāʾ #4575
 
It is reported from Sufyān b. ʿUyainah – Allāh have mercy on him – that a man once asked ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. ʾAbī Ṭālib – Allāh have mercy on him, What was the status of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar with Rasūlullāh – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him? He replied, Their place with him is like their place with him today (i.e. where they are in their graves).
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Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm 4:254
 
A man said to Wahb bin Munabah rahimahullaah:‘So and so spoke ill of you

Whereupon Wahb rahimahullaah replied:

Did Shaytaan not find anyone better than you to deliver this news?’[Minhaaj al-Qaasideen p. 183]
 
[h=2]Never Give Up Re-pent-ing[/h]
It is reported that a man came to ʿAlī – Allāh be pleased with him – and asked, What do you think about a man who committed a sin? He replied, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. [The man] said, He did that, but then sinned again? [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man again said, He did that, but returned to sin. [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man said for the fourth time, He did, but then sinned again. ʿAlī then said, Until when? Then he said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him; and not give up until it is Shayṭān who is defeated [overcome].
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Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 910
 
[h=2]Delving into Falsehood (I’ll take what’s good)[/h]It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Ad-ham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Delving into falsehood removes the ability to recognize the truth from the heart.
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Abu Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 8:22.


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[TR][TD]Delving into Falsehood (I'll take what's good) - Sayings of the Salaf
The danger of taking the attitude of delving into falsehood in order to take what is right....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
It is reported that Ya’lā b. ‘Ubayd said, “We entered upon Ibn Sūqah, who said: ‘O nephew, let me relate to you something that will hopefully benefit you; for it benefited me. ‘Atā b. Abī Rabāh once said to us:'”
Those before you used to consider idle talk to be anything other than the Book of Allāh, or the enjoining of good, or the forbidding of evil, or speaking for the sake of your basic living needs. Do you deny that there are recording angels appointed over you? Sitting on your right and your left? Never is a word said except there is an observer prepared to record? Are you not afraid (ashamed) that your record of words and deeds be spread open only to discover that there is nothing of the hereafter in it?
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Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 5:86
 
[h=2]Two Rare Things in Decline[/h]It 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.
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Abu Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 3:17


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[TR][TD]Two Rare Things in Decline - Sayings of the Salaf
The noble Successor Yunus b. Ubayd counts two precious things that are only getting rarer....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
[h=2]Seven Hundred Deadly Sins[/h]Sa’īd b. Jubayr – Allāh have mercy on him – reports that a man once asked Ibn ‘Abbās – Allāh be pleased with them:
“How many kabā`ir (major, deadly sins) are there? Seven?” He replied, “They are closer to seven hundred than seven; except a major sin does not remain so if one (truly) seeks forgiveness [from Allāh], and a lesser sin does not remain so if one insists on continuously doing it (i.e. it becomes a major sin).”
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Al-Tabarī, Al-Tafsīr article 9207, et al.
 
[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.
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[h=2]The Influence of Companionship[/h]It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
There is nothing that corrupts a person or rectifies him more than [his] companion.
Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā article 504.


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[TR][TD]The Influence of Companionship - Sayings of the Salaf
The influence of companionship on an individual being sinful or righteous....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
[h=2]From whom does Knowledge Come?[/h]It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
The people will remain upon goodness as long as knowledge comes to them from the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him, and from their seniors. But when knowledge comes to them from their minors, that is when they will be destroyed.
Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Fadlihi article 1060.
Note
Being upon a good and right path is based on following the knowledge of the Companions and seniors: scholars and people who adhere to the Sunnah, whereas taking knowledge from minors like ignorants and heretics is a sign of destruction.
 
[h=2]Definition of Asceticism – The Three Types of Zuhd[/h]It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Ad-ham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Zuhd (abstinence from materialism, asceticism) is of three types: (i) obligatory zuhd, (ii) virtuous zuhd and (iii) zuhd for safety. Obligatory zuhd is to abstain from what is forbidden (harām); virtuous zuhd is to be disinterested in what is allowed (of this world); and zuhd for safety is to stay away from doubtful matters.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 905.
 
[h=2]Beyond Words[/h]It is reported that ‘Alī b. Abī Tālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Mention what you will of the greatness of Allāh, but Allāh is greater than anything you say. And mention what you will of the Fire, but it is more severe than anything you say. And mention what you will of Paradise, but it is better than anything you say.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 853.
 
It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrī – Allāh have mercy on him – once said during the funeral of a man:
May Allāh have mercy on the man who works for the likes of this day; for today you are able to do what these brothers of yours, the residents of these graves, cannot do. So make full use of your health and free time before the day of distress and accounts comes upon you.
Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Dhamm Al-Dunyā article 53.
 
[h=2]The Famous Fake[/h]It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Adham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
A person has not been true to Allāh, the mighty and sublime, if he loves recognition (fame).
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Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Al-Zuhd article 2240.


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[TR][TD]The Famous Fake - Sayings of the Salaf
Seeking to be famous and sincerity do not go together....[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
 
[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).
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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]
 
Fudayl ibn `Iyad (rahimahullah) said, "A believer plants a palm tree and fears that thorns will grow. The hypocrites plant thorns expecting ripe dates to grow!"
Fudayl ibn `Iyad (rahimahullah) said, "A believer plants a palm tree and fears that thorns will grow. The hypocrites plant thorns expecting ripe dates to grow!"
 

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