‘Awn ibn Abdillah (rahimahullah) said, “A man advised his son saying: O my son! You should adopt Taqwa and if you are able to be better today than you were yesterday and to be better tomorrow than you are today, then do so.”(Kitabuz Zuhd of Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Al Mubarak, Hadith: 846, pg. 254 and Hilyatul Awliya, vol. 4 pg. 263/264. Also see Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Hadith: 36741)
Imaam Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi رحمه الله states that the key to attaining taqwa revolves around ten matters. If a person takes these matters seriously the result should be a true taqwa in his heart:
1) Fear of punishment in the Hereafter;
2) Fear of punishment in this world;
3) Hope for reward in the Hereafter;
4) Hope for reward in this world;
5) Fearing the reckoning and accounting of one's deeds;
6) Feeling shameful that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى should see one performing deeds that are displeasing to Him;
7) Being thankful and feeling grateful for all of the bounties that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has bestowed on the person;
8) The true knowledge of reality, of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, His names and attributes, as Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says,
"And of men and ad-Dawaab (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and cattle, in like manner of various colours. It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Mighty, Oft-Forgiving." (Soorah Faatir, 35:28)
9) Having a great deal of respect for the greatness of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى;
10) Being sincere and truthful in one's love for Allaah سبحانه و تعالى.
[Imaam Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi رحمه الله, vol. 1, p. 36 as quoted in Shaykh Jamaaluddeen Zarabozo حفظه الله, Commentary on the Forty Hadeeth of Imam An-Nawawi رحمه الله, vol. 1, p. 584]
Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) would say, “Arguing and quarrelling in the knowledge of Deen causes the noor of knowledge to be lost from the hearts of the servants.”
Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) was once asked, “If a person has been blessed with the knowledge of the Sunnah, should he argue in defense of the Sunnah when he sees people opposing it?” Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) replied, “No! However, he should inform people of the Sunnah. If they accept what he says, then well and good, and if not, then he should remain silent (and refrain from arguing with them).”
Ibrāhīm b. Adham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Whoever seeks knowledge sincerely, for the servants of Allāh to benefit by and to benefit himself, then being hidden (from fame) is more beloved to him than seeking loftiness. He is the one who becomes more lowly to himself, strives more in worship, fears Allāh more, yearns for Allāh more, and becomes more humble amongst people. He cares not what he has of this dunyā night or day.
عن وهب بن كيسان، قال: كتب إلي عبد الله بن الزبير بموعظة: أما بعد فإن لأهل التقوى علامات يعرفون بها ويعرفونها من أنفسهم من صبر على البلاء ورضى بالقضاء وشكر النعماء وذل لحكم القرآن
Wahb ibn Kaysan (rahimahullah) says:”Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Zubayr (radiyallahu ‘anhu) once wrote to me some advice, There are certain signs/characteristics that those with taqwa possess with which they are recognised and they too know that they possess these qualities;
1.Patience when afflicted with a calamity
2.Happiness with Allah’s decree
3.Gratitude and shukr for all of Allah’s bounties
4.Complete submissiveness to the laws of the Quran
(Hilyatul Awliya, vol. 1 pg. 336, Kitabuz Zuhd of Imam Abu Dawud, Hadith: 391)
“Whoever spread gossip for you spreads gossip against you. Whoever relates tales to you will tell tales about you. Whoever when you please him says about you what is not in you, when you anger him will say about you what is not in you.”
The most beloved servants in the sight of Allah are those who are very grateful and patient. When they are tested the adopt patience and when they are bestowed [with a bounty] they are grateful
“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.”
“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.”
وعن عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه قال إني لأحسب الرجل ينسى العلم كما تعلمه للخطيئة يعملها رواه الطبراني موقوفا من رواية القاسم بن عبد الرحمن بن عبد الله عن جده عبد الله ولم يسمع منه ورواته ثقات )الترغيب والترهيب 1/176(
Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ood (Radhiyallahu Anhu) says: “I certainly feel that a person’s forgetting some knowledge of Deen after learning it is due to a sin that he had committed.”
“May Allaah have mercy over the person who speaks little, reads the Quraan, weeps over his lost time, constantly gazes into Bukhari and Musilm, and worships Allaah before he is surprised by death.”
“The Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (saw) – after the four caliphs – are the best of the people, and it is not permissible for anyone to … speak ill of any of them, blaming them for deficiencies and shortcomings. It is indeed obligatory upon the ruler to reprimand and punish whoever does that, and he should not be pardoned.”
[Kitaab As-Sunnah, p. 77-78 & Manaaqibul Imaam Ahmad, of Ibnul Jawzee, p. 170]
“Make yourself patient upon the Sunnah, stop where the people stopped, speak with what they spoke with, and refrain from what they refrained from. And follow the path of your Righteous Predecessors (Salafus Saaliheen) for verily, sufficient for you is that which was sufficient for them.”
Amirul Mu’minin Sayyiduna ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said:
“If our hearts were pure, we would never have enough of the word of Allah (the Quran). Verily I detest that a day goes by in which I have not looked at the Mushaf (the Quran).”
(Shu’abul Iman, Hadith: 2031, Al Asma Was Sifat, Hadith: 557)
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