MustBePatient
29-03-08, 04:51 PM
Abdullah bin Mas’ud was one of the closest companions of the Prophet (a.s.). He did very well in his jihad for Allah and Islam, and he met different kinds of torment from Quraysh. In return for that, the Prophet (a.s.) was too loyal to him and he offered to him this immortal recommendations.
Ibn Mas’ud narrated, “One day, five men from our companions and I came to the Prophet after a famine that had afflicted us where we did not drink and eat for four months except water, milk, and the leaves of trees. We asked: until when shall we suffer this severe famine?
The Prophet said, ‘You shall suffer it as long as you live; therefore, give thanks to Allah, for I have read the Book of Allah that has been revealed to me and to those before me, and I have found those who would enter the Paradise not other than the patient.’”
Then the Prophet (a.s.) began advising Ibn Mas’ud with these recommendations that we mention just some of them. The Prophet (a.s.) said,
“O ibn Mas’ud, Allah the Almighty has said, (only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure),[1] and (These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient),[2] and (Surely I have rewarded them this day because they were patient, that they are the triumphants).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, this saying of Allah, (And He has rewarded them, because they were patient, with garden and silk),[4] and (These shall be granted their reward twice, because they have persevered),[5] and (Or do you think that you would enter the garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before
[1] Qur'an, 39:10.
[2] Qur'an, 25:75.
[3] Qur'an, 23:111.
[4] Qur'an, 76:12.
[5] Qur'an, 28:54.
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before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them),[1] and (And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient).[2]
Some one asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, who are the patient?’
The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘They are those who are patient with the obedience of Allah and with His disobedience, who have gained lawful gain, spent moderately, and done favors, and therefore they shall be successful and prosperous.’ Then, the Prophet (a.s.) said to ibn Mas’ud,
‘O ibn Mas’ud, there appear on them (the patient) reverence, gravity, calmness, pondering, leniency, justice, learning, consideration, good management, piety, benevolence, abstinence, the love (of others) for (the sake of) Allah, the hatred for Allah, giving trusts back to their owners, justice in judgment, maintenance of true witness, supporting the people of the truth, resistance against sinners, and pardoning of mistakers.
O ibn Mas’ud, they are those who when being afflicted, they are patient, and when given, they are grateful, and when judging, they are just, and when speaking, they are truthful, and when promising, they fulfil (their promise), and when erring, they ask for forgiveness, and when doing good, they are delighted, and when the ignorant address them, they say: ‘Peace’, and when passing by what is vain, they pass by it with dignity, and who spend the night before their Lord, prostrate and standing, , and they speak to people kindly. O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, it is these who are triumphant.
[1] Qur'an, 2:214.
[2] Qur'an, 2:155.
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O ibn Mas’ud, (Is he whose heart Allah has opened for Islam so that he follows a light from his Lord).[1] When this light comes into the heart, the heart is opened and dilated.’
One of the attendants asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, does that have any sign?’
The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Yes, the turning away from the abode of enticement (the worldly life), the turning to the abode of immortality, and the getting ready for death before its time. Whoever turns his back to this life, he does not wish for it and he leaves it for its people.’
The Prophet (a.s.) added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, the saying of Allah (He might try you, which of you is best in conduct)[2] means that which of you is more abstinent towards this life which is the abode of enticement, the abode of one who has no abode, and to which, that who has no reason, accumulates (wealth…etc.). Surely the most fool of people is he who wishes for this life. Allah the Almighty has said, (Know that this world's life is only sport and play and gaiety and boasting among yourselves, and a vying in the multiplication of wealth and children, like the rain, whose causing the vegetation to grow, pleases the husbandmen, then it withers away so that you will see it become yellow, then it becomes dried up and broken down; and in the hereafter is a severe chastisement)[3] and Allah the Almighty has said, (and We granted him wisdom while yet a child).[4] It means the asceticism in this life. Allah has said to Moses, ‘O Moses, the adorned ones shall not adorn themselves with any adornment more attractive to My eye like asceticism. O Moses, if you see poverty coming,
[1] Qur'an, 39:22.
[2] Qur'an, 11:7, 67:2.
[3] Qur'an, 57:20.
[4] Qur'an, 19:12.
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you say: welcome to the sign of the righteous, and if you see wealth coming, you say: a guilt whose punishment has come sooner.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) of this saying of Allah the Almighty, (And were it not that all people would have become one nation, We would certainly have assigned to those who disbelieve in the Beneficent Allah (to make) of silver the roofs of their houses and the stairs by which they ascend. And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline. And (other) embellishments of gold; and all this is naught but provision of this world's life, and the hereafter is with your Lord only for those who guard against evil),[1] and His saying, (Whoever desires this present life, We hasten to him therein what We please for whomsoever We desire, then We assign to him the hell; he shall enter it despised, driven away. And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be rewarded).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever longs for the Paradise hastens to do good deeds, and whoever fears the Fire gives up desires, and whoever expects death refrains from lusts, and whoever turns his back to this life calamities shall be easy to him.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) this saying of Allah the Almighty, (The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well bred horses and cattle and tilth, is made to seem fair to men).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, Allah has chosen Moses by the talking to him, when the green of legumes could be seen in his abdomen
[1] Qur'an, 43:33-53.
[2] Qur'an, 17:18-19.
[3] Qur'an, 3:14.
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because of his thinness, but when Moses went to the shadow, he did not ask except for some food to eat because of hunger.
O ibn Mas’ud, if you want, I shall tell you about Noah the prophet of Allah; he lived one thousand but fifty years inviting for Allah. In the morning he said: I shall not remain (alive) until the evening, and when the evening came, he said: I shall not remain until the morning. Therefore, his clothes were of animal hair and his food was barley.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Solomon; though he was a great king he himself ate barley and offered to people white wheat, and his clothes were of animal hair. When the night came, he hanged his hand to his neck and began offering prayers until the morning.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Abraham the friend of Allah; his clothes were of wool and his food was barley.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Yahya (Prophet John); his clothes were of tree fibers and he ate the leaves of trees.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Jesus the son of Mary that is a wonder; he said: my sustenance is hunger, my sign is the fear (of Allah), my clothing is of wool, my mount is my two legs, my lamp in the night is the moon, my warm in the winter is the rays of the sun, and my fruits and nourishment are the legumes of the ground which beasts and cattle eat from. I spend the night while having nothing and when the morning comes I have nothing, but there is no one on the face of the earth wealthier than me.
O ibn Mas’ud, all that was from them (the prophets). They hated what Allah hated, deemed low what Allah deemed low and regarded insignificant what Allah regarded insignificant.
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Allah praised them in His Book. He said about Noah, (Surely he was a grateful servant).[1]
He said about Abraham, (And Allah took Abraham as a friend).[2]
He said about David, (O Dawud! We have set you as a viceroy in the earth).[3]
He said about Moses, (And Allah spoke directly unto Moses).[4]
He also said about Moses, (and We brought him nigh in communion).[5]
He said about John, (And we gave him wisdom when a child).[6]
He said about Jesus, (O Eesa son of Mariyam! Remember My favor on you and on your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy Spirit, that you spoke to the people in the cradle and when of old age, and when I taught you the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Bible, and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission).[7]
And He said, (surely they used to hasten, one with another in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing and they were humble before Us).[8]
O ibn Mas’ud, all that was because of what Allah had frightened them of, saying in His Book, (And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be
[1] Qur'an, 17:3.
[2] Qur'an, 4:125.
[3] Qur'an, 38:26.
[4] Qur'an, 4:164.
[5] Qur'an, 19:52.
[6] Qur'an, 19:12.
[7] Qur'an, 5:110.
[8] Qur'an, 21:90.
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a separate part of them),[1] and (and the prophets and the witnesses shall be brought up, and judgment shall be given between them with justice, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, the Fire shall be for whoever practices a prohibited thing and the Paradise shall be for whoever turns his back to a permissible thing. Therefore, keep to asceticism because that is from what Allah prides on with the angels and by which He will come to you with His face, and the Almighty will have blessing on you.
O Ibn Mas’ud, after me, peoples shall come who shall eat variant kinds of foods, ride mounts, make up like the makeup of a wife for her husband, adorn themselves like women, and wear their (women) uniform like the uniform of arrogant kings. They shall be the hypocrites of this nation at the end of time. They shall be drinkers of wines, players of gambling, followers of lusts, abandoners of congregations, sleepers at time of obligations, and wasters of their boundaries. Allah the Almighty says, (But there came after them a generation, who neglected prayers and followed sensual desires, so they will meet perdition).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, they are like oleander; its flower is beautiful but its taste is bitter. Their speech is full of wisdom whereas their deeds are a disease that cannot be cured. (Do they not then reflect on the Qur’an? Nay, on the hearts there are locks).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, what shall benefit one who enjoys the pleasures of this life when he shall be thrown forever into the Fire? (They
[1] Qur'an, 15:43-44.
[2] Qur'an, 39:69.
[3] Qur'an, 19:59.
[4] Qur'an, 47:24.
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know the outward of this world's life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless).[1] They shall build houses, erect palaces, and decorate mosques, but their interest shall be not but the pleasures of this life which they shall be keeping to and involving into. Their gods shall be their abdomens (desires). Allah the Almighty has said, (And you make strong fortresses that perhaps you may last forever. And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (like) tyrants. So guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey Me),[2] and said, (Have you then considered him who takes his low desire for his god, and Allah has made him err purposely and has set a seal upon his ear and his heart and put a covering upon his eye. Who can then guide him after Allah? Will you not then be mindful).[3]
He is not but a polytheist that makes his desires his religion and his abdomen as his god; whenever he desires any thing permissible or impermissible, he shall not abstain from it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and they rejoice in this world's life, and this world's life is nothing compared with the hereafter but a temporary enjoyment).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, their mihrabs are their women, their honor is their dirhams and dinars, and their purpose is their abdomens. These are the worst of evildoers; sedition is with them and to them it shall return.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) the saying of Allah the Almighty, (Have you then considered if We let them enjoy themselves for years?
[1] Qur'an, 30:7.
[2] Qur'an, 26:129-131.
[3] Qur'an, 45:23.
[4] Qur'an, 13:26.
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Then there comes to them that with which they are threatened. That which they were made to enjoy shall not avail them).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, their bodies are not satisfied and their hearts do not show reverence.
O ibn Mas’ud, Islam has started strange and shall return strange as it has started. So blessed are the strangers! Whoever of your offspring shall live in that time should not offer greetings in their meetings, not escort their deads, and not visit their sick ones, because they shall follow your law and appear with your mission, but they shall contradict your deeds, and so they shall die on other than your religion. They are not from me nor am I from them. Therefore, do not fear anyone other than Allah, because Allah the Almighty says, (Wherever you are, death will overtake you, though you are in lofty towers),[2]and (On the day when the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women will say to those who believe: Wait for us, that we may have light from your light…and the deceiver deceived you concerning Allah. So today ransom shall not be accepted from you nor from those who disbelieved; your abode is the Fire; it is your patron and evil is the end).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge intending (the interests of) this life and prefers to it (knowledge) the love of this life and its pleasures shall deserve the wrath of Allah and shall be in the lowest abyss of Fire with the Jews and the Christians who have turned their backs to the Book of Allah. Allah the Almighty has said, (and when there comes unto them
[1] Qur'an, 26:205-207.
[2] Qur'an, 4:78.
[3] Qur'an, 57:13-15.
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that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on the disbelievers).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns the Qur'an just for this life and its interests, Allah will prevent him from entering the Paradise.
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge but does not act according to it Allah will resurrect him blind on the Day of Resurrection, and whoever learns knowledge just for pride and fame wishing for the interests of this life Allah will deprive him of his blessing, depress his living, and leave him to his desires, and whomever Allah leaves to his desires shall perish. Allah the Almighty has said, (And whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship with his Lord).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, let your companions be the righteous and your brothers the pious and the ascetics, because Allah the Almighty has said in His Book, (Friends on that day will be foes, one to another, except the Righteous).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep to the fear of Allah and the performing of obligations, because He says, (He is worthy to be feared and worthy to forgive)[4] and says, (Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him; that is for him who fears his Lord).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep away from you what does not concern you and keep to what suffices you, because Allah says, (Every man
[1] Qur'an, 2:89.
[2] Qur'an, 18:110.
[3] Qur'an, 43:67.
[4] Qur'an, 74:56.
[5] Qur'an, 98:8.
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of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him (to be headless of others).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware to give up an obedience and go to a disobedience pitying your family, because Allah the Almighty says, (O people! Keep your duty to your Lord and fear a Day when the parent will not be able to avail the child in aught, nor the child to avail the parent. Surely Allah’s promise is the very truth. Let not the life of the world beguile you, nor let the deceiver beguile you, in regard to Allah).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of this life and its pleasures, lusts, and adornment, and the eating of the ill-gotten gains, and gold, silver, mounts, women, children, accumulations of gold and silver, cattle, and tilth, for that is the pleasure of the worldly life and with Allah there is the most excellent abode. (Say: Shall I tell you what is better than these? For those who guard (against evil) are gardens with their Lord, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and pure mates and Allah's pleasure; and Allah is Seer of the servants).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not be self-deceit before Allah, nor be self-deceit by your prayers, deeds, piety, and worship.
O ibn Mas’ud, when you recite the Book of Allah and get at a verse that has enjoining and forbidding, repeat it with pondering and consideration and do not be heedless to that, because the forbidding means the avoiding of disobediences and the enjoining means the doing of goodness and benevolence. Allah the Almighty says, (Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt,
[1] Qur'an, 80:37.
[2] Qur'an, 31:33.
[3] Qur'an, 3:15.
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and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[1]
O Ibn Mas’ud, do not deem a sin as insignificant or trivial, and avoid major sins, because when a servant shall look at his sins on the Day of Judgment, his eyes shall shed pus and blood. Allah the Almighty says, (On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there might be a long duration of time).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, When it said to you: ‘Fear Allah’, do not be angry, because He says, (And when it is said unto him: Be careful of thy duty to Allah, pride carries him off to sin, therefore hell is sufficient for him).[3]
The Prophet (a.s.) added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, make your hope little; when it is morning, you say: I may not remain alive until the evening, and when it is evening, you say: I may not remain alive until the morning. Get yourself ready for leaving this life, and love the meeting with Allah and do not hate His meeting, because Allah loves the meeting with whoever loves the meeting with Him and hates the meeting with whoever hates the meeting with Him.
O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, a time shall come to people when they consider wine as lawful…the
[1] Qur'an, 3:25.
[2] Qur'an, 3:30.
[3] Qur'an, 2:206.
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curse of Allah, the angels, and of people in whole be on them. I am free from them and they are free from me.
O ibn Mas’ud, one, who commits adultery with his mother, is easier to Allah than one who mixes with his money inasmuch as a grain of mustard seed out of usury, and whoever drinks an alcoholic drink a little or much is worse to Allah than one who eats usury, because it (wine)[1] is the key to every evil.
O ibn Mas’ud, when you do a doing, make it loyally for the sake of Allah, because He does not accept from His servants except the loyally done deeds. He says, (And no one has with him any boon for which he should be rewarded, except the seeking of the pleasure of his Lord, the Most High, and he shall soon be well-pleased).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, leave aside the pleasures of this life, its foods, sweet, warm, cool, ease, and enjoyments and keep your self to abstinence from them, because you shall be asked about all that. Allah the Almighty says, (Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about the boons).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, let this life and its pleasures not busy you, for Allah the Almighty says, (What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, if you do a doing of benevolence and you intend by it other than Allah, then do not expect from Him a reward for
[1] We have discussed the great harms of wine in our book, Labor and the Rights of a Laborer in Islam.
[2] Qur'an, 92:19-21.
[3] Qur'an, 102:8.
[4] Qur'an, 23:115.
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that, for He says, (and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, If people praise you and say that you fast in the day and spend the night in worship while you do not do so, then do not be delighted with that, because Allah the Almighty says, (Do not think those who rejoice for what they have done and love that they should be praised for what they have not done; so do by no means think them to be safe from the chastisement, and they shall have a painful chastisement).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do a lot of good deeds and benevolence, because both a good-doer and a bad-doer shall regret; the good-doer shall say: I wish I had done much more good deeds, and the bad-doer shall say: I have been neglectful. The proof of that is His saying, (Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not advance sin and delay repentance, but advance repentance and delay sin, for Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (But man would fain deny what is before him).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of enacting a heretical norm, because if a servant enact a bad norm, he shall bear its sin and the sin of whoever practices it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and We record that which they send before (them) and that which they leave behind),[5] and (Man shall on that day be informed of what he sent before and (what he) put off).[6]
[1] Qur'an, 18:105.
[2] Qur'an, 3:188.
[3] Qur'an, 75:2.
[4] Qur'an, 75:5.
[5] Qur'an, 36:12.
[6] Qur'an, 75:13.
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O ibn Mas’ud, do not lean on this life and do not trust in it, because you shall leave it soon. Allah the Almighty says, (So We turned them out of gardens and springs),[1] (And cornfields and palm-trees having fine spadices).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, consider the ancient nations and the tyrannical kings who had passed away, for Allah says, (and Aad and Thamud and the dwellers of the Rass and many generations between them).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to give up sin secretly and openly, (whether) minor or major (it is), because Allah the Almighty sees you wherever you are and He is with you, so avoid them (sins).
O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy and openness, on the land and in the sea, in the night and the day, because He says, (Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, take Satan as enemy, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Satan is your enemy, so take him for an enemy),[5] and He says about Iblis, (Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right-hand side and from their left-hand side; and you shall not find most of them thankful),[6] and (He said: The truth then is and the truth
[1] Qur'an, 26:57.
[2] Qur'an, 26:148.
[3] Qur'an, 25:38.
[4] Qur'an, 58:7.
[5] Qur'an, 35:6.
[6] Qur'an, 7:17.
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do I speak. That I will most certainly fill hell with you and with those among them who follow you all).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful not to eat impermissible thing, not to wear impermissible thing, not to take from impermissible thing, and not to disobey Allah, because Allah the Almighty says to Iblis, (And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your voice, and collect against them your forces riding and on foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and hold out promises to them; and the Shaitan makes not promises to them but to deceive),[2] and says, (therefore let not this world's life deceive you, nor let the deceiver deceive you in respect of Allah).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not approach any impermissible thing of wealth and women, for Allah the Almighty says, (And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens),[4] and do not prefer the worldly life to the afterlife by pleasures and lusts, because Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (Then as for him who is inordinate, and prefers the life of this world, then surely the hell is the abode).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not betray any one in some money that he leaves with you or a trust that he entrusts you with, because Allah says, (Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to their owners).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not talk about anything except when knowing it that you have heard or seen it, for Allah the Almighty says,
[1] Qur'an, 38:84-85.
[2] Qur'an, 17:64.
[3] Qur'an, 31:33, 35:5.
[4] Qur'an, 55:46.
[5] Qur'an, 79:37-39.
[6] Qur'an, 4:58.
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(And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge; surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be questioned about that),[1] and (Their testimony shall be written down and they shall be questioned),[2] and (When the two Receivers receive, sitting on the right and on the left. He utters not a word but there is by him a watcher at hand),[3] and (And certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him, and We are nearer to him than his life-vein).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not worry about livelihood, for Allah the Almighty says, (And there is no animal in the earth but on Allah is the sustenance of it)[5], and (And in the heaven is your sustenance and what you are promised of),[6] and (And if Allah touch you with affliction, there is none to take it off but He; and if He touch you with good, then He has power over all things).[7]
O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth as prophet, whoever turns his back to this life and wishes for the trade of the afterlife surely Allah will trade for him behind his trade and make his trade profitable. Allah the Almighty says, (Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which the hearts and eyes shall turn about).[8]
[1] Qur'an, 17:36.
[2] Qur'an, 43:19.
[3] Qur'an, 50:17-18.
[4] Qur'an, 50:16.
[5] Qur'an, 11:6.
[6] Qur'an, 51:22.
[7] Qur'an, 6:17.
[8] Qur'an, 24:37.
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Do not relieve your tongue from the remembrance of Allah, and that is by saying: glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is great. This is the profitable trade. Allah the Almighty says, (…they hope for a gain which will not perish. That He may pay them back fully their rewards and give them more out of His grace).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, make whatever you see by your eye and your heart admires it (make it) for Allah, for this is the trade of the afterlife; Allah the Almighty says, (What is with you passes away and what is with Allah is enduring).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, love the righteous because man shall be (resurrected) with whom he loves, and if you cannot do deeds of benevolence, then love the ulama (scholars), because Allah the Almighty says, (And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware to associate anything with Allah for a twinkle of an eye even if you are sawed by a saw, cut into pieces, crucified, or burned in fire. Allah the Almighty says, (And (as for) those who believe in Allah and His messengers, these it is that are the truthful and the faithful ones in the sight of their Lord).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, be patient with those who make remembrance of Allah, glorify Him, often say ‘there is no god but Allah’, praise Him, do due to His obedience, and call upon Him in the morning and in the evening. Allah says, (And withhold yourself
[1] Qur'an, 35:29-30.
[2] Qur'an, 16:96.
[3] Qur'an, 4:69.
[4] Qur'an, 57:19.
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with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them),[1] and (neither are you answerable for any reckoning of theirs, nor are they answerable for any reckoning of yours, so that you should drive them away and thus be of the unjust).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not prefer to the remembrance of Allah anything, because He says, (and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest),[3] and (Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me),[4] and (And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me),[5] and (Call upon Me, I will answer you).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, Keep to calmness and gravity, and be easy, lenient, chaste, submissive (to Allah), pious, pure, dutiful, immaculate, purified, truthful, loyal, sound, right, reasonable, righteous, patient, grateful, faithful, god-fearing, worshipping, ascetic, merciful, knowledgeable, and aware (of religion). Allah the Almighty says, (Most surely Ibrahim was forbearing, tender-hearted, oft-returning (to Allah)),[7] and ( And the servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace. And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing),[8] and (And they who, when reminded of the
[1] Qur'an, 18:28.
[2] Qur'an, 6:52.
[3] Qur'an, 29:45.
[4] Qur'an, 2:152.
[5] Qur'an, 2:186.
[6] Qur'an, 40:60.
[7] Qur'an, 11:75.
[8] Qur'an, 25:63-64.
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communications of their Lord, do not fall down thereat deaf and blind. And they who say: O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard (against evil). These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient, and shall be met therein with greetings and salutations. Abiding therein; goodly the abode and the resting-place),[1] and (Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, and who keep aloof from what is vain and who are givers of poor-rate, and who guard their private parts, except before their spouses or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blamable. But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits, and those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, and who pay heed to their prayers; these are the heirs who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein),[2] and (Those shall be in gardens, honored),[3] and (Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them, they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust. Those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them; these are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, let the pity to your family and children not make you involve in disobediences and unlawfulness, for Allah the Almighty says, (The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man), except him who comes to Allah with a heart free (from
[1] Qur'an, 73-76.
[2] Qur'an, 23:1-11.
[3] Qur'an, 70:35.
[4] Qur'an, 8:2-4.
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evil)).[1] And keep to the remembrance of Allah and the good deeds, for Allah the Almighty says, (and the ever-abiding good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those, who guide people to goodness and enjoin them to do good, while they themselves are inadvertent to it. Allah the Almighty says, (What! do you enjoin people to be good and neglect your own souls?)[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to keep your tongue, because Allah the Almighty says, (On that day We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they earned).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful of your hidden thought, for Allah the Almighty says, (On the day when hidden thoughts shall be searched out. Then will he have no might nor any helper).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of a day when the pages shall be laid open, and scandals shall be manifest. Allah the Almighty says, (And We will set up a just balance on the day of resurrection, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and though there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (yet) will We bring it, and sufficient are We to take account).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, surely He sees you. Allah the Almighty says,
[1] Qur'an, 26:88-89.
[2] Qur'an, 18:46.
[3] Qur'an, 2:44.
[4] Qur'an, 36:65.
[5] Qur'an, 86:9-10.
[6] Qur'an, 21:47.
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(Who fears the Beneficent Allah in secret and comes with a penitent heart; enter it in peace, that is the day of immortality).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, be fair to people against yourself, and be loyal in advising the community and be merciful to them. If you are so and Allah is displeased with the people of a village while you are among them and He wants to send down torment over them, He will look at you and be merciful to them. Allah the Almighty says, (And it did not behoove your Lord to have destroyed the towns tyrannously, while their people acted well).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of showing people that you are pious and reverent while between you and your Lord you keep on disobedience and sin. Allah the Almighty says, (He knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal).[3] O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those who are strict to people while loose to themselves. Allah the Almighty says, (why do you say that which you do not do?).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, when you do something, do it with knowledge and reason, and beware of doing something without good management and knowledge, for, exalted is He, He says, (And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep to truthfulness and do not let any lie come out of your mouth. Be just to people against yourself and be kind. Call people to benevolence, maintain relations with your kin, do not deceive people, and fulfill to them what you have promised them of, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Allah
[1] Qur'an, 50:33-34.
[2] Qur'an, 11:117.
[3] Qur'an, 40:19.
[4] Qur'an, 61:2.s.
[5] Qur'an, 16:92.
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enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).[1]”[2]
[1] Qur'an, 16:90.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 92-110.
From: http://www.maaref-foundation.com/english/lib/pro_ahl/holy_prophet/the_life_of_muhammad/
Ibn Mas’ud narrated, “One day, five men from our companions and I came to the Prophet after a famine that had afflicted us where we did not drink and eat for four months except water, milk, and the leaves of trees. We asked: until when shall we suffer this severe famine?
The Prophet said, ‘You shall suffer it as long as you live; therefore, give thanks to Allah, for I have read the Book of Allah that has been revealed to me and to those before me, and I have found those who would enter the Paradise not other than the patient.’”
Then the Prophet (a.s.) began advising Ibn Mas’ud with these recommendations that we mention just some of them. The Prophet (a.s.) said,
“O ibn Mas’ud, Allah the Almighty has said, (only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure),[1] and (These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient),[2] and (Surely I have rewarded them this day because they were patient, that they are the triumphants).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, this saying of Allah, (And He has rewarded them, because they were patient, with garden and silk),[4] and (These shall be granted their reward twice, because they have persevered),[5] and (Or do you think that you would enter the garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before
[1] Qur'an, 39:10.
[2] Qur'an, 25:75.
[3] Qur'an, 23:111.
[4] Qur'an, 76:12.
[5] Qur'an, 28:54.
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before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them),[1] and (And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient).[2]
Some one asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, who are the patient?’
The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘They are those who are patient with the obedience of Allah and with His disobedience, who have gained lawful gain, spent moderately, and done favors, and therefore they shall be successful and prosperous.’ Then, the Prophet (a.s.) said to ibn Mas’ud,
‘O ibn Mas’ud, there appear on them (the patient) reverence, gravity, calmness, pondering, leniency, justice, learning, consideration, good management, piety, benevolence, abstinence, the love (of others) for (the sake of) Allah, the hatred for Allah, giving trusts back to their owners, justice in judgment, maintenance of true witness, supporting the people of the truth, resistance against sinners, and pardoning of mistakers.
O ibn Mas’ud, they are those who when being afflicted, they are patient, and when given, they are grateful, and when judging, they are just, and when speaking, they are truthful, and when promising, they fulfil (their promise), and when erring, they ask for forgiveness, and when doing good, they are delighted, and when the ignorant address them, they say: ‘Peace’, and when passing by what is vain, they pass by it with dignity, and who spend the night before their Lord, prostrate and standing, , and they speak to people kindly. O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, it is these who are triumphant.
[1] Qur'an, 2:214.
[2] Qur'an, 2:155.
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O ibn Mas’ud, (Is he whose heart Allah has opened for Islam so that he follows a light from his Lord).[1] When this light comes into the heart, the heart is opened and dilated.’
One of the attendants asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, does that have any sign?’
The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Yes, the turning away from the abode of enticement (the worldly life), the turning to the abode of immortality, and the getting ready for death before its time. Whoever turns his back to this life, he does not wish for it and he leaves it for its people.’
The Prophet (a.s.) added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, the saying of Allah (He might try you, which of you is best in conduct)[2] means that which of you is more abstinent towards this life which is the abode of enticement, the abode of one who has no abode, and to which, that who has no reason, accumulates (wealth…etc.). Surely the most fool of people is he who wishes for this life. Allah the Almighty has said, (Know that this world's life is only sport and play and gaiety and boasting among yourselves, and a vying in the multiplication of wealth and children, like the rain, whose causing the vegetation to grow, pleases the husbandmen, then it withers away so that you will see it become yellow, then it becomes dried up and broken down; and in the hereafter is a severe chastisement)[3] and Allah the Almighty has said, (and We granted him wisdom while yet a child).[4] It means the asceticism in this life. Allah has said to Moses, ‘O Moses, the adorned ones shall not adorn themselves with any adornment more attractive to My eye like asceticism. O Moses, if you see poverty coming,
[1] Qur'an, 39:22.
[2] Qur'an, 11:7, 67:2.
[3] Qur'an, 57:20.
[4] Qur'an, 19:12.
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you say: welcome to the sign of the righteous, and if you see wealth coming, you say: a guilt whose punishment has come sooner.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) of this saying of Allah the Almighty, (And were it not that all people would have become one nation, We would certainly have assigned to those who disbelieve in the Beneficent Allah (to make) of silver the roofs of their houses and the stairs by which they ascend. And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline. And (other) embellishments of gold; and all this is naught but provision of this world's life, and the hereafter is with your Lord only for those who guard against evil),[1] and His saying, (Whoever desires this present life, We hasten to him therein what We please for whomsoever We desire, then We assign to him the hell; he shall enter it despised, driven away. And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be rewarded).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever longs for the Paradise hastens to do good deeds, and whoever fears the Fire gives up desires, and whoever expects death refrains from lusts, and whoever turns his back to this life calamities shall be easy to him.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) this saying of Allah the Almighty, (The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well bred horses and cattle and tilth, is made to seem fair to men).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, Allah has chosen Moses by the talking to him, when the green of legumes could be seen in his abdomen
[1] Qur'an, 43:33-53.
[2] Qur'an, 17:18-19.
[3] Qur'an, 3:14.
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because of his thinness, but when Moses went to the shadow, he did not ask except for some food to eat because of hunger.
O ibn Mas’ud, if you want, I shall tell you about Noah the prophet of Allah; he lived one thousand but fifty years inviting for Allah. In the morning he said: I shall not remain (alive) until the evening, and when the evening came, he said: I shall not remain until the morning. Therefore, his clothes were of animal hair and his food was barley.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Solomon; though he was a great king he himself ate barley and offered to people white wheat, and his clothes were of animal hair. When the night came, he hanged his hand to his neck and began offering prayers until the morning.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Abraham the friend of Allah; his clothes were of wool and his food was barley.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Yahya (Prophet John); his clothes were of tree fibers and he ate the leaves of trees.
And if you want, I shall tell you about Jesus the son of Mary that is a wonder; he said: my sustenance is hunger, my sign is the fear (of Allah), my clothing is of wool, my mount is my two legs, my lamp in the night is the moon, my warm in the winter is the rays of the sun, and my fruits and nourishment are the legumes of the ground which beasts and cattle eat from. I spend the night while having nothing and when the morning comes I have nothing, but there is no one on the face of the earth wealthier than me.
O ibn Mas’ud, all that was from them (the prophets). They hated what Allah hated, deemed low what Allah deemed low and regarded insignificant what Allah regarded insignificant.
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Allah praised them in His Book. He said about Noah, (Surely he was a grateful servant).[1]
He said about Abraham, (And Allah took Abraham as a friend).[2]
He said about David, (O Dawud! We have set you as a viceroy in the earth).[3]
He said about Moses, (And Allah spoke directly unto Moses).[4]
He also said about Moses, (and We brought him nigh in communion).[5]
He said about John, (And we gave him wisdom when a child).[6]
He said about Jesus, (O Eesa son of Mariyam! Remember My favor on you and on your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy Spirit, that you spoke to the people in the cradle and when of old age, and when I taught you the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Bible, and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission).[7]
And He said, (surely they used to hasten, one with another in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing and they were humble before Us).[8]
O ibn Mas’ud, all that was because of what Allah had frightened them of, saying in His Book, (And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be
[1] Qur'an, 17:3.
[2] Qur'an, 4:125.
[3] Qur'an, 38:26.
[4] Qur'an, 4:164.
[5] Qur'an, 19:52.
[6] Qur'an, 19:12.
[7] Qur'an, 5:110.
[8] Qur'an, 21:90.
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a separate part of them),[1] and (and the prophets and the witnesses shall be brought up, and judgment shall be given between them with justice, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, the Fire shall be for whoever practices a prohibited thing and the Paradise shall be for whoever turns his back to a permissible thing. Therefore, keep to asceticism because that is from what Allah prides on with the angels and by which He will come to you with His face, and the Almighty will have blessing on you.
O Ibn Mas’ud, after me, peoples shall come who shall eat variant kinds of foods, ride mounts, make up like the makeup of a wife for her husband, adorn themselves like women, and wear their (women) uniform like the uniform of arrogant kings. They shall be the hypocrites of this nation at the end of time. They shall be drinkers of wines, players of gambling, followers of lusts, abandoners of congregations, sleepers at time of obligations, and wasters of their boundaries. Allah the Almighty says, (But there came after them a generation, who neglected prayers and followed sensual desires, so they will meet perdition).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, they are like oleander; its flower is beautiful but its taste is bitter. Their speech is full of wisdom whereas their deeds are a disease that cannot be cured. (Do they not then reflect on the Qur’an? Nay, on the hearts there are locks).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, what shall benefit one who enjoys the pleasures of this life when he shall be thrown forever into the Fire? (They
[1] Qur'an, 15:43-44.
[2] Qur'an, 39:69.
[3] Qur'an, 19:59.
[4] Qur'an, 47:24.
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know the outward of this world's life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless).[1] They shall build houses, erect palaces, and decorate mosques, but their interest shall be not but the pleasures of this life which they shall be keeping to and involving into. Their gods shall be their abdomens (desires). Allah the Almighty has said, (And you make strong fortresses that perhaps you may last forever. And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (like) tyrants. So guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey Me),[2] and said, (Have you then considered him who takes his low desire for his god, and Allah has made him err purposely and has set a seal upon his ear and his heart and put a covering upon his eye. Who can then guide him after Allah? Will you not then be mindful).[3]
He is not but a polytheist that makes his desires his religion and his abdomen as his god; whenever he desires any thing permissible or impermissible, he shall not abstain from it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and they rejoice in this world's life, and this world's life is nothing compared with the hereafter but a temporary enjoyment).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, their mihrabs are their women, their honor is their dirhams and dinars, and their purpose is their abdomens. These are the worst of evildoers; sedition is with them and to them it shall return.
O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) the saying of Allah the Almighty, (Have you then considered if We let them enjoy themselves for years?
[1] Qur'an, 30:7.
[2] Qur'an, 26:129-131.
[3] Qur'an, 45:23.
[4] Qur'an, 13:26.
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Then there comes to them that with which they are threatened. That which they were made to enjoy shall not avail them).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, their bodies are not satisfied and their hearts do not show reverence.
O ibn Mas’ud, Islam has started strange and shall return strange as it has started. So blessed are the strangers! Whoever of your offspring shall live in that time should not offer greetings in their meetings, not escort their deads, and not visit their sick ones, because they shall follow your law and appear with your mission, but they shall contradict your deeds, and so they shall die on other than your religion. They are not from me nor am I from them. Therefore, do not fear anyone other than Allah, because Allah the Almighty says, (Wherever you are, death will overtake you, though you are in lofty towers),[2]and (On the day when the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women will say to those who believe: Wait for us, that we may have light from your light…and the deceiver deceived you concerning Allah. So today ransom shall not be accepted from you nor from those who disbelieved; your abode is the Fire; it is your patron and evil is the end).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge intending (the interests of) this life and prefers to it (knowledge) the love of this life and its pleasures shall deserve the wrath of Allah and shall be in the lowest abyss of Fire with the Jews and the Christians who have turned their backs to the Book of Allah. Allah the Almighty has said, (and when there comes unto them
[1] Qur'an, 26:205-207.
[2] Qur'an, 4:78.
[3] Qur'an, 57:13-15.
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that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on the disbelievers).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns the Qur'an just for this life and its interests, Allah will prevent him from entering the Paradise.
O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge but does not act according to it Allah will resurrect him blind on the Day of Resurrection, and whoever learns knowledge just for pride and fame wishing for the interests of this life Allah will deprive him of his blessing, depress his living, and leave him to his desires, and whomever Allah leaves to his desires shall perish. Allah the Almighty has said, (And whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship with his Lord).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, let your companions be the righteous and your brothers the pious and the ascetics, because Allah the Almighty has said in His Book, (Friends on that day will be foes, one to another, except the Righteous).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep to the fear of Allah and the performing of obligations, because He says, (He is worthy to be feared and worthy to forgive)[4] and says, (Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him; that is for him who fears his Lord).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep away from you what does not concern you and keep to what suffices you, because Allah says, (Every man
[1] Qur'an, 2:89.
[2] Qur'an, 18:110.
[3] Qur'an, 43:67.
[4] Qur'an, 74:56.
[5] Qur'an, 98:8.
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of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him (to be headless of others).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware to give up an obedience and go to a disobedience pitying your family, because Allah the Almighty says, (O people! Keep your duty to your Lord and fear a Day when the parent will not be able to avail the child in aught, nor the child to avail the parent. Surely Allah’s promise is the very truth. Let not the life of the world beguile you, nor let the deceiver beguile you, in regard to Allah).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of this life and its pleasures, lusts, and adornment, and the eating of the ill-gotten gains, and gold, silver, mounts, women, children, accumulations of gold and silver, cattle, and tilth, for that is the pleasure of the worldly life and with Allah there is the most excellent abode. (Say: Shall I tell you what is better than these? For those who guard (against evil) are gardens with their Lord, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and pure mates and Allah's pleasure; and Allah is Seer of the servants).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not be self-deceit before Allah, nor be self-deceit by your prayers, deeds, piety, and worship.
O ibn Mas’ud, when you recite the Book of Allah and get at a verse that has enjoining and forbidding, repeat it with pondering and consideration and do not be heedless to that, because the forbidding means the avoiding of disobediences and the enjoining means the doing of goodness and benevolence. Allah the Almighty says, (Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt,
[1] Qur'an, 80:37.
[2] Qur'an, 31:33.
[3] Qur'an, 3:15.
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and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[1]
O Ibn Mas’ud, do not deem a sin as insignificant or trivial, and avoid major sins, because when a servant shall look at his sins on the Day of Judgment, his eyes shall shed pus and blood. Allah the Almighty says, (On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there might be a long duration of time).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, When it said to you: ‘Fear Allah’, do not be angry, because He says, (And when it is said unto him: Be careful of thy duty to Allah, pride carries him off to sin, therefore hell is sufficient for him).[3]
The Prophet (a.s.) added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, make your hope little; when it is morning, you say: I may not remain alive until the evening, and when it is evening, you say: I may not remain alive until the morning. Get yourself ready for leaving this life, and love the meeting with Allah and do not hate His meeting, because Allah loves the meeting with whoever loves the meeting with Him and hates the meeting with whoever hates the meeting with Him.
O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, a time shall come to people when they consider wine as lawful…the
[1] Qur'an, 3:25.
[2] Qur'an, 3:30.
[3] Qur'an, 2:206.
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curse of Allah, the angels, and of people in whole be on them. I am free from them and they are free from me.
O ibn Mas’ud, one, who commits adultery with his mother, is easier to Allah than one who mixes with his money inasmuch as a grain of mustard seed out of usury, and whoever drinks an alcoholic drink a little or much is worse to Allah than one who eats usury, because it (wine)[1] is the key to every evil.
O ibn Mas’ud, when you do a doing, make it loyally for the sake of Allah, because He does not accept from His servants except the loyally done deeds. He says, (And no one has with him any boon for which he should be rewarded, except the seeking of the pleasure of his Lord, the Most High, and he shall soon be well-pleased).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, leave aside the pleasures of this life, its foods, sweet, warm, cool, ease, and enjoyments and keep your self to abstinence from them, because you shall be asked about all that. Allah the Almighty says, (Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about the boons).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, let this life and its pleasures not busy you, for Allah the Almighty says, (What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, if you do a doing of benevolence and you intend by it other than Allah, then do not expect from Him a reward for
[1] We have discussed the great harms of wine in our book, Labor and the Rights of a Laborer in Islam.
[2] Qur'an, 92:19-21.
[3] Qur'an, 102:8.
[4] Qur'an, 23:115.
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that, for He says, (and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, If people praise you and say that you fast in the day and spend the night in worship while you do not do so, then do not be delighted with that, because Allah the Almighty says, (Do not think those who rejoice for what they have done and love that they should be praised for what they have not done; so do by no means think them to be safe from the chastisement, and they shall have a painful chastisement).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do a lot of good deeds and benevolence, because both a good-doer and a bad-doer shall regret; the good-doer shall say: I wish I had done much more good deeds, and the bad-doer shall say: I have been neglectful. The proof of that is His saying, (Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not advance sin and delay repentance, but advance repentance and delay sin, for Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (But man would fain deny what is before him).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of enacting a heretical norm, because if a servant enact a bad norm, he shall bear its sin and the sin of whoever practices it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and We record that which they send before (them) and that which they leave behind),[5] and (Man shall on that day be informed of what he sent before and (what he) put off).[6]
[1] Qur'an, 18:105.
[2] Qur'an, 3:188.
[3] Qur'an, 75:2.
[4] Qur'an, 75:5.
[5] Qur'an, 36:12.
[6] Qur'an, 75:13.
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O ibn Mas’ud, do not lean on this life and do not trust in it, because you shall leave it soon. Allah the Almighty says, (So We turned them out of gardens and springs),[1] (And cornfields and palm-trees having fine spadices).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, consider the ancient nations and the tyrannical kings who had passed away, for Allah says, (and Aad and Thamud and the dwellers of the Rass and many generations between them).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to give up sin secretly and openly, (whether) minor or major (it is), because Allah the Almighty sees you wherever you are and He is with you, so avoid them (sins).
O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy and openness, on the land and in the sea, in the night and the day, because He says, (Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, take Satan as enemy, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Satan is your enemy, so take him for an enemy),[5] and He says about Iblis, (Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right-hand side and from their left-hand side; and you shall not find most of them thankful),[6] and (He said: The truth then is and the truth
[1] Qur'an, 26:57.
[2] Qur'an, 26:148.
[3] Qur'an, 25:38.
[4] Qur'an, 58:7.
[5] Qur'an, 35:6.
[6] Qur'an, 7:17.
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do I speak. That I will most certainly fill hell with you and with those among them who follow you all).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful not to eat impermissible thing, not to wear impermissible thing, not to take from impermissible thing, and not to disobey Allah, because Allah the Almighty says to Iblis, (And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your voice, and collect against them your forces riding and on foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and hold out promises to them; and the Shaitan makes not promises to them but to deceive),[2] and says, (therefore let not this world's life deceive you, nor let the deceiver deceive you in respect of Allah).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not approach any impermissible thing of wealth and women, for Allah the Almighty says, (And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens),[4] and do not prefer the worldly life to the afterlife by pleasures and lusts, because Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (Then as for him who is inordinate, and prefers the life of this world, then surely the hell is the abode).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not betray any one in some money that he leaves with you or a trust that he entrusts you with, because Allah says, (Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to their owners).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not talk about anything except when knowing it that you have heard or seen it, for Allah the Almighty says,
[1] Qur'an, 38:84-85.
[2] Qur'an, 17:64.
[3] Qur'an, 31:33, 35:5.
[4] Qur'an, 55:46.
[5] Qur'an, 79:37-39.
[6] Qur'an, 4:58.
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(And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge; surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be questioned about that),[1] and (Their testimony shall be written down and they shall be questioned),[2] and (When the two Receivers receive, sitting on the right and on the left. He utters not a word but there is by him a watcher at hand),[3] and (And certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him, and We are nearer to him than his life-vein).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not worry about livelihood, for Allah the Almighty says, (And there is no animal in the earth but on Allah is the sustenance of it)[5], and (And in the heaven is your sustenance and what you are promised of),[6] and (And if Allah touch you with affliction, there is none to take it off but He; and if He touch you with good, then He has power over all things).[7]
O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth as prophet, whoever turns his back to this life and wishes for the trade of the afterlife surely Allah will trade for him behind his trade and make his trade profitable. Allah the Almighty says, (Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which the hearts and eyes shall turn about).[8]
[1] Qur'an, 17:36.
[2] Qur'an, 43:19.
[3] Qur'an, 50:17-18.
[4] Qur'an, 50:16.
[5] Qur'an, 11:6.
[6] Qur'an, 51:22.
[7] Qur'an, 6:17.
[8] Qur'an, 24:37.
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Do not relieve your tongue from the remembrance of Allah, and that is by saying: glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is great. This is the profitable trade. Allah the Almighty says, (…they hope for a gain which will not perish. That He may pay them back fully their rewards and give them more out of His grace).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, make whatever you see by your eye and your heart admires it (make it) for Allah, for this is the trade of the afterlife; Allah the Almighty says, (What is with you passes away and what is with Allah is enduring).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, love the righteous because man shall be (resurrected) with whom he loves, and if you cannot do deeds of benevolence, then love the ulama (scholars), because Allah the Almighty says, (And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they).[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware to associate anything with Allah for a twinkle of an eye even if you are sawed by a saw, cut into pieces, crucified, or burned in fire. Allah the Almighty says, (And (as for) those who believe in Allah and His messengers, these it is that are the truthful and the faithful ones in the sight of their Lord).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, be patient with those who make remembrance of Allah, glorify Him, often say ‘there is no god but Allah’, praise Him, do due to His obedience, and call upon Him in the morning and in the evening. Allah says, (And withhold yourself
[1] Qur'an, 35:29-30.
[2] Qur'an, 16:96.
[3] Qur'an, 4:69.
[4] Qur'an, 57:19.
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with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them),[1] and (neither are you answerable for any reckoning of theirs, nor are they answerable for any reckoning of yours, so that you should drive them away and thus be of the unjust).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not prefer to the remembrance of Allah anything, because He says, (and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest),[3] and (Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me),[4] and (And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me),[5] and (Call upon Me, I will answer you).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, Keep to calmness and gravity, and be easy, lenient, chaste, submissive (to Allah), pious, pure, dutiful, immaculate, purified, truthful, loyal, sound, right, reasonable, righteous, patient, grateful, faithful, god-fearing, worshipping, ascetic, merciful, knowledgeable, and aware (of religion). Allah the Almighty says, (Most surely Ibrahim was forbearing, tender-hearted, oft-returning (to Allah)),[7] and ( And the servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace. And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing),[8] and (And they who, when reminded of the
[1] Qur'an, 18:28.
[2] Qur'an, 6:52.
[3] Qur'an, 29:45.
[4] Qur'an, 2:152.
[5] Qur'an, 2:186.
[6] Qur'an, 40:60.
[7] Qur'an, 11:75.
[8] Qur'an, 25:63-64.
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communications of their Lord, do not fall down thereat deaf and blind. And they who say: O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard (against evil). These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient, and shall be met therein with greetings and salutations. Abiding therein; goodly the abode and the resting-place),[1] and (Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, and who keep aloof from what is vain and who are givers of poor-rate, and who guard their private parts, except before their spouses or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blamable. But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits, and those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, and who pay heed to their prayers; these are the heirs who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein),[2] and (Those shall be in gardens, honored),[3] and (Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them, they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust. Those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them; these are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, let the pity to your family and children not make you involve in disobediences and unlawfulness, for Allah the Almighty says, (The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man), except him who comes to Allah with a heart free (from
[1] Qur'an, 73-76.
[2] Qur'an, 23:1-11.
[3] Qur'an, 70:35.
[4] Qur'an, 8:2-4.
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evil)).[1] And keep to the remembrance of Allah and the good deeds, for Allah the Almighty says, (and the ever-abiding good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those, who guide people to goodness and enjoin them to do good, while they themselves are inadvertent to it. Allah the Almighty says, (What! do you enjoin people to be good and neglect your own souls?)[3]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to keep your tongue, because Allah the Almighty says, (On that day We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they earned).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, be careful of your hidden thought, for Allah the Almighty says, (On the day when hidden thoughts shall be searched out. Then will he have no might nor any helper).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of a day when the pages shall be laid open, and scandals shall be manifest. Allah the Almighty says, (And We will set up a just balance on the day of resurrection, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and though there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (yet) will We bring it, and sufficient are We to take account).[6]
O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, surely He sees you. Allah the Almighty says,
[1] Qur'an, 26:88-89.
[2] Qur'an, 18:46.
[3] Qur'an, 2:44.
[4] Qur'an, 36:65.
[5] Qur'an, 86:9-10.
[6] Qur'an, 21:47.
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(Who fears the Beneficent Allah in secret and comes with a penitent heart; enter it in peace, that is the day of immortality).[1]
O ibn Mas’ud, be fair to people against yourself, and be loyal in advising the community and be merciful to them. If you are so and Allah is displeased with the people of a village while you are among them and He wants to send down torment over them, He will look at you and be merciful to them. Allah the Almighty says, (And it did not behoove your Lord to have destroyed the towns tyrannously, while their people acted well).[2]
O ibn Mas’ud, beware of showing people that you are pious and reverent while between you and your Lord you keep on disobedience and sin. Allah the Almighty says, (He knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal).[3] O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those who are strict to people while loose to themselves. Allah the Almighty says, (why do you say that which you do not do?).[4]
O ibn Mas’ud, when you do something, do it with knowledge and reason, and beware of doing something without good management and knowledge, for, exalted is He, He says, (And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly).[5]
O ibn Mas’ud, keep to truthfulness and do not let any lie come out of your mouth. Be just to people against yourself and be kind. Call people to benevolence, maintain relations with your kin, do not deceive people, and fulfill to them what you have promised them of, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Allah
[1] Qur'an, 50:33-34.
[2] Qur'an, 11:117.
[3] Qur'an, 40:19.
[4] Qur'an, 61:2.s.
[5] Qur'an, 16:92.
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enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).[1]”[2]
[1] Qur'an, 16:90.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 92-110.
From: http://www.maaref-foundation.com/english/lib/pro_ahl/holy_prophet/the_life_of_muhammad/