quotes of the salaf thread

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that the son of Al-Fu�ayl b. ‘Ayy�� – All�h have mercy on him – said to his father:
Father! How sweet (beautiful) the speech of the Companions is! [Al-Fu�ayl] said, “Son, do you know why it was so sweet?� He replied, “No father, I do not.� He said, “Because they sought All�h the Exalted when they spoke.�

Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-īm�n 2:299

[eesa the kiwi]

The Movements of a Believer


It is reported that Al-Fu�ayl b. ‘Ayy�� – All�h have mercy on him – said:

The believer speaks little and does alot, whereas the hypocrite (mun�fiq) speaks a lot and does little. When the believer speaks, it is with wisdom, when he is silent, it is in deep thought, when he sees, he takes lessons, and when he acts, it is a cure. If this is the way you are, then you are in the constant worship [of your Lord.]

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliy�` 8:98.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Im�m Al-Sh�fi’ī – All�h have mercy on him – said:
If you fear becoming deluded and impressed by your deeds then remember whose pleasure you are seeking, and the joy (Paradise) in which you want to be, and what punishment you fear. Whoever thinks about these things will diminish his deeds.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’l�m Al-Nubal�` 10:42.

[eesa the kiwi]

Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal [Quran, Gh�fir (40):19]
It is reported that ‘Abdull�h b. ‘Abb�s – All�h be pleased with him – said, explaining this verse:

A man is with a group of people when a woman passes. He shows them that he has lowered his gaze from looking at her. But when he sees they are not paying attention, he looks at her. If he fears they will notice, he lowers his gaze, but All�h has seen in his heart that he wishes he could see her body (private areas).

Hun�d b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd article 1428.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Anas b. M�lik – All�h be pleased with him – said:

There are two days and two nights the likes of which no one has ever heard of before: the Day on which you will receive the news about All�h the Exalted: whether you will receive His punishment or His mercy, the Day you will be given your book (of deeds): either in your right hand or your left, that [first] night you will spend alone in your grave, a night like no other you have spent, and that night on the morning of which will be the Day of Resurrection, after which there will be no more night.

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Muj�lasah wa Jaw�hir Al-‘Ilm article 19.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Wuhayb b. Al-Ward – All�h have mercy on him – said:

Verily, when All�h the Exalted wants to honor a servant of His (for his righteousness), He afflicts him with a reduced means of living, illness in his body and a fearful life (all of which expiate his sins). Until death comes upon him, and he still has some sins, death is made hard upon him because of them, causing him to meet All�h with no sins against him.

And when a person is of little value to All�h (because of his disobedience), He makes his body healthy, broadens his means of living and makes him feel safe (the rewards for any good deeds he did are exhausted). Until death comes upon him, and he still has some good deeds, the experience of death is lightened for him because of them, and he meets All�h with nothing.

Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Muj�lasah wa Jaw�hir Al-‘Ilm article 2865.

[eesa the kiwi]

M�lik b. Dīn�r – All�h have mercy on him – once said:
Verily you are in greatly troubled times. Only one with true insight knows the times you live in. Verily you are in a time of [people] boasting and being proud. [1] Their tongues are swollen in their mouths, and they seek worldly gain through the deeds of the hereafter. So be warned against them for yourselves, lest they catch you in their nets. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you devour [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you boast with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you seek to amass [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you transgress [against others] with your knowledge. If you had truly sought this knowledge for All�h, it would have been seen on you and in your deeds.

[1] The word in some reports is taf�khur (boasting and being proud) but in some other versions, other somewhat ambiguous words are found in its place.

Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Kit�b Al-‘Ālim Al-J�hil article 73 et al.

[eesa the kiwi]

Be with the Carriers of Books It is reported that Im�m ‘Abd Al-Raḥm�n b. Mahdī – All�h have mercy on him – said, following a mention of the Ṣȗfīah (Sufis):

Do not sit with them, nor with the followers of Kal�m.(1) Be with the carriers of books,(2) for they are like mines, like those who descend: one brings up a gem and another a nugget of gold.

Ibn Battah, Al-Ib�nah Al-Kubr� article 483.

(1) Speculative theology, drawn from foreign philosophy and logic, as practiced by sects such as the Jahmia and Mutazila.

(2) Arabic al-qam�tir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadīth.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that ‘Abdull�h b. Masʿūd – All�h be pleased with him – said:

The house in which the Qur’�n is not recited is like a derelict house that has no one to maintain it.

It is also reported that he said:

Verily the emptiest of houses are those that are empty of the Book of All�h.

It is reported that Abū Hurayrah – All�h be pleased with him – used to say about the house in which the Qur’�n is recited:

It becomes spacious for its inhabitants, the good of it becomes plentiful, the angels come to it and the devils leave it. And the house in which the Qur’�n is not recited becomes cramped for its inhabitants, has little good in it, and the devils come to it.

Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf articles 30645, 30647 and 30650.

[eesa the kiwi]

Do not forget your character and speech It is reported that Abū Hurayrah – All�h be pleased with him – used to say:

Whoever does not think that his speech is part of his deeds and that his character is part of his religion will be destroyed without even realizing.

Ibn Abī Al-Duny� Dham Al-Kadhib wa Ahlī article 94.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khatt�b – All�h be pleased with him – said:

Whoever exposes himself to suspicion, let him blame only himself for whoever suspects him.
He who covers his secret is in a position to choose [to correct himself].
Assume the best about your brother until what comes to you from him overcomes you [and you have to change your opinion].
You can never pay back someone who disobeys All�h in his dealings with you with anything better than obeying All�h in your dealings with him.
Take righteous brothers [as friends]; acquire them in plenty, for they are a beautification in prosperity and an aid during calamity.
Do not ask about what has not yet happened until it actually happens, for what has happened is enough of an occupation to worry about what has not happened.
Let not your speech be given freely except to those who want to hear it and will value it.
Do not seek help in fulfilling a need you have except from someone who wants success for you in that endeavor.
Do not consult except people who fear All�h, and do not accompany the sinner, [lest] you learn his sinfulness.
And be humble at the graves.

Abū D�wūd, Kit�b Al-Zuhd article 89.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Muj�hid – All�h have mercy on him – said:
Those who strive and exert themselves (al-mujtahid) amongst you today are like those who used to play around amongst those before you.

Wakī’ b. Al-Jarr�h, Al-Zuhd article 221.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that ‘Alī b. Abī T�lib wrote to Salm�m Al-Farsī – All�h be pleased with them both – saying:

The likeness of this worldly life (duny�) is that of a snake: soft to the touch, it will kill you with its poison. So turn away from what impresses you of it, since what stays with you is so little. And do not be concerned about it, since you are certain about its parting. And be most happy in it when you are most heedful of it; for every time its companion takes solace in one of its delights, it gives way to one of its woes.
Was-Sal�m.

Ibn Abī Al-Duny�, Kit�b Al-Zuhd article 164.

[eesa the kiwi]

This life in brief It is reported that some people asked ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭ�lib – All�h be pleased with him – to describe this worldly life (the duny�). He said:

Do you want a long description or a brief one? They replied, “a brief one.� He said, “Its permissible things (ḥal�l) [lead to] accounts being taken from you, and its forbidden things (ḥar�m) [lead to the] Fire.

Ibn Abī Al-Duny�, Dham Al-Duny� article 17.

[eesa the kiwi]

It is reported that Abū Ḥ�zim Al-Ashja’ī – All�h have mercy on him – said:

If you find yourself in a time when speech is accepted as knowledge and knowledge is accepted as deeds [instead of putting it into practice], then you are in the worst time and with the worst people.

Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Muj�lasah wa Jaw�hir Al-‘Ilm` 4:338.

Abū Ḥ�zim Salm�n Al-Ashja’ī (died circa 100H) was one of the eminent T�bi’īn. He was a fully reliable transmitter of ḥadīth and a companion of Abū Hurayrah – All�h be pleased with him.