Quotes from the Salaf & great Imaams!

[Shishani]

Taken from: www.islaam.com

Quotes From the Salaf

Ataa al Khurasani said: "I don't advise you to mind your life's affairs because I know that you are covetous to do so, but I advise you to mind the affairs of the Hereafter. Take from this temporary home to the eternal one. Consider this life as something that you have left, I swear by Allah you will leave it. Consider death as something that you have tasted, I swear by Allah you will taste it. And consider the Hereafter as a home that you have visited, I swear by Allah you will be there."

Dhu'n-Noon al-Misri said: "The ailment of the body is in sickness and that of the heart is in sins. A delicious meal cannot benefit the body when the person is sick and likewise, the heart cannot taste the sweetness of worship if it is full of sins."

Ash-Shafi`i said: "The greatest of deeds are three: To give generously out of the few that you have, to be devoted to Allah in loneliness and to say the truth in the face of someone who is hoped and feared."

`Ali ibn Abi Talib said: "Whoever has the following six characteristics does all that is required to make him enter Paradise and avoid Hell: to know Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala and obey him, to know Satan and disobey him, to know the truth and follow it, to know the falsehood and avoid it, to know the life of this world and renounce it, and to know the Hereafter and seek it."

Ibrahim al-Ash`ath said: I heard al-Fudayl saying: "Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him, and his renunciation of the life of this world is equal to his desire of the Hereafter. Whoever acts according to what he knows, Allah will make him successful in what he doesn't know. And whoever is ill-tempered disgraces his honour, religion and generosity."

Narrated Dirar ibn Murrah: Iblis said: "If I am successful in persuading man to do three things, then that will be all I need: to make forget his sins, to regard his good deeds as too many, and to be proud of his opinion."

Wahib ibn al-Ward said: "Do not insult Satan explicitly whereas you take him clandestinely as a friend."

Narrated Anas Ibn `Ayyad, "I saw Safwan Ibn Salim, and had it been said to him: 'Tomorrow is the Day of Resurrection', he would have not needed to perform an additional act of worship."

Ibrahim ibn Adham was asked: "How are you?" He said: "We patch the life of this world by tearing from our religion, so neither our religion remains nor what we patch. Blessed is he who prefers Allah, his Rabb and renounces the life of this world for what he expects as reward in the Hereafter."

Abu Bakr al-Maruthi said: I visited Ahmad ibn Hanbal one morning and said to him: "How are you?" He answered: "How is the one whose Rabb requires to perform his duties, whose Prophet requires to flow the Sunnah, the two angels require that he rectifies his deeds, his human self requires him to follow its desires, Satan requires him to commit evil deeds, the angel of death requires him to give his life and his children require him to satisfy their needs."

A man said to Al Fudayl ibn `Ayyad: "How are you?" He replied: "If you are asking about the life of this world, it has diverted us from the right path and sent us in many directions."

 

[Shishani]

Quotes From the Salaf About the Life of This World

Sufyan ath-Thawri said: "Man's love for the life of this world is shown in the way he greets people."
[Look at a chaste poor man ... nobody talks to him. People greet him so warily as if fearing that he may pass poverty to them. But see how the people welcome a rich man, even if he does not perform prayer. They stand up with smiling faces, and each one hopes to greet him first. Note the difference between a man who is so great as seen by Allah and another who does not even weigh a mosquito's wing - but this is life.]

Narrated Muhammad ibn Abi Imran, "I heard a man asking Hatim al-Asamm: 'On what have you based your dependence on Allah?' He said: 'On four points: I knew that my sustenance cannot be eaten by someone else and I am assured, I knew that my duty cannot be done by anyone else, so I kept myself busy with that. I knew that death will come suddenly to me, so I prepared myself for it. I knew that wherever I go I am under Allah's Eye, so I am always shy of Him.'"

`Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "O man! Prepare yourself for the Hereafter, obey Allah to the extent of your need for Him and anger Him to the extent of your patience in Hell."

Abu Safwan ar-Ru`wini was asked: "What is that life dispraised by Allah in the Qur'an and that the sensible man should avoid?" He said: "Whatever you love in this life seeking worldly benefits is dispraised, and whatever you love seeking benefits in the Hereafter is praised."

Yahya ibn Mu`adh said, "O how poor is man, if he fears Hell in the same degree of his fearing poverty, then he will enter Paradise."

Ali ibn Al-Fudayl said: "I heard my father saying to Ibn Al-Mubarak: You order us to renounce the worldly pleasures and to be satisfied with the minimum, whereas you are buying goods, so what is that?" He said: "I do that to protect my face and my honour, and this helps me obey my Rabb." My father said: "How good is that if realised."

An ascetic said: "I know none who has heard of Paradise and Hell, then spends an hour of his life without praying, remembering Allah or doing a good deed." A man said: "I weep so much." He said to him: "To laugh and admit your sins is better than to weep and feel proud of your deeds." The man said: "I need your advice." He said: "Abandon the life of this world to its people as they have abandoned the Hereafter to its people."

Shumait ibn `Ajlan used to say: "Two persons are tormented in the life of this world: a rich man who is given a great wealth that keeps him so busy with worldly pleasures, and a poor man who is deprived of such pleasures for which he is longing with a heartbreak."

Al-Hasan said: "How good is life in this world for a believer because he uses it to prepare his provisions for Paradise. And how evil it is for a disbeliever who uses it to prepare his provisions for Hell."

Yahya ibn Mu`adh said: "The life of this world is a house of deeds and the Hereafter is a house of horrors. Man remains between deeds and horrors until he settles either in Paradise or in Hell."

One of the salaf said: "Beware of the life of this world because its magic is more effective than that of Harut and Marut. The two latter's separate a man from his wife whereas the life of this world separates a man from his Rabb."

Abu Dardaa' said: "Everyone has an imperfection of knowledge and wisdom, if his wealth increases, he becomes so happy though day and night are working hard on destroying his life-span. So what is good of a wealth that increases and a life-span that decreases."

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "I am astonished about those people who are ordered to prepare their provisions, then the start of the journey is announced, however they remain unmindful in their vain discussions and fruitless deeds."

A man came to Sufyan ath-Thawree seeking his advice, and he said to the man: "Work for the sake of this life within the extent of your stay in it, and for the Hereafter within the extent of your stay therein."

Al-Fudayl ibn `Ayyad said: "Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him and his renunciation of worldly pleasures is equal to his desire in the Hereafter."

Salman ibn Dinar said: "What you love to have with you in the Hereafter you should advance today, and what you hate to have with you, you should abandon today."

A poet said: "Don't seek anything other than contentment, because therein is the bliss and the comfort of your body. Then consider the case of a person who possesses the whole world, can he take with him in the grave more than cotton and a shroud?"

 

[Shishani]

The Life of This World Is a Transient Shade

"Truly, the life of this world is nothing but a [quick passing] enjoyment, and verily, the Hereafter that is the home that will remain forever." [Qur'an, 40:39]

"And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial and that surely with Allah is a mighty reward." [Qur'an 8:28]

"And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them [polytheists], the splendour of the life in this world, that We may test them thereby." [Qur'an 20:131]

"And put forward to them the example of the life of this world: It is like the water [rain] which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green. But [later] it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter. And Allah is Able to do everything." [Qur'an 18:45]

"My similitude and that of the life of this world is that of a traveler who took a rest at mid-day under a shade of a tree and then left it." [Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and al-Hakim]

"Be in this world like a stranger, or a wayfarer." [Bukhari]

"When Allah (`azza wa jall) gives a person whatever he loves of the worldly benefits despite his disobedience, then that is a gradual enticement." [Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi]

"The Hour has drawn near, whereas the people have become more greedy for the life of the world and more remote from Allah." [Al-Hakim]

Yahya ibn Mu`adh, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I don't order you to abandon life but to abandon sins. Abandoning life is a virtue and abandoning sins is a duty, so your need for this latter is greater than your need for the former."

Dear brother/sister,

This life is full of benefits and fortunes: The land on which man constructs his dwelling, and grows his food, drinks, dress... etc., all represents the nourishment for man's body and soul proceeding towards Allah. Man of course cannot do without these vital necessities. the one who takes from these necessities only according to his real need as commanded by Allah is saved and praised. But whoever takes more than necessary for himself falls into covetousness which will lead him into harm instead of benefit, and consequently divert him from the right path towards Allah and the Hereafter.

Likewise, taking less than required of the worldly benefits is harmful because the human body needs to satisfy certain basic needs, and that will increase its capability to worship Allah perfectly.

`Amr ibn Abdullah said: "The life of this world and the Hereafter, in the heart of a person, are like the two scales of a balance, when the one becomes heavier the other becomes lighter."

Al-Hasan Al-Basri was asked: "Who is going to cry more than the others on the Day of Resurrection?" He answered, "A man on whom Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala has bestowed His Grace and who uses that for Allah's disobedience."

`Umar ibn Al-Khattab said: "Renouncing the worldly pleasures is a comfort for both the human heart and body."

Yahya ibn Mu`adh said: "How can I love this life? A sustenance is decreed for me in it which keeps me alive and helps me to perform the deeds of obedience that will lead me to Paradise."

`Abdullah ibn `Umar, radhiallahu `anhu, said: "The life of this world is Paradise for a disbeliever and a prision for a believer. When a believer dies and departs from this world, he feels himself like a prisoner who was released to go freely on the spacious earth."

`Umar ibn `Abdil `Aziz said: "The life of this world is not your permanent dwelling because Allah has decreed that it should perish and that all its dwellers should leave it. How many a populated area that will soon come to ruins, and how many a happy resident who will soon leave his residence. You should therefore leave this wolrd in the best way you can, and the best of provisions is piety. Since the life of this world is neither a home nor an abode for the believer, he should be in it, either a stranger whose objective is to take the required provisions and return home, or a traveler who is residing nowhere and who is proceeding day and night to reach a country of residence."

A poet said: "Man should take the minimum possible of the worldly pleasures, because he is leaving for a fixed appointment; turn his eyes away from this life and its ornaments, make all the efforts to keep away from its lusts, because it is a place of temporary pleasures and trials, and all the people in it will perish."

 

[Shishani]

Establish the Prayers and the Prize is Paradise (1/3)

For forty years, the Adhan was never called but Sa`id bin al-Musayyab radhiallahu `anhu was in the mosque before it was called. [Tabaqat al Hanabilah 1/141, Hilyat al Awliya 2/163, Sifat as Safwah 2/80]

`Umar became unconscious after he was stabbed, and according to Al Miswar bin Makhramah, it was said: "Nothing would wake him up except the call to prayer, if he is still alive." They said to him, "The prayer has finished, O Chief of the Faithful!" He woke up and said, "The prayer, by Allah! Verily, there is no share in Islam for whoever abandons the prayer." He performed the prayer while his would was bleeding. [Sifat as Safwah 2/131, As Siyar 5/220]

After ar-Rabi` bin Khaytham became partially paralyzed, he used to go to the mosque helped by two men. He was told:

"O AbuYazid! You have been given permission to pray at home." He said, "You have said the truth, but I heard the caller hearld, 'Hayya `ala al-Falah (Come to success)', and I thought that whoever heras this call should answer it even bycrawling." [Hilyat al Awliya 2/113]

Adi bin Hatim, radhiallahu `anhu, said: "Every time the prayer time falls, it falls while I am eager for it and ready to perform it (i.e. having wudu)." [Az Zuhd by Ahmad, p. 249]

Abu Bakr bin Abdullah al Muzani said: "Who is like you, O son of Adam? Whenever you wish, you use water to make Ablution, go to the place fo worship and thus enter the presence of your Lord (i.e. start praying) without a translator or a barrier between you and Him!" [Al Bidayah wa an Nihayah 9/256]

Abu Rajaa al `Ataridi, "Nothing that I leave behind grieves me, except that I used to bow down on my face five times a day before my Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored." [Hilyat al Awliya 2/306]

Abu Al Aliyah said, "I would travel for days to meet a man and the first thing I would notice about him is his prayer. If he would establish the prayer perfectly and on time, I would stay with him and hear the knowledge he had. If I found him to be careless concerning the prayer, I would leave him and say to myself that for things other than the prayer, he would be even more careless."

When Ali bin Al Husain used to perform Wudu, his color would change. His family asked him why this happened to him every time he performed Ablution, he sid, "Do you know before Whom I am about to stand (in prayer)?"

Yazid bin Abdullah was asked, "Should we make a roof for our mosque?" He said, "Purify your hearts and your mosque will be sufficient for you." [Hilyat al Awliya 2/312]

Adi bin Hatim, radhiallahu `anhu said, "Ever since I became Muslim, I always made sure to have Wudu when the Adhan is called." [As Siyar 3/160]

 

[Shishani]

Establish the Prayers and the Prize is Paradise (2/3)

Ubayd bin Ja`far said, "I never saw my uncle Bishr bin Masnur miss the first takbir, and whenever any person stood up in our mosque to ask people for help, my uncle gave him something." [Sifat as Safwah 3/376]

Ibn Sama`ah said, "For forty years, I only missed Takbir Tahrimah when my mother died." [As Siyar 10/646]

"If you know of a man's disinterest in Takbir Tahrimah, then wash your hands of him." [As Siyar 5/65, Sifat as Safwah 3/88]

Sufyan bin `Uyaynah, "Honoring the prayer includes coming before the Iqamah is recited." [Sifat as Safwah 2/235]

Maymun bin Mahran came to the mosque late and when he was told that the peple had already finished the prayer, he said, "We all belong to Allah and to Him shall be our return! I prefer the congregational prayer to being the governor of Iraq." [Mukashafat al Qulub p 364]

Yunus bin Abdullah said, "What is the matter with me? When I lose a chicken I feel concerned, but when I miss the prayer in congregation, it does not grieve me." [Hilyat al Awliya, 3/19]

`Umar said, while standing on the podium, "A man might have white hair in Islam (i.e. reaches in old age while Muslim), yet has not completed even one prayer for Allah, the Exalted!" He was asked, "Why is that?" He said, "He does not perfect the prayer's required Khushu`, solemness and attending to Allah with his heart." [Al-Ihya 10/202]

Hammad bin Salamah said, "I have never stood up for prayer without imagining that Jahannam is before my eyes." [Tadhkirat al Huffadh 1/219]

Mu`adh bin Jabal advised his son, "My son! Pray the prayer of he who is just about to leave and imagine that you might not be able to pray ever again. Know that the believer dies between two good deeds, one that he performed and one that he intended to perform later on." [Sifat as Safwah 1/496]

Bakr al Muzani said, "If you want your prayer to be of benefit to you, say to yourself, 'I might not have a chance to perform another prayer.'"[Jami` al `Ulum wal Hikam, p 466.]

Shubrumah said, "We accompanied Karz al Harithi on a journey. Whenever he wanted to set camp in an area, he used to scan it with his eyes and when he found a good piece of land that he liked, he would go to it and pray there until it was time to leave." [Sifat as Safwah 3/120]

Al Qasim bin Muhammad said, "Whenever I went out in the morning, I used to visit `Aishah radhiallahu `anha (his aunt and the wife of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and greet her. One day I found her performing Ad Duha prayer, reciting this Ayah repeatedly, crying and invoking Allah: 'So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.' (52:27) I stood there until I felt bored, so Ileft and went to the market to do something and said to myself that when I finish what I have to do, I will go back (to `Aishah radhiallahu `anha). When I finished and went back to her, I found her still standing in prayer, reciting the same Ayah, crying and invoking Allah.'" [Al Ihya 4/436]

 

[Shishani]

Establish the Prayers and the Prize is Paradise (3/3)

Maymun bin Hayyan said, "I never saw Muslim bin Yasar turning his head while praying, whether the prayer was short or long. Once, a part of the mosque came down and the noise caused fear to the people who were in the market, while he was in the mosque, did not fear nor even turn his head and kept praying." [Az Zuhd by Imam Ahmad p 359]

"I accompanied `Ata bin Rabah for eighteen yers. When he became old and weak, he used to stand in prayer and read close to two hundred Ayat from Surat al Baqarah while standing in such firmness that no part of him would move." [As Siyar 5/87, Sifat as Safwah 2/213]

Abu Bakr bin Aiyash said, "If you saw Habib bin Abu Thabit while in Sujud, you would think that he had died because of his long prostration." [As Siyar 5/291]

Ali bin Al Fudayl said, "I saw ath-Thawri went into Sujud while praying, and I performed Tawaf around the House seven times before he raised his head from Sujud." [As Siyar 7/277]

Uthman bin Abi Dahrash said, "I never performed a prayer without invoking Allah afterwards to forgive me for falling into shortcomings in the way I performed it." [Tarikhu Baghdad 13/207]

Mu`awiyah bin Murrah, "I lived during the time of seventy of the Companions of Muhammad, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, and had they lived among you today, they would not recognize any of your acts except the Adhan!" [Hilyat al Awliya 2/299]

Moreover, Maymun bin Mahran said, "If a man from the Salaf was resurrected among you today, he would only recognize your Qiblah."

When Hatim al Asamm was asked about his prayer, he said, "When it is near the time of prayer, I perform a perfect Wudu and go to where I am going to pray and sit down there until I become fully attentive to what I am about to do. I then stand up and pray, imagining that the Ka`bah is in front of my eyes, Paradise to my right, Hellfire to my left and the Angel of Death behind me. I imagine that it is the last prayer I am about to perform, stand up in hope (in Allah, His Paradise and rewards) and fear (from Allah's torment in Hellfire) and recite the Takbir while having full attention. I recite the Qur'an calmly, make Ruku` humbly, go into Sujud with Khushu1 and then sit on my left leg, with the left food laid on the floor and the right food raised up, all the while praying with sincerity. Afterwards, I do not know (nor feel certain) if that prayer was accepted from me!" [Al Ihya 1/179]

One of the Salaf said, "O son of Adam! You need your share in this life, but need your share in the Hereafter even more. If you took care of your share in this life, then you will lose your share in the Hereafter and are soon bound to lose your share in this life too. If you took care of your share in the Hereafter, you will also win your full share in this life with ease." [Fada'il adh Dhikr by ibn al Jawzi p. 19]

Talq bin Habib said, "Allah's Rights are greater than the slave's capacity and ability to fulfill them. Therefore, reach the morning in a state of repentance and reach the night in a state of repentance."

 

[Aisya al-Humaira]

JazakaAllahu khayr katheeran wa Barakallahu feek.

Reading it felt like a very thirsty person on a hot, humid day being feed with a glass of cool water. MashaAllaah.

"When Allah (`azza wa jall) gives a person whatever he loves of the worldly benefits despite his disobedience, then that is a gradual enticement." [Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi]

It is called Istidraaj', right?

 

[Shishani]

Wa jazaakillaahu khayran.

I don't know sister. Sorry for the (very) late reply.

 

[Shishani]

yet you live through amusements and distractions

Oh you of little resolve, where do you stand upon this path? Aadam found it difficult and Nuh lamented because of it, while Allaah’s Khaleel Ibraaheem was thrown into a pit of fire due to it. Isma’eel was laid upon his side ready to be sacrificed for its sake, and while upon it Yusuf was sold for a cheap price and then falsely cast into prison for many years. Zakariyah was sawed in half, and Yahya was slaughtered due to it. Ayyub suffered great distress, while Dawood cried copiously, and ‘Isaa cured the wretched poor of their diseases and walked with wild beasts due to it. And how many, how many forms of difficulty and hardship did the Messenger Muhammad face while proceeding upon it – yet you live through amusements and distractions!

Shaykh al Islaam Ibn Qayyim in his work al-Fawaaid, page 41

 

[Aisya al-Humaira]

Originally Posted by ChechenMaga
"When Allah (`azza wa jall) gives a person whatever he loves of the worldly benefits despite his disobedience, then that is a gradual enticement." [Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi]

It is called Istidraaj', right?

Assalamua' laykum wa rahmatullah,

Clarifying a post of mine (#7) on Istidraaj'. Well, istidraaj are 'miracles' (not sure if that's the correct word to be used) that are given to the believers and also to the disbelievers (with the will from Allaah, of course). In fact, it is given to the disbelievers in order to increase their disbelieves (while they think that God has given them "blessings", its actually the other way around).

I hope my sentences doesn't confuse anyone.

There happens to be a thread on Istidraaj', here in TTI, but I couldn't find it at the moment.

Allaahu a'laam.

Was-salaam