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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The Lives of the Salaf Between Words and Deeds

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The Stance of the Salaf Towards Wealth

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Censuring the Heart's Attachment to Wealth

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Wealth was brought to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) during his governorship.

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He began to inspect it and look upon it,

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and then his eyes overflowed with tears and he wept.

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'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said to him,

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"What makes you weep, O Commander of the Faithful?

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By Allah, this is surely an occasion for gratitude!"

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'Umar replied, "By Allah, whenever wealth was given to a people,

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it inevitably cast enmity and hatred among them."

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On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), he said,

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"The owner of two dirhams faces a far harder reckoning than the owner of one dirham."

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Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"By Allah, I met people—

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even if one of them were to inherit immense wealth..."

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He said, "...and by Allah, he was in severe poverty and hardship."

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He said, "He would say to his brother,

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'O my brother, I know that I have an inheritance, and it is lawful,

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but I fear that it will corrupt my heart and my deeds.

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Therefore, it is yours; I have no need of it.'

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He would not take a single thing from it, ever."

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He said, "And by Allah, he was in severe poverty and hardship."

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And he used to swear by Allah,

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"No one ever venerated the dirham except that Allah humiliated him."

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Al-Mutanabbi said,

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"And whoever spends hours amassing his wealth

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for fear of poverty, his very actions are poverty itself."

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And Abu Nuwas said,

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"You belong to wealth as long as you withhold it,

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but when you spend it, wealth belongs to you."

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Leaving Wealth for One's Heirs

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Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill,

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and making a bequest was mentioned to him.

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He said, "As for my liquid wealth,

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Allah knows best what I used to do with it.

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But as for my real estate and lands,

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I do not wish for anyone to share in them with my children."

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And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) left behind seventy thousand.

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The total wealth of Al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was

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fifty million.

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A wife of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was bought out of her share of the inheritance—

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a third of her share—

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for three hundred and eighty thousand.

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On the authority of 'Amir ibn 'Abd Qays (may Allah have mercy on him), he said,

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"There is no wealth greater in reward

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than wealth a man leaves behind for his children, making them independent of people."

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Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away leaving behind ten thousand.

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Prioritizing Actions

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On the authority of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid, he said,

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"I have never seen a scholar of fiqh who fasted less than 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)."

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It was said to him, "Why do you not fast?"

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He replied,

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"I prefer prayer over fasting.

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When I fast, I grow too weak to pray."

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On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said,

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"To maintain a household of Muslims for a month, or a Friday-to-Friday, or whatever Allah wills,

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is beloved to me than performing Hajj after Hajj.

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And a tray of food worth a fraction of a dirham that I gift to a brother for the sake of Allah

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is more beloved to me than a dinar I spend in the cause of Allah Almighty."

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It was said to Malik ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him),

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"What do you say regarding the pursuit of knowledge?"

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He said,

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"It is good and beautiful.

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But look to that which is required of you from morning until evening, and adhere to it."

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Abu Sulayman al-Darani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"Whoever is engaged in a voluntary act of worship that brings him delight,

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and when the time for an obligatory prayer arrives, that delight in the voluntary act does not cease,

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then he is deluded in his voluntary worship."

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Good Character

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On the authority of Umm al-Darda', she said,

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"Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) spent the night praying,

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and he began weeping and saying,

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'O Allah, You have made my physical creation fine, so make my character fine,'

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until morning came.

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I said, 'O Abu al-Darda',

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your supplication all night long was only about good character!'

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He said,

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'O Umm al-Darda',

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a Muslim servant continues to refine his character

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until his good character admits him into Paradise;

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and his character worsens until his bad character admits him into the Fire.'"

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Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)

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was among the most lighthearted and cheerful of people.

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He was asked,

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"Did the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laugh?"

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He said, "Yes,

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while faith in their hearts was greater than mountains."

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On the authority of Mu'adh ibn Sa'id, he said,

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"We were with 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him),

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when a man began recounting a hadith,

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and another man interrupted him during his account.

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'Ata' said,

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'Subhan Allah!

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What manners are these?

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Indeed, I hear a hadith from a man when I am more knowledgeable about it than he is,

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yet I show him as if I know nothing of it.'"

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'Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"Everything has a foundation,

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and the foundation of Islam

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is good character."

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On the authority of 'Awn ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him),

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he used to say,

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"The believer is friendly and approachable,

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and there is no good in one who neither brings harmony nor receives it."

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A man acted foolishly toward one of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on him),

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so he remained silent toward him,

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and said, "O my brother,

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even if you were to point out every flaw in me,

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you could never diminish me as much as I know myself to be deficient."

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Then he said,

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"A man acted foolishly toward Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him),

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so he bore it patiently and said,

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'For what purpose did we learn sacred knowledge?'"

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Qabisah said,

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"Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) was lighthearted;

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I used to fall behind him out of fear that he would disarm me with his humor."

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One of the salaf was seen in a dream,

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and he was asked about one of his righteous brothers.

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He said,

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"Where is he?

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He was raised to high ranks in Paradise because of his good character."

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Some of them said,

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"Seekers of praise have never acquired it

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with anything like cheerfulness and a welcoming face."

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Zuhayr ibn 'Abbad (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"Whenever I said to Malik ibn Anas, 'May Allah have mercy on you,'

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he would reply,

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'And may Allah have mercy on you.'

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And if I said to him, 'May Allah grant you wellbeing,'

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he would reply,

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'And may Allah grant you wellbeing.'"

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Good Etiquette

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He said,

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"He had the finest character among people toward his family and children,

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and he would say,

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'In doing so lies the pleasure of your Lord.'"

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The poet said,

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"People may live an era without affection between them,

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yet greeting with peace and gentleness plants it."

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A wise man was asked,

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"Who taught you etiquette?"

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He said,

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"I observed the ignorance of the ignorant person and avoided it."

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Ibn al-Muqaffa' (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"It is the duty of a rational person to hold up two mirrors:

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in one, he looks at his own faults

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so that he humbles himself

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and rectifies what he can of them;

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and in the other, he looks at the virtues of people

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so that he adopts what he can of them."

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Censuring Bad Character and Explaining Its Evil Consequences

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Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"Whoever has bad character tortures himself."

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One of the salaf said,

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"He said: A person of good character is treated like family among strangers,

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whereas a person of bad character is like a stranger among his own family."

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On the authority of Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him), he said,

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"The person of bad character inflicts the greatest hardship upon the soul within his own chest;

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it is in constant misery from him.

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Next is his wife, then his child—

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to the extent that he enters his house while they are in joy,

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but when they hear his voice, they scatter in fear of him;

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even his riding beast veers away to avoid the stones he throws at it,

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his dog sees him and leaps onto the wall,

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and even his cat flees from him."

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'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"A man should guard against meanness of character

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just as he guards against what is forbidden."

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A renunciate once visited Harun al-Rashid (may Allah have mercy on him) one day

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and said, "O Harun, fear Allah!"

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So Harun took him aside in private and said,

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"O fellow, be fair with me!

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Am I worse, or Pharaoh?"

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He replied, "Rather, Pharaoh."

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Harun said, "And are you better, or Moses?"

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He replied, "Rather, Moses."

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Harun said, "Do you not know that when Allah Almighty sent him and his brother to Pharaoh, He said: ﴿Speak to him gentle words﴾?

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“And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear.” (20:44)

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Yet you confronted me with the harshest words!

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You have neither disciplined yourself with the manners of Allah,

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nor adopted the character of the righteous."

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The man said, "I was mistaken, and I ask Allah's forgiveness."

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Harun said, "May Allah forgive you,"

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and he ordered twenty thousand dirhams for him,

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but the man refused to accept it.