In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The Life of the Salaf (Early Generations) Between Words and Deeds
Visiting the Sick
On the authority of Abu al-'Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him):
Ghalib al-Qattan entered upon him to visit him while he was ill,
but he stayed only briefly before getting up to leave.
Abu al-'Aliyah said,
"How considerate the Arabs are!
Do not sit too long with the sick,
for a patient may need to tend to a personal matter and feel shy in front of his visitors."
Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
"The best sick-visit is the briefest one."
And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Salih, who said:
"Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) visited me while I was ill,
so I said,
'O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman,
pray for me.'
He replied,
'Pray for yourself,
for He responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him.'"
One of the salaf (early generations) said,
"Part of the completeness of visiting the sick
is to place your hand upon the patient."
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Necessities and Luxuries
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Work and Seeking Livelihood
'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said,
"Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the most enterprising merchants of Quraysh
until he assumed the Caliphate."
Whenever an Arab man
came to Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him),
he would say to him,
"Why do you not engage in trade?
Abu Bakr was the premier merchant of Quraysh."
And on the authority of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"Earning a livelihood through humble labor
is far better than begging from people."
And on the authority of al-Zuhri, who said:
"'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) gave in charity,
during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
half of his wealth, which was four thousand [dirhams].
Then he gave forty thousand in charity,
and then he gave forty thousand dinars in charity.
After that, he provided mounts of five hundred horses in the cause of Allah,
followed by another one thousand five hundred camels in the cause of Allah.
The vast majority of his wealth came from trade."
Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by a man in the marketplace
who had purchased a camel-load of food,
and the man asked him,
"O Abu 'Abdillah,
do you do this while being a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?"
Salman replied,
"When the soul has secured its sustenance,
it attains tranquility and devotes itself to worship,
and the devil's whisperings lose all hope of swaying it."
On the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to trade across the Mediterranean Sea;
among them were Talhah ibn 'Ubaydillah
and Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl (may Allah be pleased with them both)."
On the authority of Hanzalah, who said:
"I saw Salim ibn 'Abdillah ibn 'Umar (may Allah have mercy on him)
going out to the marketplace to purchase his own necessities."
People used to enter upon 'Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him)
while he was tending his sheep, milking them, and feeding them fodder.
Muslim said:
"Mu'awiyah ibn Qurrah (may Allah have mercy on him) met me
as I was returning from bringing pasture.
He asked me, 'What did you do?'
I replied,
'I bought such-and-such for my family.'
He asked,
'And did you acquire it lawfully?'
I said, 'Yes.'
He said,
'Going out early in the morning as you did is dearer to me than standing in prayer all night and fasting all day.'"
Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
"Stick to your marketplace,
for you will remain noble in the eyes of your brothers as long as you do not need them."
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Clothing and Material Possessions
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"When Allah broadens your means, live comfortably within your means."
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"I saw four patches between the shoulders of 'Umar."
On the authority of Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"They used to detest the two forms of ostentatious clothing:
exceptionally fine garments by which one stands out
and attracts the gaze of people,
and excessively shabby garments through which one is despised."
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said to his companions,
"You may have noticed that I delayed the prayer;
that was only because my clothes were being washed, and I was waiting for them to dry."
On the authority of al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"Wear clothing such that the foolish will not despise you for it,
nor will the scholars find fault with you because of it."
Abu al-'Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
"A man visited me wearing woolen garments,
so I said, 'This is the dress of monks;
indeed, when Muslims visit one another, they dress well.'"
On the authority of Muslim ibn Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"Whenever you wear a garment and imagine that you are superior in it to what you are in another,
then what a wretched garment it is for you!"
Ibn al-Sammak (may Allah have mercy on him) said to the wearers of coarse wool,
"By Allah, if this dress of yours matches your inner state,
then you have loved that people find out about it;
and if it contradicts your inner state, then you are truly ruined."
On the authority of 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Abd al-Hamid al-Maymuni, who said:
"I have never seen anyone with cleaner garments,
nor anyone more meticulous in trimming his mustache and grooming the hair of his head and body,
nor with purer and whiter clothes than Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him)."
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Certain Non-Religious Sciences
Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
"I know of no knowledge, after the knowledge of the lawful and the prohibited, more noble than medicine;
yet the People of the Book have surpassed us in it."
He would lament the Muslims' neglect of medicine,
saying, "They have squandered one-third of knowledge and consigned it to the Jews and Christians."
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Marriage
On the authority of Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"A young man's religious devotion is not complete until he marries."
The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Building Houses and Mansions
On the authority of 'Abdullah al-Rumi, who said:
"I entered upon Umm Talq
and noticed that the ceiling of her house was very low.
I said to her, 'O Umm Talq,
why is the ceiling of your house so low?'
She replied, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to us:
"Do not raise your buildings too high,
for that marks the worst of your times."'"
On the authority of Qays ibn Abi Hazim, who said:
"We visited Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) to inquire about his health,
and he had undergone cauterization in seven places.
He said, 'Our companions who passed before us went away without the world detracting from their reward in the least,
whereas we have acquired so much wealth that we find no place for it except in dirt.
Were it not that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
forbade us from wishing for death,
I would have wished for it.'
Then we visited him another time while he was building a wall of his,
and he said, 'Indeed, a Muslim is rewarded for everything he spends,
except for that which he puts into this dirt'—
meaning construction."
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"Three things bring happiness, and three things bring misery.
As for happiness, it is a righteous, agreeable wife;
a riding beast that conveys you to your companions whenever you wish;
and a spacious home with ample conveniences.
As for misery, it is an ill-mannered wife;
a wretched mount
which tires you out if you try to catch up with your companions,
and leaves you behind if you let it go at its own pace;
and a cramped home with scarce conveniences."
On the authority of Ibrahim al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"Whenever a man possesses wealth but withholds what is due from it,
he is afflicted with spending it on water and clay.
Indeed, a servant is rewarded for all his expenditures,
except for that which he invests in construction and mud."
Striking a Balance Between the Works of this World and the Hereafter
On the authority of 'Umar ibn Qays, who said:
"Whenever I observed 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him)
dealing with his worldly affairs, I would say,
'This is a man who does not seek Allah for even the blink of an eye.'
But whenever I observed him in matters of his Hereafter, I would say,
'This is a man who does not desire the world for even the blink of an eye.'"
'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"Work for your worldly life as if you will live forever,
and work for your Hereafter as if you will die tomorrow."
Umm 'Abbad said,
"We used to hear Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) weeping by night
and laughing by day."
On the authority of Bilal ibn Sa'd (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"I knew them to compete enthusiastically in shooting at archery targets
and to laugh with one another,
but when night fell, they were devoted monks in worship."
On the authority of Sa'id ibn Iyas al-Jurayri (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:
"They used to devote the first part of their day to meeting their needs and managing their livelihoods,
and the latter part of the day to worshipping their Lord and performing their prayers."
Moderation and the Avoidance of Extravagance
Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"I have never seen extravagance except that right beside it was a squandered right."
It used to be said, "Prudent management is the key to sound judgment,
and moderation is the gateway to safety."
It also used to be said, "Moderation in everything is good,
even in walking and sitting."
Additional Benefits
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"Whoever trades in a commodity three times and does not profit from it
should turn to something else."
On the authority of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"If one of you is not granted provision in a certain land,
let him travel and trade in another land."
The Life of the Salaf Between Words and Deeds