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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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The Life of the Salaf (Early Generations) Between Words and Deeds

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Visiting the Sick

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On the authority of Abu al-'Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him):

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Ghalib al-Qattan entered upon him to visit him while he was ill,

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but he stayed only briefly before getting up to leave.

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Abu al-'Aliyah said,

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"How considerate the Arabs are!

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Do not sit too long with the sick,

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for a patient may need to tend to a personal matter and feel shy in front of his visitors."

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Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"The best sick-visit is the briefest one."

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And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Salih, who said:

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"Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) visited me while I was ill,

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so I said,

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'O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman,

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pray for me.'

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He replied,

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'Pray for yourself,

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for He responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him.'"

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One of the salaf (early generations) said,

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"Part of the completeness of visiting the sick

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is to place your hand upon the patient."

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Necessities and Luxuries

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Work and Seeking Livelihood

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'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said,

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"Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the most enterprising merchants of Quraysh

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until he assumed the Caliphate."

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Whenever an Arab man

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came to Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him),

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he would say to him,

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"Why do you not engage in trade?

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Abu Bakr was the premier merchant of Quraysh."

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And on the authority of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

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"Earning a livelihood through humble labor

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is far better than begging from people."

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And on the authority of al-Zuhri, who said:

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"'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) gave in charity,

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during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

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half of his wealth, which was four thousand [dirhams].

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Then he gave forty thousand in charity,

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and then he gave forty thousand dinars in charity.

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After that, he provided mounts of five hundred horses in the cause of Allah,

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followed by another one thousand five hundred camels in the cause of Allah.

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The vast majority of his wealth came from trade."

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Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by a man in the marketplace

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who had purchased a camel-load of food,

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and the man asked him,

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"O Abu 'Abdillah,

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do you do this while being a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?"

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Salman replied,

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"When the soul has secured its sustenance,

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it attains tranquility and devotes itself to worship,

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and the devil's whisperings lose all hope of swaying it."

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On the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to trade across the Mediterranean Sea;

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among them were Talhah ibn 'Ubaydillah

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and Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl (may Allah be pleased with them both)."

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On the authority of Hanzalah, who said:

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"I saw Salim ibn 'Abdillah ibn 'Umar (may Allah have mercy on him)

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going out to the marketplace to purchase his own necessities."

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People used to enter upon 'Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him)

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while he was tending his sheep, milking them, and feeding them fodder.

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Muslim said:

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"Mu'awiyah ibn Qurrah (may Allah have mercy on him) met me

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as I was returning from bringing pasture.

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He asked me, 'What did you do?'

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I replied,

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'I bought such-and-such for my family.'

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He asked,

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'And did you acquire it lawfully?'

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I said, 'Yes.'

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He said,

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'Going out early in the morning as you did is dearer to me than standing in prayer all night and fasting all day.'"

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Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"Stick to your marketplace,

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for you will remain noble in the eyes of your brothers as long as you do not need them."

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Clothing and Material Possessions

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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

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"When Allah broadens your means, live comfortably within your means."

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On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

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"I saw four patches between the shoulders of 'Umar."

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On the authority of Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"They used to detest the two forms of ostentatious clothing:

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exceptionally fine garments by which one stands out

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and attracts the gaze of people,

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and excessively shabby garments through which one is despised."

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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said to his companions,

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"You may have noticed that I delayed the prayer;

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that was only because my clothes were being washed, and I was waiting for them to dry."

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On the authority of al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"Wear clothing such that the foolish will not despise you for it,

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nor will the scholars find fault with you because of it."

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Abu al-'Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"A man visited me wearing woolen garments,

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so I said, 'This is the dress of monks;

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indeed, when Muslims visit one another, they dress well.'"

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On the authority of Muslim ibn Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"Whenever you wear a garment and imagine that you are superior in it to what you are in another,

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then what a wretched garment it is for you!"

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Ibn al-Sammak (may Allah have mercy on him) said to the wearers of coarse wool,

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"By Allah, if this dress of yours matches your inner state,

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then you have loved that people find out about it;

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and if it contradicts your inner state, then you are truly ruined."

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On the authority of 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Abd al-Hamid al-Maymuni, who said:

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"I have never seen anyone with cleaner garments,

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nor anyone more meticulous in trimming his mustache and grooming the hair of his head and body,

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nor with purer and whiter clothes than Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him)."

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Certain Non-Religious Sciences

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Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

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"I know of no knowledge, after the knowledge of the lawful and the prohibited, more noble than medicine;

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yet the People of the Book have surpassed us in it."

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He would lament the Muslims' neglect of medicine,

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saying, "They have squandered one-third of knowledge and consigned it to the Jews and Christians."

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Marriage

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On the authority of Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"A young man's religious devotion is not complete until he marries."

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The Stance of the Salaf Regarding Building Houses and Mansions

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On the authority of 'Abdullah al-Rumi, who said:

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"I entered upon Umm Talq

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and noticed that the ceiling of her house was very low.

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I said to her, 'O Umm Talq,

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why is the ceiling of your house so low?'

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She replied, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to us:

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"Do not raise your buildings too high,

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for that marks the worst of your times."'"

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On the authority of Qays ibn Abi Hazim, who said:

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"We visited Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) to inquire about his health,

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and he had undergone cauterization in seven places.

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He said, 'Our companions who passed before us went away without the world detracting from their reward in the least,

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whereas we have acquired so much wealth that we find no place for it except in dirt.

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Were it not that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

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forbade us from wishing for death,

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I would have wished for it.'

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Then we visited him another time while he was building a wall of his,

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and he said, 'Indeed, a Muslim is rewarded for everything he spends,

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except for that which he puts into this dirt'—

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meaning construction."

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Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

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"Three things bring happiness, and three things bring misery.

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As for happiness, it is a righteous, agreeable wife;

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a riding beast that conveys you to your companions whenever you wish;

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and a spacious home with ample conveniences.

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As for misery, it is an ill-mannered wife;

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a wretched mount

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which tires you out if you try to catch up with your companions,

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and leaves you behind if you let it go at its own pace;

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and a cramped home with scarce conveniences."

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On the authority of Ibrahim al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"Whenever a man possesses wealth but withholds what is due from it,

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he is afflicted with spending it on water and clay.

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Indeed, a servant is rewarded for all his expenditures,

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except for that which he invests in construction and mud."

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Striking a Balance Between the Works of this World and the Hereafter

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On the authority of 'Umar ibn Qays, who said:

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"Whenever I observed 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him)

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dealing with his worldly affairs, I would say,

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'This is a man who does not seek Allah for even the blink of an eye.'

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But whenever I observed him in matters of his Hereafter, I would say,

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'This is a man who does not desire the world for even the blink of an eye.'"

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'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

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"Work for your worldly life as if you will live forever,

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and work for your Hereafter as if you will die tomorrow."

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Umm 'Abbad said,

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"We used to hear Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) weeping by night

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and laughing by day."

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On the authority of Bilal ibn Sa'd (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"I knew them to compete enthusiastically in shooting at archery targets

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and to laugh with one another,

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but when night fell, they were devoted monks in worship."

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On the authority of Sa'id ibn Iyas al-Jurayri (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

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"They used to devote the first part of their day to meeting their needs and managing their livelihoods,

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and the latter part of the day to worshipping their Lord and performing their prayers."

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Moderation and the Avoidance of Extravagance

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Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

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"I have never seen extravagance except that right beside it was a squandered right."

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It used to be said, "Prudent management is the key to sound judgment,

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and moderation is the gateway to safety."

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It also used to be said, "Moderation in everything is good,

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even in walking and sitting."

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Additional Benefits

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'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

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"Whoever trades in a commodity three times and does not profit from it

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should turn to something else."

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On the authority of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:

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"If one of you is not granted provision in a certain land,

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let him travel and trade in another land."

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The Life of the Salaf Between Words and Deeds