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

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The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.

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The salaf were deeply concerned with the state of the heart and were vigilant against its hardening.

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The heart is inherently weak, prone to rapid fluctuations and change.

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It is narrated that Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

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"The heart of the believer is like a bird;

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it flutters and changes many times each day."

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One must be wary of the hardening and sickness of the heart, and the causes thereof.

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'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once sold a camel.

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Someone said to him, "If only you had kept it."

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He replied, "It was indeed a good companion to me,

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but it took away a portion of my heart,

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and I disliked that my heart should be preoccupied with anything."

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Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"A servant may perform a good deed that pleases him at the time he does it,

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yet Allah has not created any sin more harmful to him than that [pride].

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And a servant may perform a bad deed that distresses him at the time he does it,

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yet Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has not created any good deed more beneficial to him than that [remorse]."

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This is because when a servant performs a good deed, he may become arrogant about it,

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thinking he has some superiority over others,

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and perhaps Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will nullify it, and with it, many other deeds.

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Conversely, a servant may perform a bad deed that distresses him,

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and perhaps Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will cause him to feel such fear because of it,

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that he meets Allah while that fear remains deep within his soul.

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Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

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"What is the punishment of the scholar?"

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He replied, "The death of the heart."

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It was asked, "And what is the death of the heart?"

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He said, "Seeking the world through the deeds of the Hereafter."

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He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:

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"By Allah, I have met people

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who, had they wished to take this wealth from its lawful sources, could have done so,

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yet when it was said to them,

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'Will you not take your share of this wealth, for it is lawful?'

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they would reply, 'No,

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we fear that taking it would be a corruption for our hearts.'"

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Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"No servant conceals a secret matter of goodness

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but that Allah clothes him in its mantle.

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And no one conceals a secret matter of evil

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but that Allah clothes him in its mantle."

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Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari said:

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

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'Such and such people do not find a place in my heart.'

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He replied, 'Nor in mine,

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but perhaps the fault lies in my heart and yours;

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there is no goodness in us,

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and we do not love the righteous.'"

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Hudhayfah al-Mar'ashi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"No one has been afflicted with a calamity greater than the hardening of his heart."

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Muhammad ibn 'Ubadah al-Ma'afiri narrated:

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"We were with Abu Shurayh al-Khuza'i (may Allah have mercy on him),

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and the questions became numerous.

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He said, 'Your hearts have become tarnished;

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go to Khalid ibn Humayd al-Mahri.

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Humble your hearts,

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and learn these matters of longing and heart-softening,

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for they renew worship,

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bequeath asceticism,

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and foster friendship.

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Reduce your questions,

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for they—in matters other than what has been revealed—

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harden the heart and sow enmity.'"

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Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"By Allah, he spoke the truth.

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If this is the case with fundamental questions and the requirements of theological discourse

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when they contradict the revealed text,

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how much more so when they involve the doubts of logic,

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the rules of philosophy, and the religion of the ancients?"

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Guidance, directions, and stories on purifying the heart,

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correcting one's intention, and sincerity toward Allah.

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'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

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"You see the disbeliever as the healthiest of people in body, but the sickest in heart,

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and you meet the believing woman as the healthiest of people in heart, but the sickest in body.

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By Allah,

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if your hearts were sick while your bodies were healthy,

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you would be more insignificant to Allah than dung beetles."

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'Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) once came out of his garden

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carrying a bundle of firewood.

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When people saw him,

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they said, "O Abu Yusuf,

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you have children and servants who could suffice you in this."

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He replied, "I wanted to test my heart:

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would it feel any disdain for this?"

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'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"A small deed may be magnified by intention,

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and a great deed may be diminished by intention."

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Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"When intentions are corrected, major sins are forgiven."

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And when a servant resolves to abandon sins,

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the openings [of divine grace] come to him.

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Ja'far ibn Hayyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"These deeds are [defined by] intentions,

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for a man may attain through his intention

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what he cannot attain through his deeds."

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Some of the salaf said:

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"Whoever wishes for his deed to be perfected,

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let him improve his intention,

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for Allah, the Glorified and Exalted,

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rewards the servant when he intends well."

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Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said to a man:

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"If I were to teach you a word

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that is better than the world and all that is in it—

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by Allah, if Allah knows from you

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that you have removed the creation from your heart,

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so that there is no room in your heart for anyone but Him,

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you would not ask Him for anything but that He would grant it to you."

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Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

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"When the scholars met,

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they would advise one another with these words,

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and when they were apart,

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they would write them to one another:

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'Whoever rectifies his inner self,

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Allah will rectify his outer self.

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Whoever rectifies what is between him and Allah,

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Allah will suffice him in what is between him and the people.

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And whoever concerns himself with the affairs of his Hereafter,

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Allah will suffice him in the affairs of his world.'"

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Yahya ibn Mu'adh (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"The rectification of deeds lies in the correction of intentions."

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He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:

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"The medicine for the heart consists of five things:

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reading the Qur'an with contemplation,

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an empty stomach,

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standing in prayer at night,

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humble supplication at the time of dawn,

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and sitting with the righteous."

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Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

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"When the focus of one's dealings shifts to the heart,

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the limbs find rest."

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'Abdullah, son of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them),

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said to his father one day,

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"Advise me, O my father."

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He replied, "O my son, intend the good,

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for you will remain in goodness as long as you intend the good."

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Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"This is a great piece of advice;

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it is easy for the one giving it,

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and easy to understand and implement for the one receiving it.

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Its practitioner is constantly rewarded

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due to its persistence and continuity,

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and it applies to all deeds of the heart required by the Shari'ah,

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whether they relate to the Creator or the creation.

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One is rewarded for it,

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and I have found no disagreement regarding the reward for it."

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The importance of turning the heart toward Allah,

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its attachment to Him, and reliance upon Him.

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Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"Whoever finds sufficiency in Allah, people will be in need of him."

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Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

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"If a man were to cut himself off from another, he would surely know it;

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how then [can one be heedless of] the One to whom belong the heavens and the earth?"

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Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"To the extent that a sin is small in your eyes,

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it is great in the sight of Allah.

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And to the extent that it is great in your eyes,

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it is small in the sight of Allah."

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Sahl ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"There is no hour but that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,

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is watching the hearts of His servants.

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So, in whichever heart He sees anything other than Himself,

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He gives Iblis power over it."

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He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:

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"It is forbidden for a heart to smell the fragrance of certainty

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while it finds tranquility in other than Allah.

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And it is forbidden for a heart to be entered by the Light

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while it contains anything that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, dislikes."

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Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

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"You have abandoned Him,

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and turned your attention to one another.

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If you had turned to Him, you would have seen wonders."

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Some of the wise said:

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"People have heard of Allah, but they have not known Him."

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Some of the salaf said:

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"The people turned back from the path before reaching the destination;

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had they reached Allah, the Blessed and Exalted,

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they would not have turned back."

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Ibn 'Aqil (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *al-Funun*:

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"By Allah, I do not rely on my prayer and fasting as proof that I am a believer;

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rather, I rely on seeing my heart, in times of hardship, fleeing to Him,

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and my gratitude for what He has bestowed upon me."

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A man said to one of the salaf:

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"Tell me about the deeds of those who came before us."

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He said:

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"They performed few deeds but were rewarded greatly."

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He asked, "And why is that?"

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He replied, "Because of the purity of their hearts."

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Other benefits.

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

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"By Allah, my heart has been so soft for the sake of Allah

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that it was softer than butter,

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and my heart has been so firm for the sake of Allah

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that it was firmer than stone."

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Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"When Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, desires good for His servant,

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He places a warner in his heart that commands him and forbids him."

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Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

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"Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, placed the strength of the believer in his heart,

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Yet He did not place it within his limbs.

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Do you not see that an old man may be physically weak,

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fasting through the intense heat of the day and standing in prayer through the night,

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while a young man is unable to do so?

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Hatim al-Asamm, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Hearts are wanderers;

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either they wander around the Throne,

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or they wander around the latrines."

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Thabit al-Bunani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The intention of the believer is more profound than his deed.

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A believer may intend to stand in prayer at night,

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to fast during the day, and to give from his wealth,

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yet his soul does not follow through with it;

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thus, his intention is more profound than his deed."

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Hassan Ibn 'Atiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"People may be in the very same prayer,

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yet the distance between them is like the distance between the heavens and the earth."

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The explanation for this is

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that one man is humble and focused on his prayer,

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while the other is inattentive and heedless.

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Shahr Ibn Hawshab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"When a man speaks to a group of people,

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his words will settle in their hearts

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in the same measure that they settled in his own heart."

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Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"If certainty were to settle in the heart as it ought to,

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it would take flight in joy and sorrow, out of longing for Paradise,

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or out of fear of the Fire."

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One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

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"What were the deeds of the early generations?"

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He replied:

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"Their deeds were few,

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but their hearts were sound."

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

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"By Allah, Allah does not desire for our skin to dry upon our bones;

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He desires nothing from us but the sincerity of intention regarding what is with Him."

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Al-Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Purifying a deed from defects is more difficult than the deed itself."

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One of the salaf was asked:

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"What is the best thing a servant can be given?"

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He replied:

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"A heart emptied of what does not concern him,

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so that it may be filled with what does concern him."

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One of the wise men of the Arabs said:

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"Every vessel, when filled, becomes constricted and full,

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except for the heart;

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for the more it is filled, the more it expands."

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This is among the clearest proofs of the Subtle, the All-Aware.

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The lives of the salaf:

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between word and deed.