In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.
The salaf were deeply concerned with the state of the heart and were vigilant against its hardening.
The heart is inherently weak, prone to rapid fluctuations and change.
It is narrated that Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"The heart of the believer is like a bird;
it flutters and changes many times each day."
One must be wary of the hardening and sickness of the heart, and the causes thereof.
'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once sold a camel.
Someone said to him, "If only you had kept it."
He replied, "It was indeed a good companion to me,
but it took away a portion of my heart,
and I disliked that my heart should be preoccupied with anything."
Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"A servant may perform a good deed that pleases him at the time he does it,
yet Allah has not created any sin more harmful to him than that [pride].
And a servant may perform a bad deed that distresses him at the time he does it,
yet Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has not created any good deed more beneficial to him than that [remorse]."
This is because when a servant performs a good deed, he may become arrogant about it,
thinking he has some superiority over others,
and perhaps Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will nullify it, and with it, many other deeds.
Conversely, a servant may perform a bad deed that distresses him,
and perhaps Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will cause him to feel such fear because of it,
that he meets Allah while that fear remains deep within his soul.
Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
"What is the punishment of the scholar?"
He replied, "The death of the heart."
It was asked, "And what is the death of the heart?"
He said, "Seeking the world through the deeds of the Hereafter."
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"By Allah, I have met people
who, had they wished to take this wealth from its lawful sources, could have done so,
yet when it was said to them,
'Will you not take your share of this wealth, for it is lawful?'
they would reply, 'No,
we fear that taking it would be a corruption for our hearts.'"
Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"No servant conceals a secret matter of goodness
but that Allah clothes him in its mantle.
And no one conceals a secret matter of evil
but that Allah clothes him in its mantle."
Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari said:
"I said to Abu Sulayman al-Darani (may Allah have mercy on him),
'Such and such people do not find a place in my heart.'
He replied, 'Nor in mine,
but perhaps the fault lies in my heart and yours;
there is no goodness in us,
and we do not love the righteous.'"
Hudhayfah al-Mar'ashi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"No one has been afflicted with a calamity greater than the hardening of his heart."
Muhammad ibn 'Ubadah al-Ma'afiri narrated:
"We were with Abu Shurayh al-Khuza'i (may Allah have mercy on him),
and the questions became numerous.
He said, 'Your hearts have become tarnished;
go to Khalid ibn Humayd al-Mahri.
Humble your hearts,
and learn these matters of longing and heart-softening,
for they renew worship,
bequeath asceticism,
and foster friendship.
Reduce your questions,
for they—in matters other than what has been revealed—
harden the heart and sow enmity.'"
Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"By Allah, he spoke the truth.
If this is the case with fundamental questions and the requirements of theological discourse
when they contradict the revealed text,
how much more so when they involve the doubts of logic,
the rules of philosophy, and the religion of the ancients?"
Guidance, directions, and stories on purifying the heart,
correcting one's intention, and sincerity toward Allah.
'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"You see the disbeliever as the healthiest of people in body, but the sickest in heart,
and you meet the believing woman as the healthiest of people in heart, but the sickest in body.
By Allah,
if your hearts were sick while your bodies were healthy,
you would be more insignificant to Allah than dung beetles."
'Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) once came out of his garden
carrying a bundle of firewood.
When people saw him,
they said, "O Abu Yusuf,
you have children and servants who could suffice you in this."
He replied, "I wanted to test my heart:
would it feel any disdain for this?"
'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"A small deed may be magnified by intention,
and a great deed may be diminished by intention."
Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"When intentions are corrected, major sins are forgiven."
And when a servant resolves to abandon sins,
the openings [of divine grace] come to him.
Ja'far ibn Hayyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"These deeds are [defined by] intentions,
for a man may attain through his intention
what he cannot attain through his deeds."
Some of the salaf said:
"Whoever wishes for his deed to be perfected,
let him improve his intention,
for Allah, the Glorified and Exalted,
rewards the servant when he intends well."
Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said to a man:
"If I were to teach you a word
that is better than the world and all that is in it—
by Allah, if Allah knows from you
that you have removed the creation from your heart,
so that there is no room in your heart for anyone but Him,
you would not ask Him for anything but that He would grant it to you."
Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
"When the scholars met,
they would advise one another with these words,
and when they were apart,
they would write them to one another:
'Whoever rectifies his inner self,
Allah will rectify his outer self.
Whoever rectifies what is between him and Allah,
Allah will suffice him in what is between him and the people.
And whoever concerns himself with the affairs of his Hereafter,
Allah will suffice him in the affairs of his world.'"
Yahya ibn Mu'adh (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"The rectification of deeds lies in the correction of intentions."
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"The medicine for the heart consists of five things:
reading the Qur'an with contemplation,
an empty stomach,
standing in prayer at night,
humble supplication at the time of dawn,
and sitting with the righteous."
Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
"When the focus of one's dealings shifts to the heart,
the limbs find rest."
'Abdullah, son of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them),
said to his father one day,
"Advise me, O my father."
He replied, "O my son, intend the good,
for you will remain in goodness as long as you intend the good."
Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"This is a great piece of advice;
it is easy for the one giving it,
and easy to understand and implement for the one receiving it.
Its practitioner is constantly rewarded
due to its persistence and continuity,
and it applies to all deeds of the heart required by the Shari'ah,
whether they relate to the Creator or the creation.
One is rewarded for it,
and I have found no disagreement regarding the reward for it."
The importance of turning the heart toward Allah,
its attachment to Him, and reliance upon Him.
Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Whoever finds sufficiency in Allah, people will be in need of him."
Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
"If a man were to cut himself off from another, he would surely know it;
how then [can one be heedless of] the One to whom belong the heavens and the earth?"
Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"To the extent that a sin is small in your eyes,
it is great in the sight of Allah.
And to the extent that it is great in your eyes,
it is small in the sight of Allah."
Sahl ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"There is no hour but that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
is watching the hearts of His servants.
So, in whichever heart He sees anything other than Himself,
He gives Iblis power over it."
He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
"It is forbidden for a heart to smell the fragrance of certainty
while it finds tranquility in other than Allah.
And it is forbidden for a heart to be entered by the Light
while it contains anything that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, dislikes."
Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
"You have abandoned Him,
and turned your attention to one another.
If you had turned to Him, you would have seen wonders."
Some of the wise said:
"People have heard of Allah, but they have not known Him."
Some of the salaf said:
"The people turned back from the path before reaching the destination;
had they reached Allah, the Blessed and Exalted,
they would not have turned back."
Ibn 'Aqil (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *al-Funun*:
"By Allah, I do not rely on my prayer and fasting as proof that I am a believer;
rather, I rely on seeing my heart, in times of hardship, fleeing to Him,
and my gratitude for what He has bestowed upon me."
A man said to one of the salaf:
"Tell me about the deeds of those who came before us."
He said:
"They performed few deeds but were rewarded greatly."
He asked, "And why is that?"
He replied, "Because of the purity of their hearts."
Other benefits.
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"By Allah, my heart has been so soft for the sake of Allah
that it was softer than butter,
and my heart has been so firm for the sake of Allah
that it was firmer than stone."
Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"When Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, desires good for His servant,
He places a warner in his heart that commands him and forbids him."
Some of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
"Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, placed the strength of the believer in his heart,
Yet He did not place it within his limbs.
Do you not see that an old man may be physically weak,
fasting through the intense heat of the day and standing in prayer through the night,
while a young man is unable to do so?
Hatim al-Asamm, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Hearts are wanderers;
either they wander around the Throne,
or they wander around the latrines."
Thabit al-Bunani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"The intention of the believer is more profound than his deed.
A believer may intend to stand in prayer at night,
to fast during the day, and to give from his wealth,
yet his soul does not follow through with it;
thus, his intention is more profound than his deed."
Hassan Ibn 'Atiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"People may be in the very same prayer,
yet the distance between them is like the distance between the heavens and the earth."
The explanation for this is
that one man is humble and focused on his prayer,
while the other is inattentive and heedless.
Shahr Ibn Hawshab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"When a man speaks to a group of people,
his words will settle in their hearts
in the same measure that they settled in his own heart."
Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If certainty were to settle in the heart as it ought to,
it would take flight in joy and sorrow, out of longing for Paradise,
or out of fear of the Fire."
One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:
"What were the deeds of the early generations?"
He replied:
"Their deeds were few,
but their hearts were sound."
Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"By Allah, Allah does not desire for our skin to dry upon our bones;
He desires nothing from us but the sincerity of intention regarding what is with Him."
Al-Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Purifying a deed from defects is more difficult than the deed itself."
One of the salaf was asked:
"What is the best thing a servant can be given?"
He replied:
"A heart emptied of what does not concern him,
so that it may be filled with what does concern him."
One of the wise men of the Arabs said:
"Every vessel, when filled, becomes constricted and full,
except for the heart;
for the more it is filled, the more it expands."
This is among the clearest proofs of the Subtle, the All-Aware.
The lives of the salaf:
between word and deed.