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

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The life of the believer is defined by the balance between speech and action.

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Condemning base desires and the virtue of those who oppose them.

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Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:

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"Base desire is a worshipped deity."

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And he recited:

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“Hast thou seen him who maketh his desire his god, and Allah sendeth him astray purposely, and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering? Then who will lead him after Allah (hath condemned him)? Will ye not then heed?” (45:23)

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It was said to 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him):

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"Which struggle is the most excellent?"

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He replied, "Struggling against your own base desires."

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

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"Do not be among those who follow the truth only when it aligns with their desires,

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and oppose it when it conflicts with their desires.

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For if you do that, you are not rewarded for the truth you followed,

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and you are punished for that which you opposed."

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Ibrahim ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"The most intense struggle is the struggle against base desires.

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Whoever restrains his soul from its base desires

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has found rest from the world and its tribulations,

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and has been protected and spared from its harm."

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It used to be said:

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"Base desire is the partner of blindness."

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Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"Struggle against your base desires just as you struggle against your enemies."

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Some scholars have said:

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"Allah created the angels with intellect but no desire,

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and He created the beasts with desire but no intellect,

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and He created the son of Adam with both.

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So, whoever allows his intellect to overcome his desire

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is better than the angels,

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and whoever allows his desire to overcome his intellect

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is worse than the beasts."

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A poet said:

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"If a person grants his soul everything it craves,

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and does not restrain it, it will yearn for every falsehood,

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and lead him toward sin and the ruin

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that it invited him to, for the sake of fleeting sweetness."

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

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"A wise person must know that sound judgment and base desire are enemies,

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and that it is the nature of people to procrastinate on judgment and hasten to satisfy desire,

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so he must oppose that,

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and strive to ensure his desire is always delayed and his judgment is always prioritized."

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

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"If you are confronted by two matters,

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meaning, if two matters suddenly arise,

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and you do not know which is more correct,

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then look at which one is closer to your base desire and oppose it,

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for the majority of what is correct lies in opposing base desire."

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Condemning disputation and argumentation in general.

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

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"Disputation: its wisdom is not grasped, and its tribulation is not safe."

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Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

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"It is sufficient sin for you that you never cease to be a disputer."

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Al-Awza'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"If Allah intends evil for a people,

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He opens the door of argumentation for them and denies them action."

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From Muslim ibn Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him):

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He used to say:

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"Beware of disputation,

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for it is the hour of the scholar's ignorance,

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and through it, Satan seeks his downfall."

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Some of the salaf said:

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"By Allah, I have not seen anything more destructive to religion,

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nor more diminishing to one's honor,

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nor more wasteful of time,

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nor more distracting to the heart than hostility."

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

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"The believer does not flatter, nor does he dispute;

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he spreads the wisdom of Allah (the Almighty and Exalted).

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If it is accepted, he praises Allah (the Almighty and Exalted),

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and if it is rejected, he praises Allah (the Almighty and Exalted)."

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

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"Sitting for the sake of debate

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closes the door to benefit."

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Condemning disputation and argumentation in matters of religion.

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Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked about touching the Black Stone.

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He said:

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"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) touch it and kiss it."

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He said:

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"I said, 'What if I am crowded?'

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'What if I am overcome?'"

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He said:

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"'Leave your "what ifs" in Yemen;

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I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) touch it and kiss it.'"

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

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"The worst of Allah's servants

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are those who pursue the worst of issues,

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blinding the servants of Allah with them."

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Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"Beware of hostility in religion,

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for it occupies or corrupts the heart,

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and breeds hypocrisy."

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Malik ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him) left the mosque one day,

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leaning on my hand,

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when a man accused of Irja' (the belief that deeds are separate from faith) caught up with him.

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He said:

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"O servant of Allah,

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listen to me, let me speak to you, argue with you, and inform you of my opinion."

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He (Malik) said:

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"And if you defeat me?"

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He (the man) said:

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"If I defeat you, follow me."

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He (Malik) said:

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"And if another man comes and speaks to us and defeats us?"

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He (the man) said:

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"We follow him."

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Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"O servant of Allah,

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Allah (the Almighty and Exalted) sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) with one religion,

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yet I see you moving from one religion to another."

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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz said:

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"Whoever makes his religion a target for disputes will change his views frequently."

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

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"Argumentation in religion breeds disputation,

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removes the light of knowledge from the heart,

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hardens it, and inherits malice."

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He (may Allah have mercy on him) used to criticize argumentation in religion,

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and say:

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"Every time a man comes to us who is more argumentative than another,

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he wants us to reject what Gabriel brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."

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It was said to him (may Allah have mercy on him):

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"A man has knowledge of the Sunnah;

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should he argue for it?"

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He said, "No.

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Rather, he should inform others of the Sunnah;

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if it is accepted from him, good, otherwise he should remain silent."

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

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"Disputation in religion

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hardens the heart and inherits malice."

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It was said to al-Hakam ibn 'Utaybah (may Allah have mercy on him):

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"What drives people to base desires?"

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He said, "Hostilities."

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It was said to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him):

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"O Abu 'Abdullah,

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I am in a gathering where no one knows the Sunnah except me,

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and an innovator speaks in it;

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should I refute him?"

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He said:

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"Do not set yourself up for this.

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Inform him of the Sunnah, but do not argue."

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Warning against debating the people of innovation and base desires.

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

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"Do not sit with the people of base desires, and do not argue with them,

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for I do not feel safe that they will plunge you into misguidance,

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or confuse you in your religion with some of what they have been confused with."

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A man came to al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him)

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and said:

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"O Abu Sa'id, come so that I may argue with you about religion."

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Al-Hasan replied:

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"As for me, I have insight into my religion;

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if you have lost your religion, go and seek it."

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

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"There is no refutation of them more severe than silence."

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A man from the people of base desires said to him:

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"O Abu Bakr, I want to ask you about a word."

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He turned away, gesturing with his finger, "Not even half a word."

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From Ma'mar (may Allah have mercy on him), he said:

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"I was with Ibn Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him), and his son was with him,

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when a man known as Salih, who spoke about Qadar (divine decree), came to him.

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He began to speak about it,

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so Ibn Tawus put his fingers in his ears

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and said to his son, 'Put your fingers in your ears and press hard,

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so that you do not hear anything of what he says,

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for the heart is weak.'"

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Two men from the people of base desires entered upon Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him).

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They said:

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"O Abu Bakr, may we tell you a hadith?"

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He said, "No."

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They said:

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"May we recite a verse from the Book of Allah to you?"

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He said, "No.

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Either you leave, or I will leave."

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They said:

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"So they left."

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Some of the people said:

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"O Abu Bakr,

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what would it have cost you to let them recite a verse from the Book of Allah (the Exalted)?"

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He said:

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"I feared that they would recite a verse to me and distort it,

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and that would settle in my heart."

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Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"No man has ever argued with me about something—

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meaning, disputed with me—

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without me knowing what he wants,

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and knowing more about disputation than him,

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but I refuse to argue with you."

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

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"Disputation and argumentation in knowledge

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remove the light of knowledge from the heart of the servant."

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He said:

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"It hardens the heart and inherits malice."

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Al-Zuhri said:

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"I saw Malik and a group of people arguing in his presence,

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so he stood up, shook his garment,

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and said:

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'You are nothing but a source of conflict.'"

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He would say when some of the people of base desires came to him:

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"As for me, I am upon clear evidence from my Lord,

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and as for you, you are in doubt;

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Go then to someone like yourself and dispute the matter.

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Then he recited.

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“Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever followeth me - Glory be to Allah! - and I am not of the idolaters.” (12:108)

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The life of the weapon.

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Between speech and action.