In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The lives of the salaf (early generations) between word and deed:
The benefits of obedience and righteous deeds,
and the guidance of the salaf regarding that.
Allah's love for the obedient servant,
making people love him,
and easing his affairs.
Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"When a servant acts in obedience to Allah,
Allah loves him,
and endears him to His creation;
but when he acts in disobedience to Allah,
Allah hates him,
and makes His creation hate him."
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said regarding the words of Allah Almighty:
"And their father had been righteous,"
"They were preserved on account of their father's righteousness,
though no righteousness of their own was mentioned."
A man said to al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, "Advise me."
He said, "Exalt the command of Allah,
and Allah will exalt you."
Yahya ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"In proportion to your fear of Allah,
the creation will hold you in awe;
in proportion to your love for Allah,
the creation will love you;
and in proportion to your preoccupation with Allah,
the creation will be occupied with your needs."
Haram ibn Hayyan and Muhammad ibn Wasi', may Allah have mercy on them, said:
"No servant turns with his heart towards Allah,
except that Allah turns the hearts of the believers towards him,
until He grants him their affection."
On the authority of Ka'b al-Ahbar, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
"Praise is never firmly established for a servant on earth,
until it has been established in heaven."
And he, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If you wish to know a servant's standing with his Lord,
look at the good praise that follows him."
Bishr ibn al-Harith, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:
"How did your affair begin?"
He said:
"I was an unscrupulous rogue—
that is, a clever thief skilled in robbery.
One day, I was walking along,
when I came across a piece of parchment in the road.
I picked it up, and upon it was written:
'In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.'
So I wiped it clean and put it in my pocket.
I had only two dirhams, possessing nothing else.
I went to the perfumers
and bought with them some *ghaliyah*—
which is a type of perfume
composed of musk, ambergris,
oud, and aromatic oils—
and I scented the parchment with it.
That night, I went to sleep,
and in a dream, I saw someone saying to me:
'O Bishr ibn al-Harith!
You lifted Our Name from the road and perfumed it;
I shall surely make your name fragrant in this world and the Hereafter.'
And after that, what happened happened."
Ibrahim al-Khawwas, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"In proportion to how much a believer exalts the command of Allah,
Allah clothes him in His honor
and establishes honor for him in the hearts of the believers."
That is the meaning of the words of the Exalted:
“They say: Surely, if we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will soon drive out the weaker; when might belongeth to Allah and to His messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites know not.” (63:8)
Delight, spiritual intimacy, and expansion of the breast.
Malik ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"The people of this world have departed from it
without tasting the finest thing in it."
They asked, "And what is that?"
He said:
"Knowing Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
On the authority of al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
"Seek sweetness in prayer, in the Qur'an, and in remembrance.
If you find it, then proceed and rejoice;
but if you do not find it,
then know that the door is shut."
One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Allah grants the servant the sweetness of remembering Him;
so if he rejoices in it and shows gratitude,
He comforts him with His closeness;
but if he falls short in gratitude,
He allows the remembrance to run upon his tongue
while stripping him of its sweetness."
Ibrahim ibn Ad-ham, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If the kings and the sons of kings knew
the bliss and joy we experience,
they would surely fight us for it with swords
all the days of our lives, over that which we possess
of delightful living and little toil."
Muslim ibn Yasar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Those who experience delight have never relished anything
like seclusion in intimate converse with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
One of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the words of Allah Almighty:
"We will surely cause him to live a good life,"
He said:
"We will grant him obedience whose delight he experiences in his heart."
When Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, arrived
at the gate of the prison,
a man said to him,
"O my master, this is the station of patience."
He replied:
"Rather, this is the station of praise and gratitude!
By Allah, there has descended upon my heart
such joy and happiness
that if it were distributed among the people of the Levant and Egypt,
it would exceed their capacity.
And if I had gold in this place
and spent it all,
I would not have fulfilled even a tenth of this blessing in which I find myself."
Humility during obedience,
and false pride during sins.
'Awn ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"They used to say:
'Humble yourselves when in obedience,
and avoid pride when in disobedience.'"
The harmful effects of disobedience:
the sinister consequence of sin and its aftermath.
Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Indeed, I consider that a person forgets knowledge he once acquired
because of a sin he committed."
And he (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Whenever fornication and usury become prevalent in a town,
its destruction has been decreed."
On the authority of Jubayr ibn Nufayr, who said:
"When Cyprus was conquered,
its people were separated from one another,
and they began weeping to one another.
Then I saw Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him)
sitting alone, weeping.
So I said:
'O Abu al-Darda',
what makes you weep on a day wherein Allah has granted honor to Islam and its people?'
He said:
'Woe to you, O Jubayr!
How insignificant creatures become to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
when they abandon His command!
While they were once a dominant, triumphant nation possessing sovereignty,
they abandoned the command of Allah,
and so you see them as you see them now.'"
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"Whoever incurs the wrath of people for the pleasure of Allah,
Allah will suffice him against the people;
and whoever seeks the pleasure of people through the wrath of Allah,
Allah will leave him in the hands of the people."
On the authority of Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"No people belittle the right of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
except that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sends against them
those who will belittle their rights."
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said:
"O committer of sin,
do not feel secure from its evil outcome!
For what accompanies the sin is greater than the sin itself when you commit it:
your lack of shame before the angels on your right and left while committing the sin
is greater than the sin you committed;
your laughing while not knowing what Allah will do with you
is greater than the sin;
your joy over the sin when you accomplish it is greater than the sin;
your grief over the sin when it eludes you
is greater than the sin when you attain it;
and your fear of the wind when it moves your door's curtain while you are sinning,
while your heart is not shaken by Allah's gaze upon you,
is greater than the sin when you commit it."
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"When you see a person do a good deed, know that it has sisters with him;
and when you see him do an evil deed, know that it has sisters with him.
For indeed, a good deed indicates its sister,
and an evil deed indicates its sister."
Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"No servant improves what is between himself and Allah,
except that Allah improves what is between him and the servants;
and no one corrupts what is between himself and Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
except that his relations with the servants are corrupted.
Courting the favor of One Face is far easier than courting all faces:
for if you please this Single Face, all faces will incline toward you;
but if you corrupt what is between you and Him, all faces will detest you."
He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:
"If you see Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, continuously bestowing His blessings upon you while you are disobeying Him, beware!"
Wuhayb ibn al-Ward, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:
"Does one who disobeys Allah taste the sweetness of worship?"
He said, "No, nor even the one who intends to disobey."
A young man said to al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him:
"The night prayer has exhausted me, and I am unable to stand."
He replied, "Your sins have shackled you."
Sulayman al-Taymi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"A good deed is light in the heart and strength in action,
while an evil deed is darkness in the heart and weakness in action."
Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Those who disobeyed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, only did so because of their insignificance to Him;
for had they been noble in His sight, He would have protected them from disobeying Him."
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Do not be deceived by Allah Almighty delaying His punishment from you;
for only he who fears missing his chance acts in haste."
Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"By Allah, trial and tribulation is nothing but a punishment from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, befalling the people."
On the authority of Malik ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
"No servant has been struck with a punishment greater than hardness of the heart."
He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:
"Indeed, Allah Almighty has punishments,
so look for them within yourselves, in your hearts and your bodies,
such as hardship in livelihood, weakness in worship,
and discontentment with one's provision."
What has been said regarding sins and warning against them,
and the virtue of those who avoid them.
Salman al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"If you commit a sin in secret,
perform a good deed in secret;
and if you commit a sin in public,
perform a good deed in public,
so that this may counterbalance that."
And it is narrated that 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"Whoever wishes to outstrip the diligent, hardworking worshipper,
let him restrain himself from sins,
for you will never meet Allah with anything better for you than having few sins."
Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked
about a man who strives hard in good deeds
but commits sins,
versus a man who does not strive as hard but does not commit sins;
he replied: "Safety is dearer to me."
Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated:
"I passed by a ruin with 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
and he said: 'O Mujahid,
call out to it: 'O ruin!
Where are your dwellers?'"
He said: "So I called out,
and Ibn 'Umar said:
'They have departed, and only their deeds remain.'"
Whenever Abu Muslim al-Khawlani, may Allah have mercy on him, came upon a ruin,
he would stand before it and say:
"O ruin, where are your dwellers?
They have departed, and only their deeds remain.
The desire has ended, yet the sin remains.
O son of Adam,
refraining from sin is far easier than seeking repentance."
One of the salaf (early generations) said:
"To forgo a tiny fraction of a dirham from what Allah dislikes
is dearer to me than performing five hundred pilgrimages."
Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Worshippers have never worshipped Allah with anything greater than abstaining from what He forbade them."
Sahl ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"A person does not become the beloved of Allah merely by performing acts of obedience;
rather, he becomes the beloved of Allah by abstaining from what Allah has forbidden.
None strictly avoids sins except a truthful, close friend of Allah (siddiq),
whereas righteous deeds
are performed by both the righteous and the wicked."
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Indeed, Allah does not punish the general public for the sin of the few;
but when evil is committed openly,
they all become deserving of punishment."
Bilal ibn Sa'd, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Do not look at the smallness of the sin,
but look at the greatness of the One whom you have disobeyed."
'Ali ibn Khashram said:
"I never saw a book in the hands of Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, may Allah have mercy on him;
it was entirely from his memory.
So I asked him about remedies for strengthening memory,
and he said: 'If I teach you the remedy, will you apply it?'
I replied: 'Yes, by Allah!'
He said: 'Abandoning sins;
I have never tested anything like it for improving memory.'"
Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I complained to Waki' about the weakness of my memory,
so he guided me to abandon sins,
and he informed me that knowledge is a light,
and the light of Allah is not bestowed upon a sinner."
The attitude of the salaf (early generations) toward sin and the sinner:
There was a man of good standing
who committed a sin,
so his companions shunned him and cast him out.
When news of this reached Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him,
he said: "Go after him, admonish him,
and do not abandon him."
One of the salaf (early generations), may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever looks at the creation through his own ego
will have prolonged disputes with them,
but whoever looks at them through the decree of Allah
will find excuses for their state
and will cease to preoccupy himself with them."
The vizier Ibn Hubayrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Were it not for tyrannical injustice,
the martyr would not have attained martyrdom;
and were it not for the sinners,
the steadfastness of the one commanding good would not become manifest.
And had the criminals been weak, they would have been easily subdued,
and that profound purpose would not have been achieved."
Concealing the faults of the sinner and not publicizing his sin:
Shurahbil ibn al-Simt was in command of an army,
and he said:
"You have entered a land with women and wine,
so whoever among you has committed an offence requiring a prescribed legal penalty (hadd),
let him come to us so that we may purify him."
When that reached 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
he wrote to him: "Woe to you!
Do you command a people whose sins Allah has concealed
to tear away the veil of Allah that was over them?"
And it is narrated from Tariq ibn Shihab, may Allah have mercy on him,
that a man asked to marry a daughter of a person,
and she had previously committed a transgression;
so the father came to 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
and mentioned that to him.
'Umar asked:
"What have you seen from her?"
He said:
"I have seen nothing from her but good."
He said:
"Then marry her off and do not disclose her past."
One of the salaf (early generations), may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"It used to be said:
'Whoever hears of an immoral act and spreads it
is just like the one who initiated it.'"
The lives of the salaf (early generations):
between words and deeds.