In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The lives of the salaf between words and deeds.
Wisdom, good conduct, and gentleness of speech.
Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"I do not use my sword where my whip suffices me,
nor do I use my whip where my tongue suffices me.
Even if there were only a single hair between me and the people, it would never snap."
He was asked, "How so?"
He replied, "If they pulled it, I would let it go slack;
and if they let it go slack, I would pull it."
An old woman stood before Qays ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, and said:
"I complain to you of the scarcity of mice in my home."
He said, "How wonderful this metonymy is!"
Then he commanded, "Fill her house with bread, meat, clarified butter, and dates!"
Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"The noble man is not he who, when he falls into a predicament, manages to escape it;
rather, the noble man is he who guards against matters so that he does not fall into them in the first place."
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I intend to introduce a matter of justice for the Muslims,
but I fear that their hearts will not bear it,
so I introduce along with it a bit of worldly attraction.
Thus, if their hearts recoil from the former, they settle upon the latter."
Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said to his father, Umar, may Allah have mercy on both of them:
"What prevents you from executing your judgment in this matter?
By Allah, I would not care if cauldrons boiled with you and me if it meant carrying out this command!"
Umar replied, "I am training the people as one trains an unbroken horse.
If Allah grants me life, I shall proceed with my plan;
and if death comes upon me swiftly, Allah already knows my intention.
Indeed, I fear that if I confront the people suddenly with what you say,
they will compel me to resort to the sword;
and there is no good in a good that comes only by the sword."
Al-Sha'bi reported:
"I attended the court of Shurayh, may Allah have mercy on him,
when a woman came disputing with a man.
She began to shed tears and weep profusely,
so I said, 'O Abu Umayyah,
I do not think this poor woman is anything but wronged!'
He replied, 'O Sha'bi,
the brothers of Joseph came to their father in the evening weeping.'"
Ibrahim ibn Tahman, may Allah have mercy on him, had
a generous stipend from the public treasury—
that is, a significant sum of money.
One day, he was asked a question in the council of the Caliph,
and he answered, "I do not know."
They said to him:
"You receive such-and-such an amount every month,
yet you cannot answer a single question?"
He replied:
"I only receive it for what I know well.
If I were paid for what I do not know well,
the public treasury would be exhausted, while my ignorance would never be exhausted."
The Commander of the Faithful was delighted with his answer,
ordered a lavish reward for him,
and increased his monthly stipend.
Al-Mansur said one day to Shabib ibn Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him:
"Admonish me, and be concise."
He said:
"O Commander of the Faithful,
indeed Allah was not pleased with Himself
to place anyone among His creation above you,
so do not be pleased with yourself for Him
that any of His servants should be more grateful to Him than you."
Al-Mansur replied:
"By Allah, you have indeed been concise!"
A man visited a governor
who was a friend of his,
but the governor acted preoccupied and ignored him.
One day, the man made himself seen,
and the governor said:
"Pardon me, for I am busy."
The man replied:
"Were it not for your preoccupation, I would not have come to you!"
Abu Simak, may Allah have mercy on him, said to a man:
"I did not preserve my dignity from asking of you,
so preserve your dignity from turning me away;
and place me through your generosity where I have placed myself
through my hope in you."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Food is eaten for three reasons:
with brothers, out of joy;
with the poor, out of selflessness;
and with worldly people, out of chivalry and dignity."
The state of the salaf regarding blessings and giving thanks to the Bestower of blessings.
The state of the salaf regarding the blessings of Allah
and what has been said concerning that.
Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Whoever does not see Allah's blessing upon him
except in eating and drinking,
his understanding is meager and his punishment is present."
He also said, may Allah be pleased with him:
"How many a blessing from Allah Almighty
lies in a tranquil vein!"
Abd al-Rahman ibn Hatib ibn Abi
Balta'ah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"We went out with Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
on a Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage.
When we reached the mountain pass of Dajnan,
Umar turned around and said:
'I remember myself in these mountain passes,
tending camels for al-Khattab,
who was harsh and severe.
I would gather firewood for him at times,
and beat down leaves for livestock at other times.
Yet today, I have reached a state where people walk by my side,
and there is no one above me except Allah!'
And in all of that, nothing was seen except his cheerful disposition as he recited:
'The Creator alone remains, while wealth and children perish.'"
Abu al-Aliyah,
may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Indeed, I hope that no servant perishes between two blessings:
a blessing for which he praises Allah,
and a sin for which he seeks Allah's forgiveness."
Abd al-Malik ibn Abjar,
may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"There is no human being except that he is tested with wellbeing,
to see how his gratitude will be,
or tested with affliction, to see how his patience will be."
Sufyan ibn Uyaynah,
may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Part of gratitude to Allah
for a blessing is that you praise Him for it
and use it to aid yourself in obeying Him.
He has not shown gratitude to Allah who uses
His blessing to commit disobedience against Him."
Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Indeed, Allah grants enjoyment through a blessing for as long as He wills,
but if He is not thanked,
He turns it into a punishment upon them."
He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:
"Mention this blessing frequently,
for remembering it is itself a form of gratitude."
Some of the salaf said:
"Remembering blessings instills love for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
A man asked one of the salaf:
"How have you awoken this morning?"
He replied, "I have awoken between two blessings,
and I do not know which of them is greater:
sins that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has concealed,
so that no one can shame me for them;
and an affection that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has cast
into the hearts of His servants,
which my own deeds could never have earned."
It used to be said:
"Whoever recognizes Allah's blessing, the Mighty and Majestic, in his heart
and praises Him with his tongue,
will not finish doing so before he sees an increase,
because of the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic:
'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.'"
And he said:
"It used to be said that part of gratitude for a blessing
is to speak of it."
Regarding the verse of Allah Almighty:
"We shall gradually draw them on from where they do not know,"
Sufyan said, "We lavish upon them
blessings while withholding from them the ability to give thanks."
Someone other than Sufyan said:
"Every time they commit a sin, We grant them a new
blessing." Ibn Shawdhab,
may Allah have mercy on him, reported that a group of people gathered
and discussed which blessing is the greatest.
A man said, "That which Allah has concealed of our faults
from one another."
He added, "And they considered that statement to be the most correct."
Some of the salaf said:
"Every blessing from Allah upon you in your religion
requires more gratitude from you than the blessing of Allah upon you
in your worldly life."
Mutarrif ibn Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him,
used to say: "Indeed, among the most beloved servants of Allah
is the patient and deeply grateful one,
who, when tested, remains patient,
and when granted a gift, gives thanks."
He also said, may Allah have mercy on him: "That I am granted wellbeing and give thanks
is more beloved to me than to be tested
and remain patient."
Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked
about the true reality of gratitude,
and he replied: "It is that one does not use any of His blessings to disobey Him."
Bishr ibn al-Harith, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I thought about Bishr the Christian,
Bishr the Jew,
and Bishr the Zoroastrian,
while I myself am named Bishr.
So I said to myself, 'What preceded from you to Him
that He should single you out?'
Then I reflected on His grace toward me
in making me among His chosen servants."
Ibn Aqil, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote
in *Al-Funun*: "Blessings are guests,
and their hospitality is gratitude;
tribulations are guests, and their hospitality is patience.
So strive that these guests depart
grateful for your good hospitality,
bearing witness to what they heard and saw."
The state of the salaf toward those among creation who did good to them.
Sufyan, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Even if Pharaoh said to me,
'May Allah bless you,'
I would reply, 'And you as well.'"
One of the salaf said: "Indeed, a man
Some of the salaf said, "Indeed, a man
may meet me with such good companionship
that I feel I will die before I can ever repay him."
And one of the wise said:
"The most thankful of people to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime,
are those who are most thankful to His servants."
And he said, "He who does not express gratitude for a lot
has failed, for repaying kindness with kindness is an obligation,
whereas bestowing unrequited favor is a voluntary act of virtue."