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

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The life of the salaf between speech and action.

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Humility and the condemnation of arrogance.

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Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, went out on a hot day.

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With his cloak placed over his head.

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He said:

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A young man passed by him riding a donkey.

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He said:

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"O young man, carry me with you."

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He said:

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The young man jumped off the donkey.

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He said:

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"Ride, O Commander of the Faithful."

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He said:

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"No."

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"You ride."

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"And I will ride behind you."

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"Do you wish to make me ride on the rough part,"

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"while you ride on the comfortable part?"

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"Rather, you ride,"

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"and I will be behind you."

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He said:

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So he entered the city with him behind him,

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while the people were looking at him.

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When he, may Allah be pleased with him, arrived in the Levant,

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he encountered a ford,

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meaning a place where the water is shallow,

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which people cross on foot or mounted.

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He got down from his camel,

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took his sandals,

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and removed his socks.

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He took them in his hands and waded through the water.

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Abu Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"You have done a great deed today in the eyes of the people of the earth."

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Umar struck his own chest and said:

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"If only someone other than you had said this!"

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"You were the most insignificant, the most humiliated, and the weakest of people,"

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"then Allah honored you with Islam."

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"So whenever you seek honor in anything else, He will humiliate you."

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He, may Allah be pleased with him, said from the pulpit:

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"When a servant humbles himself for the sake of Allah, Allah elevates his wisdom."

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"He is small or poor in his own estimation,"

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"but great in the estimation of the people."

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"And when a servant becomes arrogant and exceeds his bounds,"

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"Allah brings him low."

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"He is great in his own estimation, but small in the eyes of the people,"

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"to the point that he is more contemptible and smaller in the eyes of the people than a pig."

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

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"I asked al-Bara' ibn 'Azib and Zayd ibn Arqam, may Allah be pleased with them both, about currency exchange,"

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"and each of them would say, 'This one is better than me.'"

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'Utbah ibn Ghazwan, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"I seek refuge in Allah from being great in my own estimation,"

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"while being small in the sight of Allah."

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Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, came into the market

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carrying a bundle of firewood,

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and he was the governor for Marwan at that time.

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He said, "Clear the way for the leader!"

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Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, went out one day,

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and people followed him.

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He said to them, "Do you have a need?"

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They said, "No,"

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"but we wanted to walk with you."

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He said, "Go back,"

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"for it is a humiliation for the follower and a trial for the followed."

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He, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"Whoever acts arrogantly, Allah will bring him low,"

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"and whoever humbles himself out of reverence,"

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"Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will raise him up."

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'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

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"You are neglecting the best act of worship:"

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"Humility."

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A man said to Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both:

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"O best of people, and son of the best of people!"

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He said:

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"I am not the best of people, nor the son of the best of people,"

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"but I am a servant among the servants of Allah."

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"I hope in Allah and I fear Him."

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"By Allah, you will not cease to flatter a man until you destroy him."

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A man came to him and asked him about a religious obligation,

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and he said to him:

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"Go to Sa'id ibn Jubayr,"

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"for he is more knowledgeable in calculation than I am."

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Mujahid said:

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"I accompanied Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,"

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"and I wanted to serve him,"

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"but he was the one who served me."

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

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"I used to teach Qur'an to men from the Muhajirun,"

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"among them 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf."

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Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"In this is a reminder to take knowledge from its people,"

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"even if they are young in age,"

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"or of low status."

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Hakim ibn Hizam used to

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read to Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with them both.

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It was said to him:

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"You read to this young Khazraji man?"

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He said:

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"It is only arrogance that has destroyed us."

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Some of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on them,

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would buy something from the market and carry it himself.

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It would be said to him:

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"Give it to us, we will carry it."

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He would refuse and say:

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“Assuredly Allah knoweth that which they keep hidden and that which they proclaim. Lo! He loveth not the proud.” (16:23)

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Al-Rabi' ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him,

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would sweep his own latrine himself.

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It was said to him:

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"You could be spared this."

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He said:

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"I like to take my share of the work."

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When 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, buried Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Malik,

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and came out of his grave,

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he heard a thud or a rumble from the earth.

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He said:

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"What is this?"

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It was said:

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"These are the mounts of the Caliphate, O Commander of the Faithful,"

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"brought near for you to ride."

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He said:

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"What do I have to do with them?"

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"Take them away from me."

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"Bring me my mule."

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His mule was brought to him, and he rode it.

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The chief of police came to him, walking before him with a spear.

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He said:

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"Move away from me."

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"What do I have to do with you?"

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"I am only a man from among the Muslims."

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'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar said:

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Raja' ibn Haywah said to me:

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"How perfect is your father's chivalry!"

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"I spent the night with him,"

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"and the lamp grew dim."

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"Beside him was a sleeping servant."

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I said:

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"Shall I wake him?"

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He said, "No."

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"Leave him."

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I said:

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"I will get up."

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He said:

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"No."

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"It is not part of a man's chivalry to use his guest as a servant."

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He stood up to the oil container and fixed the lamp.

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Then he returned,

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and said:

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"I stood up while I was 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,"

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"and I returned while I was 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz."

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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"Whoever commits a sin out of desire,"

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"hope for his repentance,"

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"for Adam disobeyed out of desire,"

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"and he was forgiven."

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"But if his sin is out of arrogance,"

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"then fear the curse for its perpetrator,"

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"for Iblis disobeyed out of arrogance, and he was cursed."

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'Awn ibn 'Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"It is enough of an arrogance for you"

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"that you see yourself as having a merit over those who are beneath you."

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It has been said:

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"Whoever is arrogant during his tenure,"

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"will be humiliated upon his dismissal."

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Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"There are people who want to rise,"

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"but Allah refuses except to bring them low."

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"And others who want to be humble,"

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"and Allah refuses except to raise them up."

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Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,

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whenever he taught someone something,

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he did not act as if he had taught him,

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and whenever he learned something from someone,

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he acted as if he had learned from him.

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'Ubayd ibn Junad said:

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"I have never seen anyone like Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him."

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"When he mentioned his companions, he would exalt them."

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"He would say, 'Where is anyone like so-and-so?'"

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Sa'id ibn Jubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, saw

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people following him,

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so he forbade them and said:

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"This walking of yours is a humiliation for the follower,"

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"and a trial for the followed."

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Yusuf ibn Asbat, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

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"What is the ultimate limit of humility?"

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He said: "That you do not meet anyone"

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"without seeing that they have merit over you."

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

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"Humility is among the characteristics of the noble,"

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"and arrogance is among the traits of the base."

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"Humility breeds love,"

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"and contentment breeds comfort."

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He said:

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"The highest of people in status"

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"is he who sees no status for himself."

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"And the most meritorious of them"

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"is he who sees no merit for himself."

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Yahya ibn Ma'in said:

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"I have never seen anyone like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him."

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"We accompanied him for fifty years,"

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boasting to us about something

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of the goodness he possessed.

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Ahmad Ibn al-Hasan al-Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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I saw Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,

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buying bread from the market,

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and carrying it himself in a basket.

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I saw him buying fava beans more than once,

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placing them in a bowl or some other container,

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and carrying them while holding the hand of his son, 'Abdullah.

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Salih said:

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My father would sometimes go out to the grocer,

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buy a bundle of firewood, and carry it himself.

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about humility,

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and he said:

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It is to submit to the truth, be guided by it,

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and accept it from whoever speaks it.

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Some have said:

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Do not despise any of Allah's creation, for perhaps

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he is a devoted servant of the Lord of the worlds, and you do not know.

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For the one who has status with Allah is hidden from the people,

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just as the Night of Decree is hidden from their knowledge.