In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The life of the salaf between speech and action.
Reliance and trust in Allah.
‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once met a group of people from Yemen.
He asked, "Who are you?"
They replied, "We are the ones who rely upon Allah (al-mutawakkilun)."
He said, "Rather, you are the ones who rely upon others (al-mutakkilun)."
The true one who relies upon Allah is he who casts a seed into the earth,
and then places his trust in Allah.
Abu al-‘Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gathered around me,
and they said, "O Abu al-‘Aliyah,
do not rely upon anyone other than Allah,
lest Allah entrust you to the one you relied upon."
Sa‘id Ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Reliance upon Allah is the essence of faith."
Hatim al-Asamm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"I have four wives,
and nine children.
Yet, the devil has never dared to whisper to me regarding their provision."
A man asked him, "Upon what did you build this state of reliance upon Allah?"
He replied, "Upon four principles:
I knew that my provision would be eaten by no one but me,
so my soul found peace in that.
I knew that my deeds would be performed by no one but me,
so I remained occupied with them.
I knew that death would come to me suddenly,
so I hastened to prepare.
And I knew that I am never hidden from the sight of Allah wherever I may be,
so I am ashamed to disobey Him."
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about reliance,
and he said:
"It is the severing of all expectations through despair of the creation."
It was said to him,
"What is the reality of true reliance upon Allah?"
He said:
"That one relies upon Allah,
and there remains no one in his heart among the people whom he hopes will provide him with anything.
If he is in that state,
Allah will provide for him, and he will be truly reliant."
The Vizier Ibn Hubayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"I pondered the saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴾There is no power nor strength except by Allah﴿,
“If only, when thou enteredst thy garden, thou hadst said: That which Allah willeth (will come to pass)! There is no strength save in Allah! Though thou seest me as less than thee in wealth and children,” (18:39)
and I saw that it has three aspects:
The first:
That the one who says it absolves himself of his own power and strength,
and surrenders the matter to its true Owner.
The second:
That he knows there is no power for the created beings except through Allah,
so he does not fear them,
since their power exists only by Allah.
This necessitates fearing Allah alone.
The third:
That it is a refutation of the philosophers and the naturalists
who claim that power resides in things by their very nature.
This phrase clarifies that there is no power except by Allah."
Certainty in Allah.
Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"How excellent is the sleep of the intelligent and their breaking of the fast!
How could they be deceived by the night-vigils and fasting of the foolish?
For the weight of an atom of righteousness from a person of piety and certainty
is better, weightier, and greater than mountains of
worship from those who are deluded."
Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Certainty is that you do not please people by incurring the wrath of Allah,
nor do you praise anyone for the provision of Allah,
nor do you blame anyone for what Allah the Almighty has not given you.
For provision is not brought by the greed of the greedy,
nor is it repelled by the dislike of the hateful.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in His wisdom, knowledge, and forbearance,
has placed joy and happiness in certainty and contentment,
and has placed worry and sorrow in doubt and discontent."
Khalid Ibn Ma‘dan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Learn certainty just as you learn the Qur'an, until you truly know it,
for I am still learning it."
Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"No servant has ever attained true certainty in Paradise and Hell,
without becoming humble, fearful, submissive, and upright,
maintaining moderation until death comes to him."
Bilal Ibn Sa‘d (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Whoever does not act upon certainty should not trouble himself."
Love.
The love of people for one another.
Yahya Ibn Mu‘adh (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"The reality of love is that it neither increases with kindness nor decreases with coldness."
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about love for the sake of Allah,
and he said: "It is that you do not love him for the sake of worldly gain."
The servant's love for Allah and Allah's love for the servant,
and the causes thereof.
‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Allah gives wealth to those He loves and those He does not love,
but He gives faith only to those He loves."
‘Amir Ibn ‘Abd Qays (may Allah have mercy on him)
used to say:
"I have loved Allah the Almighty with a love that has made every calamity easy for me,
and has made me content with every decree.
I do not care, with my love for Him, what state I wake up in."
Abu Yazid al-Bastami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"This is my joy in You while I fear You;
how then would my joy be in You if I were secure from You?"
"It is not a wonder that I love You, for I am a poor servant;
the wonder is that You love me, for You are a Powerful King."
Love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his veneration.
‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"When the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) withdrew from his wives,
I entered the mosque,
and found the people tapping the ground with pebbles,
saying,
'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has divorced his wives.'
I found Rabah,
the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
sitting on the threshold of the upper chamber.
I called out, 'O Rabah,
ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).'
Rabah looked into the room,
then looked at me, but said nothing.
Then I said, 'O Rabah,
ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).'
Rabah looked into the room,
then looked at me, but said nothing.
Then I raised my voice and said,
'O Rabah,
ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
for I think that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
thinks that I have come because of Hafsah.
By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered me to strike her neck, I would strike it.'
I raised my voice, and he signaled for me to enter, so I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."
He (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "By Allah, you are more beloved to me than my own self."
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out for Badr, he consulted the Companions when
news reached him of Abu Sufyan's approach. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke, but he turned away from him.
Then ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke, but he turned away from him. Then Sa‘d Ibn ‘Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up
and said, "Is it us you want, O Messenger of Allah? By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you ordered us to drive our mounts into
the sea, we would do so, and if you ordered us to strike their flanks to Bark al-Ghimad, we would do it."
‘Amr Ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "There was no one more beloved to me than the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor anyone more majestic in my eyes than him. I could not even fill
my eyes with his sight out of reverence for him. If I were asked to describe him, I could not, because I could not fill
my eyes with his sight." When ‘Urwah Ibn Mas‘ud came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
at the time of Hudaybiyyah to negotiate peace, he began to watch the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
closely. He said, "By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not spit
without it falling into the hand of one of them, who would then rub it on his face and skin. If he commanded them,
they would hasten to fulfill his command. If he performed ablution, they would almost fight over his leftover water. If he spoke,
they would lower their voices in his presence, and they would not stare at him out of reverence for him." ‘Urwah returned
to his companions and said, "O people, by Allah, I have visited kings; I have visited
Caesar, Chosroes, and the Negus. By Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions venerate him as
the companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) venerate Muhammad. By Allah, he would not spit
without it falling into the hand of one of them, who would then rub it on his face and skin. If he commanded them,
they would hasten to fulfill his command. If he performed ablution, they would almost fight over his leftover water. If he spoke,
they would lower their voices in his presence, and they would not stare at him out of reverence for him." On the
day of Uhud, when the people fled from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Talhah
(may Allah be pleased with him) was in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), shielding him
with a shield, protecting him with his own body. Abu Talhah was a man
who was a skilled archer, breaking two or three bows that day. A man would pass by
with a quiver of arrows, and he would say, "Spread them out for Abu Talhah." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would look up
to see the people, and Abu Talhah would say, "O Prophet of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you,
do not look up, lest an arrow from the people's arrows strike you. My neck is before your neck."
Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
would never mention the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) without invoking peace and
blessings upon him. By Allah, I have never seen anyone more intense in his veneration of the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor more eager to follow him and support what he brought. Even
if he cited something from his hadith regarding an issue and saw that it had not been abrogated by
anything else from his hadith, he would act upon it, judge by it, and issue fatwas according to it, paying no heed
to the opinion of anyone else among the creation, whoever they might be." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Every speaker's words are used to support his own view, not as an authority, except for Allah and His Messenger."