In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The life of the salaf between speech and action.
Self-reckoning.
The importance and virtue of self-reckoning.
Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Weigh your souls before you are weighed."
"And take yourselves to account before you are taken to account."
"For it is easier for you in the reckoning of tomorrow,"
"That you take yourselves to account,"
"And adorn yourselves for the Great Presentation."
“On that day ye will be exposed; not a secret of you will be hidden.” (69:18)
Al-Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever takes himself to account,"
"Allah will be too shy to take him to account."
And from al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
"The believer is a guardian over his own soul,"
"Taking himself to account for the sake of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."
"The reckoning on the Day of Resurrection will only be light,"
"For a people who took themselves to account in this world."
"And the reckoning on the Day of Resurrection will only be difficult,"
"For a people who took this matter lightly, without self-reckoning."
"When something that pleases the believer suddenly comes to him,"
"He says, 'By Allah, I desire you,'"
"'And you are indeed a need of mine,'"
"'But by Allah, there is no way to attain you.'"
"'Far, far away; a barrier has been placed between me and you.'"
"And if something slips from him,"
"He returns to his soul and says,"
"'What did I intend by this?'"
"'What have I to do with this?'"
"'By Allah, I shall never return to this, if Allah wills.'"
"The believers are a people whom the Qur'an has bound,"
"And it has stood between them and their destruction."
"The believer is a captive in this world,"
"Striving to ransom his own neck,"
"Feeling secure of nothing until he meets Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."
"He knows that he will be held accountable for his hearing, his sight,"
"His tongue, and his limbs."
And he (al-Hasan al-Basri), may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"A man would be pricked by a thorn,"
"And he would say,"
"'I know that you are here because of a sin,'"
"'And my Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, has not wronged me.'"
Guidance and advice on self-reckoning.
Al-Rabi' Ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"When you speak,"
"Remember Allah's hearing of you."
"When you intend something,"
"Remember His knowledge of you."
"When you look,"
"Remember His gaze upon you."
"When you reflect,"
"Remember His awareness of you."
"For He, the Exalted, says:"
“(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.” (17:36)
“(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.” (17:36)
And from Maymun Ibn Mihran, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
"A man will not be truly pious,"
"Until he is stricter in taking his soul to account,"
"Than a business partner is with his partner."
"And until he knows the source of his clothing, his food, and his drink."
Ibn al-Muqaffa', may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"It is upon the wise person to keep an inventory of his soul,"
"Its faults in religion, character, and manners."
"He should gather all of that in his heart or in a book,"
"Then frequently present it to his soul,"
"And task it with correcting them."
"He should assign this as a duty,"
"To correct one or two traits,"
"In a day, a week, or a month."
"Whenever he corrects something, he erases it."
"Whenever he looks at what is erased, he rejoices."
"And whenever he looks at what remains, he feels distressed."
Stories and incidents regarding self-reckoning.
Umar saw Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both,"
"Pulling on his tongue."
He took him by the hand,"
"And said,"
"'What are you doing, O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah?'"
"He replied,"
"'Is it not this that has led me to the brink?'"
And from Anas Ibn Malik, who said:
"I heard Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, one day,"
"And I went out with him until he entered a garden."
"I heard him saying, while there was a wall between me and him,"
"While he was inside the garden,"
"'Umar, Commander of the Faithful! Well done, well done!'"
"'By Allah, O son of al-Khattab,'"
"'You shall fear Allah, or He will surely punish you!'"
And from Salamah Ibn Mansur,"
"From a freedman of theirs who used to accompany al-Ahnaf Ibn Qays, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:"
"I used to accompany him,"
"And most of his night prayer was supplication."
"He would come to the lamp,"
"Place his finger in it, then say,"
"'O Ahnaf!'"
"'What drove you to do what you did on such-and-such a day?'"
"'What drove you to do what you did on such-and-such a day?'"
A man once spoke harshly to Abu Mu'awiyah al-Aswad, may Allah have mercy on him,"
"And he said,"
"'I seek Allah's forgiveness for the sin by which you were empowered over me.'"
Hassan Ibn Abi Sinan, may Allah have mercy on him, passed by a room,"
"And said,"
"'When was this built?'"
"Then he said,"
"Returning to his soul, he said,"
"'What is it to you when it was built?'"
"'You are asking about what does not concern you!'"
A man used to follow Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him,"
"And he always found him taking a scrap of paper from his garment to look at it."
"He wanted to know what was on it,"
"So the scrap fell into his hand,"
"And behold, written on it was:"
"'Sufyan,'"
"'Remember your standing before Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.'"
And from Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said:
"I heard Abu Ja'far al-Mansur weeping during his sermon on Friday,"
"And anger stirred within me."
"I intended to stand up and speak to him about what I heard him say,"
"And what I knew of his actions once he descended."
"Then I reflected on the fact that I wanted to stand before the Caliph to admonish him,"
"While the people were sitting, and they would stare at me,"
"And vanity would enter my heart,"
"So he would order me to be killed,"
"And I would be killed without sincerity."
"So I sat down and calmed myself."
Al-Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"A hidden ailment remained with me for thirty years."
"This is because we were a group that would go early to the Friday prayer,"
"And we had places known to be ours,"
"Which we would almost never miss."
"A man from our neighbors died on a Friday,"
"So I wanted to follow his funeral procession,"
"I followed it and was late for my usual time."
"Then I came, intending to attend the Friday prayer,"
"When I approached the mosque,"
"My soul said to me,"
"'Now they see you, having arrived late,'"
"'And having missed your usual time.'"
"That weighed heavily upon me,"
"So I said to my soul,"
"'I see you have been showing off for thirty years,'"
"'And I did not know!'"
"So I abandoned that place I used to go to,"
"And I began praying in different places,"
"So that my place would not be known, or anything of that sort."
The importance of knowing the faults and defects of the soul.
And leading the people in prayer.
Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Do not occupy yourselves with mentioning the people,"
"For it is a trial."
"And occupy yourselves with the remembrance of Allah,"
"For it is a mercy."
And he also said, may Allah be pleased with him:
"The most beloved of people to me,"
"Is the one who gifts me my faults."
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"One of you sees the speck in his brother's eye,"
"While forgetting the log in his own eye."
Bilal Ibn Sa'd, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Your remembering your good deeds and forgetting your bad deeds is a delusion."
Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"O son of Adam,"
"You will not attain the reality of faith,"
"Until you do not blame people for a fault that is in you,"
"And until you begin by correcting that fault in yourself,"
"And you rectify it."
"When you do that,"
"You will not correct one fault,"
"Except that you will find another fault you have not corrected."
"When you do that,"
"Your concern will be with your own soul,"
"And the most beloved of servants to Allah, the Exalted, is the one who is like that."
'Awn Ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I do not think anyone becomes preoccupied with the faults of people,"
"Except out of a heedlessness he has fallen into regarding his own soul."
It is narrated from some of the salaf that he said:
"I met a people who had no faults,"
"So they mentioned the faults of people,"
"And the people mentioned faults for them."
"And I met a people who had faults,"
"So they refrained from mentioning the faults of people,"
"And their faults were forgotten."
Or as he said.
Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
To a jester of his:
"The rulers have appointed spies over the common people,"
"And I am appointing you as my spy over myself."
"If you hear a word from me that you find inappropriate for me,"
"Or an action you do not like,"
"Then admonish me for it and forbid me from it."
Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Let your concern be with your own soul,"
"And let not your concern be with others."
"For whoever is concerned with others,"
"Has been deceived."
Al-Sari al-Saqati, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Among the signs of gradual ruin (istidraj),"
"Is blindness to the faults of the soul."
And he also said, may Allah have mercy on him:
"No one pries into the slips of the creation except an ignorant person,"
And he who violates the privacy of those he comes upon is cursed.
The struggle against the self (mujahadat al-nafs).
Abu Muslim al-Khawlani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Do you see that if I were to honor and indulge my self,
it would blame me before Allah tomorrow?
But if I were to humble it, exhaust it, and keep it busy,
it would praise me before Allah tomorrow."
It was asked, "Who is that, O Abu Muslim?"
He replied, "That, by Allah, is my own self."
Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"O son of Adam,
if you only intend to perform good deeds when you feel energetic,
then your self will surely incline toward weariness and boredom.
Rather, the believer is one who perseveres,
and the believer is one who strengthens himself."
The believers continued to call out, "Our Lord, our Lord,"
in private and in public,
until He answered them.
Muhammad Ibn al-Munkadir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I struggled against my self for forty years,
until it became upright."
Abu Yazid al-Bastami, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I called my self toward Allah,
but it resisted me and became difficult.
So I abandoned it and proceeded toward Allah."
A life of peace.
Between speech and action.