A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (35)

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 The Lives of the Salaf Between Words and Deeds

0:09 The Stance of the Salaf Towards Wealth

0:14 Censuring the Heart's Attachment to Wealth

0:17 Wealth was brought to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) during his governorship.

0:24 He began to inspect it and look upon it,

0:27 and then his eyes overflowed with tears and he wept.

0:31 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said to him,

0:34 "What makes you weep, O Commander of the Faithful?

0:37 By Allah, this is surely an occasion for gratitude!"

0:41 'Umar replied, "By Allah, whenever wealth was given to a people,

0:47 it inevitably cast enmity and hatred among them."

0:51 On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), he said,

0:56 "The owner of two dirhams faces a far harder reckoning than the owner of one dirham."

1:00 Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

1:04 "By Allah, I met people—

1:07 even if one of them were to inherit immense wealth..."

1:11 He said, "...and by Allah, he was in severe poverty and hardship."

1:16 He said, "He would say to his brother,

1:19 'O my brother, I know that I have an inheritance, and it is lawful,

1:25 but I fear that it will corrupt my heart and my deeds.

1:29 Therefore, it is yours; I have no need of it.'

1:32 He would not take a single thing from it, ever."

1:37 He said, "And by Allah, he was in severe poverty and hardship."

1:42 And he used to swear by Allah,

1:44 "No one ever venerated the dirham except that Allah humiliated him."

1:49 Al-Mutanabbi said,

1:52 "And whoever spends hours amassing his wealth

1:56 for fear of poverty, his very actions are poverty itself."

2:01 And Abu Nuwas said,

2:04 "You belong to wealth as long as you withhold it,

2:07 but when you spend it, wealth belongs to you."

2:10 Leaving Wealth for One's Heirs

2:16 Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill,

2:20 and making a bequest was mentioned to him.

2:22 He said, "As for my liquid wealth,

2:25 Allah knows best what I used to do with it.

2:28 But as for my real estate and lands,

2:31 I do not wish for anyone to share in them with my children."

2:36 And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) left behind seventy thousand.

2:42 The total wealth of Al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was

2:45 fifty million.

2:49 A wife of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was bought out of her share of the inheritance—

2:54 a third of her share—

2:56 for three hundred and eighty thousand.

2:59 On the authority of 'Amir ibn 'Abd Qays (may Allah have mercy on him), he said,

3:03 "There is no wealth greater in reward

3:06 than wealth a man leaves behind for his children, making them independent of people."

3:13 Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away leaving behind ten thousand.

3:20 Prioritizing Actions

3:22 On the authority of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid, he said,

3:26 "I have never seen a scholar of fiqh who fasted less than 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)."

3:33 It was said to him, "Why do you not fast?"

3:36 He replied,

3:37 "I prefer prayer over fasting.

3:40 When I fast, I grow too weak to pray."

3:43 On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said,

3:48 "To maintain a household of Muslims for a month, or a Friday-to-Friday, or whatever Allah wills,

3:55 is beloved to me than performing Hajj after Hajj.

3:59 And a tray of food worth a fraction of a dirham that I gift to a brother for the sake of Allah

4:04 is more beloved to me than a dinar I spend in the cause of Allah Almighty."

4:10 It was said to Malik ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him),

4:13 "What do you say regarding the pursuit of knowledge?"

4:16 He said,

4:17 "It is good and beautiful.

4:19 But look to that which is required of you from morning until evening, and adhere to it."

4:27 Abu Sulayman al-Darani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

4:31 "Whoever is engaged in a voluntary act of worship that brings him delight,

4:35 and when the time for an obligatory prayer arrives, that delight in the voluntary act does not cease,

4:41 then he is deluded in his voluntary worship."

4:44 Good Character

4:48 On the authority of Umm al-Darda', she said,

4:52 "Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) spent the night praying,

4:56 and he began weeping and saying,

4:59 'O Allah, You have made my physical creation fine, so make my character fine,'

5:03 until morning came.

5:05 I said, 'O Abu al-Darda',

5:07 your supplication all night long was only about good character!'

5:12 He said,

5:13 'O Umm al-Darda',

5:15 a Muslim servant continues to refine his character

5:18 until his good character admits him into Paradise;

5:22 and his character worsens until his bad character admits him into the Fire.'"

5:27 Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)

5:31 was among the most lighthearted and cheerful of people.

5:34 He was asked,

5:36 "Did the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laugh?"

5:41 He said, "Yes,

5:43 while faith in their hearts was greater than mountains."

5:47 On the authority of Mu'adh ibn Sa'id, he said,

5:51 "We were with 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him),

5:55 when a man began recounting a hadith,

5:58 and another man interrupted him during his account.

6:01 'Ata' said,

6:03 'Subhan Allah!

6:05 What manners are these?

6:07 Indeed, I hear a hadith from a man when I am more knowledgeable about it than he is,

6:11 yet I show him as if I know nothing of it.'"

6:15 'Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

6:18 "Everything has a foundation,

6:20 and the foundation of Islam

6:23 is good character."

6:26 On the authority of 'Awn ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him),

6:29 he used to say,

6:31 "The believer is friendly and approachable,

6:33 and there is no good in one who neither brings harmony nor receives it."

6:37 A man acted foolishly toward one of the salaf (may Allah have mercy on him),

6:41 so he remained silent toward him,

6:43 and said, "O my brother,

6:45 even if you were to point out every flaw in me,

6:48 you could never diminish me as much as I know myself to be deficient."

6:51 Then he said,

6:53 "A man acted foolishly toward Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him),

6:57 so he bore it patiently and said,

6:59 'For what purpose did we learn sacred knowledge?'"

7:04 Qabisah said,

7:06 "Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) was lighthearted;

7:10 I used to fall behind him out of fear that he would disarm me with his humor."

7:15 One of the salaf was seen in a dream,

7:18 and he was asked about one of his righteous brothers.

7:21 He said,

7:23 "Where is he?

7:25 He was raised to high ranks in Paradise because of his good character."

7:28 Some of them said,

7:30 "Seekers of praise have never acquired it

7:33 with anything like cheerfulness and a welcoming face."

7:36 Zuhayr ibn 'Abbad (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

7:41 "Whenever I said to Malik ibn Anas, 'May Allah have mercy on you,'

7:45 he would reply,

7:47 'And may Allah have mercy on you.'

7:49 And if I said to him, 'May Allah grant you wellbeing,'

7:52 he would reply,

7:53 'And may Allah grant you wellbeing.'"

7:55 Good Etiquette

7:57 He said,

7:59 "He had the finest character among people toward his family and children,

8:03 and he would say,

8:04 'In doing so lies the pleasure of your Lord.'"

8:07 The poet said,

8:09 "People may live an era without affection between them,

8:13 yet greeting with peace and gentleness plants it."

8:17 A wise man was asked,

8:20 "Who taught you etiquette?"

8:22 He said,

8:23 "I observed the ignorance of the ignorant person and avoided it."

8:27 Ibn al-Muqaffa' (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

8:30 "It is the duty of a rational person to hold up two mirrors:

8:34 in one, he looks at his own faults

8:38 so that he humbles himself

8:40 and rectifies what he can of them;

8:42 and in the other, he looks at the virtues of people

8:46 so that he adopts what he can of them."

8:51 Censuring Bad Character and Explaining Its Evil Consequences

8:57 Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

9:00 "Whoever has bad character tortures himself."

9:04 One of the salaf said,

9:06 "He said: A person of good character is treated like family among strangers,

9:11 whereas a person of bad character is like a stranger among his own family."

9:16 On the authority of Abu Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him), he said,

9:20 "The person of bad character inflicts the greatest hardship upon the soul within his own chest;

9:26 it is in constant misery from him.

9:28 Next is his wife, then his child—

9:31 to the extent that he enters his house while they are in joy,

9:36 but when they hear his voice, they scatter in fear of him;

9:40 even his riding beast veers away to avoid the stones he throws at it,

9:46 his dog sees him and leaps onto the wall,

9:50 and even his cat flees from him."

9:53 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

9:57 "A man should guard against meanness of character

10:01 just as he guards against what is forbidden."

10:03 A renunciate once visited Harun al-Rashid (may Allah have mercy on him) one day

10:09 and said, "O Harun, fear Allah!"

10:14 So Harun took him aside in private and said,

10:17 "O fellow, be fair with me!

10:20 Am I worse, or Pharaoh?"

10:23 He replied, "Rather, Pharaoh."

10:25 Harun said, "And are you better, or Moses?"

10:29 He replied, "Rather, Moses."

10:32 Harun said, "Do you not know that when Allah Almighty sent him and his brother to Pharaoh, He said: ﴿Speak to him gentle words﴾?

10:39 “And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear.” (20:44)

10:43 Yet you confronted me with the harshest words!

10:46 You have neither disciplined yourself with the manners of Allah,

10:49 nor adopted the character of the righteous."

10:52 The man said, "I was mistaken, and I ask Allah's forgiveness."

10:57 Harun said, "May Allah forgive you,"

11:00 and he ordered twenty thousand dirhams for him,

11:03 but the man refused to accept it.

A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (35) | Good manners

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