Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 47 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (47) | Fear, apprehension and hope
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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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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Fear, apprehension, and hope.
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Fear and apprehension.
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When ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was stabbed,
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people came and began to praise him.
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He said,
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"I wish that it would be a wash—neither for me nor against me."
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He said to Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with them both),
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"Would it please you if our Islam with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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our migration with him,
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our jihad with him,
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and all our deeds with him
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were a wash for us,
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and that every deed we performed after him we were saved from,
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breaking even, head for head?"
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He replied, "No, by Allah!
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We have performed jihad after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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we have prayed and fasted,
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we have done much good,
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and many people have embraced Islam at our hands."
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"And we hope for that [reward]."
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‘Umar said,
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"But as for me, by Him in Whose hand is the soul of ‘Umar,
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I would wish that it were a wash for us,
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and that every deed we performed after him we were saved from,
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breaking even, head for head."
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Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said,
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"The head of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in my lap.
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He said, 'O ‘Abdullah,
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place my head on the ground.'
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I gathered my garment
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and placed it under his head.
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He said, 'Place my head on the ground, may you have no mother!'
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Then he said, 'Woe to ‘Umar and woe to his mother,
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if Allah does not forgive him.'"
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‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
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"The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting beneath a mountain,
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fearing it might fall upon him.
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But the wicked person sees his sins like a fly that passes over his nose,
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and he waves it away like this."
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Abu Shihab al-Zuhri gestured with his hand over his nose.
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Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
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"People used to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about good,
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and I used to ask him about evil, fearing it might overtake me."
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When death came to Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him),
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he was deeply distressed.
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He was asked, "What makes you weep?"
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He said, "I do not weep out of regret for the world;
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rather, death is more beloved to me.
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But I do not know what I am approaching:
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whether it is pleasure or wrath."
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Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
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"He who weeps out of fear of Allah will not enter the Fire,
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until the milk returns to the udder."
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He (may Allah be pleased with him) wept during his illness.
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He was asked, "What makes you weep?"
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He said, "I do not weep for this world of yours,
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but I weep for the length of my journey and the scarcity of my provisions.
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For I have reached the evening ascending toward Paradise or Hell,
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and I do not know which of the two I shall be taken to."
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Ibn ‘Abbas sought permission [to visit] before the death of ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her),
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while she was overcome [by illness].
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He said, "You are in a good state, if Allah wills,
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as the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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and he did not marry any virgin other than you,
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and your exoneration was sent down from the heavens."
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She replied, "I wish I were a thing forgotten and passed out of mind."
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Khabbab Ibn al-Art (may Allah be pleased with him) was visited
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by some of the remaining Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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They said, "Rejoice, Abu ‘Abdullah,
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for you are going to meet your brothers tomorrow."
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He wept and said, "It is not because of that state.
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It is not that I am distressed,
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but you have reminded me of people,
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and you have named them as my brothers.
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Those people have passed on with their rewards intact,
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and I fear that the reward for what you mention of those deeds
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is what we have attained after them."
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Shaddad Ibn Aws al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him)
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used to, when he went to bed,
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toss and turn on his mattress,
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unable to sleep.
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He would say,
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"O Allah, the Fire has taken sleep away from me."
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Then he would rise and pray until morning.
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Abu Raja’ al-‘Utaridi said,
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"I saw Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)
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and beneath his eyes were marks like old shoelaces from his tears."
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Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the Ka‘bah,
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and I heard him while he was prostrating, saying,
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"You know that nothing prevents me from competing with the Quraysh for this world
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except my fear of You."
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Ka‘b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
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"For me to weep out of fear of Allah,
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so that my tears flow down my cheeks,
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is more beloved to me than to give my weight in gold as charity."
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Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
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"No one has been able to perform worship, nor has anyone had the strength for it,
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except through intense fear."
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Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him)
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would frequently say in his gatherings,
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"O Allah, grant safety, grant safety."
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It was said to al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him),
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"How should we deal with people who frighten us
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until our hearts are almost ready to fly away?"
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Al-Hasan replied,
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"By Allah, to accompany people who frighten you
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until you attain security
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is better for you than to accompany people who make you feel secure
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until fear overtakes you."
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Some of the salaf said,
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"The fearful one is not he who weeps and squeezes his eyes,
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but the fearful one is he who abandons the thing he fears
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he will be punished for."
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Ibrahim ibn Shayban (may Allah have mercy on him)
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said,
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"When fear settles in the heart,
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it burns away the places of desire within it,
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and drives away the longing for the world."
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Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said,
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"We used to travel with Ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him),
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and it would often cross my mind,
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and I would say to myself,
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'In what way does this man excel over us
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to have attained such fame among the people?
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If he prays,
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we also pray;
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if he fasts,
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we also fast;
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if he goes on military expeditions,
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we also go on expeditions;
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if he performs Hajj,
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we also perform Hajj.'
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He said,
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'We were on one of our journeys on the road to al-Sham,
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one night, having dinner in a house,
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when the lamp went out.
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Some of us stood up, took the lamp,
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and stayed there for a while,
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then returned with the lamp.
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I looked at the face of Ibn al-Mubarak,
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and his beard was soaked with tears.
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I said to myself,
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"It is by this apprehension that this man excels over us."
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Perhaps when the lamp went out
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and he was plunged into darkness,
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he remembered the Resurrection.'"
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Ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
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"The one among you with the most knowledge
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should be the one among you with the most fear."
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‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid ibn Jabir said,
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"I said to Yazid ibn Martad (may Allah have mercy on him),
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'Why do I see your eyes never dry?'
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He said,
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'What is your question?'
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'Why do I see your eyes never dry?'
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He said,
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'What is your question about that?'
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I said,
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'Perhaps Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will benefit me through it.'
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He said,
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'Allah has threatened me that if I disobey Him, He will imprison me in the Fire.
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By Allah, if He had only threatened to imprison me in a bathhouse,
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I would still be worthy of never having dry eyes.'"
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Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
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"Whoever fears Allah, no one will harm him,
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and whoever fears other than Allah, no one will benefit him."
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Abu Sulayman al-Darani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
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"Whoever has a good opinion of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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yet does not fear Allah,
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he is deceived."
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Al-Marwazi said,
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"Abu ‘Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him)
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would be choked with tears whenever death was mentioned.
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He used to say,
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'Fear prevents me from eating food and drinking.
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When I remember death,
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every worldly matter becomes trivial to me.
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It is only food after food,
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and clothing after clothing,
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and these are but a few days.
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I do not equate poverty with anything.
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If I could find a way,
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I would leave until I was no longer remembered.'"
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Hope and having a good opinion of Allah.
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‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
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"Allah will surely forgive on the Day of Resurrection with a forgiveness
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that has never crossed the heart of any human being."
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He also said (may Allah be pleased with him),
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"By Him besides Whom there is no god,
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no servant has been given anything
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better than a good opinion of Allah.
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By Him besides Whom there is no god,
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no servant has a good opinion of Allah
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but that Allah gives him that which he expected,
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for all good is in His hand."
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He also said (may Allah be pleased with him),
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By Allah, if you knew what I know of Allah,
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you would surely speak out.
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A Bedouin fell ill, and it was said to him,
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"You are dying."
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He asked, "Where am I being taken?"
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They replied, "To Allah."
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He said, "What reason have I to dislike going
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to the One from whom I have seen nothing but good?"
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Regarding Mu'tamir Ibn Sulayman, may Allah have mercy on him,
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it is said:
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My father, may Allah have mercy on him, said when death approached him,
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"O Mu'tamir,
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tell me of the concessions [in the law],
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so that I may meet Allah while having a good opinion of Him."
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Some have said:
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Despite my fear of Allah, I am confident
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in His bounty, for Allah is the most generous of those who bestow.
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Regarding Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him,
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it is said:
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They used to like to remind the servant
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of his good deeds at the time of his death,
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so that he might have a good opinion of his Lord.
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Some have said:
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I truly hope in Allah, to the point that it is as if
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I see, through my good opinion, what Allah is about to do.
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Hammad Ibn Salamah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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By Allah, if I were given the choice between being held to account by Allah
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for myself,
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or being held to account by my parents,
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I would choose to be held to account by Allah rather than my parents,
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because Allah the Almighty is more merciful to me than my parents.
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Yahya Ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Were it not that pardon is among the things He loves most,
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He would not have tested the most honored of His creation with sin.
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When Bishr Ibn Mansur, may Allah have mercy on him, was dying, he laughed
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and said:
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"I am departing from among those whose trials I fear,
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and arriving to the One in whose mercy I have no doubt."
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Balancing fear and hope.
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Mutarrif, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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If the believer's fear and hope were weighed,
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they would be found equal,
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neither exceeding the other.
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Hope and fear are the mount of the believer.
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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Fear is better than hope
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as long as a man is healthy,
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but when death descends upon him,
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then hope is better.
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Regarding those who swoon upon hearing an exhortation,
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and the stance of the salaf regarding that.
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Husayn Ibn 'Abd al-Rahman said:
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I said to Asma' bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her,
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"How were the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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when the Qur'an was recited?"
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She said:
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"They were as Allah described them,
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or as the Almighty described them:
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their eyes would shed tears,
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and their skins would tremble."
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I said to her:
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"There are men here today
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who, when the Qur'an is recited to them, fall unconscious."
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She replied:
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"I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan."
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Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by
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a man from Iraq who had collapsed.
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He asked,
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"What is the matter with him?"
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They said,
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"When the Qur'an is recited to him, this happens to him."
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He said,
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"We fear Allah the Almighty,
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yet we do not collapse."
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There was a man who would tremble during the dhikr,
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and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said to him:
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"If you are doing this intentionally,
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then I do not care to count you as anything.
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And if you are not doing it intentionally,
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then you have opposed those who are better than you."
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Other benefits.
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said
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regarding the saying of the Almighty:
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"Here, read my record."
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“Surely I knew that I should have to meet my reckoning.” (69:20)
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He said:
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"The believer had a good opinion of his Lord, so he performed good deeds;
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while the hypocrite had a bad opinion, so he performed bad deeds."
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Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The greatest quality to be hoped for in a believer
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is that he be most fearful for his own soul,
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and most hopeful for every other Muslim."
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The life of the weapons.
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Between speech and action.