Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 70 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (70) | What was said about the mind and the wise
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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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Sincere counsel, seeking consultation, and seeking guidance (istikhara).
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Ma'mar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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It used to be said:
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The most sincere person to you is the one who fears Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, regarding you.
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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The believer is the mirror of his brother.
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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, once sought consultation regarding some people he intended to appoint to positions.
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One of his companions said to him:
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You should choose those who have excuses.
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He asked, "And who are they?"
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He replied, "Those who, if they act justly, it is what you hoped for from them;
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And if they fall short, people will say:
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'Umar has surely exerted his best effort.'"
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Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Seek guidance from Allah, and do not choose for yourself over His choice.
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For how many a servant has chosen a matter for himself,
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Only to find his ruin within it.
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It used to be said:
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Whoever is granted four things shall not be denied four others:
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Whoever is granted gratitude shall not be denied increase.
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Whoever is granted repentance shall not be denied acceptance.
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Whoever is granted consultation shall not be denied what is correct.
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Whoever is granted the seeking of guidance (istikhara) shall not be denied what is good.
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Some eloquent scholars said:
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It is the right of the wise person to add the opinions of others to his own,
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And to combine the intellects of the sages with his own intellect.
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For a solitary opinion may stumble,
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And an individual intellect may go astray.
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It used to be said:
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Beware of consulting two types of men:
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A youth infatuated with himself,
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Who lacks experience with others;
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Or an old man whom time has sapped of his intellect,
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Just as it has sapped his body.
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It was said in the scattered aphorisms:
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Everything requires intellect,
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And intellect requires experience.
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Some sages said:
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Half of your opinion lies with your brother;
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So consult him to complete your opinion.
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Condemning arrogance and vanity.
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Yahya ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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A sin for which I humble myself before Allah
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Is dearer to me than a deed through which I show off before Him.
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Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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How can a wise person be vain about his deed,
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When he should consider the deed itself a blessing from Allah?
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He ought only to be grateful and humble.
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Only the Qadariyyah are vain about their deeds,
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Those who claim that they are the ones who perform them.
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As for the one who claims that he is merely being used by Allah,
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What is there for him to be vain about?
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Abu 'Uthman al-Hiri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Despising people in your own heart
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Is a disease that cannot be cured.
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Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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If you fear vanity regarding your deed,
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Then remember whose pleasure you are seeking,
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In what bliss you desire,
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And from what punishment you fear.
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At that moment, your deed will seem small in your eyes.
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What has been said regarding the intellect and the wise.
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It is reported that Mutarrif ibn 'Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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No servant has been given anything better after faith than intellect.
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Wahb ibn Munabbih, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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I found in some of what Allah revealed
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To His prophets:
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That Satan has never struggled with anything
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More difficult for him than a wise believer.
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He struggles with a hundred thousand ignorant people,
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Mocking them,
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Until he rides upon their necks,
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And they are led by him wherever he wishes.
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But he struggles with the wise believer,
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And it becomes difficult for him,
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Until he gains nothing from him.
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Some sages said:
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Whoever does not guard himself with his intellect against his own intellect
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Will perish by his own intellect.
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Ibn Muflih, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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This is a statement of the utmost excellence.
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It is said:
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Whoever does not let his intellect prevail over his desires,
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His destruction will lie in those very desires.
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It was said to Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"Who is the most enviable of people?"
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He replied, "The wisest of them."
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It was said, "The most knowledgeable of them?"
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He replied, "The wisest of them."
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From Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him:
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He said, "Do not judge a man's intellect by his speech,
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But judge his intellect by how he handles his affairs."
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Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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The wise person is the one who understands his affairs from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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Not the one who is merely clever in managing his worldly life.
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Some sages said:
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A wise person should not expose his intellect to examine everything,
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Just as he should not strike at everything with his sword.
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Ibn Jurayj, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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A person's foundation is his intellect,
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And there is no religion for one who has no intellect.
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The poet spoke the truth:
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When a person's intellect is complete, his affairs are complete,
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His aspirations are fulfilled, and his character is sound.
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Some Arabs said:
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The things that most assist in sharpening the intellect
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Are learning.
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And the clearest evidence of a wise person's intellect
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Is sound management.
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Ibn al-Muqaffa', may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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The wise person must not belittle any error in judgment,
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Any slip in knowledge,
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Or any negligence in affairs.
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For whoever belittles a small thing
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Will likely accumulate small thing upon small thing,
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Until the small becomes great.
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These are but cracks caused by incapacity and neglect;
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If they are not sealed,
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They are likely to burst into something unbearable.
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We have never seen anything
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That was not brought down by a small thing that was taken lightly.
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We have seen kingdoms brought down by a despised enemy,
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We have seen health destroyed by a disease that was ignored,
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And we have seen rivers burst forth from a stream that was underestimated.
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The wise person must be cautious of an opinion for which he finds no supporter,
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Even if he thinks he is certain.
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And the wise person should not underestimate anyone.
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The most deserving of not being underestimated are three:
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The pious, the rulers, and one's brothers.
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For whoever underestimates the pious ruins his religion,
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Whoever underestimates the rulers ruins his worldly life,
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And whoever underestimates his brothers corrupts his honor.
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You will not find a wise person telling something to someone he fears will call him a liar,
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Nor asking someone he fears will refuse him,
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Nor promising what he cannot fulfill,
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Nor hoping for what he will be rebuked for seeking,
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Nor undertaking what he fears he is incapable of.
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There is no wisdom for one whose worldly pleasures distract him from his afterlife.
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It is not a sign of wisdom to be deprived of one's share of the world by being blind to its transience.
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He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:
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Know that there is a type of caution in affairs that is called prudence,
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And another type that is called cowardice.
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If you can avoid a matter before you become involved in it,
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Then do so;
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For this is prudence.
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Do not plunge into it and then fear it,
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For this is cowardice.
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The wise person does not wade into a river until he knows the depth of its bottom.
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The concern of the salaf regarding thoughts and reflections.
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Masruq, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Whoever is mindful of Allah regarding the thoughts of his heart,
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Allah will protect him in the movements of his limbs.
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It was said to Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"When does a servant take hold of an intention?"
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He replied, "When it becomes a firm resolve, he takes hold of it."
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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Beware, may Allah have mercy on you, of these vain wishes,
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For no one has ever been given anything good in this world or the next through mere wishing.
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Some of them said:
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High aspiration is the precursor to all things.
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Whoever has a sound aspiration and is truthful in it,
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All his subsequent deeds and states will be sound.