Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 68 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (68) | The state of the predecessors with blessings, and thanking the benefactor
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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 lives of the salaf between words and deeds.
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Wisdom, good conduct, and gentleness of speech.
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Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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"I do not use my sword where my whip suffices me,
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nor do I use my whip where my tongue suffices me.
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Even if there were only a single hair between me and the people, it would never snap."
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He was asked, "How so?"
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He replied, "If they pulled it, I would let it go slack;
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and if they let it go slack, I would pull it."
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An old woman stood before Qays ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, and said:
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"I complain to you of the scarcity of mice in my home."
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He said, "How wonderful this metonymy is!"
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Then he commanded, "Fill her house with bread, meat, clarified butter, and dates!"
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Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The noble man is not he who, when he falls into a predicament, manages to escape it;
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rather, the noble man is he who guards against matters so that he does not fall into them in the first place."
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Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"I intend to introduce a matter of justice for the Muslims,
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but I fear that their hearts will not bear it,
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so I introduce along with it a bit of worldly attraction.
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Thus, if their hearts recoil from the former, they settle upon the latter."
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Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said to his father, Umar, may Allah have mercy on both of them:
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"What prevents you from executing your judgment in this matter?
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By Allah, I would not care if cauldrons boiled with you and me if it meant carrying out this command!"
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Umar replied, "I am training the people as one trains an unbroken horse.
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If Allah grants me life, I shall proceed with my plan;
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and if death comes upon me swiftly, Allah already knows my intention.
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Indeed, I fear that if I confront the people suddenly with what you say,
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they will compel me to resort to the sword;
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and there is no good in a good that comes only by the sword."
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Al-Sha'bi reported:
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"I attended the court of Shurayh, may Allah have mercy on him,
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when a woman came disputing with a man.
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She began to shed tears and weep profusely,
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so I said, 'O Abu Umayyah,
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I do not think this poor woman is anything but wronged!'
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He replied, 'O Sha'bi,
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the brothers of Joseph came to their father in the evening weeping.'"
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Ibrahim ibn Tahman, may Allah have mercy on him, had
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a generous stipend from the public treasury—
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that is, a significant sum of money.
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One day, he was asked a question in the council of the Caliph,
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and he answered, "I do not know."
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They said to him:
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"You receive such-and-such an amount every month,
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yet you cannot answer a single question?"
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He replied:
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"I only receive it for what I know well.
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If I were paid for what I do not know well,
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the public treasury would be exhausted, while my ignorance would never be exhausted."
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The Commander of the Faithful was delighted with his answer,
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ordered a lavish reward for him,
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and increased his monthly stipend.
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Al-Mansur said one day to Shabib ibn Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"Admonish me, and be concise."
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He said:
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"O Commander of the Faithful,
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indeed Allah was not pleased with Himself
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to place anyone among His creation above you,
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so do not be pleased with yourself for Him
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that any of His servants should be more grateful to Him than you."
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Al-Mansur replied:
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"By Allah, you have indeed been concise!"
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A man visited a governor
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who was a friend of his,
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but the governor acted preoccupied and ignored him.
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One day, the man made himself seen,
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and the governor said:
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"Pardon me, for I am busy."
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The man replied:
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"Were it not for your preoccupation, I would not have come to you!"
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Abu Simak, may Allah have mercy on him, said to a man:
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"I did not preserve my dignity from asking of you,
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so preserve your dignity from turning me away;
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and place me through your generosity where I have placed myself
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through my hope in you."
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Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Food is eaten for three reasons:
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with brothers, out of joy;
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with the poor, out of selflessness;
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and with worldly people, out of chivalry and dignity."
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The state of the salaf regarding blessings and giving thanks to the Bestower of blessings.
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The state of the salaf regarding the blessings of Allah
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and what has been said concerning that.
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Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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"Whoever does not see Allah's blessing upon him
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except in eating and drinking,
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his understanding is meager and his punishment is present."
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He also said, may Allah be pleased with him:
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"How many a blessing from Allah Almighty
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lies in a tranquil vein!"
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Abd al-Rahman ibn Hatib ibn Abi
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Balta'ah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"We went out with Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
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on a Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage.
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When we reached the mountain pass of Dajnan,
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Umar turned around and said:
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'I remember myself in these mountain passes,
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tending camels for al-Khattab,
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who was harsh and severe.
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I would gather firewood for him at times,
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and beat down leaves for livestock at other times.
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Yet today, I have reached a state where people walk by my side,
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and there is no one above me except Allah!'
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And in all of that, nothing was seen except his cheerful disposition as he recited:
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'The Creator alone remains, while wealth and children perish.'"
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Abu al-Aliyah,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Indeed, I hope that no servant perishes between two blessings:
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a blessing for which he praises Allah,
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and a sin for which he seeks Allah's forgiveness."
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Abd al-Malik ibn Abjar,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"There is no human being except that he is tested with wellbeing,
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to see how his gratitude will be,
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or tested with affliction, to see how his patience will be."
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Sufyan ibn Uyaynah,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Part of gratitude to Allah
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for a blessing is that you praise Him for it
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and use it to aid yourself in obeying Him.
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He has not shown gratitude to Allah who uses
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His blessing to commit disobedience against Him."
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Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Indeed, Allah grants enjoyment through a blessing for as long as He wills,
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but if He is not thanked,
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He turns it into a punishment upon them."
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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"Mention this blessing frequently,
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for remembering it is itself a form of gratitude."
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Some of the salaf said:
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"Remembering blessings instills love for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
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A man asked one of the salaf:
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"How have you awoken this morning?"
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He replied, "I have awoken between two blessings,
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and I do not know which of them is greater:
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sins that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has concealed,
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so that no one can shame me for them;
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and an affection that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has cast
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into the hearts of His servants,
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which my own deeds could never have earned."
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It used to be said:
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"Whoever recognizes Allah's blessing, the Mighty and Majestic, in his heart
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and praises Him with his tongue,
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will not finish doing so before he sees an increase,
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because of the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic:
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'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.'"
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And he said:
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"It used to be said that part of gratitude for a blessing
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is to speak of it."
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Regarding the verse of Allah Almighty:
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"We shall gradually draw them on from where they do not know,"
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Sufyan said, "We lavish upon them
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blessings while withholding from them the ability to give thanks."
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Someone other than Sufyan said:
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"Every time they commit a sin, We grant them a new
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blessing." Ibn Shawdhab,
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may Allah have mercy on him, reported that a group of people gathered
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and discussed which blessing is the greatest.
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A man said, "That which Allah has concealed of our faults
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from one another."
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He added, "And they considered that statement to be the most correct."
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Some of the salaf said:
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"Every blessing from Allah upon you in your religion
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requires more gratitude from you than the blessing of Allah upon you
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in your worldly life."
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Mutarrif ibn Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him,
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used to say: "Indeed, among the most beloved servants of Allah
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is the patient and deeply grateful one,
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who, when tested, remains patient,
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and when granted a gift, gives thanks."
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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him: "That I am granted wellbeing and give thanks
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is more beloved to me than to be tested
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and remain patient."
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Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked
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about the true reality of gratitude,
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and he replied: "It is that one does not use any of His blessings to disobey Him."
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Bishr ibn al-Harith, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"I thought about Bishr the Christian,
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Bishr the Jew,
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and Bishr the Zoroastrian,
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while I myself am named Bishr.
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So I said to myself, 'What preceded from you to Him
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that He should single you out?'
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Then I reflected on His grace toward me
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in making me among His chosen servants."
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Ibn Aqil, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote
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in *Al-Funun*: "Blessings are guests,
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and their hospitality is gratitude;
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tribulations are guests, and their hospitality is patience.
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So strive that these guests depart
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grateful for your good hospitality,
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bearing witness to what they heard and saw."
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The state of the salaf toward those among creation who did good to them.
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Sufyan, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Even if Pharaoh said to me,
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'May Allah bless you,'
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I would reply, 'And you as well.'"
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One of the salaf said: "Indeed, a man
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Some of the salaf said, "Indeed, a man
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may meet me with such good companionship
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that I feel I will die before I can ever repay him."
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And one of the wise said:
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"The most thankful of people to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime,
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are those who are most thankful to His servants."
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And he said, "He who does not express gratitude for a lot
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has failed, for repaying kindness with kindness is an obligation,
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whereas bestowing unrequited favor is a voluntary act of virtue."