Bilāl b. Saʿd – Allāh have mercy him – said:
When a sin is hidden it harms only the perpetrator, but if it is made apparent and not rectified, it harms all the people.
Ibn Waḍḍāḥ, Al-Bidʿah #287.
-
-
Final Blame and Praise
It is reported that Khālid b. Maʿdān – Allāh have mercy him – said:
Whoever seeks praise by [saying or doing] what goes against Allāh, Allāh will turn those praises back on him to blame; and whoever is bold enough to [say or do] what brings blame [from people but] is in conformity to the truth, Allāh will turn that blame into praise.
Abū Dāwūd, Al-Zuhd #494.
-
Lofty Manners & Conduct of the Salaf [Examples]
Miscellaneous Examples
It is reported that Jābir b. ʿAbdillāh – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Have taqwā of Allāh and behave modestly (with a sense of shame), and cover yourselves; let not any of you bathe except behind a covering.
Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān #7398.
It is reported that Mujāhid – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
It is disliked for a man to stare at his brother or follow him with his gaze when he gets up, or to ask him where he has come from.
Op. cit. #9580.
It is reported that ʿAṭā b. Abī Rabāḥ – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Sometimes a man narrates a ḥadīth to me, so I remain quiet as if I am listening carefully, although I had heard the ḥadīth before he had even been born.
Al-Ḏahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 5:87.
It is reported that Al-Aḥnaf b. Qays – Allāh have mercy on him – would try to make space whenever a man came to him, and if there was no space, he would make it appear that he was trying to make space for him.
Op. cit. 4:94Muḥammad b. Abī Ḥātim reports:
I heard Al-Buḵārī say, “I have never eaten leek.” So I asked, “And why is that?” He replied, “I hate to annoy anyone with its foul smell.”
Op. cit. 12:445It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak was asked about an issue in the presence of Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah, so he said, “We have been forbidden to talk in front of our seniors.”
Op. cit. 8:420It is reported from Al-Ḵalīl b. Aḥmad – Allāh have mercy on him – that if he ever benefitted someone with something, he would never make out that he had benefitted him, but if he ever benefitted from someone, he would show him that he had benefitted from him.
Op. cit. 7:431It is reported that Al-Layth [b. Saʿd] – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
I used to walk with Ṭalḥah, and he [once] said, “If I knew that you were older than me by even one night, I would never walk in front of you.”
Abū Nuʿaym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyāʾ 5:17.
-
Lands of Scholars and Doctors
It is reported that Imām Al-Shāfiʿī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Do not live in a land in which there is neither a scholar to inform you about your religion, nor a doctor to tell you about your body.
Al-Bayhaqī, Manāqib Al-Shāfiʿī 2:115
-
Hafsah on Two Reasons to Marry
ʿAmr b. Dīnār reports that ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar – Allāh be pleased with them – intended not to marry after the [passing of the] Prophet – ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa salam, so Ḥafṣah (his sister) – Allāh be pleased with her – advised him:
My brother, marry, for if you have a child and it dies, it will precede you into Al-Jannah (and be a cause for you to be admitted), and if it lives, the child will supplicate for good for you.
ʿAbd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣanʿānī, Al-Muṣannaf #10388
-
Who is Rich?
A man once asked ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. Al-ʿĀṣ – Allāh be pleased with them:
“Are we not from the poor of the Muhājirīn?” He replied, “Do you have a wife to go back to?” The man replied, “Yes.” ʿAbdullāh asked, “Do you have a home to live in?” The man said, “Yes.” ʿAbdullāh said, “Then you are one of the rich.” The man said, “And I have a servant.” ʿAbdullāh said, “In that case, you are a king!”
Muslim, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ #5290
-
Allied Souls
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
If the people were gathered on one plain, all of them believers, except for two unbelievers amongst them, they would join each other. And if the people were gathered on one plain, all of them unbelievers, except for two believers amongst them, they would join each other.
Ibn Baṭṭah, Al-ʾIbānah Al-Kubrā 1:455
It is also reported that he said:
The souls of people are allied together (like for like), they meet and detect one another like horses do; those that recognise each other come together, and those that disapprove each other, separate. If a believer entered a mosque in which there were a hundred people, amongst them only one other believer, he would end up sitting with him. And if a munāfiq entered a mosque in which there were a hundred people, amongst them only one other munāfiq, he would end up sitting with him.
ibid.
It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyād – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
The souls of people are allied together, those that recognise each other come together, and those that disapprove each other, separate; and [thus] it is not possible for a follower of the Sunnah to compromise with an adherent of Bidʿah ever, except out of nifāq (hypocrisy).
Op. cit. 456
-
The Behavior of The Seeker of Knowledge
It is reported that ʿAlī – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
When you learn knowledge, preserve it, and do not mix it with laughter and falsehood, such that the hearts refuse (dislike) it.
Al-Khaṭīb Al-Baghdādī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-Akhlāq Al-Rāwī wa Ādāb Al-Sāmiʿ 1:232
It is reported that Mālik – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
It is upon whoever seeks knowledge to have a solemn, dignified demeanour, fearful [of Allāh]; and to follow in the footsteps of those who went before him.
ibid.
ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān b. Mahdī reports:
A man laughed in [the circle of] Hishām Al-Dustawāʾī, so Hishām said to him, “Young man! You seek knowledge laughing?” He replied, “Is it not Allāh who makes [us] laugh and cry (as stated in the Qurʾān)?” So Hishām replied, “Then go and cry.”
Op. cit. 233
Ismāʿīl b. Yaḥyā reports:
Sufyān once saw me joking with a man from Banī Shaybah at the House (Kaʿbah). I laughed, so he said to me, “You laugh here? A man used to hear a single ḥadīth and its demeanour and guidance would be seen on him for three days.”
Op. cit. 234
-
True Certainty
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
It is part of sure belief (yaqīn) [in Allāh] that you do not please the people by angering Allāh, and do not praise anyone [else] for what Allāh has provided you, and do not blame anyone for what Allāh has not given you. For verily, the provision of Allāh is not gained by the keenness of those who are keen [for you to have it], nor is it prevented by the hatred of those who hate [for you to have it]. And verily Allāh, in His justice, made happiness and joy in being certain and content [with Allāh], and made worry and sadness in doubt and anger.
Hannād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd, article 535.
-
Verbal Security
It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. Al-ʿĀs – Allāh be pleased with them – said:
Leave alone what you have nothing to do with, and do not speak about what does not concern you, and secure your tongue like you secure your money.
Ibn Ḥibbān Al-Bustī, Rawḍatu Al-ʿUqalāʾ 1:55.