It is reported from Abū Al-‘Āliyah – Allah have mercy on him – that he said:
A fasting person is in a state of worship as long as he does not backbite, even if he is sleeping in bed.
Al-Imām Ahmad, Al-Zuhd Vol.4 p313.
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A Fly or a Mountain
ʿAbdullah b. Mas’ūd – Allah be pleased with him – said:
The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting at the foot of a mountain fearing that it might fall on him, while the sinner (fājir) sees his sins as a fly that lands on his nose, he just waves it away.
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Sahīh, The Book of Supplications, Chapter on Tawbah.
Ibn Hajr quotes in his commentary, Fath Al-Bārī:
Ibn Abī Jumrah said, “The reason for this [fear] is that the heart of a believer is illuminated; so when he sees from himself something that goes against what he illuminates his heart with, it is very distressing to him. The wisdom behind giving the example of a mountain is that a person might find some way to escape from other dangers, but if a mountain falls on a person he does not survive. In short, the believer is dominated by fear (of Allah) due to the strength of īmān he has; he does not therefore feel falsely secure about being punished because of his sins. This is the way of the Muslim: he always fears and checks on himself, his good deeds are little to him and he fears even the small bad deeds he has done.”
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There’s nothing like being safe
ʿAbdullah Ibn ‘Abbās – Allah be pleased with them – was once asked, “Who do you think is better: a man who has few (good) deeds and few sins or a man who has many (good) deeds and many sins?” He replied, “There is nothing like being safe.”
Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq Vol.1 p146, no.57.
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The Companions’ Sincerity in Knowledge
ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān b. Abī Laylā – Allah have mercy on him – said:
I have met one hundred and twenty Companions of the Prophet – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him; there was not one amongst them who would narrate a ḥadīth except that he wished his brother would suffice him instead, and there was not one amongst them who gave a fatwā except that he wished his brother would suffice him instead.
Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq Vol.1 p140, no.49.
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The Knowledge of Aishah
It is reported from Abū Mūsā Al-Ash’arī – Allah be pleased with him – that he said:
We the Companions of Allah’s Messenger – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – never had difficulty in understanding a ḥadīth except that when we asked ‘Ā`ishah we found she had some knowledge about it.
It is reported from Masrūq – Allah have mercy on him – that he said:
We swear by Allah, we have seen senior Companions of Allah’s Messenger – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – asking ‘Ā`ishah about inheritance laws.
Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifah Al-Ṣafwah Vol.1 p319.
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The best you can meet Allah with
It is reported from ‘Ā`ishah – Allah be pleased with her – that she said:
You will never meet Allah with anything better for you than having few sins. Whoever wants to surpass those who exert themselves in worship, let him stop himself from committing numerous sins.
Ibn Al-Jawzī, Sifah Al-Safwah Vol.1 p319.
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Abū Bakr to ʿUmar on his Deathbed
When Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq was on his deathbed he called ʿUmar – Allah be pleased with them – and said:
Fear Allah o ʿUmar, and know that Allah has deeds to be done for Him in the day which He will not accept if done at night, and He has deeds to be done for Him at night which He will not accept if done during the day. He will not accept extra (nāfilah) deeds unless you fulfill the obligatory deeds. The scales of those whose scales will be weighty on the Day of Resurrection will only be weighty because they followed the truth in this life and it was weighty to them. And scales in which the truth will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be heavy. And the scales of those whose scales will be light on the Day of Resurrection will only be light because they followed falsehood in this life and it was a light matter to them. And scales in which falsehood will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be light.
Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Paradise and mentioned them in the context of their best deeds, and overlooked their evil deeds, so when I remember them I say to myself: I fear that I will not be included with them. And Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Hell and mentioned them in the context of their worst deeds and rejected their best deeds, so when I remember them I say: I hope I won’t be amongst them. Allah’s worshippers should always be in a state of hope and fear, they shouldn’t wish flimsy wishes about Allah and neither should they despair of Allah’s mercy.
If you keep to this advice of mine, no one who is not with you now should be more beloved to you than death – and it is sure to come to you. But if you disregard this advice, no one who is not with you now should be more hated to you than death – and you cannot escape it.
Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā` Vol.1 p18; and Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifah Al-Ṣafwah.
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More than Recitation
It is reported that ʿUmar b. Al-Khattāb – Allah be pleased with him – said:
Do not be fooled by one who recites the Qurān. His recitation is but speech – but look to those who act according to it.
Al-Khatīb, Iqtidā` Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal no. 109
It is reported from Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī [d130H] that he said:
There is no filth filthier than the sinful (fājir) reciter of the Qurān.
Al-Khatīb, Iqtidā` Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal no. 114
It is reported from Al-Fudayl (b. ʿAyyāḍ) that he said:
The Qurān was sent down to be acted upon but people have taken just reciting it as enough of a deed. He was asked, “How is it acted upon?” He replied, “They should treat as halāl what it makes halāl and treat as harām what it makes harām, they should take on its commandments and stay away from what it forbids, and they should stop to ponder its amazing knowledge and wisdom.”
Al-Khatīb, Iqtidā` Al-‘Ilm Al-‘Amal no. 116
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Four People we shouldn’t take knowledge from
Imām Mālik – Allah have mercy on him – said:
Knowledge is not to be taken from four types of people: a foolish person who openly acts foolish, even if he reports the most narrations; an adherent of bid’ah who calls to his desires; a person who lies, even if I don’t accuse him of lying in ḥadīth; and a righteous pious worshipper who does not accurately retain what he narrates.
Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Imām Mālik.
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Where did we get our Glory?
Ibn Shihāb reports:
ʿUmar went out to Shām (Greater Syria) and Abū ‘Ubaydah b. Al-Jarrāḥ was with us. They came to a ford while ʿUmar was on his camel. He dismounted his camel, took off his leather socks, placed them on his shoulder and took the reins of his camel and began to go down the ford. Abū ‘Ubaydah said, “O Leader of the Believers! You are doing this?! You take off your leather socks, put them on your shoulder, take your camel’s reins and go down the ford?! I wouldn’t want the people of this land to see you in such a state!” ʿUmar said, “If only someone else had said this o Abū ‘Ubaydah. You have made a lesson for the Ummah of Muḥammad – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him! We were the lowliest of people but Allah gave us might and glory through Islam. If we seek glory through other than what Allah gave us glory through, He will abase us (again).”
In another version Abū ‘Ubaydah said:
O Leader of the Believers, should the armed forces and elite of Shām meet you in this condition? ʿUmar replied, “We are a people whom Allah gave might and glory to through Islam, so we will never seek glory through anything else.”
Reported by Al-Ḥākim, Al-Mustadrak Vol.1 pp61, 62. He declared it to be ṣaḥīḥ according to the criteria of Al-Bukhaārī and Muslim. Al-Dhahabī and Al-Albānī concur. See Al-Albānī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥah Vol.1 p50.