It is reported that Imām Al-Shāfi’ī – Allāh have mercy on him – said: If you fear becoming deluded and impressed by your deeds then remember whose pleasure you are seeking, and the joy (Paradise) in which you want to be, and what punishment you fear. Whoever thinks about these things will diminish his deeds. […]
It is reported that Al-Aḥnaf b. Qays – Allāh have mercy on him – said: “Restraint is praiseworthy except in three things.” People asked, “And what are they o Abū Baḥr?” He replied, “Make haste to do the righteous deed, hurry to conduct the funeral of your deceased, and marry the girl in your charge […]
It is reported that Wuhayb b. Al-Ward – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Verily, when Allāh the Exalted wants to honor a servant of His (for his righteousness), He afflicts him with a reduced means of living, illness in his body and a fearful life (all of which expiate his sins). Until death […]
‘Abd Al-Raḥmān b. ‘Awf – Allāh be pleased with him – was once brought some food, and he had been fasting. He said: Muṣ’ab b. ‘Umayr was killed, and he was better than me and he was buried with a cloak as a shroud: if his head was covered with it his legs would be […]
Imām Al-Awzā’ī – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Faith (īmān) is not sound except with [correct] words. Faith and words are not sound except with [good] works. And faith, words and deeds are not sound except with [the correct] intentions in conformance to the Sunnah. Those who went before us of our Salaf […]
It is reported that Mujāhid – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Those who strive and exert themselves (al-mujtahid) amongst you today are like those who used to play around amongst those before you. Wakī’ b. Al-Jarrāh, Al-Zuhd article 221.
It is reported that Abū Ḥāzim Al-Ashja’ī – Allāh have mercy on him – said: If you find yourself in a time when speech is accepted as knowledge and knowledge is accepted as deeds [instead of putting it into practice], then you are in the worst time and with the worst people. Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, […]
It is reported that Abū Al-Dardā – Allāh be pleased with him – said: You will never be pious (a person of taqwā) until you become knowledgeable, and you will never be beautiful with your knowledge until you act [by it]. Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm wa Faḍlihī article 1239.
Caliph Umar on love, trust, hatred or suspicion of others based on their visible deeds, not just their claims of good intentions.
Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said: When a man amongst us learned ten verses [of the Quran], he would not move on [to the next verses] until he had understood their meanings and how to act by them. Al-Ṭabarī, Al-Tafsīr 1:80. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ. […]