“Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.”
Saʿīd b. Jubayr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Tawakkul (reliance and trust in Allah) comprehends all of Īmān.
Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd #534.
It is reported that Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Beware of lying, for lying is far removed from īmān.
Abū Bakr Al-Ḵallāl, Al-Sunnah no. 1467, 1470; Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān no. 4463.
It is reported that Imām Mālik – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Whatever you fool around with, don’t fool around with your dīn (religion).
Al-Lālakāʾī, Sharḥ ʾUṣūl ʾIʿtiqād Ahl Al-Sunnah 1:163
Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal [Quran, Ghāfir (40):19]
يَعْلَمُ خَآئِنَةَ ٱلْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِى ٱلصُّدُورُ
Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd article 1428.
It is reported that Imām Al-Awzāʿī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Learn what is not to be taken, like you learn what is to be taken.
Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿu Bayyān Al-ʿIlm article 435.
It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Adham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
A person has not been true to Allāh, the mighty and sublime, if he loves recognition (fame).
Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Al-Zuhd article 2240.
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I once said to Aḥmad, “This shaykh – referring to an older man who was with us – is my neighbor. I told him not to keep the company of a certain person, and he would like to hear what you have to say about him: I am referring to Ḥārith Al-Qaṣīr (Al-Ḥārith Al-Muḥāsibī). Many years ago, you saw me with him and told me not to sit with him nor speak with him. I have not spoken to him since that time. This shaykh, however, does sit with him. So what do you say?” I saw Aḥmad go red with anger, his eyes bulging; I had never before seen him like this. He started to say, “Him! May Allāh do such-and-such to him! Only those well-informed of him know what he really is, only those who really know him know what he is. Al-Mughāzilī, Ya’qūb and so-and-so sat with him, and he caused them to adopt the views of Jahm (Ibn Ṣafwān, leader of the Jahmites). They were destroyed because of him.” The old man said, “But Abū ‘Abdillāh, he reports ḥadīth, and he is mild and humble; he has done such-and-such [good works].” Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imām Aḥmad) became angry and began repeating, “Let not his humility and softness deceive you”. He also said, “Do not be fooled by his bowed head, he is an evil man; only those well-informed of him through experience know him. Do not speak to him – with all disrespect to him. Are you going to sit with everyone who narrates from Allāh’s Messenger – may the praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – though he be a heretic (mubtadi’)? No, with all disrespect.” Ṭabaqāt Al-Ḥanābilah, article 325.
Ṭabaqāt Al-Ḥanābilah, article 325.
I sat in the circle of Abū ‘Abdillāh Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal for twelve years while he read the Musnad to his children, and I never wrote a single ḥadīth, I only looked at his behavior, character and etiquette. Ibn Al-Jawzī, Manāqib Aḥmad, article 210. It is reported that Al-Ḥasan b. Ismā’īl said, ‘I heard my father say: There would gather in the circle of Aḥmad five thousand people or more; less than five hundred would write, the rest would learn from him good manners and behavior.’ Ibid. It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī said: A man who wanted to write ḥadīth would [learn] manners and worship for twenty years before starting. Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā`, 6:361.
Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyatu Al-Awliyā`, 6:361.
‘Abdullāh b, ‘Abbās reports that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with them – said:
I used to have a neighbor from the Anṣār who lived in the area of Banī Umayyah b. Zayd, which is in the ‘Awālī of Medinah, and we used to take turns attending [the gatherings] of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him. My neighbor would attend one day and I the other; so when I attended I would convey to him the reports about the revelation that had come, and other such news, and when he attended he would do the same. My Anṣārī companion went on one of his days, and [upon returning] came to my door and knocked hard saying, ‘Is he there?’ I was alarmed and came out to him, and he said, ‘Something serious has happened (some people thought the Prophet had divorced his wives).’ I entered upon Ḥafṣah and found her weeping. I said, ‘Has Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him – divorced you [all]?’ She replied, ‘I don’t know.’ Then, I came to the Prophet – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him – and asked him, still standing, ‘Have you divorced your women?’ He said, ‘No’, so I said, ‘ Allāhu Akbar (Allāh is Greatest).’ Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Chapter on Taking Turns in Seeking Knowledge. Notes The narration translated above is a shorter report of the full incident, recorded elsewhere in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī. In his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī, Ibn Ḥajr lists some of the lessons and points that can be taken from this narration, including the following: 1. This hadith shows us that the khabar (news, report) of a single (reliable) person is dependable. 2. The student of knowledge should not neglect taking care of his living needs, in order to help him continue seeking knowledge and other pursuits (at that time, ‘Umar was involved in trade, as is mentioned in other reports). 3. At the same time, the student of knowledge should be diligent and resolute in asking about the knowledge he has missed in his absence.
3. At the same time, the student of knowledge should be diligent and resolute in asking about the knowledge he has missed in his absence.
It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
It has reached me that when Allāh the Mighty and Majestic blesses a people and gives them some good he asks them to be grateful. If they are grateful, He is all-able to give them more. But if they are ungrateful, He is all-able to turn His blessings into a punishment. Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Imān article 4536.
Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Imān article 4536.
Here is a picture of what is considered (to date) the oldest dated Islamic inscription, from 24H, when the Rightly Guided Caliph ‘Umar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with him – was assassinated. It is located at Al-‘Ulā in present day Saudi Arabia. It is one of a number of ‘graffiti’ inscriptions made by travelers and pilgrims from the first few centuries of Islām.
Saudi Arabia – Earliest Islamic (Kufic) Inscription. This very well preserved inscription is located on a red sandstone block of rock south of Qa’a al Muatadil, north of Sharma in al-Ula, northwest of Saudi Arabia on the ancient trade and pilgrimage route connecting the early Islamic city of al-Mabiyat with Madain Saleh. It is the oldest Islamic inscription found so far. It mentions the date of the death of the second Caliph of Islam, Omar bin al-Khattab and reads as follows: “In the name of God, I Zuhair wrote the date of the death of Omar the year four and twenty (Hegrah)”. Caliph Omar bin al-Khattab died on the last night of the month of Dul-Hajj of the year 23 Hegrah, and was buried next day on the first day of Muharram of the new year 24 Hegrah (corresponding to 644 AD).
I am Zuhayr, Mawlā of the Bani Salamah [tribe]
It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
One who acts without knowledge is like one who travels off the path; and the one who acts without knowledge corrupts more than he rectifies. So seek knowledge in a way that does not harm your worship, and seek to worship [Allāh] in a way that does not harm [your seeking of] knowledge. For verily, there were people (the Khawārij extremists) who sought to worship [Allāh] but abandoned knowledge until they attacked the Ummah of Muḥammad – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him – with their swords. But if they had sought knowledge, it would not have directed them to do what they did. Quoted by Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihi article 905.
Quoted by Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihi article 905.
Thābit Al-Bunānī, Qatādah and Ibn ‘Aṭīyah all report:
When Anas b. Mālik – Allāh be pleased with him – used to finish a complete reading of the Qur`ān he would gather his wife and children and supplicate for them. Al-Firyābī, Faḍā`il Al-Qur`ān article 83; Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan hadith 3477 et al. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded one of its chains of transmission ṣaḥīḥ. See Marwīyāt Du’ā Khatm Al-Qurān article 12.
Al-Firyābī, Faḍā`il Al-Qur`ān article 83; Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan hadith 3477 et al. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded one of its chains of transmission ṣaḥīḥ. See Marwīyāt Du’ā Khatm Al-Qurān article 12.
Imām Saʿīd b. Al-Musayyib – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
The Sunnah of Al-Fiṭr consists of three things: Walking to the prayer place (muṣallā), eating before leaving [for the prayer] and taking a full bath.
Al-Firyābī, Aḥkām Al-ʿEidayn #18. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ in Irwāʾ Al-Ghalīl 3:104.
It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Masʿūd said:
Allāh the Mighty and Sublime laughs at two men [being pleased with them]: a man who stands in the middle of the night while his family sleeps; he purifies himself and stands in prayer, so Allāh laughs at him. And a man who meets the enemy [in battle] and his comrades are defeated; but he stands his ground until Allāh the Mighty and Sublime gives him martyrdom. Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Faḍl Qiyām Al-Layl, article 9. Note: A longer version of this narration is reported from Allāh’s Messenger himself – praise and peace be upon him – in the Musnad of Aḥmad and other collections. Shaykh Al-Albānī grades it good based on other corroboratory reports (hasan lighayrihi). See Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb article 630.
Note: A longer version of this narration is reported from Allāh’s Messenger himself – praise and peace be upon him – in the Musnad of Aḥmad and other collections. Shaykh Al-Albānī grades it good based on other corroboratory reports (hasan lighayrihi). See Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb article 630.
It is reported that the son of Al-Fuḍayl b. ‘Ayyāḍ – Allāh have mercy on him – said to his father:
Father! How sweet (beautiful) the speech of the Companions is! [Al-Fuḍayl] said, “Son, do you know why it was so sweet?” He replied, “No father, I do not.” He said, “Because they sought Allāh the Exalted when they spoke.” Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-īmān 2:299
Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-īmān 2:299