“Ibn Masʿūd used to say such-and-such [about this issue].” The man asked, “But tell me your opinion.” He replied, “Are you not all astonished by this man? I inform him of what Ibn Masʿūd [said] and he asks me my opinion. My religion is more important to me than that. By Allāh, I would rather sing a song than inform you of my opinion.”
Name
Al-Shaʿbī
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Library
Sayings attributed to this name.
Two Calamities for Fitnah
It is reported that Al-Shaʿbī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Stay away from the sinful amongst the scholars and the ignorant amongst the worshippers, for these two are the calamity of everyone who would fall into fitnah.
Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān ḥadīth 1753.
Not Speaking in Front of Elders
Samurah b. Jundub – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
I was young during the time of Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ and I had memorised things he had said; nothing stopped me from speaking except for the fact that there were amongst us men who were older than me.
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb Al-Janāʾiz #964.
The Scholar-Messenger and The Roman King
It is reported from Al-Shaʿbī – Allāh have mercy on him – that he said:
It is reported from Al-Shaʿbī – Allāh have mercy on him – that he said: ʿAbdul-Malik [ibn Marwān, the Khalīfah] once sent me to the king of the Romans, and I stayed with him for a number of days. When I wanted to leave, he asked me, Are you from the House of [your] king (his family)? I replied, I am just a man from the Arabs. He gave me a parchment and said, Deliver this to your companion (the Caliph). When ʿAbdul-Malik had read it, he said to me, Do you know what it says? I replied, No. He said, It says in it, I wonder at a people who have made other than this man king over them. I said, By Allāh, if I had known I would not have carried it to you. [The Roman king] only said this because he has not seen you. ʿAbdul-Malik said, Rather, he envied me for having you, and was trying to incite me to kill you. This reached the Roman king; and when it did, he said, I wanted nothing but this.
Ibn Al-ʿImād, Shadharāt Al-Dhahab 2:26
Rubbish Opinions
Mālik b. Mighwal said:
Al-Sha’bī once said to me, “When these [people] report to you from Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him, adhere to it; but when they merely opine, throw it in the trash.” Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan 1:78.
Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan 1:78.
Four Distinctions of Abu Bakr
It is reported that Al-Sha’bī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
Allāh the Exalted distinguished Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq – Allāh be pleased with him – with four qualities He did not distinguish anyone else with: He called him Al-Ṣiddīq (the true believer), and He never named anyone else Al-Ṣiddīq; [Abū Bakr] was the companion of Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – in the cave, and his companion during the Migration (Al-Hijrah); and Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – told him to lead the prayer in the presence of the rest of the Muslims. Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2815.
Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2815.
The Many Pretenders of Faith [Munafiqun]
It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī – Allāh have mercy on him – used to say, “If it were not for the munāfiqūn, you would feel all alone in the streets (the streets would be empty).”
It is also reported that Al-Sha’bī – Allāh have mercy on him – said the same thing, “If it were not for the munāfiqūn, you would feel all alone in the streets (the streets would be empty).” It is reported that Mālik b. Dīnār – Allāh’s mercy be upon him – said, “I swear, if the munāfiqūn started growing tails, the believers wouldn’t find a spot of ground to walk on.” Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā articles 936-938.
Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā articles 936-938.
Two Requirements for Knowledge
It is reported that Al-Sha’bī said, “The only people who used to seek this knowledge were those who combined two characteristics: intelligence and devout worship. If a person was intelligent but not devout, it would be said that only the worshippers can attain this [knowledge], and so he would not try to seek it. And if a person was devout, but not intelligent, it would be said that only the intelligent can attain this [knowledge], and so he would not try to seek it.” Al-Sha’bī continued, “And I fear that today, people who are neither intelligent nor devout try to seek it.”
Ibn Ḥibbān Al-Bustī, Rawḍatu Al-‘Uqalā` wa Nuzhatu Al-Fuḍalā` Vol.1 p9.