O my brother, what makes you cry? Did you not accompany the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ ? Did you not do such-and-such [good deeds]? He replied, “I am not crying over any one of two things: I am not crying out of love and yearning for this world nor out of dislike for the hereafter, but I am crying because Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ took a covenant from me about something I think I have only transgressed. He made me promise that it is enough for anyone only to have enough [of this world] as would suffice as the provisions of a traveler, but I think I have only gone too far. As for you o Sa’d, fear Allāh when you judge, and when you distribute anything and when you think about doing anything.” Thābit (one of the reporters) said, “And it reached me that [when he died] he left only about twenty dirham of spending he had.”
Ibn Mājah, Al-Sunan. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded this narration ṣaḥīḥ. See ṣaḥīḥ wa Ḍaʿīf Sunan Ibn Mājah no. 4104.
The life of this world has announced its departure and is quickly turning away, and nothing remains of it save the likes of the last drop of water in a vessel as its possessor tries to catch it. You are moving on to an abode that has no end, so move on with the best [deeds] that you have. For it has been said to us that a rock can be dropped from the edge of Hell and fall for seventy years without reaching the bottom. Yet, by Allāh, it will be filled. Do you not then wonder? And it has been said to us that a single entrance to Paradise is as wide as a journey of forty years, yet there will come a day when it will be crowded. I have seen myself as the seventh of seven [followers of] Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him; we had no food save the leaves of trees which put sores round our mouths. I once got a cloak which I tore in half to share with Sa’d b. Mālik: I used half as my waist-wrap and he used the other. And yet today, there is not one of us except he has become a governor over some city – and I seek refuge with Allāh that I consider myself great and important when I am small in front of Allāh. Verily there was never prophet-hood except that it gradually changed until it ended up being a kingship, and verily you will see what the governors after us are like. Sahīh Muslim no. 7624
Sahīh Muslim no. 7624
Goodness is not in your wealth and offspring being plentiful; true goodness is when your [good] deeds are plenty and you have great understanding and forbearance, and when you compete to worship your Lord. If you do good you praise Allāh and thank Him, and if you sin you beg Allāh’s forgiveness. There is no good in this life except with two types of men: A man who sins but then corrects himself through repentance, and a man who strives and hastens to get [the good] of the hereafter. Ibn ‘Asākir, Al-Tawbah article 13.
Ibn ‘Asākir, Al-Tawbah article 13.
Nothing is permitted for ʿUmar from the wealth of Allāh except two garments: one for winter and one for summer [heat], and what I need to carry me to Hajj and ‘Umrah. And the provisions for my family are that of an [average] man of the Quraysh: neither the richest nor the poorest amongst them. After that, I am just a man from amongst the Muslims. Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 6:78.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 6:78.
Stay away from mentioning women and food in our gatherings, for I hate a man to constantly be talking about his private parts and his belly. It is from higher conduct and religiousness that a man [sometimes] leaves eating food while he desires it.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm, 3:44, 45.
Al-Mu’āfā b. ‘Imrān, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 215.
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, Vol. 7 p243.
Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq article 555. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded this narration’s chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ is Al-Ḍa’īfah Vol. 8 p117.
This wording has been reported by Al-Hāfidh Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm Vol.1 p464. Commenting on this narration, Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr states, “In this narration there are a number of meanings to understand, including: [1] The hadīth from Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – has the same ruling as the revealed Book of Allāh ‘azza wa jall. [2] Knowledge should be shown, spread and taught. [3] One should stick with the scholars. [4] One should be satisfied with the little he can get of worldly provision in order to pursue his desire for knowledge. [5] One should prefer knowledge over being occupied with worldly pursuits and income.
[1] The hadīth from Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – has the same ruling as the revealed Book of Allāh ‘azza wa jall. [2] Knowledge should be shown, spread and taught. [3] One should stick with the scholars. [4] One should be satisfied with the little he can get of worldly provision in order to pursue his desire for knowledge. [5] One should prefer knowledge over being occupied with worldly pursuits and income.
Ibn Waddāh, Al-Bida’ Vol. 1 p190.