Humbleness

Whoever has been given wealth, beauty, garments or knowledge and then is not humble will have severe repercussions on the Day of Resurrection.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-Tawāḍuʿ Wa Al-Khumūl ḥadīth 90.

Since I have come to know people, I do not rejoice when they praise and I do not dislike it when they blame, for those that praise go to excess in praise and those that blame go to excess in blaming. When the scholar learns knowledge in order to act, it humbles him; but if he learns it for something other than action, it only makes him more boastful.

Al-Dhahbī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 5:362.

There were two men who used to visit Al-Aʿmash, one who was concerned with ḥadīth and one who was not. One day Al-Aʿmash became angry with the man who studied ḥadīth, so the other said to him, “If he ever got angry with me like he got angry with you I would never go back to him.” To this Al-Aʿmash said, “In that case he would be a fool like you, leaving what benefits him because of my bad character (behaviour).”

Al-Khaṭīb, Al-Jāmiʿ li Akhlāq Al-Rāwī 1:338.

ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn – Allāh have mercy on him – would sometimes ride to Makkah and return without entering it (meeting anyone there), and he used to sit with Aslam the freedman of ʿUmar (himself a scholar), so it was said to him, “You leave Quraysh, and instead sit with the slave of Banī ʿAdī!” So he replied, “A man [should] sit where he benefits.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 4:388.

You cannot be a scholar unless you have three traits: you do not transgress against those above you, you do not look down on those lesser than you, and you do not take any dunyā in return for your knowledge.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān 3:282, article 1655.

I have not seen less zuhd (abstinence) in anything than leadership; you can see a man renouncing food, drink, wealth and clothing, but if his leadership is contested, he vehemently defends and has enmity over it.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 7:262.

There is no one who loves authority (leadership) except that he envies, transgresses, chases the faults of others and dislikes anyone being mentioned in a good light.

Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm article. 971.

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.

Whoever seeks knowledge sincerely, for the servants of Allāh to benefit by and to benefit himself, then being hidden (from fame) is more beloved to him than seeking loftiness. He is the one who becomes more lowly to himself, strives more in worship, fears Allāh more, yearns for Allāh more, and becomes more humble amongst people. He cares not what he has of this dunyā night or day.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān article 1653.

When you see someone older than you, say: he has preceded me in īmān and righteous actions so he is better than me; and when you see someone younger than you, say: I have preceded him in sinning and disobedience so he is better than me. And when you see your brothers honouring and revering you, say: this is a virtue they have attained; and when you see them falling short (in their treatment of you) say: this is [because of] a sin I committed.

Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifatu Al-Ṣafwah, article 505: Bakr b. ʿAbdillāh Al-Muzanī.

Have taqwā of Allāh and behave modestly (with a sense of shame), and cover yourselves; let not any of you bathe except behind a covering.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān #7398.

It has reached me that the scholars of old would practice what they learned when they learned it, and through practicing they would become occupied, and because of being occupied, they would be missed, and when they were missed they were sought after, and when they were sought after they would flee.

Al-Dhahabi, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:439,440

It is reported that Imām Al-Shāfʿee – Allāh have mercy on him – said, The loftiest in status are those who do not know their own status, and the most virtuous of them are those who do not know their own virtue.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 10:99

Ayyūb [Al-Sakhtiyānī] used to have a red shawl which he wore in ihrām, and which he had kept for his shroud. I used to walk with him sometimes; he would take different paths and I would be amazed at how he knew of them. He would do this fleeing from people in case they recognized him and said, “There’s Ayyūb.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 6:22

I find it amazing how anyone who passed through the urinary tract twice could ever be arrogant and haughty! Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 4:92.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` 4:92.

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.

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.