At the time of Fajr, or a while before it, the Salaf would be as if birds were sitting on their heads: (still ) concentrating on themselves [and their worship], so much so that even if one of their closest friends came to them after having been parted from them, they would not notice him. They would remain in this state until just before sunrise. Then, they would meet each other and sit in the circles. The first thing they would discuss is the matter of their afterlife and what would become of them in the hereafter. Then they would begin the circles of Quran and Fiqh study. Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimishq 35:184, 185.
Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimishq 35:184, 185.
Verily you are in greatly troubled times. Only one with true insight knows the times you live in. Verily you are in a time of [people] boasting and being proud. [1] Their tongues are swollen in their mouths, and they seek worldly gain through the deeds of the hereafter. So be warned against them for yourselves, lest they catch you in their nets. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you devour [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you boast with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you seek to amass [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you transgress [against others] with your knowledge. If you had truly sought this knowledge for Allāh, it would have been seen on you and in your deeds. [1] The word in some reports is tafākhur (boasting and being proud) but in some other versions, other somewhat ambiguous words are found in its place. Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Kitāb Al-‘Ālim Al-Jāhil article 73 et al.
Abū Bakr Al-Ājurrī, Kitāb Al-‘Ālim Al-Jāhil article 73 et al.
Whoever Allāh has given some knowledge should teach it. And he must not say anything he has no knowledge of, lest he become one of the pretenders and leave the religion. Ibn Sa’d, Al-Ṭabaqāt 4:102. Maktabah Al-Khānjī, Cairo.
Ibn Sa’d, Al-Ṭabaqāt 4:102. Maktabah Al-Khānjī, Cairo.
Do not sit with them, nor with the followers of Kalām.(1) Be with the carriers of books,(2) for they are like mines, like those who descend: one brings up a gem and another a nugget of gold. Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā article 483. (1) Speculative theology, drawn from foreign philosophy and logic, as practiced by sects such as the Jahmia and Mutazila. (2) Arabic al-qamātir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadīth.
(2) Arabic al-qamātir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadīth.
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.
Wakī’ b. Al-Jarrāh, Al-Zuhd article 221.
O Muslims, how can you ask the People of the Book [about their scripture] when the Book of Allāh that was revealed to your Prophet – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – is the most recent news of Allāh; you recite it complete and unaltered? Allāh has informed you that they replaced what Allāh wrote and changed the Book with their hands and said ‘This is from Allāh,’ to purchase with it a measly price (Quran 2:79). Does not the knowledge that has come to you forbid you from asking them? By Allāh, we have not seen a single man among them asking you about what was revealed to you. Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ hadith 2685, Chapter on not asking the Polytheists for testimonies or anything else. He also records it in other chapters.
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ hadith 2685, Chapter on not asking the Polytheists for testimonies or anything else. He also records it in other chapters.
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, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm` 4:338. Abū Ḥāzim Salmān Al-Ashja’ī (died circa 100H) was one of the eminent Tābi’īn. He was a fully reliable transmitter of ḥadīth and a companion of Abū Hurayrah – Allāh be pleased with him.
Abū Ḥāzim Salmān Al-Ashja’ī (died circa 100H) was one of the eminent Tābi’īn. He was a fully reliable transmitter of ḥadīth and a companion of Abū Hurayrah – Allāh be pleased with him.
It is right that an intelligent person does not undervalue three [types of people]: the scholars, the rulers, and [his Muslim] brothers. Whoever undervalues the scholars will lose his afterlife, whoever undervalues the rulers will lose his worldly life, and whoever undervalues his brothers loses his good character and conduct. Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`17:251.
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`17:251.
Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Jāmiʿ Bayān Al-ʿIlm wa Faḍlihī article 1239.
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. Abū ‘Abd Al-Raḥmān Al-Sulamī said: Those who used to teach us the Quran (the Companions) told us that they used to learn the Quran from the Prophet – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him; when they had learnt ten verses they would not move on until they put into practice what was in them. So we learnt knowledge and deeds (implementation) together. Ibid. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ also.
Ibid. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ also.