Sayings of the Salaf

Sayings of the Salaf

  • Umar on interacting with others [trust, consultation and friendship]

    It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

    Whoever exposes himself to suspicion, let him blame only himself for whoever suspects him.
    He who covers his secret is in a position to choose [to correct himself].
    Assume the best about your brother until what comes to you from him overcomes you [and you have to change your opinion].
    You can never pay back someone who disobeys Allāh in his dealings with you with anything better than obeying Allāh in your dealings with him.
    Take righteous brothers [as friends]; acquire them in plenty, for they are a beautification in prosperity and an aid during calamity.
    Do not ask about what has not yet happened until it actually happens, for what has happened is enough of an occupation to worry about what has not happened.
    Let not your speech be given freely except to those who want to hear it and will value it.
    Do not seek help in fulfilling a need you have except from someone who wants success for you in that endeavor.
    Do not consult except people who fear Allāh, and do not accompany the sinner, [lest]  you learn his sinfulness.
    And be humble at the graves.

    Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 89.

    ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb
    Advice Brotherhood Character Manners and Conduct
  • The best thing after Iman and the worst thing after Kufr [women]

    It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattāb – Allāh be pleased with him – once addressed the people and said:

    No man can have anything better after faith (īmān) than a woman of righteous character, loving and child-bearing. And no man can have anything worse after unbelief (kufr) than a sharp-tongued woman of bad character.

    Al-Ḥāfidh Abul-Qāsim Al-Aṣbahānī, Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb article 1528. Also recorded in other sources with a slight variation in wording.

    ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb
    Character Family Fitnah Gratitude Women
  • The Best of then and Now

    It is reported that Mujāhid – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

    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.

    Mujāhid
    Good Deeds Knowledge The Companions Worship
  • 10 Days to Marry

    It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

    If I had ten days left to live, and I knew I would die by the end of them, and I had enough time to get married, I would get married for fear of temptation (fitnah).

    Sa’īd b. Mansūr, Al-Sunan article 493.

    Death Family Fitnah Marriage Relationships
  • Soft Poison

    It is reported that ‘Alī b. Abī Tālib wrote to Salmām Al-Farsī – Allāh be pleased with them both – saying:

    The likeness of this worldly life (dunyā) is that of a snake: soft to the touch, it will kill you with its poison. So turn away from what impresses you of it, since what stays with you is so little. And do not be concerned about it, since you are certain about its parting. And be most happy in it when you are most heedful of it; for every time its companion takes solace in one of its delights, it gives way to one of its woes.
    Was-Salām.

    Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 164.

    ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib
    Dunyā Patience The Hereafter Zuhd
  • Four Signs of the Wretched

    It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

    Four signs of wretchedness are: [having] a hard heart, dry eyes [that never cry], extended hopes [about this life], and greed and keenness to amass worldly things (the dunyā).

    Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Zuhd article 36.

    Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī
    Dunyā Fear The Heart The Hereafter
  • This life in brief

    It is reported that some people asked ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him –  to describe this worldly life (the dunyā). He said:

    Do you want a long description or a brief one? They replied, “a brief one.” He said, “Its permissible things (ḥalāl) [lead to] accounts being taken from you, and its forbidden things (ḥarām) [lead to the] Fire.

    Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Dham Al-Dunyā article 17.

    ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib
    Dunyā The Fire The Hereafter
  • Brotherhood or Bigotry?

    It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

    If you loved a man for Allāh and then he innovates in Islām and you don’t hate him for it, you never [truly] loved him for Allāh.

    Abū Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 7:34.

    Sufyān Al-Thawrī
    Bidʿah Brotherhood Love
  • Love and Praise for the Companions

    It is reported that Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

    Whoever loves Abū Bakr has upheld the religion, whoever loves ‘Umar has made the way clear, whoever loves ‘Uthmān is enlightened by the light of Allāh, and whoever loves ‘Alī has taken the firmest handhold. Whoever speaks well of the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – is clear of hypocrisy (nifāq), but whoever belittles any one of them or dislikes [any one of them] for something he did, then he is a heretic (mubtadi’), an opponent of the Sunnah and the Righteous Predecessors (the Salaf), and it is feared that none of his deeds will be raised to the heavens until he loves all of [the Companions] and his heart is clear towards them.

    Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Uṣūl Al-Sunnah article 189.

    Ayyūb Al-Sakhtiyānī
    Bidʿah Love The Companions ʿAqīdah
  • Don’t ask the Polytheists

    Abdullāh b. ‘Abbās – Allāh be pleased with them – said:

    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.

    ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAbbās
    Ahl Al-Kitab Daʿwah Knowledge Qurān ʿAqīdah

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