Sayings of the Salaf

Save yourselves and your families

Some narrations reported from the Salaf in explanation of what it means to protect oneself and one’s family as mentioned in Al-Tahrīm verse 6:

O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels, stern and severe, and who disobey not the commands they receive from Allāh, but do that which they are commanded. [66:6]

· ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allah be pleased with him:

Discipline them, teach them.

· Ibn ‘Abbās – Allah be pleased with them:

Stay obedient to Allāh, stay away from disobeying Allāh and command your families to remember Allāh, and He will save you from the Fire.

· Mujāhid – Allāh have mercy on him:

Fear Allāh and obey him (practice taqwā) and tell your families to practice taqwā.

· Qatādah – Allāh have mercy on him:

A person protects his family by telling them to obey Allāh and forbidding them from disobeying Him. He upholds Allāh’s commandments and helps his family to uphold them. So if you see some disobedience of Allāh you stop them from doing it, and you reprimand them.

Al-Ṭabarī, Al-Tafsīr, Sūrah Al-Taḥrīm.

Mujāhid Qatādah ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib

Family Fear Qurān Tafsīr Taqwā
Death and budgeting; speaking and deeds

It is reported from Al-Awzāʿī that he said:

Whoever remembers death often will find a small amount (of worldly things) sufficient for him; and whoever includes his speech in his deeds will speak little.

Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Al-Awzāʿī.

Al-Awzāʿī

Death Dunyā Sins
What is Knowledge?

It is reported from Al-Awzāʿī that he said:

Knowledge is what has come from the Companions of Allah’s Messenger – sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam; and what has not come from them is not knowledge.

Al-Dhahabī , Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Al-Awzāʿī. Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimishq Vol.35 p201.

Al-Awzāʿī Ṣaḥābah

Knowledge
Attend the Refutations of Bid’ah

It is reported from ʿAbdullah b. Mas’ūd – Allah be pleased with him – that he said:

For every bid’ah with which Islām is plotted against, Allah has a beloved worshipper (walī) who refutes and repels it and speaks about its signs, so take the full opportunity of attending such places, and trust in Allah.

Ibn Waddāḥ, Al-Bid’ah p5.

ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd

Bidʿah
Responsibility in Knowledge and Da’wah

‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allah be pleased with him – said:

Narrate to people what they can understand; do you want Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved?

Quoted by Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Chapter about a person preferring some people with certain knowledge to the exclusion of others.

Ibn Ḥajr said in Fatḥ Al-Bārī, “[In this narration] there is evidence that ambiguous knowledge should not be mentioned amongst the general public.”

Shaykh Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ Al-‘Uthaymīn – Allah have mercy on him – explained this very important and often misunderstood point beautifully. After mentioning the narration of ‘Alī, he states:

It is therefore an aspect of wisdom in da’wah (calling others to Allah) that you should not surprise people with things they are not able to comprehend. Rather, you should call them in stages, bit by bit until their minds settle…”

He goes on to say:

“[The statement of ‘Alī] ‘Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved?’ is a rhetorical question, posed as a criticism of such behavior. It means: by narrating to people things they cannot understand do you want Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved? This is because in such cases when you say, “Allah said, and His Messenger said” they will say you have lied if their minds cannot comprehend what you are saying. Here, they are not disbelieving Allah and His Messenger, but they are disbelieving you because of this speech that you have attributed to Allah and His Messenger. Thus they will end up disbelieving Allah and His Messenger – not directly – but by way of the one who transmits this knowledge (i.e. you).

Now if it is said: Should we stop telling people things they cannot understand even if they need to know? The answer is: no, we do not leave this knowledge altogether, but we should tell them in a way that they will be able to understand. This is done by telling them stage by stage, bit by bit until they can accept the speech we want them to know and they can feel comfortable with it. We do not abandon knowledge that people cannot understand and just say ‘this is something they will reject or dislike so we will not speak about it.’

The same is the case with acting upon a Sunnah that people are not used to and which they might find objectionable. We should act by this Sunnah, but only after informing people about it, such that they will be able to accept it and feel comfortable about it.

We learn from this narration (of ‘Alī) that it is important to employ wisdom in calling to Allah, and that it is incumbent upon anyone who calls to Allah to consider the level of understanding of those he is inviting, and that he should put everyone in their proper place.

Majmū’ Fatāwā Ibn ‘Uthaymīn Vol.10 p140.

ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib

Daʿwah Knowledge
Actions speak louder

Al-Qāsim b. Muhammad, the grandson of Abū Bakr – Allah have mercy on him – said:

In my time the people were not impressed by speech, they were impressed by actions. Anyone can say whatever he wants.

Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb Al-Zuhd p354.

Al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad

Knowledge Worship
The Tawbah of Zādhān
Al-Dhahabī said about Zādhān:

He was one of the major scholars, he was born during the life of the Prophet – Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him…he was a reliable and truthful reporter…he reported numerous ahādīth. The following are some of the Companions he reported from:
- ʿUmar
- ‘Alī
- Salmān (Al-Fārsī)
- Ibn Mas’ūd
- ‘Ā`ishah
- Hudhayfah
- Jarīr Al-Bajalī
- Ibn ʿUmar
- Al-Barā` b. ‘Āzib
Here is the story of how he repented. He narrates:

I was a boy with a nice voice and I was good at playing drums. I was once with a friend and we had nabīdh (a date infusion drink that can turn alcoholic) and I was singing for my friends. Ibn Mas’ūd was passing by and entered upon us; he struck the drink container we had and broke the drum. Then he said, “O boy! If your nice voice was to be heard reciting Qur`ān instead you would be the man!” And then he went on his way. I asked my friends, “Who was that?” They told me it was Ibn Mas’ūd. At that point tawbah was cast into my soul, and so I ran after him crying, I grabbed his garment and he turned to me and embraced me and cried. He said, “Welcome to him who Allah loves. Sit down.” He then went inside and brought out some dates for me.

Thereafter, Zādhān became pious; Al-Dhahabī also reports that he was seen praying and it was as if he was a piece of wood or a tree in his stillness and humility in prayer.

He died in 82H, Allah have mercy on him.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of Zādhān.
Zādhān ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd

Repentance Sins
You haven’t prayed for 40 years!

Zayd b. Wahb reports:

We were once sitting in the masjid with Ḥudhayfah (ibn Al-Yamān) – Allah be pleased with him, when a man entered from the gates of Kindah and stood to pray; but he did not complete the bowing or prostration postures. When he had finished praying, Ḥudhayfah asked him, “How long have you been praying in this manner?” The man replied, “For forty years.” Ḥudhayfah said, “You have not prayed for forty years! And if you were to die praying in this manner you would die upon a way (fiṭrah) other than the way of Muḥammad – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.”

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, The Book of Adhān, without the mention of 40 years. A version in Al-Nasā`ī, Chapter on the Deficient Prayer, mentions the question and reply about 40 years. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ in Sahīh Sunan Al-Nasā`ī no. 1311.

Ḥudhayfah b. Al-Yamān

Fiqh Prayer
They All Feared Hypocrisy

Ibn Abī Mulaykah – Allah have mercy on him – said:

I met thirty of the Prophet’s Companions – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and every one of them feared falling into nifāq (hypocrisy); not one of them claimed he had the level of faith of Jibrīl or Mīkā`īl.

Quoted by Al-Bukhārī, Al-Sahīh, Chapter on the believer fearing that his deeds will be nullified without him realizing.

In this chapter and narration there is a refutation of the Murji`ah sect who claimed that īmān (faith) consists of belief in the heart and nothing else i.e. a person’s deeds are not part of his faith and do not affect it.

This narration indicates that a person may perform deeds in which his intention may not be totally pure and sincere and because of which he falls into a type of practical hypocrisy.

The fact that they feared hypocrisy does not mean they actually fell into it. Rather this was by way of them being very careful not to fall into it, and it is part of their taqwā – Allah be pleased with them.

This narration also indicates that the Companions believed that people can have different levels of faith, contrary to the Murji`ah who claimed that the īmān of the most pious true believers is the same as everyone else.

Nothing contrary to any of this has been related from the Companions, so it is as if there is a consensus (ijmā’) amongst them on this.

The following are some of the illustrious Companions Ibn Abī Mulaykah met:

· ‘Alī b. Abī Tālib

· Sa’d b. Abī Waqqās

· Mother of the Believers ‘Ā`ishah

· Her sister Asmā`

· Mother of the Believers Umm Salamah

· ʿAbdullah b. Mas’ūd

· ʿAbdullah b. ʿUmar

· ʿAbdullah b. ‘Abbās

· ʿAbdullah b. Al-Zubayr

· Abū Hurayrah

· ‘Uqbah b. Al-Hārith

· Miswar b. Mikhramah

Allah be pleased with them all.

These notes have been summarized from Fath Al-Bārī.

Ibn Abī Mulaykah Ṣaḥābah

Fear Īman Intentions The Heart ʿAqīdah
A Visitor looking around the House

ʿAbdullāh b. Mas’ūd – Allah be pleased with him – went to visit someone who was ill, and a group of people went with him. In the house (where they were visiting) was a woman. One of the visitors, a man, started to look at the woman. ʿAbdullāh [Ibn Mas’ūd] said to him, “If your eye had been gouged out (or popped out] it would have been better for you.”

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad. See Shaykh Al-Albānī’s Sahīh Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Vol.1 p212.

ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd

Manners and Conduct