ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
The victim of theft might continue to suspect and conjecture [about who stole from him] until he becomes worse [in sin] than the thief.
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad no. 1289. Its chain of transmission was graded ṣaḥīḥ by Al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad no.974.
ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAwn – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
There are three things that I like for myself and for my brothers:
That the Muslim man looks to the Qurān; he learns it, recites it, ponders it and refers to it. Second, that he looks to the narrations and the Sunnah; he asks about it and follows it with all his efforts. Third, that he leaves alone all these people except when doing good.
Al-Bukhāri, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, no. 97 (in annotative, discontiguous form). The chain of transmission is connected in Al-Marwazī, Al-Sunnah, no. 108.
Abū Wāʾil reports:
A man once came to ʿAbdullāh [ibn Masʿūd] – Allāh be pleased with him – and said, “We were once travelling when we met another group of travellers, so we asked them, ‘Who are you?’ They replied, ‘We are the believers!'” So [Ibn Masʿūd] said, “So why didn’t they just say, ‘We are from the people of Jannah?!'”
Abū ʿUbayd Al-Qāsim b. Sallām, Kitāb Al-Īmān, article 11. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded the chain of transmission of this and the following narration ṣaḥīḥ according to the standard of Bukhārī and Muslim.
ʿAlqamah reports:
A man once said to ʿAbdullāh [ibn Masʿūd], “I am a believer.” ʿAbdullāh said to him, “Why don’t you just say ‘I am in Jannah’! No, but [we say]: we believe in Allāh, his angels, his scriptures and his Messengers.”
Op. cit. article 12.
It is reported that Bilāl b. Saʿd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
A brother who, whenever you meet him, points out to you one of your faults (for you to correct yourself) is better for you than a brother who, whenever you meet him, puts a dīnār (money) in your hand.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm no. 1428.
It is reported that Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Beware of lying, for lying is far removed from īmān.
Abū Bakr Al-Ḵallāl, Al-Sunnah no. 1467, 1470; Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān no. 4463.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said in Al-Fawāʾid, …Thus, every good action – both outer and inner – comes from truthfulness, and every evil corrupt action – both outer and inner – comes from falsehood and lying.
It is reported that ʿAlī b. ʾAbī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:
Do not be with the sinner (fājir), for he will beautify to you the things he does, and he will want you to be like him; and he will beautify to you the worst of his practices; and his entrance upon you and leaving from your company will cause ignominy and discredit [of you].
And do not accompany the fool (aḥmaq), for he will exhaust himself [to help you] but will not benefit you, and he may want to benefit you but end up harming you; his silence is better than his speaking, his distance is better than his closeness, and him dying is better than him living.
And do not accompany the liar, for life will not benefit you with him, he will tell others what you say, and tell you what others say; and if you speak the truth, it will not be believed.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir AlʿIlm no. 1379.
Muḥammad b. Zayd b. ʿUmar reports from his father:
Some people said to Ibn ʿUmar, “We enter upon our rulers, and we say to them something different to what we say when we leave their company.” He said, “We used to regard this as [a type of] nifāq (hypocrisy).”
Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī no. 7178, and others.
It is reported that Maymūn b. Mihrān – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
I have met men in front of whom I would be ashamed to speak, and I have met men who used to say nothing but the truth, or be silent. And I have met men who had never seen the sky properly, out of fear of their Lord.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-ʿIlm article 2039.
It is reported that Imām Al-Zuhrī – Allāh have mercy on him – was traveling and fasted ʿĀshūrāʾ, so he was asked:
“How comes you fast the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ when traveling but not so during the fast of Ramaḍān?” He replied, “For Ramaḍān, the number of days can be made up later, but ʿĀshūrāʾ will be missed.”
Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān ḥadīth 3518.
It is reported that Yaḥyā b. Abī Kathīr – Allāh have mercy on him – said:
It used to be said, “People have never honoured themselves with anything [better] than the obedience of Allāh, and they have never dishonoured themselves with anything [worse] than disobedience to Allāh.”
Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Muḥāsabatu Al-Nafs article 98.