Sayings of the Salaf

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

The insightful and wise do not trust that they are safe from four things: a past sin about which it is not known what the Lord Almighty will do, the remaining lifespan wherein it is not known what destruction lies, some (apparent) advantage a person is given but which could be a lure (from Allāh) in recompense for his wrongdoing, a misguidance that has been beautified – so that he thinks it is guidance – and a momentary deviation of the heart, for a person can be stripped of his religion without realizing it.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:406.

ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Do not be from those who are hasty, who broadcast (what should not be broadcast), who plant trouble by divulging what should be secret, for you will face severe, prolonged and heavy tribulations.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad no. 327. Its chain of transmission was graded ṣaḥīḥ by Al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad no.250.

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

Stay away from the sinful amongst the scholars and the ignorant amongst the worshippers, for these two are the calamity of everyone who would fall into fitnah.

Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab Al-Īmān ḥadīth 1753.

It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyād – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

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.

It is reported that Abū Al-Dardāʾ – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

When you adorn your copies of the Qurān and embellish your mosques, destruction will be upon you.

Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqāʾiq, article 746. Shaykh Al-Albānī stated that the chain of transmission of this narration consists of reliable reporters, except he did not know if the reporter Bakr b. Suwādah had heard directly from Abū Al-Dardāʾ. The narration corroborates a similar ḥadīth reported from the Prophet ﷺ himself. See Al-Ṣaḥīḥah ḥadīth 1351.