حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

The state of the Salaf with regard to the Qur’an: On the authority of Al-Sha’bi, may God have mercy on him, he said: Whoever reads the Qur’an will not become senile. [Ibn Abi Al-Dunya Encyclopedia 7/571].

The care of the righteous predecessors for the heart: Sahl bin Abdullah, may God have mercy on him, said: There is no hour except that God - the Almighty and Majestic - is aware of the hearts of the servants, so any heart in which He sees other than Himself, He gives Satan power over it. [Condemnation of Desire / 77].

The care of the early Muslims for the heart: Sahl ibn Abdullah, may God have mercy on him, said: It is forbidden for a heart to smell the scent of certainty while it has any inclination towards other than God. And it is forbidden for light to enter a heart while it has anything that God, the Almighty and Majestic, dislikes. [Condemnation of Desire / 77].

The care of the Salaf for the heart: Salm al-Khawwas, may God have mercy on him, said: You have abandoned Him, and some of you have turned to each other! If you had turned to Him, you would have seen wonders! [Condemnation of desire / 77].

The Predecessors' Concern for the Heart: Ibn Jahdham said: I heard Ibn Sam'un, may God have mercy on him, say in his gathering: "Have you not heard the saying of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him: 'Angels do not enter a house in which there is an image or statue'? If an angel does not enter a house in which there is an image or statue, how can the signs of truth enter a heart containing qualities of human beings other than Him?!" Ibn al-Qayyim, may God have mercy on him, said: I heard Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may God have mercy on him, say regarding the Prophet's saying, peace and blessings be upon him, "Angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image": If the angels, who are created beings, are prevented from entering a house by a dog and an image, how can the knowledge of God, the Almighty and Majestic,, His love, the sweetness of His remembrance, and the joy of His nearness enter a heart filled with the dogs of desires and their images? From this also comes the fact that the purity of one's clothes and body is a condition for the validity and acceptance of prayer, and if this is lacking, the prayer is invalid. So how can the heart be impure and not purified by its owner? So how can his prayer be considered valid, even if it absolves him of the obligation to make up the missed prayer? Is not outward purity a complement to inward purity? Furthermore, facing the qibla in prayer is a condition for its validity, and the qibla is the House of the Lord. Therefore, the worshipper's turning towards it with his body and physical form is a condition. How can the prayer of one who does not turn his heart towards the Lord of the qibla and his body be valid? Rather, he turns his body towards the House, but his heart is turned towards something other than the Lord of the House. [End quote, slightly paraphrased. Madarij as-Salikin 3/250-251 [Dhamm al-Hawa / 78]]