حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

On the authority of Al-Mu’afa bin Imran, he said: A man said to Muhammad bin Al-Nadr, may God have mercy on him: Where should I worship God? He said: Correct your inner self, and worship Him wherever you wish. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/50].

On the authority of Sufyan bin Dinar Al-Tammar, he said: I asked Mahan Al-Hanafi, may God have mercy on him, what were the deeds of the people? He said: Their deeds were few, and their hearts were sound. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/123].

On the authority of Abdur-Rahman ibn Mahdi, he said: My son Ibrahim performed Hajj and met Muhammad ibn Yusuf, may God have mercy on him, in Mecca. He said to him: Convey my greetings to your father and tell him: Be humble. He said: So Ibrahim returned and told me what he had said. He said: For several months I was like a sick man because of what Muhammad had said. I said: A man like him, perhaps something had reached him about me, or he had a dream about me, until he came to us. He said: So he took my hand and started walking until I thought we would not catch the Maghrib prayer. So we sat down and I said to him: O Abu Abdullah, my son Ibrahim told me such and such about you. Muhammad said: I heard that you sat and spoke to people. I said to him: If you wish, I swear that I will never speak a hadith again. He said: Speak to people and teach them, but see how your heart is when people gather around you. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/55].

Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari said: I said to Abu Sulayman al-Darani, may God have mercy on him: I envy the Children of Israel. He said: What is it about them, woe to you? I said: For eight hundred years and for four hundred years until they become like worn-out waterskins, and bows, and like strings. He said: I thought you had said something! No, by God, God does not want our skins to dry up on our bones, and He only wants us to have sincere intentions regarding what is with Him. If this one is sincere in ten days, he will attain what that one attained in his lifetime. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/186].

Al-Sari Al-Saqati, may God have mercy on him, said: Purifying the work from defects is more difficult than the work itself. () [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/287].