حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

Concealing and keeping good deeds secret: On the authority of Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, he said: I said to Bishr ibn Mansur: We sit in a gathering of goodness and blessing. He said: Yes, a good gathering. I said to him: Sometimes no one sits with me, and I feel sad. He said: If you wish for people to sit with you, leave this gathering. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/331].

Concealing and keeping good deeds secret: Ja`far bin Hayyan said: It was mentioned to Muslim bin Yasar, may God have mercy on him, that he rarely looked around during prayer, so he said: How do you know where my heart is? [Sifat al-Safwa 3/169].

Concealing and keeping good deeds secret: Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i, may God have mercy on him, said: They used to dislike, when they gathered, a man revealing his best hadith or he said: the best that he had. [Sifat Al-Safwa 3/60].

Concealing and keeping good deeds secret: On the authority of Al-A’mash, he said: Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i, may God have mercy on him, used to avoid fame, so he would not sit by the pillar, and if he was asked about a matter, he would not add anything to the answer to his question. So I would say to him about something he was asked about, “Isn’t it such and such?” And he would say: He did not ask me about this. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/89].

Concealing and keeping good deeds secret: On the authority of Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i and Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may God have mercy on them, they said: It is enough evil for a person to be pointed at with fingers in religion or worldly matters, except for those whom God protects! Piety is here, pointing to his chest three times. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/94].