حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

The situation of the early Muslims with trials and tribulations: Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, said: “Indeed, patience is to faith as the head is to the body. If the head is cut off, the body perishes.” Then he raised his voice and said: “Indeed, there is no faith for one who has no patience.” [Ibn Abi Al-Dunya Encyclopedia 4/23].

The way of the early Muslims with trials and tribulations: On the authority of Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, may God be pleased with him, he said: We were a people who suffered hardship and difficulty in life in Mecca with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. When the affliction befell us, we acknowledged it, endured it, and were patient with it. I remember when I was with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, in Mecca. I went out at night to urinate, and I heard a rattling sound under my urine. It was a piece of camel hide, so I took it, washed it, then burned it, placed it between two stones, and then swallowed it dry. I drank water afterward, and it gave me strength for three days. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 1/94].

The state of the predecessors with trials and tribulations: On the authority of Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, may God be pleased with him, he said: I saw us with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and we had no food except tree leaves, until one of us relieved himself like a sheep. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 1/92].

The state of the predecessors with trials and tribulations: Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, may God be pleased with him, said: We were tested with adversity and we were patient, and we were tested with prosperity and we were not patient. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 1/98].

The way of the Salaf with trials and tribulations: On the authority of Sa`id bin Wahb, he said: I entered with Salman al-Farisi, may God be pleased with him, to visit a friend of his from Kindah who was ill. Salman said to him: God, the Exalted and Glorified, tests His believing servant with trials, then heals him, and it is an expiation for what has passed, so he seeks to make amends in what remains of his life. And God, the Exalted and Glorified, tests His wicked servant with trials, then heals him, so he is like a camel that its owners tied up, then released it, so it does not know why they tied it up, nor why they released it when they released it. [Sifat al-Safwa 1/260].