حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

Stories and incidents of some scholars: Al-Umari Al-Abd, may God have mercy on him, saw a man from the family of Ali walking with a swagger, so he rushed to him and took his hand and said: O you! The one whom God has honored you with did not walk like this. He said: So the man abandoned that manner of walking afterward. [Ibn Abi Al-Dunya Encyclopedia 2/208].

Stories and events concerning some scholars: Hisham said: Malik ibn al-Mundhir, who was in charge of Basrah's police, summoned Muhammad ibn Wasi', may Allah have mercy on him, and said: Take the seat of judgeship. Muhammad refused. He asked him again, and he refused. He said: You will take it, or I will flog you three hundred times. Muhammad replied: If you do, you have the power. One humiliated in this world is better than one humiliated in the Hereafter. [Hilyah (abridged edition) 1/414].

Stories and accounts of some scholars: On the authority of Al-Husayn ibn Ziyad, he said: I heard Munay’ say: A merchant passed by some tax collectors who seized his ship. He went to Malik ibn Dinar, may God have mercy on him, and told him about it. Malik got up and walked with him to the tax collectors. When they saw him, they said: O Abu Yahya, why didn’t you send for us? What do you need? He said: My need is that you release this man’s ship. They said: We have done so. He said: They had a jug in which they put the dirhams they took from people, so they said: Pray to God for us, O Abu Yahya. He said: Tell the jug to pray for you! I pray for you and a thousand pray against you. Do you think one prayer will be answered and a thousand will not? [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 1/426].

Stories and incidents of some scholars: On the authority of Shu’ayb ibn Harb, he said: A woman came to Sufyan al-Thawri, may God have mercy on him, and said: My son has neglected me and abandoned his work. He said: What did your son take up? She said: Hadith. He said: Seek Allah’s reward for enduring this concerning him. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/399].

Stories and accounts of some scholars: On the authority of Abu Mushir. He said: Al-Ma’mun asked Malik ibn Anas, may God have mercy on him: Do you own a house? He said: No. So he gave him three thousand dinars and said: Buy yourself a house with it. He said: Then Al-Ma’mun wanted to leave and said to Malik: Come with us, for I have resolved to make the people follow the Muwatta’ as Uthman made the people follow the Qur’an. He said to him: You have no way to do that, because the Companions of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, dispersed after him to the cities, and they narrated hadiths, so every city has knowledge, and there is no way for me to go with you, because the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “And Medina is better for them if they only knew,” and he said: “Medina expels its impurities as the furnace expels the impurities of iron.” Here are your dinars, so if you wish, take them, and if you wish, leave them. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 2/359].