True knowledge

Ibn Mas`ood, radhiallaahu `anhu, said: 
"True knowledge is not measured in relationship to how much you memorize and then narrate, but rather, true knowledge is an expression of piety [protecting oneself from what Allaah prohibited and acting upon what He mandated]." 
(Related by Abu Na`eem)

The sign of the people of bid’ah

"If you desire Allah to be persistent in granting you the thing you love, be persistent in doing the things He loves" Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

Imaam Maalik said: "The Sunnah is like the Ark of Noah. Whoever embarks upon it reaches salvation and whoever refuses is drowned." 
Quoted by Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taimiyyah in Majmoo' ul-fataawaa (4/57).

Be content with what you have, Be satisfied with your dwelling place to accommodate your enterprise, Restrain your tongue, And shed tears of regret regarding past sins you committed knowingly, and those you do not recognize… ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud

The sign of the people of bid’ah is that they do not follow the salaf. (Ibn Taymiyyah Majmoo’ al-Fataawa 4/155)

Know that if you can’t pray at night

I once attended fajr prayer with Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, he then sat and remembered Allaah until it was nearly midday. he then turned around and said to me, ‘This is my early morning meal, if I do not take this breakfast, my strength will drop.’
[Al-Waabil as-Sayyib of Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 60, Daar al-Bayaan.]



Know that if you can’t pray at night and you can’t fast during the day, you are prevented, and what prevents you is your number of sins, so look into your heart.
Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyaad

We went out one Eid

Waki' b. Al-Jarrah said: "We went out one Eid with Sufyan Al-Thawri and he said, “The first thing we will do on this day of ours is to lower our gaze.”"


Hassan b. Abi Sinan – Allâh have mercy on him – went out one Eid and when he returned home his wife said, “How many beautiful women have you looked at today?” After she kept asking him, he said, “Woe to you! I have looked at nothing but my ...toes from when I went out to when I returned to you

Both are related in Kitab Al-Wara' by Ibn Abi Dunya

This Qur'an guides you to the recognition of your illnesses

Qatada said, "This Qur'an guides you to the recognition of your illnesses and to their remedies. Your illnesses are your sins and your medicine is seeking Allah's forgiveness."

Once a pious man was asked, "Teach me how to love Allah," to which he said, "Loving Allah is not brought about by teaching." Ibn Qayyim said In Al Fawaid

Ad-Dhahabi has narrated:
اغتاب رجل عند معروف الكرخي فقال له : اذكر القطن إذا وُضع على عينيك
“A man backbited someone while he was in the presence of Ma’roof Al-karkhi so Ma’roof said, warning the man about the danger of backbiting: “Keep in mind, always, the time when they put pieces of cotton in your eyes, referring to his death”
["Siyar A'lam An-Nubala"].

"How is it possible for one's heart to be certain that one is going to meet Allah, that Allah sees and hears all that he does, and knows his secret open affairs, and that he will be made to stand before Allah, answerable for all his deeds. how can one be certain and aware of all of this, and yet persist upon things which displease Allah; persist upon abandoning Allah's orders, neglecting His rights, and yet claim that he has good expectation of Allah? " Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah


لا صغيرة مع الإصرار.. ولا كبيرة مع الاستغفار
"No sin remains minor with persistance.
And no sin remains major after Istighfaar."

If you ever have time and find yourself in ease, then take advantage of praye

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak - rahimahullaah - said:
"If you ever have time and find yourself in ease, then take advantage of prayer, to draw near to Allah; If you ever wish to speak ill a word of falsehood, then instead put in its place, a word of glorification; Because taking advantage of silence is better than speaking frequently, even if you are eloquent in speech."

Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah - rahimahullaah - said:

“Get yourself out of this limited world of diseases to the wide world of the hereafter, which has what the eyes have never seen. Nothing is impossible there, and love is not lost. O you who sold yourself for the sake of something that will cause you suffering and pain, and which will also lose its beauty, you sold the most precious item for the cheapest price, as if you neither knew the value of the goods nor the meanness of the price. Wait until you come on the Day of mutual loss and gain and you will discover the injustice of this contract. “There is no God but Allah” is something that Allah is buying. Its price is Paradise, and the Messenger is its agent, and you will be pleased to part with a small part of this worldly life to obtain it. The part you lose is a small part of something that as a whole is not worth a mosquito’s wing.”

Shaykh Al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah says, regarding the Allies of Allah:
"The allies of Allah do not have any special appearance with which they differ from other people. They have no special dress other than just being permissible dress, and are not distinguished by shaving of hair, or cutting it short, or braiding it, as long as it is within the permissible. Thus it has been said: "So many truthful believers in rough dress, and so many apostates in beautiful cloaks." Rather, the allies of Allah are to be found in all categories of the nation of Muhammad, except for the fact that they may not be found among the people of blatant innovations (bid'a) and moral corruption. They are found among people of the Qur'an, scholars, just as they are found among the fighters of jihad with weapons, and they are found among the businessmen, the manufacturers, and the farmers."
Taken From: The Criterion Between the Allies of the Merciful and the Allies of the Devil, pg. 37

Imam al-Hassan Al Basri said: "We laugh and yet – who knows? – perhaps Allah has looked at some of our works and said: “I will not accept anything from you.” Woe to you, son of Adam! Can you fight Allah? Whoever disobeys Allah is fighting Him. By Allah! I have met seventy veterans of Badr. Most of their garments were wool. Had you seen them you would have said they are crazy, and had they seen the best among you they would have said: “Those people will have no part in the Hereafter.” Had they seen the worst among you they would have said: “Those people do not believe in the Day of Reckoning.” I have seen people for whom this world was cheaper than the dust under their feet. I have seen people the like of whom would come home at night, not finding more than his own portion of food, and yet say: “I shall not put all of this into my belly. I shall certainly give some away for Allah’s sake.” Then he would give away some of his food in charity, even if he were more in need of it than its recipient." Narrated from `Alqama ibn Marthad by Abu Nu`aym in Hilya al-Awliya’ (1985 ed. 2:134).

"None in this age will amass wealth except those having five traits of character: high hopes, abnormal greediness, excessive miserliness, lack of fearing Allah, and forgetfulness of the coming world " Sufyaan Ath Thawree

The one who memorizes the Qur’an must be known

‎"The one who memorizes the Qur’an must be known by the nights when people are sleeping. By his days when people are eating. By his sadness when people are rejoicing. By his weeping when people are laughing. By his silence when people are indulged in vain talk. And by his humility when people are boasting" Abdullah ibn Mas'ud"
An- Nawawi collected in At-Tibyaan.Abu Bakr As-Siddiq seminar series No A-13

The sincere hearts and the pious supplications are soldiers

قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية-رحمه الله-: "القلوب الصادقة والأدعية الصالحة هي العسكر الذي لا يغلب". مجموع الفتاوى (28 / 644)
‎"The sincere hearts and the pious supplications are soldiers which can never be defeated" 
Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah

It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud (radhiallahu `anhu) that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:
'Read the Qur'an as you have been taught, for indeed those who came before you were destroyed only because of their differing with their Prophets.'
[Reported by Ahmad]


It is narrated from 'Isma ibn Malik (radhiallahu`anhu) that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:
'If the Qur'an is gathered into a single vessel (i.e. the heart), Allah will never burn it in the Fire.'
[Reported by al-Bayhaqi]

"Guard against having a bad opinion of people"
Al-Hasan Al-Basree

If a man spreads his secret with his own tongue, then he is a fool, if blame to others he attests; If his own breast is too narrow to conceal his own secret, the breast of another is even more compressed." -Imam ash-Shafi'ee

‎"The one who memorizes the Qur’an must be known by the nights when people are sleeping. By his days when people are eating. By his sadness when people are rejoicing. By his weeping when people are laughing. By his silence when people are indulged in vain talk. And by his humility when people are boasting" Abdullah ibn Mas'ud"
An- Nawawi collected in At-Tibyaan.Abu Bakr As-Siddiq seminar series No A-13

Bilal bin Sa’d has said:
أخ لك كلما لقيك ذكرك بحظك من الله خير لك من أخ كلما لقيك وضع في كفك دينارًا
“A brother who remembers you of Allaah when you meet him, is better than a friend who places a dinar in your hand every time you meet him”.
["Hilyatul Awliyaa", 5/225].

Al-Hasan al-Basri said,
“He who has no manners has no knowledge; he who has no patience has no Religion (din); and he who has no God-consciousness has no closeness to Allah.”

The heart sometimes dances rapturously from the happiness of remembering Allah

"The heart becomes corrupt in six ways: commiting sins in the hope of repenting, seeking knowledge and not applying it, practice without ikhlas, eating the sustenance of Allah without appreciating Him, not being pleased with Allah's decree and burying the dead without learning from them." Al-Hasan Al-Basree (رحمه الله)

Al-Hasan al-Basri said,
“He who has no manners has no knowledge; he who has no patience has no Religion (din); and he who has no God-consciousness has no closeness to Allah.”

The heart sometimes dances rapturously from the happiness of remembering Allah and feeling close to Him " Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah

Stand firm against evil thoughts, for if you fail to do so, they will become ideas, if you do not, they will become desires, so fight against them. If you do not, they will become a form of determination and intention, if you do not resist, they will become actions, and if you do not follow them up with their opposite..., they will become habits that will be hard to quit" Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim

Abu Ubayd Al-Asqalaani said: “I have not seen Abu Ubaidah Al-Khawas laugh for forty years. It was said to him: “Why don’t you laugh?” He said: “How can I laugh while a Muslim is still imprisoned by the Mushrikeen?!”
["Sifat Al-Safwah", 2/416].

Sa’eed bin Abdul Azeez said: “Abu Darda saw a lady who used to utter evil words, so he said: If this lady was mute, it would have been better for her”.["Al-Ihyaa", 3/125].

Son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days, whenever each day passes then part of you has Gone. [Al-Hasan Al-Basree]

It was said to Rabee’ ibn Khaytham, “We never see you finding fault in others.” He replied, “I am not satisfied with myself enough to dedicate my time to finding faults in others.”

A Salaf (Pious predecessor) scholar said: “When you choose to marry the dunya, your deen becomes the dowry.”

Dear brother! Throw away the garb of superiority for it is not yours

Imam Ad-Dhahabi said in “Siyar A’lam An-Nubala”: “The ignoramus doesn’t even know his own status, so how will he know (and respect) someone else’s status?”
["Siyar A'lam An-Nubala", 11/321].

‎'Alee ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqeeq said: I heard 'Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak say:
The first step towards (seeking) knowledge is the (sincerity of) intention, then it is listening, then it is understanding (this knowledge), then it is memorising (this knowledge), then it is acting (upon this knowledge), then it is spreading (...this knowledge).


Imaam ash-Shaafi`ee - rahimahullaah - said:
"To admonish your brother in private is to advise him and improve him. But to admonish him publicly is to disgrace and shame him."

Imam ash-Shaafi`ee - rahimahullaah - said:
"The foolish one addresses me with words of disgrace, but I hate to respond to him in a similar manner. The more ignorant he proves, the more patient I become. Just like the incense; the more it's burnt, the more it releases its fragrance."

Dear brother! Throw away the garb of superiority for it is not yours. It is your Creator’s. Adorn yourself with the garb of humbleness, for no man has a little amount of arrogance in his heart except that his sense of reasoning diminishes in proportion to his arrogance.Shaykh ‘Abdul-Muhsin Al-Qaasim