آثـــار الســـلــف.

Yahya ibn Mu'adh said,

The body becomes sick due to ailments, and the heart becomes sick due to sins. So just as the body does not find pleasure in eating while it is sick, likewise the heart does not experience the sweetness of worship alongside sins.

[Dhamm al-Hawaa pg 68]

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih al-'Uthaymeen mentioned the following in his explanation of Riyadh al-Saliheen: [مهما عملت من الأعمال الصالحة لا تعجب بعملك فعملك قليل بالنسبة لحق الله عليك ]

Whatever kind of good deeds you do, do not become amazed with your own actions, for your deeds are quite small in comparison to Allah's right over you.

[Sharh Riyadh al-Saliheen 1/575]

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said: It is not a matter of you loving Allāh; Rather, the matter is that Allāh loves you. and Allāh does not love you unless you follow His beloved (ﷺ), outwardly and inwardly (in what is apparent and what is hidden). [Madarij as-Salikeen, 3/39, Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah)]

فالتوحيد حِصْنُ الله الأعظمُ الذي مَنْ دَخَلَهُ كان من الآمنين؛ قال بعض السلف: مَنْ خَافَ الله، خافَهُ كُلُّ شيء، ومَنْ لَمْ يَخَفِ الله، أخافَهُ اللهُ من كل شيء

Tawhīd is Allah’s greatest fortress. Whoever enters it shall find safety. Some of the righteous predecessors said: Whoever fears Allāh, everything will fear him, and whoever doesn't fear Allāh, Allāh will make him fear everything.

• فقه الأدعية والأذكار

مَن أحبّك، أوصَاكَ بالطَّاعات  Whoever loves you will encourage you to obey Allāh.

يقول الشاعر:

العلم يرفع بيت لا عماد له والجهل يهدم بيت العز والشرف

Knowledge will raise a house that has no support, and ignorance will destroy a house of might and honor.

a timeless reminder: forgive as quickly as you expect Allāh to forgive you.

shaykh Muḥammad Ibn Ṣāliḥ al-‘Uthaymīn رحمه الله said:  we did not appear in this worldly life to live in it like grazing animals and merely eat, drink and sleep. rather, we came to this dunya in order to prepare provisions for the hereafter. شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفِرْقَةِ النَّاجية لابن عثيمين ٤/٣٧٩

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said; Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time cuts you off from Allah and the Hereafter, whereas death cuts you off from this world and its people. [الفوائد - ابن القيم الجوزية]

Wahb Ibn Munabbih رحمه الله said: If you hear a man praising you with what is not in you, then do not feel safe that he will blame you with what is not in you. {سير ٣:٤٤٨}

An old Arabic proverb reads: حافظ على بيتك نظيفاً كانك تنتظر ضيوفاً، وحافظ على قلبك نقيّاً كانك تنتظر الموت Keep your home clean as though you are expecting guests. And keep your heart pure as though you are expecting death.

Ibn Taymiyah once wrote: [ما رأيت شيئاً يغذي العقل والروح ويحفظ الـجسم ويضمن السعادة أكثـر من إدامة النظر فـي كتاب الله تعـالى] I have never seen anything which nourishes the intellect and soul, preserves the body, and ensures happiness more than consistently reading from Allah's Book. [Majmoo' al-Fatawa 7/493]

What’s more beloved to Allāh?

al-ʾImām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said : والعفو أحب إليه من الانتقام، والرحمة أحب إليه من العقوبة، والفضل أحب إليه من العدل، والعطاء أحب إليه من المنع Pardoning is more beloved to Him than vengeance, mercy is more beloved to Him than punishment, grace is more beloved to Him than justice, and giving is more beloved to Him than withholding. مدارج السالكين (1/228)

Prophet ﷺ said,

He who slaps the cheeks, tears the clothes and follows the tradition of the Days of Ignorance is not from us.

[Bukhari 1297]

Whoever fasts the day of ‘Arafah, or the day of 'Ashura, but still owes days from Ramadan, his fast is valid, but if he intends to fast this day to make up for a missed Ramadan fast, he will have two rewards: the reward for the day of ‘Arafah or'Ashura along with the reward for making up the missed fast. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen | Fatawa al-Siyaam (438)

Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on the day of Ashura (10th of Muharram), whereupon be said:

It expiates the sins of the preceding year.

[Muslim 1162]