آثـــار الســـلــف.

Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said: «أول ما يرفع من هذه الأمة الحياء والأمانة، فاسألوهما الله.»

The first things to be lifted from this Ummah are modesty and trustworthiness. So ask Allah for them.

Makārim al-Akhlāq: 178

Near the beginning of surah al-Baqarah [02], Allah calls out to the people by saying: ‎[يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ]

O mankind, worship your Lord.

Sheikh Salih al-Fawzan said:

Tawheed is the most important thing we have been commanded to implement, for Allah began with it for the first call found in the mushaf.

[I'anah al-Mustafid 2/219]

True richness is in relying on Allāh, and true reliance is being in constant need of Him. Zayd ibn Aslam (d.136H) said: استعن بالله يغنك الله عماسواه ولا يكونن أحد أغنى بالله منك ولا يكونن أحد أفقر إلى الله منك

Seek help from Allāh, and He shall suffice you from needing anyone else. Let none be richer in depending upon Allāh than you, And let none be more in need of Allāh than you.

• حلية الأولياء (3/221)

Mālik ibn Dīnār (رحمه الله) said: «مَنْ لَمْ يُؤْتَ مِنْ الْعِلْمِ مَا يَقْمَعُهُ، فَمَا أُوتِيَ مِنْهُ لَا يَنْفَعُهُ»

Whoever has not been given knowledge that restrains and disciplines him, then whatever knowledge he has been given will not benefit him.

Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’ (9/123)

Ibn al-Jawzi said: I swear by Allah, if a thinking believer were to recite -surah al-Hadeed, -the end of surah al-Hashr, -Ayah al-Kursi, and  -surah al-Ikhlas with reflection and contemplation, his heart would surely crack open out of fear of Allah and he would be shaken to his very core by Allah's greatness.  [al-Tadhkirah 1/73-74]

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad (رحمه الله): طُوبى لِمن اسْتَوْحش من النّاس، وكانَ الله أنِيسهُ، وبكى على خطِيئتِهِ. Glad tidings to the one who feels estranged from the people, and Allah becomes his companion, and he weeps over his sin. [Hilyat al-Awliya’ (108/8)]

Al-Hasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله said: إذا كثرت ذنوب العبد فلم يكن في عمله ما يكفرها سُلِّط عليه الغموم فتكون كفارةً لذنوبه.

If a servant’s sins become numerous and he has no deeds that will expiate them, Allah afflicts him with worries and grief, making them an expiation for his sins.

Ahsan al-Ṣāliḥīn (2957)

Sheikh Rabee bin Hadi رحمه الله said,

Those who boast about their deeds are destined for ruin we seek refuge in Allah from such.

[Marhaban Ya Talib ul Ilm Pg. 48]

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمه الله) used to say: «اللَّهُمَّ لَا تُمْتِنَا خَيْرَ مَا عِنْدَكَ بِشَرِّ مَا عِنْدَنَا» O Allah, do not deprive us of the good that is with You because of the evil that is with us. Tabaqāt al-Hanābilah (1/205)

No one lives without sacrifice. The real question is for whom will you tire out? Ibn al-Qayyim said: من رغب عن التعب لله؛ ابتُلي بالتعب في خدمة الخلق ولا بدّ

Whoever does not tire himself for the sake of Allāh will undoubtedly be tried with fatigue in the service of (others in) creation.

• مدارج السالكين لابن القيم (٣١١)

Ibn al-Jawzi’s (رحمه الله) question still awaits an answer: Do you wish to enter Paradise by doing the deeds of the people of Hell?

Ibn al Qayyim رحمه الله said, ‎

The evil eye is like an arrow released from the envier. If it finds the victim exposed, it strikes him but if he is protected with the adhkar it does not affect him.

‎[Zad al Ma‘ad 4/154]

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.