[2] Mountains of Knowledge and Piety Who Constantly Strove to Humble Their Souls

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Nawfil Ibn Maymun, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: Sa’eed Ibn Sulayman, may Allah have mercy upon him, came to Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Imran, may Allah have mercy upon him, as a witness (for someone or something), but Ibn Imran rejected his witness. Then when Sa’eed was appointed to give verdicts, Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Imran came to him as a witness, so he took his witness and examined it for an hour; then he raised his head and said, “The believer does not (seek) to satisfy his rage. O Ibn Deenaar! Approve his witness” . So, he approved it. (1)

Sufyan Bin Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “If my morning is like that of the foolish and my night is like that of the ignorant, then what will I do with the knowledge I wrote down?” (2)

Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “When a man used to seek knowledge, it did not take long before (the effect) was seen on his eyesight, his fear of Allah, his tongue, his hands, his prayer and his abstinence from the lawful but unnecessary worldly things”. (3)

Ali Ibn Al-Husayn Bin Ali Bin Abee Talib, may Allah have mercy upon him, used to sit with Aslam, may Allah have mercy upon him, the freed slave of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him; thus, a man from Quraish said to him, “You leave Quraish and sit with a slave of the clan of Adiy?” He said: “Indeed a man sits where he benefits”. (4) (Footnote a)

Ali Ibn Al-Husayn Bin Ali Bin Abee Talib, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A man does not say something good about another man which he has no knowledge of, except that he will soon say something evil about him which he has no knowledge of”. (5)

Imam Hammad Bin Zayd, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: I said to Ayyoub As-Sakhtiyaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him, “Is there more knowledge today or in the past?” He said: “There is more speech today and more knowledge in the past”. (6)

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Footnote a: I have met the Mashayikh – https://salafidawahmanchester.com/2025/02/17/i-have-met-the-mashayikh/

(1) Tarikh Baghdad: 9/66

(2) Akhlaq Al-Ulamaa’ by Imam Al-Aajurree. Page: 44

(3) Reported by Imaam Daarimi 385

(4) At-Tabaqaat Al-Kubra 5/111

(5) Tarikh Dimashq 44/179

(6) Al-Fawaa-id page 104