Virtues of the righteous
Virtues of the righteous
Examples of the scrupulousness of righteous predecessors
Below are provided a few stories which were told by righteous predecessors about abstinence and scrupulousness in the observance of the prescriptions of religion.
1. It is transmitted that, “Hasan ibn Abu Sannan did not sleep lying down, did not eat fatty foods and did not drink cold water.”
2. Al-Harith al-Muhasibi's father was a follower of the Qadarites [1]. When his father died, al-Harith out of scrupulousness for his religion refused his inheritance. This was because of the prohibition of inheritance between Muslims and others, as according to a hadith, «Representatives of two different religions do not receive inheritance from one other.»
3. Abu `Ali ad-Dhaqqaq said, “Whenever al-Harith al-Muhasibi stretched his hand toward any food of suspicious origin, a vein in his fingertip would begin to throb and he would know that it was not permissible for him. Once, Junaid al-Baghdadi brought al-Harith food from a relative's wedding feast. However, al-Harith refused it. But when, after a few days, they presented him with dry pieces of bread, he ate them and said, «When you bring food to a murid, it is better like this.»
4. Hamdun al-Qassar was attending to a friend at his last moment. After his death, Hamdun put out the oil lamp. Someone asked him about this. He answered, ‘Until this moment the oil has belonged to him, but now it belongs to his heirs.”
5. Imam ash-Sha`rani said, «Vows were taken from us that we would not allow servants to enter our families, even if they were deprived of passions (that is, were eunuchs).»
Righteous predecessors preferred the abstention of luxury in food, drink, clothing and housing. On this basis, the ruler of the faithful, `Umar ibn al-Khattab , forbade his son to partake of two different dishes at the same time, if one of them was enough to satisfy his hunger, and ordered him to give away for charity everything beyond the necessary.
CHAPTER 18. RETREATING FROM PEOPLE
The harm of excessive mingling with people
Know that seclusion (retreat) (khalwat) is abstaining from mingling with people, even when one is among them. Seclusion (`uzlat) is distancing oneself from state officials by rejecting avaricious temptations for the material values which they hold and also distancing oneself from the wishful dreams and passions of the nafs due to scrupulousness] (wara`).
It is transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “Safety is in solitude and affliction is between two people. May your bodies be with people and your hearts with Allah.” He ﷺ also said, «I have a special time for abiding with Allah, in which there is no place either for an angel close to Allah or a sent prophet.» They say that this is the time of solitude.
Know that whoever mixes a lot with people does not covet the sweetness of worship. It is feared that whoever loves the world excessively will have a bad end. And for whoever chooses the company of the oppressor, do not hope that there be in him the integrity of religion. Whoever seeks the satisfaction of people rarely finds the satisfaction of Almighty Allah.
The most beneficial actions for a servant are: perpetual quietude; staying at home and withdrawing from people - not for reasons of arrogance and pride but through considering oneself unworthy of appearing amongst people and the conviction that you can bear them the same harm as a snapping dog.
There is no doubt that no one will escape from committing sins when consorting with people. Even if a person can save his tongue from the sinful, he will certainly hear the sinful. And the listener is an accomplice of the speaker in sin.
It is said that Junaid al-Baghdadi said, “Whoever wants his religion to remain intact and his body calm, let him withdraw from people. Truly this is a time when a rational person is seized with fear and anxiety, except for whoever has chosen solitude for himself.”
CHAPTER 19. MODESTY AND HUMILITY
The essence of modesty and humility
Modesty (tawadu`) is complete surrender to the will of Almighty and forswearing objection to God’s decree. Humility (khushu ) is the state when the heart’s whole attention is concentrated on the thought of Almighty Allah.
It is also said that humility is the abasement of your heart before the One Who knows that which is hidden, and it is also said that humility is a feebleness that enters upon the heart when one contemplates (one’s) Lord. The Almighty said (meaning), “The servants of the All-Merciful are those who walk the earth modestly and when the ignorant address them (with bad words) they respond with mild words of gentleness.” (Sura Al-Furqan, ayah 63) That is (they walk) in submissiveness and humility, with serenity and modesty, and if the ignorant address them, they respond to them with an answer in which they are safe from falling into sin.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the following, «The Almighty has sent me down a revelation, that you should behave with modesty so that no one displays arrogance and oppresses anyone»; “Sufficient evil for a son of Adam is in their pointing their fingers at him on account of his religion or worldly life, excepting one who Almighty Allah protects.”; “There are three destructive qualities which result in a person’s perdition: miserliness, pursuit of passions and self-admiration» and “No one in whose heart there is a grain of pride will ever enter Paradise; and no one in whose heart there is a grain of faith will ever enter hellfire.”
Abu Yazid al-Bastami said he heard a secret voice, “O Abu Yazid, the repositories of the Almighty are overflowing with worship. If you want to attain knowledge of the Almighty, show your need for the Lord [2] and your self-abasement.”
Signs of modesty
Know that arrogance is non-acceptance of truth, disdain for people and contempt for them. And the signs of humility are the abidance to the truth, being compassionate and gentle toward your fellow creatures, as well as the acceptance of the truth no matter from whence it may come. To humility also belongs the abandonment of distinctions in serving people, the recognition that no one has need of you either in the affairs of this world or in the affairs of eternal life, and when he sees neither a state nor a station for himself (in this world) and considers none among mankind worse than himself.
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[1] This was a misled group which asserted that the predestination of Almighty Allah is rather a person’s own doing, i.e. a person himself is the creator of his deeds and not the Almighty. It appeared during the Umayyad Caliphate.
[2] Perhaps the purport of these words is that there have been many muridin who have come to Almighty Allah by worship: fasting, prayer and charitable donations. However, a few of them have come to Him through self-abasement and humility.
