Disavowing Innovations and Their Adherents The eloquent theologian and skilled debater, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Bishr ibn Ghiyāth al-Marīsī, was a Jahmī and held a prominent position in the state. He was known to drink nabīdh (fermented beverage). Once, he remarked to a man named Kāmil (perfect and complete): “His name itself is proof that the […]
A Word That Said to Its Speaker, ‘Leave Me’The poet, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Jabala ibn Muslim al-Khurasaani, known as al-Akawk. He was born blind and was black with leprosy. Al-Jahiz said: “He was the most beautiful reciter among Allah’s creation.” He is the one who said about Abu Dulaf, the Amir:“The world is Abu […]
The generous Sayyid, the most charitable of his time, the governor of Basra, Muhammad ibn Muhaddith al-Basra, Abbad ibn Abbad ibn Habib ibn al-Amir al-Muhallab ibn Abi Safra al-Azdi al-Muhallabi. Abu al-Ayna said: “Al-Ma’mun said to Muhammad ibn Abbad, ‘I wanted to appoint you, but your extravagance prevented me.’ Muhammad replied, ‘Withholding generosity is a […]
The Trustworthiness of Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, the great Hafiz and Shaykh of Islam, was a partner of Abd al-Salam ibn Harb al-Malaa’i. They ran a shop in Kufa selling fabrics and other goods, as was common among many early scholars who relied on their own earnings for sustenance […]
Types of Laughter Muhammad ibn al-Nu’man ibn Abd al-Salam said: “I have never seen anyone more devout than Yahya ibn Hammad, and I think he never laughed.” I say: Smiling and light laughter are preferable. The absence of laughter among scholars falls into two categories: Excessive laughter leads to being taken lightly, and there is […]
Imaam al-Shafi’i Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-Abbas, the Scholar of the Era, the Defender of Hadith, Abu Abdullah al-Qurashi. From al-Shafi’i, who said: “Seeking knowledge is better than voluntary prayers.” He also said: “What a wretched provision for the Hereafter is wrongdoing against Allah’s servants.” He also said: “The Scholar is wasted when he has […]
The Hadiths of al-Waaqidi His name was Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waaqid al-Aslami, their freed slave, al-Waaqidi, the Madani, the Judge, the Author of Books and Works on Military Expeditions, the Eminent Scholar and Imam, Abu Abdullah, one of the vast repositories of knowledge despite his agreed-upon weakness. He compiled extensively, but he mixed the […]
Adherence to the Sunnah Abdul Majid ibn Imam Abdul Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad, the Scholar, the Pious Exemplar, the Truthful Preserver of Hadith, the Shaykh of the Haram, Abu Abdul Majid al-Makki. Ibn Adi said: “What was generally criticized about him was his leaning toward Irja’ (the doctrine of the Murji’ah).” Harun ibn Abdullah al-Hammal […]
Ali al-Ridha, the Imam, the Sayyid, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Alawi al-Madani. From Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, from his father, who said: “When the world favours a person, it grants them the virtues of others, and when it turns away from them, it strips them of their own virtues.” Al-Sha’bi said: “The most boastful verse ever […]
Upon the authority of Abu Umaamah who said: The Prophet ﷺ saw me and I was moving my lips so he said: “What are you saying Oh Abu Umaamah? I said: “I am remembering Allah” so he said: “Should I not point you towards that which is more abundant than you remembering Allah all night […]
