> 10 Quotes from the Salaf

[Ibn Al Akwa]

These are collected in al-Ghazzali?s ?Ihya? ?Ulum ad-Din? (2/195 onwards):

1 - ?Umar bin al-Khattab said:

?If one of you is blessed with affection from his brother, he should hold onto that as tightly as possible, as it is quite rare for one to be blessed with this.?

2 - ?Umar also said:

?Nobody is given anything besides his Islam better than a righteous friend.?

3 - ?Ali bin Abi Talib said:

?Tend to your brothers, as they are your sustenance in this world and the next. Do you not hear the saying of the people of Hell: {?Now, we have neither intercessors nor close friends to help us!?} [ash-Shu'ara'; 100-1]??

4 - ?Abdullah bin ?Umar said:

?By Allah, if I fasted all day without eating, prayed all night without sleeping, spent all of my wealth in the Path of Allah, died the day I died, but had no love in my heart for those who obey Allah, and no hatred in my heart for those who disobey Allah, none of this would benefit me in the least.?

5 - ?Abdullah bin Mas?ud said:

?If a man were to stand for seventy years worshipping Allah between the Yemeni Corner and the Maqam of Ibrahim (at the Ka?bah), he would still be resurrected on the Day of Judgement with those whom he loved.?

6 - Ibn as-Sammak said, on his deathbed:

?O Allah! You Know that, even if I had disobeyed You, I loved those who obeyed You! So, make this for me a means of nearness to You!?

7 - Mujahid said:

?Those who love each other for Allah?s Sake, when they smile at each other, their sins fall from each other, just as the leaves fall from a tree before the winter.?

8 - al-Ghazali said, commenting on the saying of the Prophet: ?The strongest bond of faith is to love for Allah and to hate for Allah?:

?Because of this, it is a must that a person have those that he hates for Allah?s Sake, just as he has friends and brothers that he loves for Allah?s Sake.?

9 - Abu Hurayrah said:

?The slave will be brought between the Hands of Allah - the Exalted - on the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will Say to him: ?Did you love one of my awliya?, so that I can join you with him???

10 - al-Hasan al-Basri said:

?Being harsh against a fasiq brings you closer to Allah - the Exalted.?