Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 3128 — Beneficial counsels

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ka'b al-Qurazi that he said: I saw Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) when he was our governor in Madinah in the time of al-Walid bin Abd al-Malik; at that time he was an attractive, healthy young man with a full body. Then, when he assumed the office of caliph and bore the burden of the responsibilities of government and concern for his subjects that he bore, his condition changed completely. I began to look at him (in astonishment) and could not take my eyes off him. He asked me: "O Ibn Ka'b! Are you looking at me (intently) in a way you never looked at me before?" I said: "I am astonished at your condition." He asked: "What astonishes you?" I said: "The change in your complexion, the falling out of your hair, and the withering and thinning of your body." He said: "Then how will you be when you see me in the grave three days after my death, when both my eyes will have flowed down onto my face, and pus and worms will be flowing from my nostrils and mouth? Will you not then find me even more strange and unrecognisable? Well, now repeat to me the hadith that you narrated to me on the authority of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)." Muhammad bin Ka'b said: I said: Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated to me, and he traced this hadith back (marfu') to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, everything has a nobility (rank), and the most elevated of gatherings is that in which one faces the qiblah; the talk of a gathering is a trust; kill the snake and the scorpion even if you are in your prayer; whoever would like to be the most honoured of people, let him have taqwa of Allah Almighty; whoever wishes to be the strongest of people, let him rely upon Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; and whoever wishes to be the richest (most self-sufficient) of people, let him have more trust in what is in the hand (power) of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, than in what is in his own hand. Shall I not inform you of the worst among you?" The Companions said: "Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who camps alone (sharing with no one), withholds his gift, and beats his subordinate. Shall I not inform you of one even worse than this?" They said: "Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who hates people and whom people hate. Shall I not tell you of a man even worse than this?" They said: "Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who neither overlooks anyone's slip, nor accepts anyone's excuse, nor forgives anyone's sin. Shall I not inform you of one even worse than this?" They said: "Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one from whom no good is hoped and from whose evil no one is safe. Indeed, Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) stood among his people and said: 'O Children of Israel! Do not speak words of wisdom before the foolish and ignorant, or you will wrong wisdom (by wasting it); do not withhold wisdom from those worthy of it, or you will wrong them; do not wrong anyone yourselves, and do not repay a wrongdoer with wrongdoing, or your merit and excellence with your Lord will be nullified. O Children of Israel! Matters are of three kinds: a matter whose rightness and good are clear, so follow it; a matter whose error is evident, so avoid it; and a matter about which there is disagreement, so refer it to the one who knows it (the scholar).'"
Imam al-Harith also narrated it in the same way from Surayj bin Yunus, from Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Samad, from Abu al-Miqdam, from Muhammad bin Ka'b. I (Ibn Hajar) say: The opening parts of this hadith are also found in the books of Sunan.