Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 37150 — The words of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Ukaym, who said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon to us and said: To proceed: I advise you to fear Allah Almighty. And I advise you to praise Allah as He deserves to be praised, to keep fear mingled with longing, and to combine earnest persistence with your asking. For Allah Almighty praised Zakariyya and his household, saying: "Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and call upon Us in longing and in fear, and they were humbly submissive to Us." [Al-Anbiya: 90] Then know this, O servants of Allah: Allah Almighty has taken your souls in pledge for His right, and has taken firm covenants from you upon that. And Allah Almighty has bought from you the small thing that perishes in exchange for the abundant thing that remains. This is the Book of Allah among you. Its wonders do not end and its light does not go out. So affirm the truth of His word, take counsel from His Book, and seek insight from it for the Day of Darkness. Allah Almighty created you only for worship, and He has appointed over you the Noble Recorders (Kiraman Katibin). They know what you do. Then know this, O servants of Allah: you pass your mornings and evenings within a term whose knowledge has been kept hidden from you. If you are able to have your terms end while you are engaged in the work of Allah, then do so. And you cannot do this except by the enabling grace of Allah. So hasten during the remaining moments of your respite, before your lifespans are completed and you are returned to your evil deeds. Some people have given over their time to others and forgotten their own souls, but I forbid you from becoming like them. So hurry! So hurry! Seek salvation! Seek salvation! For behind you is a swift pursuer whose passing is very quick.