The words of Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them)

Khaythamah said: Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) said: "We have tried every kind of life, that of comfort and ease and that of hardship and pain, and what we have found is that (whatever state we are in) one can get by even in a state leaner than that."

Khaythamah said: The Angel of Death came to Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both), and he (peace be upon him) was on terms of friendship with him. He said to him: "You are strange! You come to one house and take the souls of all its household, yet you leave (safe and sound) the household (of the house) beside them, not taking the soul of even one of them. (What is this about?)" The Angel of Death replied: "I do not know whose soul I am to take. I am simply (standing with hands folded) beneath the Throne, and a slip is dropped towards me with names written on it (of the people whose souls I am to take)."

Khaythamah said: The Angel of Death came to Sulayman (peace be upon him) and began to stare at one of those sitting with him (peace be upon him). When he had gone (from there), that man said: "Who was this?" He (peace be upon him) said: "This was the Angel of Death." He said: "He appeared to me to be glaring at me as though he intended to take me away." He (peace be upon him) asked: "So what do you want?" He said: "I want you to carry me on the shoulders of the wind to the land of India." The narrator said: He (peace be upon him) commanded the wind, and the wind lifted the man and set him down in the land of India. Then the Angel of Death came (again) to Sulayman (peace be upon him), and he (peace be upon him) asked: "(Why) were you staring at one of those sitting with me?" The Angel of Death said: "I was astonished at him, (because) I had been commanded to take his soul in India, and he was (sitting) with you."

Yahya bin Abi Kathir said: Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) said to his son (advising him to take care in dealings): "O my dear son, just as a peg enters between two stones (in a barely noticeable way), so too sin enters between the buyer and the seller (in a barely noticeable way)."

Salaman bin Amir al-Sha'bani said: Consider Sulayman (peace be upon him) and (the splendour of) his kingdom! Yet (the state of his faith) was such that for as long as he lived he did not raise his head towards the sky, out of fear of Allah Almighty.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Because of the awe and majesty of the Prophet Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both), (no one) would even speak to him. The narrator said: So much so that (one evening) the Asr prayer passed him by (unawares), yet no one had the courage to speak to him (and inform him).

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A son of Sulayman (peace be upon him) died, and he (peace be upon him) felt intense grief over it, so much so that its effect was perceived in his person and in his judgments. Then one day, when he came (to his court of judgment), two angels (in the form of men) came before him to have a dispute settled. One of them said: "I sowed seed, and when it had ripened and was ready for harvest, this (other man) passed by and ruined it." He (peace be upon him) asked the other: "What do you say?" He replied: "He speaks the truth. I was going along the road when I came upon his field. I looked right and left, but the road was just that (on which he had grown his field), so I walked on through (his field) itself (and so it was ruined)." (Hearing this,) Sulayman (peace be upon him) asked the first man: "Why did you sow seed on the road? Did you not know that people have to pass along the road?" At this the man replied: "O Sulayman (peace be upon him), (if that is so,) then why do you grieve (so much) over your son, when you know that one day you too will die, and (you also know) that all people are moving on towards the Hereafter?"

It is narrated from Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji that Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) went out with the people to pray (to Allah Almighty) for rain. He passed by an ant lying on its back with its legs raised towards the sky, saying: "O Allah, I too am a (lowly) creature among Your creatures. I am not independent of Your provision. Either give me water to drink or give me death." Sulayman (peace be upon him) immediately said to the people: "Go back, for the supplication of another has obtained rain for you."

Isma'il bin Abi Khalid said: It is said of a certain prophet that he said: "O Allah, do not burden me with seeking that which You have not decreed for me, and let the provision You have decreed for me reach me with ease and well-being. Reform me in the way You reformed the righteous, for (I know that) it is You who reformed the righteous."

It is narrated from Zayd bin Aslam: One of the prophets of Allah Almighty (peace be upon them) said: "Which of Your chosen servants are those who will be beneath the shade of Your Throne (on the Day of Resurrection)?" Allah Almighty said: "They will be those whose hands are free (of oppression) and whose hearts are pure, who love one another because of My majesty; those who, when they are mentioned, I too am mentioned because of them (because of their deep bond with Me), and when I am mentioned, they too are mentioned because of Me (because of My great kindness and compassion towards them). They will be those who complete their ablution despite the discomfort (of the cold); those who are as devoted to My love as a child is devoted to the people (he knows); those who (fearing the heat of sins) take refuge in (the cool shade of) My remembrance as a bird takes refuge in its nest; and those who become enraged when the things I have forbidden are treated as lawful (or committed), as a leopard is enraged when deprived (of its prey)." Or he said: "(As a leopard is enraged) at the time of battle."

Al-Hasan said that the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) said: O Allah Almighty! Grant me such brothers, friends, neighbours and companions who, if (due to the demands of human nature even a slight) heedlessness occurs on my part, will alert me to it, and who, when I am alert, will assist me (in good deeds). And take me under Your protection from such brothers, friends, neighbours and companions who neither alert me to heedlessness nor assist me when I am alert.

Al-Hasan said: The Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) used to say: O Allah! Neither afflict me with an illness that renders me entirely useless, nor grant me such health as makes me heedless (of the truth); rather, grant me a balanced state.

Al-Hasan said: Whenever a trial befell Ayyub (peace be upon him), he (peace be upon him) would say: O Allah! You are the One who takes (who withholds or takes back Your blessings), and You are the One who gives (blessings). For as long as You keep the thread of my breath tied, I will remain thankful to You for Your excellent (manner of) trial.

Thabit al-Bunani said: It has reached us that the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) had apportioned the prayer among his households, among his wives and children. Whether it was any moment of the day or any part of the night, at all times someone from his family would be occupied in prayer. So this verse applies generally to all of them (of his family, who took part in this good deed): O family of Dawud, give thanks (to your Lord), and few of My servants are (truly) thankful.

It is narrated from al-Hasan that the Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) said: O my True Deity! If every single hair of mine had two tongues, and they were occupied day and night in glorifying You, even then they could not fulfil the right (of giving thanks) for even the slightest of Your blessings.

Abu Uthman said: It has reached us that Dawud (peace be upon him) said: O my True Deity! What is the reward for the one whose eyes shed tears out of fear of You? Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: His reward is that I will keep him safe on the day of the Greatest Terror (that is, the Day of Resurrection).