The words of Abu Razin

It is narrated from Abu Razin concerning the saying of Allah, "And purify your garments" [Al-Muddaththir: 4], that he said: "Put your deeds right." So when a man is of good deeds, it is said: "So-and-so is tahir al-thiyab (one of pure garments)."

It is narrated from Mujahid and Abu Razin concerning "and they are kept in order" [Al-Naml: 17] that they both said: "The first of them will be held back for the last of them."

It is narrated from Abu Razin concerning the saying of Allah, "So let them laugh a little and weep much" [Al-Tawbah: 82], that he said: Allah Almighty says: "This world is little, so laugh in it as much as you wish. Then when they return to the Hereafter, they will weep with a weeping that never ends. That is the much."

It is narrated from Abu Razin concerning the saying of Allah, "Indeed, it is one of the greatest things, a warning to mankind" [Al-Muddaththir: 35-36], that he said: Allah Almighty says: "I am a warner to you from Hell."

It is narrated from Abu Razin concerning "Scorching the skin" [Al-Muddaththir: 29] that he said: It will scorch his skin until it leaves it far blacker than the night.

It is narrated from Abu Razin that he said: Al-ghassaq is what flows from their pus.

It is narrated from al-A'mash that he said: I heard people saying that Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid never did any deed except that by it he sought the pleasure of Allah.

It is narrated about Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid that he used to recite the Qur'an in seven days.

It is narrated from Ziyad bin Hudayr that he said: People who do not attain piety (taqwa) do not attain understanding of the religion.

Ziyad bin Hudayr said: "I would love to be inside an enclosure of iron (a cage or the like) with the things I need beside me, neither speaking to people nor having people speak to me."

It is narrated from al-Harith bin Qays that he said: When you are engaged in some worldly affair, hurry; and when you are engaged in some matter of the Hereafter, stay as long as you can. And when you are praying and Satan comes to you and says: "You are showing off," then (all the same) make your prayer even longer.

It is narrated from al-A'mash that he said: Khaythamah said: "You and Ibrahim sit in the mosque and a crowd gathers around you, whereas I saw al-Harith bin Qays: when two men gathered with him, he would get up and leave them."

It is narrated from Abu al-Ahwas that he said: A man would knock at the tent. The narrator said: And he would find from them a humming like the humming of bees. What is the matter with these people, that they feel safe about what those people feared?

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Rabi'ah that he said: Sayyiduna Utbah bin Farqad (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Abdullah bin Rabi'ah: "O Abdullah, will you not help me with your nephew?" He said: "What help is that?" He said: "That he help me in the work I am engaged in." So Abdullah said to him: "O Amr, obey your father." The narrator said: Then he looked at Mi'dad, who was also sitting there, and he said: "Do not obey him, and prostrate and draw near" [Al-Alaq: 19]. The narrator said: At this Amr said: "O my father, I am only a slave working to free his neck." The narrator said: At this Utbah wept and said: "O my son, I love you with two loves: a love for the sake of Allah, and the love of a father for his son." The narrator said: Then Amr said: "O my father, you brought me wealth amounting to seventy thousand. If you are asking me about that wealth, here it is; take it. Otherwise, leave me to spend it." Utbah said to him: "Spend it." The narrator said: Then he spent it in such a way that not a single dirham of it remained.

Umarah said: We set out for Makkah, and some of the family of Shurayh were with us. So Shurayh came out with us to see us off, and said (among his words was this): "Exert yourselves in travelling, for your riders will not avail you anything against Allah. And a man loses nothing of this world more lightly than what he himself chooses to give up." Umarah said: I remembered his words and benefited from them.

Muhammad bin Fudayl narrates from his father that he said: I heard Mahan al-Hanafi saying: "Is any one of you not ashamed that his riding animal or the garment he wears should remember Allah more than he does?" Mahan never slackened in the takbir and the tahlil.

It is narrated from Ibrahim that he said: I saw Mahan al-Hanafi when al-Hajjaj had ordered that he be crucified at his own door. The narrator said: I saw him while he was on the wood, occupied in glorifying Allah, declaring His greatness, declaring His oneness, and praising Him, until when he reached twenty-nine he indicated it with his hand, and in that very state he was struck with a spear. Then, a month later, I saw him still showing the number twenty-nine with his hand. The narrator said: A light used to be seen near him at night.