Mutarrif bin al-Shikhkhir

It is narrated from Abu Ghaylan, who said: Mutarrif Ibn al-Shikhkhir used to make this supplication: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evil of the ruler, and from the evil of what their pens run upon. I seek refuge in You from speaking a truth by which I seek anything other than obedience to You. I seek refuge in You from adorning myself before people with something that disfigures me in Your sight. I seek refuge in You from seeking help through disobedience to You because of some hardship that has come upon me. I seek refuge in You from Your making me a lesson for anyone among Your creation. I seek refuge in You from Your making anyone more fortunate than me through the knowledge I have acquired. O Allah, do not disgrace me, for You know me. O Allah, do not punish me, for You have power over me."

Ghaylan bin Jarir says that he heard Mutarrif say: "(It seems) as though the hearts are not ours, and as though the hadith is aimed at someone other than us."

Ghaylan reports: I heard Mutarrif say: "If a messenger from my Lord came to me and gave me the choice of going to Paradise, going to Hell or becoming dust, I would prefer to become dust."

It is narrated from Mutarrif that he said regarding: "Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer" [Fatir: 29] to the end. He said: "This is the verse of the Qur'an reciters."

It is narrated from Thabit, who said: Mutarrif said: "Every one of the people is foolish in his dealings between himself and his Lord, but the foolishness of some is of a lesser degree than that of others."

It is narrated from Thabit, who said: Mutarrif used to say: "O Allah, accept from me the prayer of one day. O Allah, accept from me the fast of one day. O Allah, write a good deed for me." Then he would (recite): "Indeed, Allah accepts only the deeds of the God-fearing."

Mutarrif bin Abdullah said: "If I had two souls, I would send one of them ahead of the other. If it arrived at good, I would make the other follow it; otherwise I would hold the other back. But there is only one soul, and I do not know whether it will arrive at good or at evil."

Thabit reports that Mutarrif said: "If the hope and the fear of a believer were weighed, neither of them would outweigh the other."

Muhammad bin Wasi' al-Azdi reports: I was sitting in a circle in which al-Hasan, Mutarrif and so-and-so and so-and-so (Muhammad bin Wasi' mentioned several people) were present. Sa'id bin Abu al-Hasan spoke. The narrator said: Then he supplicated, saying in his supplication: "O Allah, be pleased with us. O Allah, be pleased with us," saying it two or three times. The narrator said: Mutarrif was sitting at the edge of the circle, and he said: "O Allah, if You are not pleased with us, then pardon us." The narrator said: At these words all the people wept.

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "They were people, they were apes, and they were people who had been dipped in the water of human beings."

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "The intellects of people are in proportion to their times."

It is narrated from Mutarrif Ibn al-Shikhkhir concerning the saying of Allah: "They used to sleep but little of the night" [Al-Dhariyat: 17], that he said: "Rarely does a night come upon them in which they sleep."

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "The best of matters are those of moderation."

Thabit reports about Mutarrif that he set out from his settlement. The narrator said: He began travelling at night, and his whip lit up for him.

It is narrated from Thabit that Mutarrif said: "If the whole world were mine, and Allah Almighty then took it from me in exchange for a sip of water that He would give me to drink on the Day of Resurrection, I would indeed have received the price (of my world)."

It is narrated from Thabit, who said: We were with Mutarrif, and we remembered Allah and supplicated to Him. Then he said: "By Allah, if this is among what was decreed for you beforehand in the Remembrance, then Allah has indeed intended good for you. And if it is among what newly comes about in the night and the day, then too Allah has intended good for you. Whichever of these it is, praise Allah for it."

It is narrated from Thabit, who said: Mutarrif used to say: "Indeed, the hadith and the oath are by Allah."

It is narrated from Thabit that Mutarrif used to say: "If good were in the palm of one of us, he would not be able to pour it into his heart until Allah Almighty pours it into his heart."

It is narrated from Thabit that Mutarrif used to say: "If a man sees game, and the game has not seen him, and the hunter lies in ambush, may he not catch the game?" The people said: "Of course." Mutarrif said: "Likewise Satan sees us, but we cannot see him, and so he gets at us."

It is narrated from Thabit that Mutarrif said: "I looked at the beginning of this matter, from whom it is, and that beginning is from Allah Almighty. I looked at upon whom its end will rest, and that too rests upon Allah Almighty. And I reflected on what its milak (mainstay) is, and its mainstay is supplication."

It is narrated from Thabit that Mutarrif Ibn al-Shikhkhir said: "The greatness of Allah should be in your breasts. So let Allah not be mentioned on occasions such as when one of you says to a dog, or to a donkey or a goat: 'May Allah disgrace it.'"

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: We used to say among ourselves that of two men who love one another for the sake of Allah, the better is the one who has the greater love for his companion. He said: When Madh'ur and Amir bin Abdullah were sent into exile, the narrator said: Madh'ur met Mutarrif and began discussing with him. Mutarrif said: I began to say: "My brother, why have you held me back, when the stars have set and the night is passing?" He said: "O Allah, for You." Then he discussed with Mutarrif for another while. Mutarrif again said: "My brother, why have you held me back, when the stars have set and the night is passing?" He said: "O Allah, for You." Then, when morning came, I was told that he had gone. Then I recognised his superiority over me that night.

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "I am in greater need of the congregation than even widows sitting on the hems of their garments."

It is narrated from Thabit, who said: Mutarrif used to say: "People have not been given anything better than intellect."

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: I saw in a dream as though I had gone out intending to attend Friday prayer. I came to the graveyard of the neighbourhood and saw that the people of the graves were sitting. I wanted to greet them and pass on, but they said: "O Abdullah, where are you heading?" I said: "I am heading for Friday prayer." Mutarrif said: Then I asked: "Do you know what Friday is?" They said: "Yes, and we also know what the birds say on that day." Mutarrif said: I asked: "What do the birds say on that day?" They said: "The birds say: Peace, peace, a good day."

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty shows mercy because of the mercy of a sparrow."

Thabit says: I heard Mutarrif say: "I do not pass by the people of any gathering among whom someone is saying something good about me." He said: "And it then sinks into my heart."

It is narrated from Mutarrif, who said: "Indeed, this death has spoiled their blessings for the people of blessings. So seek (from Allah) a blessing in which there is no death."

Al-Mu'alla bin Ziyad reports that Muwarriq al-Ijli said: "There is a thing I have been seeking for ten years, but I have not managed to attain it, and I will not abandon seeking it." Al-Mu'alla asked: "O Abu al-Mu'tamir, what is it?" Muwarriq said: "Silence from useless speech."

It is narrated from Hafsah bint Sirin, who said: Muwarriq used to visit us. One day he came to see us and gave the greeting of peace, and I returned his greeting. She said: Then he asked me about some things and I asked him about some things. I asked: "How is your household? And how are your children?" He answered: "They are very many." I said: "Then praise your Lord." He said: "By Allah, I fear that they may hold me back upon destruction."

It is narrated from Ja'far bin Sulayman, who said: Some of our companions told us that Muwarriq al-Ijli used to trade and acquire wealth, but not a single Friday would pass with any of that wealth remaining with him. The narrator said: When he met one of his brothers, he would give him four hundred, five hundred or three hundred, saying: "Keep this with you for us until we need it." Later, when he met him, he would say: "Take this for yourself." The other man would say: "I have no need of it." He would then say: "By Allah, we will never take this money back. Take it for yourself."

It is narrated from Qatadah, who said: Muwarriq al-Ijli said: "I have seen the likeness of the believer in this world as that of a man sitting on a plank in the sea, saying: 'O Allah, O Allah,' in the hope that Allah Almighty may save him."

It is narrated from Muwarriq, who said: "The one who holds fast to obedience to Allah when people shrink from it in cowardice is like one who charges again after flight."

It is narrated from Asim al-Ahwal, who said: I heard Muwarriq al-Ijli say: "I have not seen any man better in understanding within his piety and in piety within his understanding than Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him)."

It is narrated from Muwarriq, who said: "The people's talk used to be by way of indirect allusion."