Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Wahb bin Munabbih that he said: A man passed by a monk and asked, "O monk! How do you remember death?" The monk replied, "Whenever I take a step or lift my foot, I consider myself already dead." The man asked, "How is your state of enthusiasm?" The monk said, "I do not think that any person who hears about Paradise and Hell, even for a moment, would let an hour pass without praying." Upon this, the man said, "I also pray and weep so much that greenery grows from my tears." The monk said, "If you laugh while confessing your sins before Allah, this act is better than weeping while being proud of your deeds. Surely, the prayer of the arrogant does not rise above his head." Then the man said, "Advise me." The monk said, "Adopt indifference towards the world, do not snatch the world from the people of the world, and be like the honeybee: if it eats, it eats what is pure; if it produces, it produces what is pure; and if it lands on something, it neither harms nor breaks it. And have such goodwill for Allah as a dog has for its master: they keep it hungry and beat it, yet it continues to show goodwill and protect them."

It is narrated from Hazrat Ja'far bin Burqan that he said: It has reached me that Hazrat Ibn Munabbih used to say: The greatest aid to religion among morals is lack of desire for the world. And the most inferior thing for religion is following desires. And following desires leads to inclination towards the world, and inclination towards the world leads to love of wealth and status, and love of wealth and status leads to considering the unlawful as lawful, and considering the unlawful as lawful causes Allah Almighty to be displeased. And the wrath of Allah is such a disease for which there is no cure except the pleasure of Allah. This is such a cure that with it, no disease can harm. Whoever wants to please his Lord should displease his own self, and whoever does not displease his own self cannot please his Lord. If a person abandons something in religion that feels burdensome, it is likely that nothing will remain with him.

It is narrated from Hazrat Qasim bin Abu Bazah that he says: I heard Ibn Munabbih say that we found in the (previous) scriptures that Allah Almighty says: O son of Adam! As long as you worship Me and have hope in Me, no matter how you are, I will forgive you, and it is incumbent upon Me that I do not misguide My servant who is eager for guidance. I am the Commander.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Munabbih, he says: The person who supplicates without acting is like the one who shoots an arrow without a bow.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Munabbih that he says Allah Almighty revealed to Hazrat Uzair: O Uzair! Do not swear a false oath by Me, because whoever swears a false oath by Me, I am not pleased with him. O Uzair! Obey your parents, because whoever obeys his parents, I am pleased with him, and when I am pleased, I grant blessings, and when I grant blessings, they reach up to the fourth generation. O Uzair! Do not disobey your parents, because whoever disobeys his parents, I become displeased with him, and when I am displeased, I curse, and when I curse, it reaches up to the fourth generation.

It is narrated from Wahb bin Munabbih. He says that Dawud (David) said: O Lord! Under every hair of Adam's son there is a blessing from You, and above it there is also a blessing. So how will he repay You for Your gifts? The narrator says: Upon this, Allah revealed to Dawud: Surely, I give abundantly and am pleased with little. The gratitude for My blessings is that it should be known that whatever blessing there is, it is from Me.

It is narrated from Hazrat Wahb bin Munabbih that he says: Allah Almighty gave Musa such a light that was fire for others. The narrator says, then Musa called Hazrat Harun and said: Indeed, Allah Almighty has granted me such a light that is fire for others. And Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) had gifted this to me, and I am gifting it to both of you. The narrator says: Thus, both sons of Hazrat Harun used to offer sacrifices for the Children of Israel. The narrator says: Then both of them introduced something new, so fire descended and burned them. The narrator says: Then it was said to them: O Musa and Harun! Whoever among My obedient servants disobeys Me, I deal with him in this way. So then, how should I deal with those who are disobedient among My disobedient ones?

It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Munabbih. He says that among the people before you there was a man who worshipped Allah for a long time. Then he asked Allah for a need, and he fasted for sixty weeks for Allah. Every week he ate eleven times. The narrator says: He asked Allah for a need, but Allah did not grant him that need. So he turned to his own self and said, "O self! It is because of you that I am given. If there had been any good in you, your need would have been granted to you. But there is no good in you." The narrator says: At that very moment, an angel descended and said to that man, "O son of Adam! This moment in which you reproached your own self is better than all your previous worship. Indeed, Allah has granted you your need."

It is narrated about Hazrat Ibn Munabbih that he was sitting with Tawus and others like him and the people of that time. They began to discuss among themselves: which command of Allah was the swiftest? Some of them said: the word of Allah "like the twinkling of an eye" (__QUR_N__), and some said: the throne when it was brought to Hazrat Sulaiman (__XREF_N__). Upon this, Hazrat Ibn Munabbih said: The swiftest among the commands of Allah was when Hazrat Yunus was at the edge of the boat, and Allah commanded the fish of the Nile in Egypt (__REF_N__). Ibn Munabbih says: So he fell from the edge of the boat into the belly of the fish.

It is narrated from Hazrat Wahb bin Munabbih that he says: On the day when Musa (peace be upon him) supplicated to his Lord near the tree, he was wearing a woolen cloak, a woolen garment, and a woolen cap.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Awf. He says that Hazrat Ibn Munabbih said: Among the traits of a hypocrite is that he likes praise and dislikes criticism.