Sayings of Abu Idris

Dirar bin Murrah said: I met al-Dahhak in Khurasan, and at that time I was wearing old clothes. Al-Dahhak said to me: Abu Idris says: A clean heart in dirty clothes is better than a dirty heart in clean clothes.

Abu Idris used to supplicate: "O Allah, make my looking a lesson, my silence reflection, and my speech remembrance."

Abu Muslim al-Khawlani said: People were like a leaf with no thorn on it. Today they are like a thorn with no leaf on it. If you insult them, they will insult you thoroughly; if you point out their faults, they will thoroughly speak ill of you; and if you leave them alone, they will not leave you alone.

Ibn Shihab said: One day I sat in the gathering of Abu Idris al-Khawlani while he was narrating an account. He said: "Shall I not tell you about the man whose food was the purest of all people?" When the people looked at him, he said: "The food of Yahya bin Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was the purest of all people. He used to eat with the wild animals, because he disliked sharing in people's lives with them."

Abu Muslim al-Khawlani said: I have done no deed about which I would care if anyone saw me, except for two: fulfilling my need with my wife, and going to the toilet.

Abu Idris said: Allah Almighty does not tear away the covering of a servant in whose heart there is even an atom's weight of good.

Abu Muslim al-Khawlani said: Four things are not acceptable in four things: the orphan's property, misappropriated war spoils, breach of trust and theft are not acceptable in Hajj, Umrah, jihad and one further thing. (The narrator did not name the fourth thing.)