Reports on weeping out of fear of Allah

Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the Day of Resurrection the people of affliction will wish that their bodies had been cut with scissors.

Hisham (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father: When Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) became caliph, people's lower garments were nothing but plain sheets, and their upper wraps too were nothing but striped sheets. One of them would say to another: "My sheet is better than your sheet."

Abu Qatadah al-Adawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Hold fast to the company of this Shaykh, meaning al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), for I have not seen anyone whose opinion more closely resembles the opinion of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) than his.

Mutarrif (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I do not say amin to anyone's supplication without first hearing it, except the supplication of al-Hasan al-Basri.

Thabit (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to be unkempt in his appearance, while Sayyiduna A'idh bin Amr al-Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wear fine clothes. A man came to one of them and said: Do you not see your other brother, who wears such and such clothes and turns away from your manner of dress? He replied: Who could be like him? He has this and that merit, and he holds this and that rank. Then the man went to the other, and he too gave the same answer as the first.

Sayyidah Asma bint Yazid (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Greatest Name of Allah is in these two verses: "And your deity is one deity; there is no deity except Him, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" [Al-Baqarah: 163], and this verse at the opening of Surah Al Imran: "Alif Lam Mim. Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Al Imran: 1-2].

Abdullah bin Buraydah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man supplicating with this prayer: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-annaka anta Allahu al-Ahadu al-Samadu alladhi lam yalid wa lam yulad wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad' (O Allah, I ask You, for You are Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient, who does not beget and was not begotten, and to whom no one is equal). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You have supplicated Allah Almighty by that Greatest Name of His: if He is supplicated by it He answers, and if He is asked by it He gives.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man supplicating with these words: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-anna laka al-hamd, la ilaha illa anta wahdaka la sharika lak, al-Mannanu badi'u al-samawati wal-ard, dhu al-jalali wal-ikram' (O Allah, I ask You, for to You belongs all praise; there is no deity but You alone, You have no partner, the Bestower, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Possessor of majesty and honour). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You have supplicated by the Greatest Name: when He is asked by it He gives, and when He is supplicated by it He answers.

It is narrated from Ibn Sabit (may Allah have mercy on him) that someone supplicated in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this way: 'Inni as'aluka bismika alladhi la ilaha illa anta al-Rahmanu al-Rahim, badi'u al-samawati wal-ard, wa idha aradta amran fa-innama taqulu lahu kun fa-yakun' (I ask You by Your Name, there is no deity but You, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Originator of the heavens and the earth; and when You intend a matter, You only say to it: Be, and it is). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You nearly, or he said: This man nearly, supplicated by the Greatest Name.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is "Rabb, Rabb" (Lord, Lord).

Abd al-Malik bin Umayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man recited Surah Al-Baqarah and Al Imran, whereupon Ka'b said: This person has recited two surahs in which there is a Name such that if supplication is made by it, it is answered.

Jabir bin Zayd said: The Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is "Allah".

Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is "Allah". Then he recited, or I recited in his presence, from "He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner" [Al-Hashr: 24] to the end of the surah.

Damrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Abu Rayhanah (may Allah be pleased with him) once passed by Hims while its inhabitants were dividing it among themselves. He heard a commotion and asked: What is this commotion? He was told: It is Hims, which its inhabitants are dividing among themselves. So he prayed: O Allah, do not make it a trial for them. He kept repeating this, until it was not known when his voice ceased.

Damrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Abu Rayhanah (may Allah be pleased with him) was posted on garrison duty in al-Jazirah, at Mayyafariqin. He bought a rope there for a few coins from a Nabataean, one of its inhabitants. When he was returning and they had reached al-Rastan, he got down from his mount and said to his slave: Did you pay that Nabataean his coins? He replied: No. So he took out some spending money from his provisions, gave it to his slave, and said to his companions: Help him well with his mounts until I reach my family. They asked: O Abu Rayhanah, what do you intend? He replied: I intend to go to my creditor and discharge my trust. So he set off until he reached Mayyafariqin, and he came to his family only after he had paid his creditor.

Al-Hasan said concerning "No! But they do not fear the Hereafter" [Al-Muddaththir: 53]: This is what disgraced them.

Malik bin Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) about the explanation of the saying of Allah, "If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease do not desist" [Al-Ahzab: 60]. He replied: What is meant by them is the fornicators.

It is reported from al-Hasan, concerning the explanation of the saying of Allah Almighty, "He knows you best, since He produced you from the earth and since you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers" [Al-Najm: 32]: Allah Almighty knows about every soul what it will do, what it will work at, and what its final abode will be.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Deliberateness is better in every matter, except in those matters connected with the Hereafter.

Al-Harith bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When you are occupied with some worldly task, finish it off quickly; and when you are occupied with some task of the Hereafter, take your time over it as much as you can. And when Satan comes to you during prayer and says: You are showing off, then pray more and make it longer.

It is reported about al-Rabi' bin Khuthaym (may Allah have mercy on him) that a beggar came to him, and he said: Give him sugar. His family said: What will he do with sugar? He replied: I will do something with it.

Maymun said: It reached me that one of the sons of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) asked him for a waist-wrap to wear. They mentioned a waist-wrap, and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Cut it and wear it. The young man disliked this, so Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Woe to you! See that you do not become one of those people who put what Allah has provided them into their bellies and onto their backs.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Woe once to the one who does not know, and woe six times to the one who knows and does not act.

Wahb bin Munabbih said: We have read in the Book sent down by Allah Almighty: "People who make a show of religion without worship, hunting the world by means of the deeds of the Hereafter. They wear garments of sheepskin while their hearts are like the hearts of wolves. Their tongues are sweeter than honey while their hearts are more bitter than aloes. Is it Me that they try to deceive, and Me that they try to trick? I swear that I will send upon them such a trial that even the forbearing among them will be left bewildered."

Maymun (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man cannot become pious until he takes account of himself as he takes account of his business partner, to the point of knowing the sources of his food, his drink and his clothing.

Musa bin Abdullah bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) reports about his father that he prayed more than other people and fasted only on the day of Ashura.

Salamah bin Nubayt (may Allah have mercy on him) said: My father said: O my son, get up and pray in the time before dawn. If you do not have the strength for this, then never leave the two rak'ahs of Fajr.

Yazid bin Hayyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When Anbas bin Uqbah al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) (that is, of Taym al-Rabab) prostrated, the sparrows would settle on his back and come down from it; the sparrows took him to be nothing but a piece of a wall.

It is reported from al-Rabi' bin Khuthaym (may Allah have mercy on him), concerning the explanation of the saying of Allah Almighty, "And whoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him" [Al-Talaq: 2]: From every path that is difficult for people.

Sa'id bin Jubayr said concerning the saying of Allah, "Is one who is devoutly obedient during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter" [Al-Zumar: 9]: He fears the punishment of the Hereafter.

It is reported from Sa'id bin Jubayr or al-Hasan, concerning the explanation of the saying of Allah, "The greatest terror will not grieve them" [Al-Anbiya: 103]: When they are covered over by the Fire.

Abu Bakr al-Zubaydi (may Allah have mercy on him) reports that his father said: I have not seen any tribe that stays in the mosques more than the Thawris and the Uranis.

Al-Hasan said: O son of Adam! You see the speck in your brother's eye, yet you overlook the beam lying across your own eye.

Al-Hasan said: People used to say: The tongue of the wise man is behind his heart (under its control). When he intends to speak, he consults his heart: if it is to his benefit he speaks, and if it is to his harm he stays silent. And the heart of the ignorant man is at the tip of his tongue: he does not consult his heart, and whatever comes to his mouth he says.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever makes himself chase after what he sees with people, his grief grows long and his anger does not subside.

Abu Hamzah said: I said to Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Farqad al-Sabakhi does not eat meat, nor does he eat such and such things. He said: The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were better than him, and they used to eat meat and clarified butter and such and such things as well.

Al-Hasan said: O son of Adam! You will be taken to account only for what you committed deliberately.

Al-Hasan said: Allah Almighty gave the people of a certain town such abundance that they began to clean themselves after relieving themselves with bread. Then Allah Almighty set hunger upon them, until they began to eat what they used to void.

Al-Hasan said: A man often used to come to the door of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), so Sayyiduna Umar said to him: Go and learn the Book of Allah. Al-Hasan said: The man went away and Sayyiduna Umar missed him. Then he met Sayyiduna Umar once, and it was as though Sayyiduna Umar reproached him. He replied: I have found in the Book of Allah what has made me independent of the door of Umar.

Al-Hasan said: A person remains in goodness so long as he does not commit a major sin that corrupts his mind and heart.