Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) says that if a person speaks well and his actions are good, accept his words; and if a person speaks well but his actions are bad, then do not accept his words.

Hazrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) says that it is part of hypocrisy for the heart and tongue to differ, for the outward and hidden to differ, and for the inside and outside to differ.

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him), “O Ka’b, tell us something about death.” He replied, “Why not, O Commander of the Faithful! It is like a branch with many thorns, which is inserted into the belly of a person, and every thorn becomes entangled in a vein. Then someone pulls it out forcefully; whatever comes out, comes out, and whatever remains, remains.”

Hazrat Hassan bin Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It has reached me that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will say on the Day of Judgment: O son of Adam! Since We created you, We have remained silent regarding you. So today, you remain silent, and We will recite to you your book of deeds. Whoever sees a good book of deeds should praise Allah, and whoever sees a bad book of deeds should only blame himself. For these are your own books of deeds which We are returning to you.

Hazrat Zumrah, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates that Abu Rayhanah, may Allah have mercy on him, asked his companion from the artillery for permission to go home. He said, "O Abu Rayhanah, when will you return?" He replied, "Either tonight or within one night." Then, when he came, he went to the mosque and kept praying until morning. Then he called for his mount and set off towards the artillery. People said, "O Abu Rayhanah, did you not take permission to go home?" He replied, "My commander gave me permission for only one night. Therefore, I neither lie nor break my promise." The narrator states that he set off towards his artillery and did not go to his family, and at that time Abu Rayhanah's destination was Bayt al-Maqdis.

Hazrat Yahya bin Kathir narrates that Abdullah bin Salam slapped one of his slaves. Upon this, he (Abdullah bin Salam) began to weep and said, "Take retribution from me." But the slave said, "O master! I will not take retribution from you." Then Ibn Salam said, "Allah Almighty will forgive every sin except for a slap on the face."

Hazrat Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) says that every person has a certain status and rank in the beginning. Then, if he shows humility, Allah increases his status, and if he shows arrogance, Allah lowers his status and rank.

It is narrated from Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding the interpretation of Allah Almighty’s statement { مَنْ یَعْمَلْ سُوئًا یُجْزَ بِہِ } that when Allah intends to humiliate someone. But if Allah intends to honor a person, then Allah overlooks his mistakes and grants him a place in Paradise, as Allah has said: { وَعْدَ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِی کَانُوا یُوعَدُونَ }.

Hazrat Abu Salih narrates that Abu Alaa Yazid bin Abdullah bin Al-Shikhir used to faint while reciting the Qur'an.

Hazrat Saeed Jariri (may Allah have mercy on him) says that when Abul Ala would recite the Qur'an, Mutarrif used to say, "Your Mushaf has made us independent of the whole day."

Hazrat Haroon bin Antrah narrates from his father that I asked Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), "Which deed is the best?" He replied, "The remembrance of Allah." He said, "The person whom his deeds hold back, his lineage cannot push him forward."

Hazrat Abdullah bin Abi Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shall I not tell you who is the best in character in this world and the Hereafter? It is the person who forgives the one who has wronged him, gives to the one who has deprived him, maintains ties with the one who has severed relations with him, and whoever likes that his life be prolonged and his deeds increased, then he should fear his Allah and maintain the ties of kinship.

Hazrat Abu Juza (may Allah have mercy on him), in the commentary of the Holy Qur'an verse { یَوْمَ ہُمْ عَلَی النَّارِ یُفْتَنُونَ }, says that "yu'azzaboon" means they will be punished.

Hazrat Abu Al-Jawza (may Allah have mercy on him), in the explanation of Allah Almighty's statement { وَیَخَافُونَ سُوئَ الْحِسَابِ }, says that what is meant by this is scrutiny in deeds.

Hazrat Abu Al-Jawzaa (may Allah have mercy on him) says that moving stones is easier for a hypocrite than reciting the Holy Qur'an, and Saeed (may Allah have mercy on him) says that it is even lighter for a hypocrite.

Hazrat Abu Al-Jawza (may Allah have mercy on him) says in the commentary of this verse of the Holy Qur'an { وَمَا خَلَقْت الْجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ إِلاَّ لِیَعْبُدُونِ مَا أُرِیدُ مِنْہُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ ، وَمَا أُرِیدُ أَنْ یُطْعِمُونَ } that I alone provide them sustenance and feed them, and I have created them only for My worship.

Hazrat Abu Al-Jawza (may Allah have mercy on him), upon reciting the verse of the Holy Qur'an { لَیْسَ لَہُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلاَّ مِنْ ضَرِیعٍ }, said: "How can a person become fat who eats thorns?"

Hazrat Muhammad bin Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Ibrahim bin Maisarah (may Allah have mercy on him) informed that Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) attacked a city. He says that I asked, "Was it the attack on Constantinople?" He replied, "Yes." Then he says that they passed by a storyteller who was saying that when a person performs a deed in the early part of the day, then at the end of the day, his deed is presented before all those who know him in the Hereafter, and when a person performs a deed at the end of the day, then at the beginning of the day, his deed is presented before all those who know him in the Hereafter. So Abu Ayyub said, "Look at what you are saying!" He replied, "I am saying this to both of you." Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed, "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from being disgraced before Ubadah bin Samit and Sa'd bin Ubadah due to the deeds I do after them." He says that the storyteller said, "By Allah, when Allah writes friendship for someone, He covers his faults, and then he praised their good deeds."

Hazrat Muslim bin Yasar says that there are two valleys which are wide and their depth is also unknown. People are walking in them. So perform such deeds that you know your salvation lies only in good deeds, and have such manly trust (in Allah) that you know that only that hardship can befall you which Allah has promised you.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said that in every town there are such people because of whom the punishment is lifted from the inhabitants of that town, and I hope that Abu Wa'il is among them.

Hazrat Yahya bin Jazar (may Allah have mercy on him) says in the commentary of the Holy Qur’an verse {إِذَا القوا مِنْہَا مَکَانًا ضَیِّقًا } that just as the lower part of a spear is narrow for the upper part.

Hazrat Muslim bin Yasar says that if you ask a king for something you need, you will also like to bow before him for it.

Hazrat Alaa bin Ziyad Adawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I saw in a dream that I was looking at a middle-aged, one-eyed old woman, and her other eye was just about to come out. And she was adorned with emeralds and many other strange and wonderful ornaments. I asked, "Who are you?" She replied, "I am the world (dunya)." I said, "I seek refuge with Allah from your evil." She said, "If you like the idea that Allah saves you from my evil, then bear enmity towards the dirham (money)."

Hazrat Muslim bin Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Jabir bin Zaid used to avoid dirhams.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Ayyaz (may Allah have mercy on him) in the commentary of the Holy Qur'an verse { وَنُقَلِّبُہُمْ ذَاتَ الْیَمِینِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ } that it used to be changed twice a year.

Hazrat Asma bint Umais (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me when he was in Abyssinia, and he was crying. So Asma asked, "What happened to you?" He replied, "I saw a man who was wealthy and of strong build. He passed by a woman and knocked over the flour she had with her. Then the wind blew the flour away." So Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "I entrust you to that Day when the King will sit on the throne and will restore the right of the oppressed from the oppressor."

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Aswad (may Allah have mercy on him) says that when I smell the fragrance of basil, I remember Paradise.

Hazrat Malik bin Mughul (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a man asked Sha'bi, "Tell us, who is a scholar?" He replied, "A scholar is the one who fears Allah."

Hazrat Amr bin Qais, may Allah have mercy on him, said that people used to dislike that a person would give something to his child, then the child would take that thing outside and a poor person would see it and go to his family and cry, or an orphan would see it and go to his family and cry.

It is narrated from Hazrat Sufyan, may Allah have mercy on him, that a person cannot be considered a jurist until he regards hardship as a blessing and ease as a trial.

Hazrat Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said that people used to find it strange that they would please their own souls.

Hazrat Malik bin Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "A heart that has no sorrow is like a deserted house."

Badeel bin Maisarah Aqili or Matar Al-Warraq, may Allah have mercy on him, says: Whoever recognizes his Lord begins to love Him, and whoever sees the world with the eye of the heart adopts abstinence from it. And a believer is not heedless as long as he does not engage in useless activities. When he reflects, he becomes sorrowful.

Hazrat Husain (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the person who snatches wealth from an orphan and gives it to a needy person is like the one who earns through unlawful means and spends in unlawful places.

Hazrat Amr bin Qais (may Allah have mercy on him) says that when Allah Almighty commands punishment for the inhabitants of the earth, the angels say, "O Allah! Among them are also children."

Hazrat Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) says that whenever a person frequently remembers death, this is reflected in his actions.

Hazrat Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray: O Allah, if anyone is permitted to perform prayer in the grave, then grant me permission to perform prayer in my grave.

Hazrat Humaid (may Allah have mercy on him) says that we used to go to Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), and Thabit would also be with us. Whenever he passed by a mosque, he would pray in it. When we came to Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he would ask, "Where is Thabit? Where is Thabit? Where is Thabit? He is such a person whom I love."

Hazrat Hammad narrates from his father that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said (but he did not say that I was also present) that everything has a key, and the key to goodness is steadfastness.

Hazrat Ismail bin Abi Khalid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that once the Children of Israel were afflicted by hunger. A man passed by another and said, "I wish that this desert would turn into flour and I would feed all the Children of Israel." So Allah Almighty granted him reward for his intention.