Excerpts translated from Imam Ahmad’s book, ‘Kitab al-Zuhd‘:
Uthman ibn ‘Affan: “No-one does a deed except that Allah clothes him with that deed of his.”
Abu Dharr: “Do you see the people? There is hardly any good in their affairs, except for he who is pious or he who is repentant.”
Sa’id al-Jariri said, “Some of our scholars narrated that Abu al-Darda saw a man at a funeral and he was saying, “Who is this? (i.e. the deceased)” So Abu al-Darda replied, “This is you. This is you. Allah says, “Indeed, you will die, and they will die.” [al-Zumar: 30]”
Mis’ar: Abd al-A’la al-Taymi used to say in his sujud (prostration during prayer), “O Allah, increase us in humility just as Your enemies have increased in aversion, and do not let our faces fall into Hell after they have fallen in prostration to You.”
Al-Hasan al-Basri: “I met people who did not become thrilled with delight when the Dunya (world) came to them, nor did they fall into despair when they lost some of it.”
Haram ibn Hayyan: “I seek refuge in Allah from reaching an era where the elderly have long hopes and the youth rebel, but death comes for both.” And he also said, “I have not seen how the one fleeing from Hell can sleep, nor have I seen how the seeker of Paradise can sleep.”
Assalaamu alaykum, I’ve been a reader of your blog for a very long time, and I also keep up to date with your facebook page, (although I don’t have a page anymore :o) and I want to say, you always inspire me. Whenever I’m down, I need that boost, I head to your blog and there’s always something that is specifically for me concerning my situation. It just hits my heart and I feel so moved as if this was written solely for me.
May Allah reward you immensely.
I’m just a stranger but I wish I could be around someone like you in real life. I hope I can meet you in Jannah if not in this dunya 🙂
Assalaamu alaykum
Your sister in Islam.
Wa `alaykumusalam sister. I’m glad the posts help alhamdulillah 🙂 Barak’Allahu fiki, may Allah make things easy for you and continue to come to your aid, ameen.
Would just like some clarification: what does “No-one does a deed except that Allah clothes him with that deed of his.” mean? A little explanation would be helpful, baarakAllahu feeki
I believe it means that the effects of deeds become apparent on a person; either the good deeds create a light for/on him or the darkness of the sins dim him, firstly from the heart than spreads to the outer. When a person constantly engages in a deed, he/she either becomes known for it or if they hide it, it comes out in another way, wallahu a’lam.
I nominated you for the Muslim Bloggers’ Award: http://anchorwithkeidi.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/here-we-go/ Please keep up the good work!