Some selections from Ibn Muflih’s book, ‘Adab al-Shar’iyyah’:

Al-Hasan al-Basri: ‘Even if their horses amble and stroll with them, even if their riders flutter along with them, indeed the bitterness of disobedience still lies in their hearts. And Allah `azza wa jall refuses except to humiliate those who disobey Him.’

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Ibn Mas’ud: ‘From what I know, those who had the most firasah (intuition) are three:

1. Al-‘Aziz when he said to his wife regarding his firasah of Yusuf (`alayhisalam), “Make his residence comfortable. Perhaps he will benefit us or we will adopt him as a son…” [Yusuf: 21]

2. The wife of Musa (`alayhisalam) when she said, “O my father, hire him. Indeed the best that you can hire is the strong and trustworthy one.” [al-Qasas: 26]

3. And Abu Bakr in his firasah of ‘Umar and appointing him as a Khalif (leader).”

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Once, Yusuf ibn ‘Umar ibn Hubayrah wanted to appoint Bakr ibn ‘Abdillah al-Muzni as a judge, but he sought pardon from such a position. He (Yusuf) refused to pardon him so Bakr said, ‘May Allah rectify the Amir, I’m not fit to judge.’ He said, ‘You’re lying!’ He said, ‘If I am lying, then it’s not permissible for you to appoint the liars. And if I am telling the truth, then it’s not permissible for you to appoint someone who is not fit for such a position!’

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Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘Cowardliness, miserliness and covetousness are evil dispositions. What gathers them all together is a person’s bad opinion of Allah.‘

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Al-Hasan al-Basri: ‘If a person was to be correct all the time and never err, if he was always praised in everything that came along, then ‘ujb (being amazed at oneself) would’ve entered his soul.’

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Abu Muslim al-Khawlani: ‘Fear the thoughts and opinions of the believer for Allah has established truth upon his tongue and in his heart.’

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Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib: ‘It’s better for an Imam to err by forgiving than for him to err by punishing.’

– Aadab al-Shar’iyyah by Ibn Muflih al-Maqdisi