Shade for the Seekers

Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said in Ahkām Ahl Adh-Dhimah (441):

"As for congratulating them on the rituals that are associated with Kufr, then it is unanimously Ḥarām, such as congratulating them on their holidays and practices, and saying: 'Eid Mubarak to you' or expressing joy for the celebration and the like. That is, if the one saying this is free from disbelief, then it is from the prohibited acts. And it is similar to if he congratulates them on their prostration to the cross, for indeed; it is a greater sin in the eyes of Allāh and more detestable than in congratulating the drinking of alcohol, committing murder, engaging in illicit sexual relations and the like."

And ˹beware of˺ the Day He will say, “Call upon those you claimed were My associates.” So they will call them, but will receive no response. And We will make them ˹all˺ share in the same doom.

The wicked will see the Fire and realise that they are bound to fall into it, and will find no way to avoid it.

We have surely set forth in this Quran every ˹kind of˺ lesson for people, but humankind is the most argumentative of all beings.

“The wife of Habeeb bin Muhammad Al-Farsi used to wake him up at night and say, ‘Get up, O beloved, for the road is long, and our provisions are few, and the caravans of the righteous have passed between our hands, and we are left behind.’”

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) became gravely ill, he began to lose consciousness. Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, ‘Oh, the distress of my father!’ He said to her, ‘There will be no distress for your father after today.’

When he passed away, she said, ‘Oh my father, he has responded to the call of his Lord. Oh my father, whose abode is the Garden of Paradise. Oh my father, we announce your departure to Gabriel.’

When he was buried, Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, ‘Oh Anas, how could you bring yourselves to throw earth on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?’”

قال عبد الله بن المبارك:
ما أَعْياني شيء كما أَعْياني أني لا أجد أَخًا في الله عز وجل.

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said:
“Nothing has been more difficult for me than not finding a brother for the sake of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.”

[صفة الصفوة (١٣٩/٤)]

Ishaq bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Sheikh said:

“And whoever nourishes himself with the words of the later scholars without reviewing the books of the well-known scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, such as: “Kitab al-Sunnah” by Abdullah bin Imam Ahmad, “Kitab al-Sunnah” by Al-Khallal, “Kitab al-Sunnah” by Al-Lalaka’i, Al-Darimi, and others, remains in confusion and misguidance.”

‏[الدرر السنية (٣/ ٣٣٨)]

Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“Three things are the downfall of an age: the neglect of a scholar, debating the Qur’an with a hypocrite, and corrupt leaders.”

[الزهد والرقاق لابن المبارك ١١٣٧]

Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah said: "It used to be said that a believer needs patience as much as he needs food and drink!"

[الصبر لإبن أبي الدنيا]

Tree of chains of transmission of the book “Al-Sunnah” by Abdullah bin Ahmad.

رَبَّنَا اطۡمِسۡ عَلٰٓى اَمۡوَالِهِمۡ وَاشۡدُدۡ عَلٰى قُلُوۡبِهِمۡ فَلَا يُؤۡمِنُوۡا حَتّٰى يَرَوُا الۡعَذَابَ الۡاَلِيۡمَ‏

Our Lord! Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment.

وكان سعيد بن جبير إذا صلى العصر لم يكلم أحدا حتى تغرب الشمس

And Sa’īd bin Jubayr did not speak to anyone after the Asr prayer [on Friday] until the sun had set.

‏زاد المعاد (١ / ٣٨٢)

وسئل عن صوم يوم عاشوراء فقال ‎(ﷺ) يكفر السنة الماضية

"He (ﷺ) was asked about fasting on the day of Ashura, and he (‎ﷺ) said it expiates the sins of the previous year."

[رواه مسلم]

Abu Dawud said: I heard him [Imam Ahmad] say: It is disliked to place the hands on the chest.

[مسائل أبي داود 221]

قال محمد بن صبيح السماك: لو واحد من السلف خير من ألف من الخلف.

Muhammad ibn Sabih al-Sammak said: "One of the Salaf (the pious predecessors) is better than a thousand of the Khalaf (those who came after)."

[شرح أصول الاعتقاد للالكائي]

Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "There is not a night that passes except that I see my beloved (‎ﷺ) in it," and then he would cry.

[الطبقات الكبرى لابن سعد]

وقال الحسين بن أحمد الشيرازي: لما مات أحمد بن منصور الحافظ، جاء إلى أبي رجل، فقال: رأيته في النوم وهو في المحراب واقف بجامع شيراز، وعليه حلة، وعلى رأسه تاج مكلل بالجوهر، فقلت: ما فعل الله بك؟
‏قال: غفر لي وأكرمني.
‏قلت: بماذا؟
‏قال: بكثرة صلاتي على رسول الله ﷺ

Al-Hussain bin Ahmad Al-Shirazi said: When Ahmad bin Mansūr Al-Hafith died, a man came to my father and said:

I saw him (Ahmad bin Mansūr) in a dream while he was in the mihrab standing in the mosque of Shiraz, wearing a robe, and on his head was a crown decorated with jewels, so I said: What did Allāh do with you?

He said: He forgave me and honoured me.

I said: Due to what?

He said: Due to the excessive blessings I sent upon the Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ.

Abdullah bin Ahmad reported to us: My father [Imām Ahmad] told us: “The graves of the people of the Sunnah from among those who commit major sins are gardens, while the graves of the people of innovation from among the ascetics are pits [of fire]. The sinful ones among the people of the Sunnah are the allies of Allah, while the ascetics among the people of innovation are the enemies of Allah."

‎[طبقات الحنابلة]