Abu Bakr bin Abi Uvais أبو بكر بن أبي أويس · Zuhd

“Salman felt sick and Sa’d came to visit him, and when he saw him he wept. Sa’d said to him: ‘Why are you weeping, my brother? Are you not a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? Are you not? Are you not?’ Salman said: ‘I am only weeping for one reason: I am not weeping because of longing for this world or for dislike of the Hereafter. But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me some advice and I…

“I do not know except that he attributed it to the Prophet (ﷺ)” – “Allah says: ‘O son of Adam, devote yourself to My worship, and I will fill your heart with contentment and take care of your poverty; but if you do not do that, then I will fill your heart with worldly concerns and will not take care of your poverty.’”

“I was riding with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he came across a dead lamb that had been thrown out.’ He said: ‘Don’t you think that this is worthless to its owners?’ It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is because it is worthless that they have thrown it out, - or words to that effect. He said: ‘By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, this world is more worthless to Allah than this is to…

“Shall I not tell you about the people of Paradise? Every weak and oppressed one. Shall I not tell you about the people of Hell? Every harsh, haughty and arrogant one.”

“The one who most deserved to be envied, un my view, is the one who has the least burden, who prays a great deal and finds joy in prayer, and who is unknown among people and is not paid any heed. His provision will be sufficient, he will be content with it, his death will come quickly, his estate will be small and his mourners will be few.”

“The poor Muhajirun complained to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that with which Allah had favored the rich over them. He said: ‘O poor people, shall I not give you the glad tidings that the poor believers will enter Paradise half a day, five hundred years, before the rich?’”

“Woe to the most wealthy except those who do such and such with the money, and such and such” – four things, (pointing) to his right, to his left, in front of him and behind him.

“Wretched is the slave of the Dinar, the slave of the Dirham and the slave of the Khamisah. He is wretched and will be thrown (into Hell) on his face, and if he is pricked with a thorn may find no relief.”

“Richness is not an abundance of worldly goods, rather richness is contentment with one’s lot.”

“We, the family of Muhammad (ﷺ), would stay for a month during which no fire would be lit (for cooking) and we had only dates and water.”

“One day some hot food was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he ate. Then when he had finished he said: ‘Praise is to Allah, no hot food has entered my stomach since such and such a time.’”

“Whoever humbles himself one degree for the sake of Allah, Allah will raise him in status one degree, and whoever behaves arrogantly towards Allah one degree, Allah will lower him in status one degree, until He makes him among the lowest of the low.”

“There is never any obscenity in a thing, but it mars it, and there is never any modesty in a thing, but it adorns it.”