Navigation Menu For The Summary Of His Biography
Beginning Of The Summary
Highway robbery and sincere repentance
Settling in Makkah, worship and character
His rank in hadith and the praise of the imams
His sayings on truthfulness, taqwa and zuhd
His concern for the imams and the community
His stance on innovation and the people of hadith
His admonitions to rulers and view of leadership
His last years and death
Full Biography
Beginning Of The Summary
Al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH)
Al Fudayl ibn Iyad ibn Masud ibn Bishr (d. 187 AH) was the imam, the exemplary model, firm in his religion, Shaykh al Islam, Abu Ali al Tamimi al Yarbuai al Khurasani. He was born in Samarqand, grew up in Abiward, then travelled in search of knowledge until he settled as a neighbour of the Sacred Sanctuary in Makka.
He lived on simple means, taking from what the righteous such as Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) gave him and refusing the gifts of rulers, and he remained there until his death at the beginning of 187 AH in the caliphate of Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH), having reached around eighty years of age, as Ibn Saad (d. 230 AH) reports in his biography in the Tabaqat, where he describes him as trustworthy, noble, virtuous, devoted in worship, scrupulous, and a narrator of many hadith.
Highway robbery and sincere repentance
Before his repentance, he had been a highwayman who waylaid travellers on the road between Abiward and Sarakhs. Abu Ammar al Husayn ibn Hurayth narrated from al Fadl ibn Musa that the cause of his repentance was that he had fallen in love with a slave girl. One night, as he climbed a wall seeking to reach her, he heard someone reciting the verse of Allah the Exalted:
ألم يأن للذين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبهم لذكر الله
“Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah” (al Hadid 16)
When he heard that, he said, “Indeed, my Lord, it has come, indeed it has come,” and he turned back. That same night he took shelter in a ruined building where there was a group of travellers. One of them suggested moving on, while another said they should remain until morning because “al Fudayl is on the road and he cuts us off.”
When he heard that, he reflected that he was walking by night in disobedience while a group of Muslims were afraid of him.
He understood that Allah had brought him to hear their words so that he would refrain and be restrained, so he turned in repentance and resolved that his repentance would be to live near the Sacred House.
Other reports describe him with the term shatir in this phase, and al Dhahabi said that in the language of the people this pointed to someone who had departed far from his people and from uprightness, as in the explanation of Lisan al Arab and the statements of al Jawhari, which fits his earlier life as a highwayman before his repentance.
Settling in Makkah, worship and character
After his repentance he devoted himself to worship and settled in Makka. He became known for intense fear of Allah, deep reflection, and abundant weeping. Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said he never saw anyone in whose breast Allah was greater than al Fudayl; whenever Allah was mentioned or the Qur’an was recited in his presence, fear and grief would appear on him and his eyes would overflow until the onlookers pitied him.
He was always sorrowful and thoughtful, as if he were living with the Hereafter. When he followed funerals he would continue to admonish, remind, and weep until they reached the graveyard, then sit among the graves overwhelmed by grief and tears as though he had returned from the Hereafter and was reporting it to those with him.
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al Tabari described his night worship. A mat would be laid for him in his masjid, he would pray from the beginning of the night with a sorrowful, slow and measured recitation, repeating verses of Paradise and asking, as if addressing a person, then sleep would overcome him and he would lay down a little, then rise again.
This would continue between sleep and prayer until morning. It is said that the hardest worship is that which follows this pattern, and this was his way.
He was very cautious regarding narration. Hadith weighed heavily on him. Sometimes he would say to his visitor that if he were asked for dinars it would be easier than being asked for hadith. When it was said to him that beneficial hadith were more beloved than bags of dinars, he replied that the seeker was under trial and that if he acted on what he had already heard, that would occupy him from what he had not yet heard.
His rank in hadith and the praise of the imams
The imams of hadith and criticism praised him and at the same time pointed out that he did not narrate widely. Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al Shafii (d. 301 AH) heard Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) say that al Fudayl was trustworthy. Abu Ubayd al Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH) transmitted from Abd al Rahman ibn Mahdi (d. 198 AH) that he was a righteous man, though not a strong memoriser.
Al Ajli Ahmad ibn Abd Allah (d. 261 AH) described him as a Kufan, trustworthy, a man of worship, a righteous man who settled in Makka. Abu Hatim al Razi Muhammad ibn Idris (d. 277 AH) called him truthful. Al Nasai Ahmad ibn Shuayb (d. 303 AH) said he was trustworthy, reliable, and righteous, and al Daruqutni Ali ibn Umar (d. 385 AH) also described him as trustworthy.
Ibn Saad (d. 230 AH), as mentioned, summarised his life and character and fixed his death at the start of 187 AH in Makka in the caliphate of Harun, praising his trustworthiness, nobility, devotion, and scrupulousness.
The testimony of his contemporaries and students shows his rank in knowledge and taqwa. Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said he had seen the most devoted in worship to be Abd al Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad (d. 159 AH), the most cautious and scrupulous to be al Fudayl, and the most knowledgeable to be Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH), adding that Abu Hanifah al Numan ibn Thabit (d. 150 AH) was the one whose understanding in fiqh people followed and that none had been seen like him in that field.
In another report Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said that in his view there remained no one on the face of the earth better than al Fudayl. Ibrahim ibn Shamas (d. 213 AH) said he had seen the most knowledgeable, the most scrupulous, and the most memorising to be Waki ibn al Jarrah (d. 197 AH), al Fudayl, and Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH).
Al Nadr ibn Shumayl (d. 204 AH) narrated from Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH) that he had never seen among the scholars anyone more awe inspiring than Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), nor anyone more scrupulous than al Fudayl.
Sharik ibn Abd Allah al Qadi (d. 177 AH) said that there never ceased to be for every people in their time a proof, and that al Fudayl was the proof for the people of his time.
Bishr ibn al Harith (d. 227 AH) counted him and his son among ten men who used to eat only the lawful and would not allow anything doubtful into their stomachs, even if they had to drink earth and ashes. Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said that whenever he looked at al Fudayl it renewed grief in him and made him hate himself.
Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) was seen kissing his hand twice. A dream is reported in which he was seen standing on a chest distributing copies of the Qur’an to people, among them Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) and Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH), the Commander of the Believers, which was taken as a sign of his sincerity and his role in spreading guidance.
His sayings on truthfulness, taqwa and zuhd
He was known for his short, deep statements that describe his path in worship and dealings with people. He said that people had not adorned themselves with anything better than truthfulness and seeking the lawful.
When his son Ali remarked that the lawful was rare, he replied that even a small amount of the lawful is much in the sight of Allah. He said that whoever fears Allah, no one can harm him, and whoever fears other than Allah, no one can benefit him.
He connected fear, knowledge, and renunciation by saying that a servant’s fear of Allah is according to his knowledge of Allah, and his renunciation of this life is according to his desire for the Hereafter.
Whoever acts upon what he knows, he said, will be made independent of what he does not know, and Allah will grant him success in what he has not yet learned. At the same time he warned that whoever has bad character spoils his religion, his honour, and his dignity.
He described the greatest liar as the one who returns to his sin, the most ignorant as the one who is conceited because of his good deeds, and the most knowledgeable of Allah as the one who fears Him most. A servant, he said, is not complete until he prefers his religion over his desire, and he is not destroyed until he prefers his desire over his religion.
Regarding sincerity he said that leaving an action because of people is showing off and doing an action because of people is shirk, and that sincerity is that Allah protects a servant from both of these. He would say that he preferred to swear that he was a man who shows off rather than swear that he was not, out of fear for himself.
He said renunciation as contentment, scrupulousness as avoiding the forbidden, worship as performing the obligatory duties, and humility as submitting to the truth. He said that the hardest form of scrupulousness is with the tongue, and that there is no Hajj and no jihad harder than restraining the tongue. He urged people to guard the tongue, give attention to their own affairs, know their time, and conceal their place.
His view of this life was that it is not a place to remain, and that Adam was sent down to it as a punishment.
He described how Allah makes it bitter for His servant with hunger, nakedness, and need, just as a compassionate mother gives bitter medicine wanting the best outcome. He said that hearts are barred from tasting the sweetness of faith until they renounce this life because of their sins, and that if a person is unable to stand in prayer at night and fast in the day, he should know he is deprived.
He would chastise illusions about oneself, saying that a person is a sinner who thinks he is a doer of good, ignorant who thinks he is a scholar, stingy who thinks he is generous, foolish who thinks he is intelligent, with a short life and long hopes. He applied this also to seekers of knowledge and callers, warning them against adornment in speech and seeking praise, and likening such a person to a cracked dirham that appears valuable until it is scrubbed and shows its true copper.
His concern for the imams and the community
His regard for the rectitude of leadership was clear in both his supplications and his admonitions. He said that if he had one supplication that was guaranteed to be answered, he would make it for the imam, because the rectitude of the imam is the rectitude of the land and the servants.
He would say that there are only two types of scholar, a scholar of this life whose knowledge is widespread and apparent, and a scholar of the Hereafter whose knowledge is hidden, and he warned against the scholar of this life who is intoxicated by it.
He explained that a servant does not reach the reality of faith until he sees affliction as a blessing and ease as a calamity, and until he does not love to be praised for worshipping Allah. His envy, he said, was only in a praiseworthy way, that is, wishing to have the like of the good that another believer had been given without wishing for it to be taken away, applying this to the hadith:
لا حسد إلا في اثنتين رجل آتاه الله مالا ينفقه في الحق ورجل آتاه الله القرآن فهو يقوم به آناء الليل وأطراف النهار
“There is no envy except in two: a man whom Allah has given wealth which he spends in the truth, and a man whom Allah has given the Qur’an so he stands with it in prayer through the hours of the night and the ends of the day.” (Bukhari 5025)
He explained that this is praiseworthy envy, and that destructive envy is from hypocrisy. The report about seventy sins of an ignorant person being forgiven while one sin of a scholar is not forgiven is recorded with correction in Hilyat al Awliya 8/100.
His stance on innovation and the people of hadith
He was very severe regarding innovation. He said that whoever loves a person of innovation, Allah will nullify his deeds and remove the light of Islam from his heart, and that no deed of a person of innovation is raised to Allah.
He also said that the look of a believer at another believer polishes the heart, while the look at a person of innovation causes blindness, and that whoever sits with a person of innovation will not be given wisdom.
At the same time he honoured the people of hadith and warned them. He once saw a group of hadith students playing and laughing, so he called out to them, “Gently, O heirs of the prophets, gently, you are imams who are followed.”
He said that the people of hadith love short chains, and then reminded them of the surest chain of all, the words of Allah about the Fire whose fuel is people and stones and over which are angels harsh and severe, saying that he and his listener were among the people mentioned, and he fainted from the impact of this reminder.
He said he heard the voices of the people of hadith and his bladder was affected from fear of them, and that they compelled him to narration even though they knew he disliked it. He said that if he were their slave and he disliked them it would be their right to sell him, and that if giving them his cloak would make them leave him, he would do it.
He warned people to keep away from certain Qur’an reciters, explaining that if such reciters loved someone they praised him with what is not in him, and if they were angry with him they testified against him and that testimony would be accepted.
His admonitions to rulers and view of leadership
Several accounts describe his meetings with the Abbasid caliph Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH) and his intense admonitions to him. In one long report, Harun performs Hajj and feels something stir in his heart, so he asks al Fadl ibn al Rabi to bring him someone to question.
He visits Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) and Abd al Razzaq ibn Hammam (d. 211 AH), and each time Harun pays their debts but later says he has not been enriched. Then he comes to al Fudayl and finds him in prayer repeating a verse.
When he enters, al Fudayl extinguishes the lamp and withdraws to increase his own awe, and when Harun’s hand reaches him he says, “What a soft hand this is, if only it is saved tomorrow from the punishment of Allah.”
He reminds Harun of how Umar ibn Abd al Aziz (d. 101 AH) called Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar, Muhammad ibn Kab al Qurazi (d. 120 AH), and Raja ibn Haywah (d. 112 AH) and asked their advice when he took the caliphate, and how they considered leadership to be a trial and not a blessing.
He quotes their advice that he should make this life fasting and its breaking of the fast meeting death, and that he should see the elder Muslim as a father, the middle one as a brother, and the youngest as a son, treating each with honour, respect, and mercy, and that he should love for the Muslims what he loves for himself and hate for them what he hates for himself.
Then he quotes the report to al Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, that leadership is sorrow and regret on the Day of Resurrection, and that if one can avoid being a leader then he should do so, with its chains examined by al Iraqi (d. 806 AH) in his checking of the hadiths of Ihya Ulum al Din 2/350 and supported by the authentic hadiths of Abu Dharr, Abd al Rahman ibn Samurah, and others in Sahih Muslim 1825 & 1625, Sahih Al Bukhari 13/110 to 111, and Musnad Ahmad 2/476.
He tells Harun that Allah will ask him about this creation and warns him not to wake and sleep with rancour in his heart towards any of his subjects, quoting the authentic hadith that the ruler who deceives his subjects will have Paradise forbidden to him, which is recorded by Bukhari 13/112 to 113 in al Ahkam and by Muslim 142 in Kitab al Iman from Maqil ibn Yasar. When Harun offers him one thousand dinars to strengthen him in worship, he refuses, saying that he is guiding him to the path of salvation and cannot accept this as payment.
Al Dhahabi comments and says that this detailed narration is astonishing and that its main transmitter Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al Ghallabi is not trustworthy, though the story has been narrated through other routes as well.
In another report with an authentic chain, Harun meets him in al Hijr in the Masjid al Haram. When al Fudayl is brought in and asked to admonish, he tells him, “O you of handsome face, the reckoning of all of Allah’s creation will be upon you,” and Harun weeps and sobs until a servant lifts al Fudayl and takes him out. Al Tabari (d. 310 AH) narrates this in his history 2/71, and it appears in Tafsir Mujahid from Mujahid (d. 104 AH) in explanation of the verse, “And all their ties will be cut between them,” meaning the bonds of affection in this life.
He warned another official who intended to visit him that such a meeting might lead to each showing the best of his speech to the other without showing his true state, indicating his dislike of gatherings that might feed the ego under a religious appearance. He told al Rashid in another encounter, as reported by al Mamun (d. 218 AH), “Empty your heart for grief and fear until they dwell in it and cut you off from disobedience and distance you from the Fire.”
His last years and death
In his old age he was asked about his age and replied that he had reached eighty or passed it, then recited:
غرني السنون فأبلينني فدق العظام وكل البصر
“The years have deceived me and worn me out,
they have crushed my bones and weakened my sight.”
He spent his last years in Makka, avoiding leadership and fame, continuing in worship, fear, and admonition until he died at the beginning of 187 AH.
Full Biography
Al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH)
Al Fudayl ibn Iyad ibn Masud ibn Bishr, the imam, the exemplary model, firm in his religion, Shaykh al Islam, Abu Ali al Tamimi al Yarbuai al Khurasani, who lived as a neighbour to the Sacred Sanctuary of Allah. He was born in Samarqand and grew up in Abiward, then travelled in search of knowledge.
In Kufa he wrote hadith from Mansur ibn al Muatamir (d. 132 AH), al Amas, Sulayman ibn Mihran (d. 148 AH), Bayan ibn Bishr, Husayn ibn Abd al Rahman (d. 136 AH), Layth ibn Abi Sulaym (d. 148 AH), Ata ibn al Saib (d. 136 AH), Safwan ibn Sulaym (d. 132 AH), Abd al Aziz ibn Rafi (d. 130 AH), Abu Ishaq al Shaybani, Sulayman ibn Farukh (d. 129 AH), Yahya ibn Said al Ansari (d. 143 AH), Hisham ibn Hassan (d. 148 AH), Ibn Abi Layla, Muhammad ibn Abd al Rahman (d. 148 AH), Mujalid ibn Said (d. 144 AH), Ashath ibn Sawwar (d. 142 AH), Jaafar ibn Muhammad al Sadiq (d. 148 AH), Hamid al Tawil (d. 142 AH), and many others of their level from the people of Kufa and the Hijaz.
Those who narrated from him include Abd Allah ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH), Yahya ibn Said al Qattan (d. 198 AH), Abd al Rahman ibn Mahdi (d. 198 AH), Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH), al Asmai, Abd al Malik ibn Qurayb (d. 216 AH), Abd al Razzaq ibn Hammam al Sanani (d. 211 AH), Abd al Rahman ibn Mahdi ibn Hilal, a shaykh from Wasit, Husayn al Jafi (d. 197 AH), Asad al Sunna, al Shafii, Muhammad ibn Idris (d. 204 AH), Ahmad ibn Younus (d. 227 AH), Yahya ibn Yahya al Tamimi al Nisaburi (d. 226 AH), Ibn Wahb, Abd Allah ibn Wahb (d. 197 AH), Musaddad ibn Musarhad (d. 228 AH), Qutaybah ibn Said (d. 240 AH), Bishr al Hafi, Bishr ibn al Harith (d. 227 AH), al Sari ibn al Mughlis al Saqati (d. 253 AH), Ahmad ibn al Muqaddam, Ubayd Allah al Qawariri, Ubayd Allah ibn Umar (d. 235 AH), Muhammad ibn Zanbur al Makki, Luwayn, Muhammad ibn Yahya al Adani (d. 243 AH), al Humaydi, Abd Allah ibn al Zubayr (d. 219 AH), Abd al Samad ibn Yazid Mardawayh, Abdah ibn Abd al Rahim al Marwazi (d. 257 AH), Muhammad ibn Abi al Sarri al Asqalani (d. 242 AH), Muhammad ibn Qudamah al Masisi (d. 249 AH), Yahya ibn Ayyub al Muqabbiri, and many others. The last of those who narrated from him to die was Husayn ibn Dawud al Balkhi.
Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH), the greatest of his shaykhs, narrated from him, and between their deaths there were one hundred and forty years. Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH), the greatest of his shaykhs, narrated from him, and between their deaths there were one hundred and forty years.
Abu Ammar al Husayn ibn Hurayth narrated from al Fadl ibn Musa that he said:
Al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) was a highwayman who waylaid travellers on the road between Abiward and Sarakhs. The reason for his repentance was that he fell in love with a slave girl. One night, as he was climbing up the walls to reach her, he suddenly heard someone reciting the words of Allah:
ألم يأن للذين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبهم لذكر الله
“Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah” (al Hadid 16)
When he heard it, he said, “Indeed, my Lord, it has come. Indeed, it has come.” So he turned back.
The night then drove him to take shelter in a ruined building. There he found a group of travellers. One of them said, “Let us move on.” Another said, “We should stay here until we reach the morning, because al Fudayl is on the road, and he cuts us off.” 1
He said: I reflected and said to myself, “I walk through the night in acts of disobedience, while a group of Muslims are here who are afraid of me.
I do not see that Allah has brought me to them except so that I should refrain and be restrained. O Allah, I have repented to You, and I make my repentance that I will live near Your Sacred House.”
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al Shafii (d. 301 AH) said: I heard Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) say, “Al Fudayl is trustworthy.”
Abu Ubayd al Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH) said: Ibn Mahdi, Abd al Rahman ibn Mahdi (d. 198 AH), said, “Al Fudayl is a righteous man, but he was not a memoriser.”
Al Ajli, Ahmad ibn Abd Allah (d. 261 AH), said: “He was a Kufan, trustworthy, a man of worship, a righteous man who settled in Makka.”
Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ammar al Mosuli (d. 242 AH) said: “If only al Fudayl would narrate to you only what he knows.” It was said to Ibn Ammar, “Do you see his hadith as proof?” He said, “Glory be to Allah.”
Abu Hatim al Razi, Muhammad ibn Idris (d. 277 AH), said: “He is truthful.”
Al Nasa’i, Ahmad ibn Shuayb (d. 303 AH), said: “He is trustworthy, reliable, a righteous man.”
Al Daruqutni, Ali ibn Umar (d. 385 AH), said: “He is trustworthy.”
Muhammad ibn Saad (d. 230 AH) said: “He was born in Khurasan, in the district of Abiward. He came to Kufa when he was older, and heard from Mansur and others. Then he devoted himself to worship, moved to Makka, and settled there until he died at the beginning of the year 187 AH, in the caliphate of Harun. He was trustworthy, noble, virtuous, a devoted worshipper, scrupulous, and he narrated many hadith.”
Abu Wahb Muhammad ibn Mizahim said: I heard Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) say: “I have seen the most devoted worshipper among people to be Abd al Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad (d. 159 AH), the most cautious and scrupulous among people to be al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH), and the most knowledgeable among people to be Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH). The one whose understanding the people have followed in fiqh is Abu Hanifah, al Numan ibn Thabit (d. 150 AH). I have not seen anyone in fiqh like him.”
Ibrahim ibn Shamas (d. 213 AH) narrated from Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) that he said: “There remains no one on the face of the earth, in my view, better than al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH).”
Nasr ibn al Mughira al Bukhari said: I heard Ibrahim ibn Shamas (d. 213 AH) say: “I have seen the most knowledgeable of people, the most scrupulous of people, and the most memorising of people to be Waki ibn al Jarrah (d. 197 AH), al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH), and Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH).”
Ubayd Allah al Qawariri, Ubayd Allah ibn Umar (d. 235 AH), said: “The best of those I have seen among the mashayikh are Bishr ibn Mansur (d. 180 AH), al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH), Awn ibn Muammar, and Hamzah ibn Najih. I say: Awn and Hamzah are scarcely known; they were two devoted worshippers.”
Al Nadr ibn Shumayl (d. 204 AH) said: I heard al Rashid say: “I have not seen among the scholars anyone more awe inspiring than Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), nor anyone more scrupulous than al Fudayl.”
Ahmad ibn Abi al Hawari (d. 246 AH) narrated from al Haytham ibn Jamil that he said: I heard Sharik ibn Abd Allah al Qadi (d. 177 AH) say: “There has never ceased to be for every people in their time a proof, and al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) is a proof for the people of his time.”
A young man stood up from the gathering of al Haytham, and when he went out of sight, al Haytham said, “If this youth lives, he will be a proof for the people of his time.” It was said, “Who was the youth?” He said, “Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).”
Abd al Samad Mardawayh al Saiigh said: Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said to me: “Al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) was truthful with Allah, so Allah caused wisdom to flow upon his tongue. Al Fudayl is among those whom his knowledge benefited.”
Abu Bakr Abd al Rahman ibn Affan said: I heard Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) say to Abu Maryam the judge: “There remains in the Hijaz none of the abdals except al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) and his son Ali, and Ali is foremost among them in fear. There remains no one in the lands of al Sham except Yusuf ibn Asbat (d. 195 AH) and Abu Muawiyah al Aswad, and there remains no one in Khurasan except an old weaver called Madan.”
Abu Bakr al Maqariyidi the admonisher said: I heard Bishr ibn al Harith (d. 227 AH) say: “There are ten men who used to eat only the lawful, and would not allow into their stomachs anything except what is lawful, even if they had to draw up earth and ashes as drink.”
I said: “Who are they, Abu Nasr?” He said, “Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH), Ibrahim ibn Adham (d. 160 AH), al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) and his son, Sulayman al Khawwas, Yusuf ibn Asbat (d. 195 AH), Abu Muawiyah Najih the servant, Hudhayfah al Marashi, Dawud al Tai (d. 160 AH), and Wahib ibn al Ward (d. 153 AH).”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: “I have never seen anyone in whose breast Allah was greater than al Fudayl. Whenever Allah was mentioned, or mentioned in his presence, or he heard the Qur’an, fear and grief would appear upon him, his eyes would overflow, and he would weep until those present felt pity for him. He was always sorrowful and deep in thought.
I have never seen a man who knew Allah so well in his knowledge and his action, in his taking and his leaving, his giving and his withholding, his humiliating and his hating, his loving and all his traits, other than him.
When we went out with him to follow a funeral, he would not cease admonishing, reminding, and weeping, as if he were bidding farewell to his companions and going to the Hereafter, until we reached the graveyard. There he would sit among the dead, overcome by grief and crying, until he stood up again as if he had returned from the Hereafter and was informing us about it.”
Abd al Samad ibn Yazid Mardawayh said: I heard al Fudayl say: “People have not adorned themselves with anything better than truthfulness and seeking the lawful.”
His son Ali said to him, “My father, the lawful is rare.” He said, “My son, even a small amount of the lawful in the sight of Allah is much.”
Al Sari ibn al Mughlis said: I heard al Fudayl say: “Whoever fears Allah, no one can harm him. Whoever fears other than Allah, no one can benefit him.”
Fayd ibn Ishaq said: I heard al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) when Abd Allah ibn Malik asked him, “Abu Ali, what is the way out from what we are in?”
He said, “Tell me, the one who obeys Allah, can anyone’s disobedience harm him?”
He said, “No.”
He said, “And the one who disobeys Allah, can anyone’s obedience benefit him?”
He said, “No.”
He said, “That is the way out, if you want the way out.”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: I heard al Fudayl say: “The fear of a servant for Allah is according to his knowledge of Allah, and his renunciation of this life is according to his desire for the Hereafter. Whoever acts upon what he knows will be made independent of what he does not know. Whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah will grant him success in what he does not know. Whoever has bad character spoils his religion, his honour, and his dignity.”
I heard him say: “The greatest liar among people is the one who returns to his sin. The most ignorant of people is the one who is conceited because of his good deeds.
The most knowledgeable of people about Allah is the one who fears Him the most. A servant will never be complete until he gives preference to his religion over his desire, and a servant will never be destroyed until he gives preference to his desire over his religion.”
Muhammad ibn Abdawayh said: I heard al Fudayl say: “Leaving an action because of people is showing off, and doing an action because of people is shirk. Sincerity is that Allah protects you from both of them.”
Salam ibn Abd Allah al Khurasani said: I heard al Fudayl say: “Yesterday is a lesson, today is action, and tomorrow is hope.”
Fayd ibn Ishaq said: Al Fudayl said: “By Allah, it is not permissible for you to harm a dog or a pig without right, so how can you harm a Muslim?”
It is narrated from al Fudayl that he said: “A servant is not from the people of taqwa until his enemy feels safe from him.”
And from him: “In proportion to how small a sin appears in your eyes, it is great with Allah, and in proportion to how great it appears in your eyes, it is small with Allah.”
Mahraz ibn Awn said: I came to al Fudayl in Makka, and he said to me, “Mahraz, you too are among the people of hadith. What has become of the Qur’an?
By Allah, if a single letter of it were to descend in Yemen, it would be right that we go until we hear it. By Allah, for you to be a herdsman of donkeys while you remain firm upon what Allah loves is better for you than that you perform tawaf while persisting upon what Allah hates.”
Al Mufaddal al Jundi said: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al Tabari said: “I have not seen anyone more fearful for himself, nor more hopeful for people, than al Fudayl. His recitation was sorrowful, pleasing, slow, and measured, as if he was addressing a person.
When he passed by a verse mentioning Paradise he would repeat it and ask. His prayer at night was mostly sitting. A mat would be spread for him in his masjid, and he would pray from the beginning of the night for a time, then sleep would overpower him and he would lay himself down on the mat and sleep a little, then get up.
When sleep overcame him he would sleep, then get up, and so on until morning. His way was that when drowsiness took him, he would sleep. It is said that the hardest worship is what is like that.”
He was sound in hadith, truthful of tongue, and very awe filled regarding hadith when he narrated. Hadith weighed heavily upon him. Sometimes he would say to me, “If you were to ask me for dinars, it would be easier for me than for you to ask me for hadith.”
I said to him, “If you narrate to me beneficial hadiths that I do not already have, it is more beloved to me than that you gift me a bag of dinars with them.”
He said, “You are a man who is under trial. By Allah, if you acted upon what you have heard, you would have enough to occupy you from what you have not heard.
I heard Sulayman ibn Mihran al Amas (d. 148 AH) say: When you have food in front of you which you eat, and you keep taking a morsel and throwing it behind your back, when will you ever become full?”
Ahmad ibn Salamah narrated from Abu al Makarem al Tamimi, who said: Al Haddad narrated to us, who said: Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al Ghallabi narrated to us. Abu Nuaim narrated to us. Al Tabarani narrated to us. Abu Umar al Jarmi the grammarian narrated to us, who said: Al Fadl ibn al Rabi said:
“The Commander of the Believers,” meaning Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH), “performed Hajj and said to me, ‘Woe to you, something has stirred in my soul, so find me a man that I can ask.’
I said, ‘Here is Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH).’
He said, ‘Come with us to him.’ So we came to him and I knocked at his door.
He said, ‘Who is it?’
I said, ‘The Commander of the Believers wishes to see you.’ So he came out quickly and said, ‘Commander of the Believers, if you had sent for me I would have come to you.’
He said, ‘Sit and speak to us with what will benefit us,’ so he spoke to him for a time. Then the Commander of the Believers said to him, ‘Do you have any debt?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said to me, ‘Pay his debt.’
When we left he said, ‘Your companion has not enriched me in anything.’ I said, ‘Here is Abd al Razzaq (d. 211 AH).’ He said, ‘Come with us to him.’
We came to him, and I knocked at his door.
He came out and spoke to him for a while.
Then he said, ‘Do you have any debt?’
He said, ‘Yes.’
He said, ‘Abu al Abbas, pay his debt.’
When we left, 1 he said, ‘Your companion has not enriched me in anything. Find me a man to ask.’ I said, ‘Here is al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH).’ He said, ‘Come with us to him.’ We came to him and found him standing in prayer, reciting a verse and repeating it.
The Commander of the Believers said, ‘Knock at the door.’ So I knocked. He said, ‘Who is this?’ I said, ‘Answer the Commander of the Believers.’
He said, ‘What have I to do with the Commander of the Believers?’ I said, ‘Glory be to Allah, is there not obedience due to him from you?’
He came down and opened the door, then went up to his upper room and extinguished the lamp and withdrew to a corner. We entered and began to feel around for him with our hands, until the hand of Harun reached him before my hand.
Al Fudayl said, ‘What a hand this is, how soft it is, if only it is saved tomorrow from the punishment of Allah.’ I said to myself, ‘Tonight he will speak to him with words that are pure, from a heart that is God fearing.’ He said to him, ‘Speak for us with what we have come to you for, may Allah have mercy on you.’
He said, ‘When Umar ibn Abd al Aziz (d. 101 AH) took on the caliphate he called for Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar (d. 106 AH), Muhammad ibn Kab al Qurazi (d. 120 AH), and Raja ibn Haywah (d. 112 AH) and said to them, “I have been afflicted with this trial, so advise me.” He called the caliphate a trial, while you and your companions count it as a blessing.’
Salim said to him, “If you wish for salvation, then make your fasting in this life and your breaking of the fast meeting death.”
Ibn Kab said to him, “If you wish for salvation from the punishment of Allah, then let the elder among the Muslims be in your view like a father, the middle one like a brother, and the youngest like a son. So honour your father, show respect to your brother, and show mercy to your son.”
Raja said to him, “If you wish for salvation from the punishment of Allah, then love for the Muslims what you love for yourself and hate for them what you hate for yourself, then die whenever you wish.”
I say this to you, and I fear for you the most severe fear on a day when feet will slip. 1 Do you have anyone with you, may Allah have mercy on you, who will advise you like this?”
So he wept intensely until he fainted. I said to al Fudayl, ‘Treat the Commander of the Believers gently.’ He said, ‘Son of Umm al Rabi, you kill him and his companions, and I am to be gentle with him?’
Then he regained consciousness and said to him, ‘Add more for me, may Allah have mercy on you.’
I said: It has reached me that an official of Umar ibn Abd al Aziz (d. 101 AH) wrote to him complaining of hardship, so Umar wrote back to him: “My brother, I remind you of the long sleeplessness of the people of the Fire in the Fire, together with the everlasting eternity, and I warn you from being turned away from Allah so that it is your last meeting with Him and the cutting off of all hope.”
When he read the letter, he left his region and came to him. Umar said to him, “What has brought you?” He said, “You have torn my heart with your letter. I will never again return to any position of authority until I meet Allah.”
Harun wept loudly. Al Fudayl said to him, “Commander of the Believers, al Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, came to him and said, ‘Command me with something.’ He said,
إن الإمارة حسرة وندامة يوم القيامة فإن استطعت أن لا تكون أميرا فافعل
‘Leadership is sorrow and regret on the Day of Resurrection, so if you are able not to be a leader, then do so.’” (Al Iraqi mentioned this in his checking of the hadiths of Ihya Ulum al Din 2/350. He said: Abu Bakr ibn Abi al Dunya narrated it without chain as a broken report. Al Bayhaqi narrated it from the hadith of Jabir with a connected chain, and from the narration of Ibn al Munkadir as a mursal report. He said: The preserved version of it is mursal. Also preserved is the hadith of Abu Dharr, “I said, Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me to a post of authority?” He said, “You are weak, and it is a trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it will be disgrace and regret, except for the one who takes it by right and fulfils what is due from him in it.” Muslim narrated it in his Sahih 1825. Also preserved is the hadith of Abd al Rahman ibn Samurah, “Do not ask for leadership, for if you are given it due to asking, you will be left to it, and if you are given it without asking, you will be helped upon it.” Al Bukhari narrated it 13/110 and Muslim 1625. Also preserved is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said, “You will be eager for leadership, and it will be regret on the Day of Resurrection, like a wet nurse that gives and a weaning mother that cuts off.” Al Bukhari narrated it 13/111, and al Nasa’i in al Bayah, in the chapter on dislike of desire for leadership, and in al Qada, in the chapter on the prohibition of seeking leadership, and Ahmad 2/476.)
Harun wept and said, “Add more for me.”
He said, “O you of handsome face, it is you whom Allah will ask about this creation on the Day of Resurrection. If you can protect this face from the Fire, then do so. Beware that you wake in the morning and enter the evening while in your heart there is rancour against any one of your subjects, for the Prophet ﷺ said:
ما من عبد يسترعيه الله رعية يموت يوم يموت وهو غاش لرعيته إلا حرم الله عليه الجنة
‘There is no servant whom Allah entrusts with subjects, who dies on the day he dies while he is deceiving his subjects, except that Allah forbids Paradise for him.’ (Al Bukhari narrated it 13/112–113 in al Ahkam, in the chapter, “Whoever is entrusted with a flock and does not advise them.” Muslim narrated it 142 in al Iman, in the chapter, “The deserving of the ruler who deceives his subjects to the Fire,” from the hadith of Maqil ibn Yasar that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “There is no one whom Allah entrusts with subjects and he dies on the day he dies while he is deceiving them, except that Allah forbids him Paradise.” In another wording, “So he does not surround them with sincere advice, he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”)
He said, “Do you have any debt?” He said, “Yes, a debt to my Lord. I have not yet been taken to account for it. Woe to me if He asks me, woe to me if He examines me with exactness, woe to me if I am not given the ability to present my proof.”
He said, “I only mean the debt of people.”
He said, “My Lord has not commanded me with this. He has commanded me with truthfulness in His promise and obedience to His command. He the Exalted said:
وما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون
‘I did not create jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.’ (al Dhariyat 56)”
He said, “Here are one thousand dinars, take them and spend them upon your dependants and strengthen yourself by them for the worship of your Lord.”
He said, “Glory be to Allah. I am guiding you to the path of salvation, and you recompense me with the like of this. May Allah preserve you and grant you success.”
Then he fell silent and did not speak to us. So we went out. Harun said, “Abu al Abbas, when you guide me, then guide me to someone like this. This is the leader of the Muslims.”
A woman from his womenfolk came in to him and said, “You see the constriction we are in. If only you would accept this wealth.”
He said, “My likeness and your likeness is only like a group of people who have a camel from which they live. When it grows old they slaughter it and eat its meat.”
When Harun heard this, he said, “Let us go in, perhaps he will accept the wealth.”
When al Fudayl came to know, he went out and sat on the roof at the door of his room. Harun came and sat beside him, and spoke to him, but he did not answer him. While we were like that, a black slave girl came out and said, “Man, you have been harming the shaykh since last night. Go away.” So we left.
This is an astonishing account, and al Ghallabi is not trustworthy, although others have also narrated it.
Aishah bint Isa narrated to us. Ibn Rajah narrated to us. Al Salafi narrated to us. Al Allaf narrated to us. Abu al Hasan al Hammami narrated to us. Jaafar ibn Muhammad ibn al Hajjaj narrated to us in Mosul. Muhammad ibn Saadan al Harrani narrated to us. Abu Umar the grammarian, that is al Jarmi, narrated to us from al Fadl ibn al Rabi with this story.
Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Shuqayq said: Abu Ishaq narrated to us that al Fudayl said, “If I were given the choice between living as a dog and dying as a dog and not seeing the Day of Resurrection, then I would choose that.”
Fayd ibn Ishaq said: I heard al Fudayl say, “By Allah, for me to be dust is more beloved to me than to be in the form of the best person on earth, and I would not be pleased to know the affair as Allah knows it, because then my mind would be scattered.”
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al Tabari said: I heard al Fudayl say, “If you said that you fear death, I would not accept it from you. If you truly feared death, neither food nor drink nor anything else would benefit you. I would not be pleased to know the affair with complete knowledge, for then my mind would become shattered and I would not benefit from anything.”
Abd al Samad ibn Yazid said: I heard al Fudayl say, “Do not appoint people as your executors in your will. How can you blame them for neglecting your will when you yourself neglected it during your life?”
I heard him say: “When Allah loves a servant, He increases his grief. When He hates a servant, He expands his worldly life for him.”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: I heard al Fudayl say: “Whoever loves to be mentioned will not be mentioned, and whoever dislikes to be mentioned will be mentioned.”
I heard him say: “By His might, if He were to put me into the Fire, I would not despair.”
I heard him, when we had departed from Arafat, saying, “How shameful it is, by Allah, from You, even if You forgive.”
I heard him say: “Fear is better than hope as long as a man is in sound health. When death comes to him, then hope is better.”
I say: That is due to his saying ﷺ,
ولا يموتن أحدكم إلا وهو يحسن الظن بالله
“And none of you should die except while he has good thoughts of Allah.” (Muslim narrated it in his Sahih 2877 in the Book of Paradise and the description of its blessings and its people, from the hadith of Jabir ibn Abd Allah that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say three days before his death, “None of you should die except while he has good thoughts of Allah the Exalted.”)
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al Duraqi narrated from Ali ibn al Hasan that he said: “News reached al Fudayl that Hariz intended to come to him, so he locked his door from the outside. Hariz came and saw the door locked, so he went back.
I then came to al Fudayl and said to him, ‘Hariz.’ He said, ‘What would he do with me? He would show me the good of his speech, and I would show him the good of my speech. So he would not show me his true state, and I would not show him my true state. It is better for him.’
Then Ali said, ‘I have not seen anyone more sincere towards the Muslims or more fearful than him. I saw him in a dream, standing upon a chest, handing out copies of the Qur’an to people, and among them were Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) and Harun the Commander of the Believers (d. 193 AH). I did not see that he was able to complete saying farewell to any of them.’”
Fayd ibn Wathiq said: I heard al Fudayl say: “If you are able not to be a narrator of hadith, nor a reciter, nor a speaker, then do so. If you are eloquent, they will say, ‘How eloquent he is, how beautiful his speech is, how beautiful his voice is,’ and that will please you and you will become puffed up.
If you are not eloquent and your voice is not beautiful, they will say, ‘He does not narrate well and his voice is not beautiful,’ and that will grieve you and burden you, so you will be showing off. If you sit and speak and none of that matters to you, and their praise does not matter to you, then speak.”
Muhammad ibn Zanbur said: Al Fudayl said, “Your heart will not be sound until it becomes all the same to you who eats from this life.”
It was said to him, “What is renunciation?” He said, “Contentment.”
It was said, “What is scrupulousness?” He said, “Avoiding the forbidden.”
It was said, “What is worship?” He said, “Performing the obligatory duties.”
It was said, “What is humility?” He said, “That you submit to the truth.”
He said, “The hardest form of scrupulousness is with the tongue.”
I say: It is as he said. You see a man being scrupulous regarding his food, his clothes, his dealings, and when he speaks the problem enters upon him from his speech. Either he tries to be precise in truthfulness and fails to complete it, or he is truthful but adorns his speech so that he will be praised for eloquence, or he shows only the best of what he has so that he will be magnified, or he remains silent where speech is required so that he will be praised. The cure for all of this is to cut oneself off from people except for attending the obligatory congregational prayer.
Abd al Samad ibn Yazid said: I heard al Fudayl say, “If I had one supplication that was guaranteed to be answered, I would make it for the imam, for the rectitude of the imam is the rectitude of the land and the servants.”
I heard him say: “There are only two types of scholar. The scholar of this life, his knowledge is spread out and apparent. The scholar of the Hereafter, his knowledge is hidden. Beware of the scholar of this life; you will not be harmed if he is intoxicated by it. Scholars are many. People of wisdom are few.”
And from him: “A servant does not reach the reality of faith until he regards affliction as a blessing and ease as a calamity, and until he does not love that he be praised for worshipping Allah.”
Al Husayn ibn Ziyad al Marwazi said: I heard al Fudayl say: “If I swore an oath that I am a man who shows off, that would be more beloved to me than that I swear that I am not a man who shows off. If I saw a man around whom the people gathered, I would say, this is a madman. Who is the man around whom the people gather, yet he does not love to make his speech pleasing for them?”
Fayd ibn Ishaq said: I heard al Fudayl say: “This life is not a place to stay. Rather, Adam was sent down to it as a punishment. Do you not see how He makes him thirsty for it and makes it bitter for him with hunger, nakedness, and need, just as a compassionate mother does with her child, sometimes giving him bitter medicine and sometimes aloes, wanting thereby what is better for him.” (Al haddad: the extract of a certain known tree that has a bitter taste and is used as a medicine, and it is similar to al sabr.)
And from al Fudayl: “It is forbidden to your hearts that they taste the sweetness of faith until you renounce this life because of your sin.”
And from him: “If you are unable to stand in prayer at night and fast in the day, know that you are deprived.”
It is narrated from al Fudayl that he saw a group of people from the people of hadith playing and laughing, so he called out to them, “Gently, O heirs of the prophets, gently,” three times, “you are imams who are followed.”
Ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) said: I heard al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) say: “Seventy sins are forgiven for an ignorant person which are not forgiven for a man of knowledge for a single sin.” (In the original it says “and a single sin.” The correction is from Hilyat al Awliya 8/100.)
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) said: Abu Jafar al Haddad narrated to us that he heard al Fudayl say: “I took the hand of Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) in this valley and said, ‘If you think that anyone remains on the face of the earth worse than you and me, then how bad is what you think.’”
Abd al Samad Mardawayh said: I heard al Fudayl say: “Whoever loves a person of innovation, Allah will nullify his deeds and remove the light of Islam from his heart. No deed of a person of innovation is raised up to Allah. The look of a believer to another believer polishes the heart. The look of a man at a person of innovation causes blindness. Whoever sits with a person of innovation will not be given wisdom.”
Abu al Abbas al Siraj said: Abu al Nadr Ismail ibn Abd Allah narrated to us. Yahya ibn Yusuf al Zami narrated to us from al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH) that he said:
“When Harun, the Commander of the Believers (d. 193 AH), entered upon me, I said, ‘O you of handsome face, you have been burdened with a tremendous matter. I have not seen a face more handsome than yours. If you can protect this face from a blast of the Fire, then do so.’ He said, ‘Admonish me.’ I said, ‘With what shall I admonish you?
Here is the Book of Allah between the two covers. Look at what He has done to those who obey Him and what He has done to those who disobey Him. I see people diving into the Fire with a deep dive and seeking it with an intense seeking. By Allah, if they sought Paradise with the like of it or with less, they would attain it.’
He said, ‘Come back to me.’ I said, ‘If you do not send for me, I will not come to you. If you benefit from what you have heard, I will come back to you.’”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: I heard al Fudayl say in his sickness, “Have mercy on me because of my love for You, for there is nothing more beloved to me than You.”
I heard him say while he was complaining,
مسني الضر وأنت أرحم الراحمين
“Affliction has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.”
I heard him say: “Whoever feels lonely in seclusion and feels intimate with people will not be safe from showing off. There is no Hajj and no jihad harder than restraining the tongue. No one is more burdened than the one whose tongue is imprisoned.”
Al Husayn ibn Ziyad said: I heard al Fudayl often say: “Guard your tongue, give attention to your own affairs, know your time, and conceal your place.”
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al Duraqi said: Fayd ibn Ishaq narrated to us that he heard al Fudayl say: “I would like it to spread among the people that I am not anything, so that I will not be mentioned.”
He said: “I hear the voices of the people of hadith and my bladder is affected from fear of them.”
Al Duraqi said: Al Husayn ibn Ziyad narrated to us that he heard al Fudayl say to the people of hadith: “Why do you compel me to something that you know I dislike, meaning narrating hadith. If I were your slave and I disliked you, it would be your right to sell me. If I knew that if I gave you this cloak of mine you would leave me, I would do it.”
Al Duraqi said: I heard Ishaq ibn Ibrahim say: I heard al Fudayl addressing his own soul, “I do not see that He has brought you out of the lawful land and placed you in the Sanctuary except that He wishes to double the sin upon you. Are you not ashamed that you mention dinars and dirhams while you are around the House? Only the repentant and the one seeking protection used to come to it.”
It is narrated from al Fudayl that he said: “The believer feels envy only in a praiseworthy way, he does not have destructive envy. Envy in a praiseworthy way is from faith. Destructive envy is from hypocrisy.”
I say: This explains for you his saying ﷺ:
لا حسد إلا في اثنتين رجل آتاه الله مالا ينفقه في الحق ورجل آتاه الله القرآن فهو يقوم به آناء الليل وأطراف النهار
“There is no envy except in two: a man whom Allah has given wealth which he spends in the truth, and a man whom Allah has given the Qur’an so he stands with it in prayer through the hours of the night and the ends of the day.” (Al Bukhari narrated it 9/65 and Muslim 815 from the hadith of Ibn Umar. Al Bukhari also narrated it 1/152–153 and Muslim 816 from the hadith of Ibn Masud.)
So envy here means praiseworthy envy, that you envy your brother for what Allah has given him, not that you wish that it is removed from him. That is transgression and evil.
It is narrated from al Fudayl that he said: “From the character traits of the prophets are forbearance, deliberation, and standing in prayer at night.”
Abu Abd al Rahman al Sulami said: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jaafar narrated to us. Al Hasan ibn Abd Allah al Askari narrated to us. The nephew of Abu Zurah narrated to us. Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Rahwayh narrated to us. Abu Ammar narrated to us from al Fadl ibn Musa, who said:
“Al Fudayl was a highwayman, cutting off the road.”
He mentioned the story, and it has already preceded. (He said in Lisan al Arab that a man “shatara” from his people means that he went far from them, opposing them and leaving them, and became hard to find. From this comes the term “shatir”, and it is considered a recently coined expression. Al Jawhari said that “shatr” and “shatar” both mean shrewdness. Abu Ishaq said that when people say, “So and so is a shatir,” they mean that he has taken a path other than the straight one, and for that reason he is called shatir, because he has moved far from straightness.)
Ibrahim ibn al Layth said: Ali ibn Khushram the hadith scholar narrated to us, saying: A man from the neighbours of al Fudayl from Abiward informed me that al Fudayl used to cut off the road by himself. One night a caravan came to where he was, and some of them said, “Let us divert from this route to that village, because al Fudayl cuts off the road here.” He heard that and trembled and said, “People, go on, by Allah, I will strive that I never disobey Allah again.”
A similar report is narrated from another route, but in that chain is Ibn Jahdam, who is destroyed.
In any case, shirk is greater than highway robbery. Many people repented from shirk and became the best of this community. The forelocks of the servants are in the hand of Allah the Exalted. He misguides whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns in repentance.
Ibrahim ibn Said al Jawhari said: Al Mamun (d. 218 AH) said to me, “Al Rashid (d. 193 AH) said to me, ‘My eyes have never seen the like of al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH). I entered upon him and he said to me, “Empty your heart for grief and fear until they dwell in it and cut you off from disobedience and distance you from the Fire.”’”
It is narrated from Ibn Abi Umar that he said: “I have not seen, after al Fudayl, anyone more devoted in worship than Waki ibn al Jarrah (d. 197 AH).”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: I saw Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) kissing the hand of al Fudayl twice.
It is narrated from Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) that he said: “Whenever I look at al Fudayl, it renews grief for me and makes me hate myself.” Then he wept.
Yahya ibn Ayyub said: I entered with Zafir ibn Sulayman upon al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH). There was an old man with him.
Zafir entered and seated me at the door. Al Fudayl began to look at me, then said, “These people of hadith like chains that are close. Shall I not tell you about a chain in which there is no doubt? The Messenger of Allah from Jibril from Allah:
نارا وقودها الناس والحجارة عليها ملائكة غلاظ شداد
‘A Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are angels harsh and severe.’ (al Tahrim 6)
So I and you, Abu Sulayman, are among the people.”
Then he fainted and the old man fainted, and Zafir kept looking at them. Then al Fudayl came out and we stood up, and the old man was still unconscious.
Sahl ibn Rahwayh said: I said to Ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH), “Do you not see that the tears of al Fudayl scarcely ever dry?”
He said, “When the heart becomes wounded, the eyes become moist.”
Al Asmai (d. 216 AH) said: Al Fudayl looked at a man complaining to another man, so he said, “Man, you complain of the One who has mercy upon you to someone who has no mercy upon you.”
Ahmad ibn Abi al Hawari (d. 246 AH) said: Abu Abd Allah al Antaki narrated to us that al Fudayl and al Thawri (d. 161 AH) met together and spoke about reminders. Sufyan was moved and wept, then said, “I hope that this gathering will be mercy and blessing for us.”
Al Fudayl said to him, “As for me, Abu Abd Allah, I fear that it may not be anything but harm for us. Did you not select for me the best of your speech, and I selected for you the best of my speech, so you adorned yourself for me and I adorned myself for you?”
Sufyan wept and said, “You have loved me, may Allah bring you to life.”
Fayd said: Al Fudayl said to me, “If it were said to you, ‘You are a man who shows off,’ you would become angry and upset, and perhaps what is said to you is true. You have adorned yourself for this life, you have presented yourself in a certain way, you have shortened your garment and improved your manner and restrained your harm so that it would be said, ‘Abu so and so is a devout worshipper, how beautiful his manner is.’ So they honour you, revere you, come to you, and send gifts to you. You are like a cracked dirham, that not everyone recognises. When it is scrubbed, it becomes clear that underneath it is copper.”
Ibrahim ibn al Ashath said: I heard al Fudayl say: “It has reached me that the scholars in the past, when they learned they acted, and when they acted they became preoccupied, and when they became preoccupied they became hidden, and when they became hidden they were sought, and when they were sought they fled.”
And from him: “Allah is sufficient as a One who loves, the Qur’an is sufficient as a companion, death is sufficient as a preacher, fear of Allah is sufficient as knowledge, and delusion is sufficient as ignorance.”
And from him: “Two traits harden the heart: much talk and much eating.”
And from him: “What do you think of the state of a person whose sins are many, whose knowledge is weak, whose life is passing away, and who has not prepared provisions for his journey?”
And from him: “Poor man, you are a sinner and you think you are a doer of good. You are ignorant and you think you are a scholar. You are stingy and you think you are generous. You are foolish and you think you are intelligent. Your life span is short and your hope is long.”
I say, by Allah, he has spoken the truth. You are unjust and think you are wronged, you eat the unlawful and think you are scrupulous, you are a sinner and think you are just, you seek knowledge for this life and think you are seeking it for Allah.
Abbas al Duri said: Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al Anbari narrated to us that he heard al Fudayl say:
“When Harun al Rashid (d. 193 AH) came to Makka, he sat in al Hijr 1 with his son and a group of the Hashimites. They brought in the mashayikh and sent for me. I wanted not to go, so I consulted my neighbour, who said, ‘Go, perhaps he wants you to admonish him.’
I entered the masjid, and when I reached al Hijr, I said to the one closest to me, ‘Which of you is the Commander of the Believers?’ He pointed to him. I said, ‘Peace be upon you, Commander of the Believers, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.’ He returned the greeting and said, ‘Sit.’ Then he said, ‘We only sent for you to narrate to us something and admonish us.’
So I turned to him and said, ‘O you of handsome face, the reckoning of all of Allah’s creation will be upon you.’ He began to weep and sob. I continued adding to what I said to him while he wept, until the servant came and lifted me up and took me out and said, ‘Go in peace.’” (Its chain is authentic. Al Tabari narrated it 2/71 from the route of al Fudayl ibn Iyad and Jarir ibn Abd al Hamid al Fasawi, both from Ubayd al Kattab from Mujahid. It is also mentioned in Tafsir Mujahid 1/93–94 from the route of Warqa from Abu Najih from Mujahid, concerning His saying, “And the ties between them will be cut.” That is, the bonds of affection in this life.)
Mahraz ibn Awn said: I was with al Fudayl when Harun came in with Yahya ibn Khalid and his son Jaafar. Yahya said to him, “Abu Ali, this is the Commander of the Believers, he gives you salam.” He said, “Which of you is he?” They said, “This one.” He said, “O you of handsome face, you have been made to carry a tremendous matter,” and he repeated it.
Then he said, “Ubayd the scribe narrated to me from Mujahid regarding His saying,
وتقطعت بهم الأسباب
‘And all their ties will be cut between them.’ (al Baqarah 166)
He said, “The connections that they had in the life of this world.”
He gestured with his hand to them.
Abd Allah ibn Habiq said: Al Fudayl said, “Keep away from the Quran reciters. If they love you, they praise you with what is not in you, and if they are angry with you they testify against you and it is accepted from them.”
Al Fudayl has many admonitions and a firm footing in taqwa. He has a translation in the book of Hilyat al Awliya and in the History of Abu al Qasim Ibn Asakir (d. 571 AH).
He used to live from what Ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) and others among the righteous gave him, and he would refuse the gifts of rulers.
It is reported that we were sitting with al Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 187 AH). We said to him, “How many years are you?” He said, “I have reached eighty or passed it, so what can I hope for or wait for?
غرني السنون فأبلينني فدق العظام وكل البصر
The years have deceived me and worn me out,
they have crushed my bones and weakened my sight.”
Al Dhahabi said: He was of the same generation as Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) in birth, but he died several years before him.
Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā By Imam Al-Dhahabi (8/421–442)
