​Strive Against Yourself​

Whoever strives hard against his lusts in Allāh’s Cause by means of repentance will be guided to paths of sincerity.  We will never be able to fight our enemy in the outside except when we fight our enemies within ourselves.  Whoever gains victory over himself will gain victory over his enemies, and whoever is defeated within himself will be defeated by his enemies.

Knowledge Leads to Leadership

A bedouin once passed by Basra and asked, “Who is the Master of this city?”

It was said to him, “Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.”

He asked, “And how did he become their master?”

They replied, “He had no need of their worldly effects but they were in need of his knowledge.”

Love of Dunya and Taqwa

It has been conveyed to me that a time will come when the hearts of the people will become so filled with the love of this world that the fear of Allah will not enter their hearts.  You can understand this if you fill a bag with so much of something that the bag becomes full to the brim; then try to put something else in the bag, and you will undoubtedly find no space to put anything else inside.—Sufyān al-Thawrī

Treat Anger With Patience and Mercy

When your companion becomes angry and says something that is unwarranted, you should not take it too hard.  His situation is that of a drunken person who is not aware of what is taking place.  Instead, be patient, even if it means only for a little while.  If you reciprocate his words with harsh words of your own, you become like the sane person who seeks revenge on a madman, or the conscious person who seeks retribution from an unconscious one.  Look at him with a merciful eye and pity him for his actions.—Ibn al-Jawzī [d. 597H/1201CE] in Sayd al-Khaatir

Giving Shaitan Hopes

If the shaytaan looks at you and sees that you are consistent in an act of obedience to Allaah, he will try to come to you again and again. If he sees that you are persistent in your actions (despite his efforts) he will tire of you and leave you. But if he sees that you are one day like this and one day like that, he will have high hopes in you. - Al Hasan Al Basree

Soften The Hardness with Dhikr

A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri, “O Abu Sa’eed, I am complaining to you of the hardness of my heart.”

He said,“Soften it with dhikr. The more forgetful the heart is, the harder it becomes, but if a person remembers Allaah, that hardness softens as copper melts in the fire. Nothing can soften the hardness of the heart like the remembrance of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. Dhikr is healing and medicine for the heart. Forgetfulness is a disease, the cure for which is remembrance of Allaah

Knowledge Leads to Repentance

If a man comes out of his house carrying a burden of sins like the mountains of Tihamah, then when he hears some knowledge he fears Allah and repents, he will go back home with no sins on him.  So do not forsake the gatherings of the scholars.—’Umar Ibn Al-Khattab