Sound Advice

Advice of Jundub (ra)

- I advise you to fear Allah.

- I advise you to adhere to the Qur'an - for it is light in the darkest of nights and it is guidance during the day.

- Apply it, but if a trial such as poverty comes to you, give precedence to your religion over wealth.

- If the trial worsens, continue to put your religion before your wealth and your soul, for indeed the only one who is destroyed is the one whose religion is destroyed. The one who is poor is the one who has lost his religion.

- Know that there is no poverty after Paradise and there is no riches after the Hellfire.

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Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) said: "I advise you with five:

- None of you should hope except from His Lord and none of you should fear except his sin.

- None should be shy (when faced with a question) to reply humbly with "I do not know."

- And none should hesitate to acquaint themselves with the matter that they are ignorant about

- One should know that the patience to Iman is like the head to a body; if the head is cut off, the body perishes as well.

- Whoever desires richness without having wealth and abundance and without having a large clan, then let him turn from the depravity of sin to the honor of serving Allah."

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Fudail bin 'Iyad said: "If you are not able to fast or pray, then know that you are shackled and confined by your sins." Allah (the Exalted) says:

"Yes! Whosoever earns evil and his sin has surrounded him, they are dwellers of the Fire (i.e. Hell); they will dwell therein forever." (Qur'an 2:81)

Ibn Mubarak said: "I saw that sins cause hearts to die, that base actions lead to their addiction, that avoiding sins is life for the heart, and that it is better for your soul for you to disobey it."

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Hasan Basri advised some of his students admonishing them about avoiding the state of being proud. He said:

1. Do not deceive yourself into becoming too proud because you are in a good or righteous environment, for there is no place that is better than Paradise, and our father, Adam (as), experienced there what is known to all.

2. Do not become proud merely because you worship often, for consider what happened to Iblis (satan) after he spent a great deal of time worshipping.

3. Do not think yourself great because you have met with righteous people, for there is no man more righteous than the Prophet (pbuh), yet the disbelievers and hypocrites did not benefit by simply knowing him.

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Luqman (as) said: "If you are in prayer, take care of your heart; if you are eating, take care of your throat, if you are in another man's house, take care of your eyes; if you are among people, take care of your tongue. Remember two matters and forget two matters: Remember Allah & death; forget any good that you have done to another and any evil that was done to you by another."