Dhahabi on Abu Musa Al Ash’ari (رضي الله عنه)

Imam Adh Dhahabi said:

He (Abu Musa Al Ash’ari (رضي الله عنه)) was knowledgeable, active, righteous and a reciter of Qur’an; he had the most beautiful voice when he recited  Qur’an. He recited good and blessed knowledge and was the most knowledgeable of the people of the Basra of the Qur’an and Islam.

[Tadhkirat al Huffadh]

We smelled like sheeps..

حدثنا محمد بن أحمد بن الحسن ، ثنا بشر بن موسى ، ثنا الحسن بن موسى الأشيب ، ثنا شيبان ، عن قتادة ، عن أبي بردة بن أبي موسى ، عن أبيه ، قال : يا بني لو شهدتنا ونحن مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا أصابتنا السماء لحسبت أن ريحنا ريح الضأن

 Abu Musa al Ashari (رضي الله عنه) said to his son, “O my dear son, if only you could see us when we were with Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) (during meccan period)! When it rained from the sky, (we were so poor that we had no change of clothes) that we smelled like sheeps.”

Hilyatul Awliya, Ibn Majah and Albani classified it sahih

Abu Musa al Ashari (رضي الله عنه) voice

حدثنا عبد الله بن جعفر ، ثنا إسماعيل بن عبد الله ، ثنا مسلم بن إبراهيم ، ثنا سعيد بن زربي ، ثنا ثابت البناني ، عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله تعالى عنه ، قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ” لقد أوتي أبو موسى مزمارا من مزامير آل داود

Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) said, “Surely Abu Musa (رضي الله عنه) is endowed with a voice as beautiful as that emanated from flute from the flutes of family of Dawud عليه السلام.”

Hilyatul awliya

This Qur’an can either be your blessed reward, or it can become your unexpected burden

Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari said:

إن هذا القرآن كائن لكم أجرا، وكائن عليكم وزرا، فاتبعوا القرآن و لا يتبعنكم القرآن ! فإنه من اتبع القرآن هبط به على رياض الجنة ومن تبعه القرآن زخ في قفاه، فقذفه في النار

“This Qur’an can either be your blessed reward, or it can become your unexpected burden on the day of reckoning. Follow the Qur’an and do not let the Qur’an follow you! For whosoever follows the Qur’an, it will lead him to the blissful gardens of janna, and whosoever is followed by the Qur’an, it will chase him and force him until it shoves him into the abyss of hell-fire (naar al-jahannam)”.

[“Hilyat Al-Awliya”, 1/257].

`Be content with your provision in this world…

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: “Umar bin Al-Khattab wrote this letter to Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari:

`Be content with your provision in this world, for the Most Merciful has honored some of His servants over others in terms of provision as a test of both. The one who has been given plenty is being tested to see if he will give thanks to Allah and fulfill the duties which are his by virtue of his wealth…”’

It was reported by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Teach but do not Pretend

Ibn Al-Muhallab reports that he heard Abȗ Mȗsâ Al-Ash’arî – Allah be pleased with him – standing on his minbar (pulpit) saying:

Whoever Allâh has given some knowledge should teach it. And he must not say anything he has no knowledge of, lest he become one of the pretenders and leave the religion.

Ibn Sa’d, Al-Tabaqât 4:102. Maktabah Al-Khânjî, Cairo.

Ten Examples of the Haya’ of the Salaf

1 – Abu Musa al-Ash’ari:

Anas bin Malik said:

“When Abu Musa would sleep, he would wear a small over garment, fearing that his ‘awrah would be exposed.”

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 2/399]

2 – Ibn ‘Abbas:

“He would not enter the bathroom except that he was alone, and would be wearing a thick outer garment, saying: “I am shy from Allah Seeing me in the bathroom without any clothing.””

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 3/355]

3 – ‘A’ishah:

“I used to enter the building in which the Messenger of Allah and my father were buried while I was dressed lightly, saying: ‘These are just my husband and father.’

However, when ‘Umar was buried, by Allah, I never entered this building except that my clothing was wrapped tightly around my body, out of shyness from ‘Umar.”

[al-Hakim’s ‘Mustadrak’ (4/7), and he declared it authentic]

4 – Hisham bin ‘Ammar:

Mu’awiyah bin Aws narrated:

“I saw Hisham bin ‘Ammar, and when he would walk in the street, he would look down to the ground, and he would never raise his head to the sky, out of shyness from Allah – the Mighty and Majestic.”

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 11/430]

5 – al-Humaydi:

“Abu Bakr bin Maymun came and knocked on the door of al-Humaydi, and assumed that he was given permission to enter. So, he entered, finding al-Humaydi with his thigh exposed. al-Humaydi began to cry, saying: “By Allah, you have just laid your eyes on something that nobody has seen since I have reached adulthood!””

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 19/122]

6 – Muhammad bin Yahya adh-Dhuhli:

Abu al-‘Abbas al-Azhari said:

“I heard the servant of Muhammad bin Yahya adh-Dhuhli saying, while he was being washed: “I served him for thirty years, and I would give him his water, and I never even saw his leg, and I was his property.””

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 12/279]

7 – al-Imam al-Bukhari:

Muhammad bin Abi Hatim narrated:

“Some of my companions said to me: “We were at the house of Muhammad bin Salam, and Muhammad bin Isma’il al-Bukhari entered upon his upon his return from Iraq. So, he began to inform us of the tribulation that the people were being put through, as well as what had happened to Ahmad bin Hambal, etc.

When al-Imam al-Bukhari exited the house, Muhammad bin Salam said to those present: “Have you ever seen a virgin with as much shyness as this man?””

[‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala”; 12/418]

8 – Ibn al-Qayyim narrated that some of the Salaf said:

“If one does something in secret that he is shy from doing in public, this means that he means nothing to himself.”

[‘Madarij as-Salikin’; 2/353]

9 – Shams ad-Din al-Maqdisi:

“If my leg becomes exposed while I am alone, I rush to cover it up while making istighfar.”

[‘al-Mukhtar al-Masun min A’lam al-Qurun’; 1/540]

10 – Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Ghumari:

He would refuse to fall asleep in the presence of anyone, saying: “I fear that some bad smell would emanate from me while I am sleeping.”

[‘al-Mukhtar al-Masun min A’lam al-Qurun’; 2/758]