Inspiration from Past & Present
Once a scholar of ḥadīth visited the great Ḥanafī jurist Abū Yūsuf to exchange knowledge and benefit. On the first day, the muḥaddith relayed a number of ḥadīth. The next day, he approached Abū Yūsuf for a fiqh ruling on a contemporary issue, who promptly provided him with the ruling. When the muḥaddith asked Abū Yūsuf for his proof and what he based his ruling on, Abū Yūsuf replied, “From the ḥadīth you relayed to us yesterday,” and spelled out his proof derivations. The muḥaddith laughed and announced to all present:
يَا مَعشَرَى الفُقَهَاءُ أَنتُمُ الأَطِبَّاءُ وَ نَحنُ الصَّـيَادِلَةُ
“O company of jurists, you indeed are the doctors while we are the pharmacists.”
— from Shaykh Waleed Idrees’s commentary on Bakr Abu Zayd’s Book on Knowledge, available on islamway.com
The Muslim ummah cannot take another war. Let’s unite on our common grounds rather than focus on our differences. Let us focus on what we agree upon and negotiate/discuss matters based upon them. You will find that most of these differences will begin to melt away.
—Shaykh Waleed Bassyouni, Torchbearers 2010 NJ
مَنْ عَلِمَ أَنَّ الْمَوْت مَوْرِدُهُ , وَالْقِيَامَةَ مَوْعِدُهُ , وَالْوُقُوفَ بَيْن يَدَيْ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مَشْهَدُهُ , فَحَقُّهُ أَنْ يَطُولَ فِي الدُّنْيَا حُزْنُهُ
Whoever realizes that death is his ultimate fate, Judgement his final appointment, and standing before Allah his inevitable witnessing, then it is his right that in this world, his grief be prolonged.
—Hasan al-Basri [d. 110/728]
Fath al-Bari
Whoever fears Allah will not be harmed by anyone, while whoever fears others besides Allah will not be helped by anyone.
—Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad [d. 187H]
(from pg 22, Ibn al-Jawzi, The Devil’s Deception. Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution. UK: 1996.)