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Four Imaams (130)
‘Abdullah (rahimahullah), the son of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah), narrates the following:
I was seated beside my father when he was about to pass away. He would lose consciousness until we would think that he had passed away, then he would regain consciousness and exclaim by gesturing with his hand, “Not Yet! Not yet!” When He repeated this for the third time, I asked him, “O my father! What is this that you are repeatedly doing at this critical moment?” In reply, he asked, “My son! Do you not know?” When I replied in the negative, he said, “Iblees – may the curse of Allah befall him! – was standing beside me, biting his fingertips and exclaiming, ‘O Ahmed! You have escaped me!’ and so I was replying, ‘Not yet, until I have left this world! (i.e. I have only escaped you after I pass away with Imaan).’”
(Hilyatul Awliyaa 9/194)
Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) in the Eyes of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah)
Written by user2Maimooni (rahimahullah) says that he heard Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) mention, “There are six people for whom I make du‘aa at the time of Sehri. One of them is Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah).” (Siyar A’laam min Nubalaa 10/45)
‘Abdullah (rahimahullah), the son of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah), narrates the following:
I once asked my father, “What type of person was Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah), for I hear you making abundant du‘aa for him?” Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) replied, “O my son! He was like the sun to the world and like safety for the people. Could there be any replacement or substitute for the sun and safety?” (Siyar A’laam min Nubalaa 10/45)
Muhammad bin ‘Umar (Imaam Waaqidi) (rahimahullah) says that he heard Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) mention the following:
When Al-Mansoor (the Muslim ruler) performed Haj, he summoned me. I thus answered his summons and went to him. After entering into his presence, we held a conversation during which he asked me questions and I answered him.
Al-Mansoor then said to me, “I have decided to instruct for copies to be made of your kitaabs (i.e. the kitaabs of Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) that formed his compilation of Hadith known as Al-Muwatta) after which I will send one copy to each city of the Muslims. I will command them to practice on what is in your kitaab and abandon all other knowledge which has reached them. I wish to do this because I feel that the basis of knowledge is only the narrations and knowledge of the people of Madinah Munawwarah.”
‘Abdullah bin Mubaarak (rahimahullah) narrates the following:
I once said to Sufyaan Thowri (rahimahullah), “O Abu ‘Abdillah! I notice that Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) exercises extreme caution in refraining from gheebah (backbiting)! I never heard him even speak ill of his enemies!” Sufyaan (rahimahullah) replied, “He is intelligent enough to not carry out such an action that will cause him to lose all his good deeds.”
(Wafayaat-ul-A’yaan 5/411)
Faatimah (rahimahallah), the daughter of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah), narrates the following:
A fire once broke out in the home of my brother, Saalih. He had married just recently, and so his wife’s family had brought gifts to his home worth approximately four thousand Dinaars (gold coins). When the fire broke out, it destroyed all these gifts. When the fire was burning, Saalih said, “I am not grieved by anything that was burned, except for the garment of my father, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah). My father would perform salaah in this garment, and I thus kept it so that I may derive blessings from it and also perform salaah in it.” After the fire was extinguished, they entered the home and found the garment of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) on a bed. The fire had consumed everything around the garment, but the garment itself was intact and unburned.
Ibnul Jowzi (rahimahullah) narrates a similar incident from the Head Qadhi, ‘Ali bin Husain Al-Zainabi. He mentioned that a fire once broke out in their home and destroyed everything, except for a kitaab which contained a few pages on which Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) had personally written.
(Siyar A’laam min Nubalaa vol. 11 pg. 230)
Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) narrates:
I was an orphan in the care of my mother, and my mother did not have anything which she could give to my Ustaad. However, my Ustaad was happy that when he would leave the class, I would see to the students in his absence. After I completed memorizing the Qur’aan Majeed, I entered the Musjid and began to sit with the ‘Ulamaa, memorizing the Ahaadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and various masaa’il of Deen. Our home, in Makkah Mukarramah, was situated in the valley of the Mountain of Khaif. I would find bones that were clean and clear and on which I was able to write Ahaadith and masaa’il of Deen (as I could not afford paper to write on). We had an old jar in our home. Whenever I had written on the entire surface of the bone and there was no other space left to write, I would place it in the jar.
(Hilyatul Awliyaa vol. 9 pg. 82)
Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) was extremely cautious in passing Fatwa. He was once asked forty questions. Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) answered four of the questions and remarked regarding the remaining thirty six questions, “I do not know.” (Mirqaat vol. 1 pg. 528)
Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) once mentioned, “I did not commence passing Fatwa until seventy ulamaa testified that I was capable of passing Fatwa.” (Hilyatul Awliyaa vol. 6 pg. 345)
Ya’qoob bin Ebrahim, also known as Abu Yusuf (rahimahullah), was the renowned student of Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah). He narrates the following:
I would study the knowledge of Hadith and Fiqh whereas I was in a state of poverty and straitened conditions. My father thus came to me one day while I was seated with Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah). When I left the gathering of Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) with my father, he said to me, “O my son! Do not stretch your legs with Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah), for his bread is roasted whereas you need to earn a livelihood (i.e. do not spend your time acquiring the knowledge of Deen from Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) for he has sufficient wealth that allows him to free himself for Deen whereas you do not have wealth).”
Marroozi (rahimahullah) narrates the following incident:
I once ushered Ebrahim Al-Husri (rahimahullah), who was a pious man, into the presence of Abu ‘Abdillah, Imaam Ahmad bin Hambal (rahimahullah). When he met Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullah), Ebrahim Al-Husri (rahimahullah) mentioned, “My mother saw a dream relating to you. She saw such-and-such in her dream, and she also mentioned seeing you in Jannah.” When Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullah) heard this, he replied, “O my nephew! People would narrate similar dreams to Sahl bin Salaamah, whereas he was a person who was involved in murder and bloodshed.” Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullah) then explained, “A good dream should please one, but should not deceive one (through causing him to feel complacent of his piety and righteousness).”
(Siyar A’laam min Nubalaa vol. 11 pg. 227)
Imaam Muzani (rahimahullah) narrates the following incident:
When Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) came to Egypt, I said to myself, “If there is any person who can answer the intricate question related to ‘Aqaa’id which is in my heart and absorbing my mind, perhaps it will be him.” With this in mind, I went to Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) and found him seated in the Musjid of Egypt. When I sat before him, I said, “There is an intricate mas’alah pertaining to ‘Aqaa’id in my heart (that I wish to ask). So I said, ‘There is nobody who possesses knowledge as great as that which you possess. So inform me regarding the in depth knowledge of ‘Aqaa’id that you possess.’”
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Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) narrates the following incident:
On one occasion, a person asked Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) whether pictures of animate objects could be kept in one’s home. Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) replied, “Pictures should not be kept in the home.”
Hearing this, a man from Iraq, who happened to be present, asked Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah), “Then how is it that there is a picture in your home?” Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) was surprised to hear this and immediately said, “I have been living in this home for such-and-such a period and I never saw the picture! (perhaps the picture was in a place that was not clearly noticeable) ” Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) then instructed the man saying, “Stand and erase the picture.” The man thus took a stick, wrapped a piece of cloth around it, and used it to rub the picture until it was completely erased.”
(Al-Deebaaj-ul-Muzahhab vol. 1 pg. 97)
Ahmed bin Basheer (rahimahullah) and Hafs bin Ghiyaath (rahimahullah) have both mentioned the following:
At times, we would see a person who exerted himself in Nafl ‘Ibaadah, however we found him lacking in his knowledge of Halaal and Haraam. Similarly, at times, we would find a person to be an expert in Halaal and Haraam, however he was deficient in his Nafl ‘Ibaadah and extra devotional practices. The only exception that we had seen was Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah), as he was an embodiment of both ‘Ilm and ‘Amal. According to our estimate, in just the place where he passed away, besides other places, he recited the Qur’aan Majeed seven thousand times. During every month of Ramadhaan, he would recite the Qur’aan Majeed sixty times.
(Seerat Imaam A’zam Abu Hanifah by Ml Fazl-ur-Rahmaan A’zami pg. 144)
Maimooni (rahimahullah) mentions that Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) said the following to him, “O Abul Hasan! Beware discussing any mas’alah of Deen in which you do not have any senior to follow.”
‘Abdur Rahmaan At-Tabeeb narrates the following:
On one occasion, Imaam Ahmed bin Hambal (rahimahullah) and Bishr bin Haarith (also known as Bishr Haafi (rahimahullah)) were sick. When I would go to Bishr (rahimahullah), I would ask him, “How do you find your condition?” When replying, he would first praise Allah Ta‘ala and thereafter inform me of his condition. Hence, he would reply, “I praise Allah Ta‘ala to you. I find my condition to be such-and-such.”
The Generosity of Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) – Part One
Written by user2Abu Thowr (rahimahullah) mentions, “Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah), on account of his generosity, would very seldom hold back any wealth.”
Rabee’ bin Sulaimaan (rahimahullah) narrates:
When I made nikaah, Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) asked me, “How much of mahr did you promise your wife?” I replied, “Thirty dinaars.” Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) then asked me, “How much have you already given her?” I replied, “Six dinaars.” Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) thereafter ascended to his home and sent me a bag in which there were twenty four dinaars.”
(Aadaab-us-Shaafi‘ee wa Manaaqibuhu pg. 125-126)