Abū Hurayrah – Allāh be pleased with him – once saw two men. He asked one of them,

“How is this man related to you?” He replied, “He is my father.” Abū Hurayrah said, “Do not call him by his name, do not walk in front of him and do not sit before he does.”

ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

A believer might harbour any [bad] quality, except treachery and lying.

Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

When a man amongst us learned ten verses [of the Quran], he would not move on [to the next verses] until he had understood their meanings and how to act by them.

It is reported that a man came to ʿAlī – Allāh be pleased with him – and asked,

What do you think about a man who committed a sin? He replied, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him.[The man] said, He did that, but then sinned again? [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man again said, He did that, but returned to sin. [ʿAlī] said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him. The man said for the fourth time, He did, but then sinned again. ʿAlī then said, Until when? Then he said, He must seek Allāh’s forgiveness and repent to Him; and not give up until it is Shayṭān who is defeated [overcome].

It is reported that Al-Awzāʿī said:

Follow the narrations [ways] of those who have preceded (the Salaf) even if people reject you; and beware of people’s opinions, even if they beautify them for you.

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

The seeking of knowledge cannot truly be achieved except with four things: time (al-farāgh, being free to study), sufficient wealth (al-māl, to avoid preoccupation with seeking a living), preservation (al-ḥifẓ, memorization) and piety (al-waraʿ, religious cautiousness).

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Fulfil what Allāh has obligated you to do and you will be from the most devout of people, stay away from what Allāh has forbidden you and you will be from the most careful of people, and be satisfied with what Allāh has apportioned for you and you will be from the richest of people.

Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

“Verily, we were a disgraceful people and Allah honored us with Islam. If we seek honor from anything besides that with which Allah honored us, Allah will disgrace us.”

It is reported that Sufyān b. ‘Uyainah – Allāh have mercy on him – said,

“The intelligent person is not one who merely knows what is good and what is bad. The intelligent person is one who, when he sees what is good, follows it, and when he sees evil, shuns it.”

It is reported that Al-Ḥasan Al-Baṣrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Whoever is happy (satisfied) with what Allāh has apportioned for him, it will suffice him and Allāh will bless it for him, but whoever is not satisfied, then [what is apportioned for him] will not suffice him and it will not be blessed.

It is reported that Ibrāhīm b. Adham – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

A person has not been true to Allāh, the mighty and sublime, if he loves recognition (fame).

The Companion Abū Al-Dardāʾ – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

Knowledge only comes from learning, and forbearance comes from trying to be forbearing, and whoever seeks what is good will be given it, and whoever avoids evil will be protected from it.

It is reported that Sufyān Al-Thawrī said:

A man who wanted to write ḥadīth would [learn] manners and worship for twenty years before starting.

It is reported that ʿIkrimah – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

Everyone gets happy and gets sad, but you should turn your happiness into gratitude (to Allāh) and your sadness into patience (ṣabr).

It is reported that ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

I do not like it that a day or night comes upon me without me looking at the speech of Allāh, meaning reading from the muṣḥaf.

It is reported that Yūnus b. ʿUbayd – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

There is no one who is mindful of what he says except that you will see the good of it in the rest of his actions.

It is reported that Abū Al-Dardā – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

You will never be pious (a person of taqwā) until you become knowledgeable, and you will never be beautiful with your knowledge until you act [by it].

It is reported that ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb – Allāh be pleased with him – said to a young man while exhorting him:

A man might have ten qualities, nine of them good and one bad, but the nine good ones can be spoiled by the one bad quality. Beware of the slips and faults of youth.