Fudhail Bin Iyad

7/30/2019 Fudhail Bin Iyad

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Al-Fudayl Ibn Iyad

Al-Dhahabdescribes Al-Fudayl b. Ayydas an Imm, an example, and Shaykh Al-Islm.

He is renowned as one of the pious Salaf, and many wise and inspiring statements are

related from him, Allh have mercy on him, so insha'Allah I wanted to dedicate thisthread to some of these wise and inspiring statements, feel free to add any more thatyou come across bi'idnillah.

Here is the story of how he made tawbah:

Al-Fadl b. Ms reports:

Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd used to be a highwayman, between Abyrd and Sarkhas. He was inlove with a girl, and the cause of his repentance was that he was once climbing a wall tomeet her when he heard someone reciting the following verses:

Has not the time come for those who believe,that their hearts should be humbled and submitted (to Allah)?

[Al-Hadd: 16]

When he heard this, Al-Fudayl said, Indeed my Lord, it is time.So he left, andseeking a nights shelter he found himself at some ruins, and there he saw sometravelers. Some of them said, We should move on.Others said, Wait until morning,

Al-Fudayl operates in this area, he will rob us.Al-Fudayl said,So I thought and saidto myself: I spend the night in sin and there are some Muslims here who fearme; I think that Allah only led me to them so that I might take lesson and stop

what I am doing. O Allah! I have repented, and as part of my tawbah I will livenext to Al-Bayt Al-Harm (in Makkah).

Al-Dhahab, Siyar Alm Al-Nubal` in his biography of Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd.

Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd[187H] Allah have mercy on him said:

Allah azza wa jalla accepts only those deeds which are both correct andsincere (pure). If the deed is done correctly but not sincerely, it will notbe accepted. And if it is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted.He was asked, Ab Al! What is the sincere and correct deed?Hereplied, The sincere deed is one that is done only for Allah azza wa jall.And the correct deed is one done according to the Sunnah.

Ab Nuaym, Hilyah Al-Awliy` Vol.8 p95.Al-Fudayl ibn Iyaadh said:

Whoever loves to be mentioned, will not be mentioned; and whoeverdislikes to be mentioned, then he will be mentioned.

As-Siyar: 8/432


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It is reported that Bashr b. Al-Hrith said,I was once with Al-Fudayl b. Ayydin Makkah. He sat with us until midnight, then went and did tawf untilthe morning. I said, Ab Al! Wont you sleep?He replied,Woe to you!And is there anyone who hears a mention of the Fire and thenfeels like sleeping!?

Ab Bakr Al-Daynr, Al-Mujlasah wa Jawhir Al-Ilm, article 723It is reported that Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd said,When backbiting appears,brotherhood for Allh will disappear; and at that time you will be likethings plated with gold and silver: wooden on the inside, [merely] lookinggood on the outside.

Ab Nuaym, Hilyah Al-Awliy`, Vol. 3 p395.It is reported on the authority of Ibrhm b. Al-Ashath that he said,I asked Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd Allh have mercy on him about patience (al-sabr) inthe face of adversity and he said, It is to not broadcast it. I asked himabout asceticism (al-zuhd) and he said, Al-zuhd is to be content withwhat you have, and that is what it means to be rich. I asked him aboutprudence (al-wara) and he said, It is to stay away from what isforbidden. And I asked him about humbleness (al-tawdu) and he said,It is when you submit to the truth and comply no matter who you hear itfrom; even if it was from the most ignorant of people, you would berequired to accept it from him.

IbnAbd Al-Barr, Jmi Bayn Al-Ilm wa Fadlihi Vol. 1 p498.

Fudail bin 'Iyad said, "Abandoning deeds because of people is riyaa' (showing off)! Anddoing deeds because of people is shirk(polytheism)! And ikhlaas (sincerity) is that Allahprotects you from both of that."

('Bustan al-'Arifin' by Imam al-Nawawi)

It is reported that Al-Fudayl b. Ayyd said:

If you can be unknown, be so; it doesnt matter if you are not known andit doesnt matter if you are not praised. It doesnt matter if you areblameworthy according to people if you are praiseworthy with Allh theMighty and Majestic.

Al-Bayhaq, Al-Zuhd Al-Kabr p100.


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Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad said, "As long as people are doing fine, their true nature isconcealed, but when calamity strikes, their true natures are revealed, so thebeliever resorts to his faith and the hypocrite resorts to his hypocrisy."

If you want to know if someone truly loves you purely for the sake of Allah then tell himsomething that will upset him or he will dislike, and see how he appears to youafterwards (Fudayl ibn Iyaad)

Ar-Rashid, a first century ruler, once said to al-Fudayl bin Iyad, "Admonish me."

"O Leader of the believers!" said al-Fudayl. "Indeed your grandfather, al-Abbas, theuncle of the Prophet, once went to the Prophet and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, appointme to be a leader.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'My uncle, indeed, being a leader leadsto sorrow, and regret on the Day of Resurrection. If you are able to go without everbeing a leader, then do so!'"

Moved to tears, ar-Rashid said, "Give me more."

al-Fudayl looked at ar-Rashid and said, "O one who has a handsome face, if you are ableto protect that face from the Hell-fire then do so. And beware of ever cheating orbetraying your people."

Being much moved by al-Fudayl's words, ar-Rashid wanted to reward him.

"Do you have any debts?" he asked.

"To my Lord, yes, and He will hold me accountable for them," said al-Fudayl.

"I am of course referring to debts to other human beings," said ar-Rashid.

After al-Fudayl answered in the negative, ar-Rashid said to one of his assistants, "Givehim 1000 dinars, which he can use to help his family."

Al-Fudayl was greatly offended by these words and said, "How perfect Allah is! I amguiding you to safety and you want to reward me with this paltry, worldly sum!" He thenleft, refusing to take anything.

Fudayl ibn Iyad (rahimahullah) said:

Whoever fears Allah will not be harmed by anyone, while whoever fearsothers besides Allah will not be helped by anyone.

from pg 22, Ibn al-Jawzi, The Devils Deception

Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (rahimahullaah) said: "If Iblees conquers the son Adam withone of the three [things] he says, 'I will not seek anything else from him.(1) being fond of himself, (2) deeming his deeds to be plentiful, and (3)forgetfulness... of his sins.'"

- Siyar 'Alam al Nubala'of Imaam ad-Dhahabeeal-Fudayl bin Iyad said:

Stick to the path of guidance, and do not be hurt by the small number ofpeople who take this path, and beware of the path of misguidance, and do


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not be fooled by the large number of people who destroy themselves onthis path.

[''Uluww al-Himmah'; p. 41]al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyaad (rahimahullah) said:

"There is no night when darkness comes but the Most Majestic calls out, 'Who is moregenerous than me? My creatures disobey Me but I take care of them in their beds as ifthey do not disobey Me. I continue to protect them as if they did not sin. I bestowgenerously upon the one who disobeys and I give generously to the sinner. Who is therethat calls Me and I do not respond? Who is there that asks of Me and I do not give?

I am the Most Generous and generosity comes from Me, I am the Most Kind andKindness comes from Me. It is by My generosity that I give My slave what he asks Me forand what he does not ask Me for. It is by My generosity that I give to the one whorepents as if he had never disobeyed Me. So where can my creation flee from Me? Where

will the disobedient find refuge other than with Me?"

[The World of Jinn and Devils, 'Umar al-Ashqar, p.219]al-Fudayl bin Iyad said:

If you love for the people to have exactly what you have (and nothingmore), then you have not been true to your Lord. So, how is it when yousecretly wish for them to have less than what you have?

['Jami' al-'Ulum wal-Hikam'; 1/309]

When Al-Fudayl Ibn Iyad was asked about the difference between advising andexposing, he said:

A believer covers up and advises [his or her fellow believers], whereasan evildoer exposes and humiliates [others].

["Jami' Al-'Uloom wal-'Hikam",77].

Fudhayl Ibn Iyaad said:

Associate with those who have good behavior, for they will only call you to goodness,and accompanying them brings comfort. As for ill-mannered persons, they only call toevil. Therefore, do notassociate with them, so that you save yourself from their illconduct. I prefer associating with a sinner who has good mannerism, to associating witha worshiper whose mannerism with people is unbecoming. Verily, the former type (thesinner who has good conduct in public) uses caution with people, who like him becausehe is easy going, while the latter, who has bad mannerism, is despised and disliked topeople.

Rawdhaat Ul-Uqalaa, p64


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Al-Fudhayl ibn Iyyaadh (rahimahullaah) said to a man:

How many (years)have come upon you?

He replied: Sixty years.

He said: Therefore, for sixty years you have been going to your Lord and you are aboutto reach (Him).

So the man said: To Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return!

So Al-Fudhayl asked:Do you know the meaning of that (statement)? You are saying, I belong to Allaah as aservant and I am going to return to Him. So whoeverknows that he belongs to Allaah asa servant and that he will return to Him, then he should know that he will bestopped. And whoeverknows that he will be stopped, then he should know that hewill be questioned. And whoeverknows that he will be questioned, then let him

prepare an answer for the question.

Jaami al-Uloom wal-Hikam of Ibn Rajab

Aboo Bakr al-Kataanee said:

A discussion about mahabbah took place in Makkah, during pilgrimage season.

The Shaykhs who were present spoke about this topic, and al-Junayd beingthe youngest of them. They said to him: What do you say, O Iraaqee? Soal-Junayd lowered his head and tears were gushing from his eyes, then he said:

A servant should overcome his soul,And be continuous in the remembrance of his Lord,Establishing the rights of his Lord,Focusing upon Him with his heart,The light of fear setting ablaze his heart,

Whilst drinking from the vessel of pure love,And certain hidden realities being unveiled for him.So when he talks, it is due to Allaah,When he speaks, it is from Allaah,When he moves, it is by the Command of Allaah,And when he is serene, then it is from Allaah,He belongs to Allaah, is for Allaah and is with Allaah.

Upon hearing, the Shaykhs all started weeping, and they said:

There is nothing left to add to that, may Allaah reward you O Crown of theKnowledgeable Ones.

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Fudhail Bin Iyad