Stay Away From the Filth of the People!
Sufyaan
ath-Thawree said to ‘Alee ibn al-Hasan, while advising him, O my brother! You must take to acquiring that which is pure,
and that which you yourself have earned, and beware of eating and dressing from
the filth of the people [i.e. living from their charity and hand-outs]. Indeed
the one who eats from the filth of the people is like a man who owns the upper
story of a building, but not the lower story, so he is always afraid that the
lower story will fall down causing his upper story to be demolished.
And
the one who eats from the filth of the people speaks from whims and desires, agreeing
with the people, out of fear of being shunned by them.
O
my brother! If you were to receive anything from the people, you would hinder
and prevent your tongue [i.e. from speaking the truth to them], and you would
honor some people and treat others with contempt, despite the punishment that
will befall you on the Day of Resurrection. For indeed the one who gives you
something from his wealth, has indeed given you his filth.
And
the explanation of why this is his filth is that the wealth he gives purifies
his actions from sins [i.e. and hence becomes filthy for us, just like water
becomes dirty in the process of cleaning a garment].
And
if you were to accept anything from the people, then if they were to call you
to do evil, you would accede to their wishes. Indeed the one who eats from the
filth of the people is like the man who has some partners, and he feels that he
is bound to them, by an oath. My brother! Hunger and starvation, and engaging
in few acts of worship, is better than eating ones
fill via the filth of the people, and [hence being able to do] many acts of
worship.
And
it has reached us that Allaahs Messenger (sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallama) said,
"If
one of you had taken some rope and then gathered some firewood [to sell it to
the people], until his back became sore, then that would be better for you than
being dependent upon his brother by asking for something or
anticipating something."[Related by al-Bukhaaree.]
And
it has reached us that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (radiyallaahu ta’aalaa anhu)
said,
"Whoever
among you works, then we commend him and whoever does not work, then we have
doubts about him. And he said, O Reciters! Raise your heads! [i.e. Don't
go about with heads bent as if out of humility, for humility is of the heart.]
Do not add humility to what is in the heart, while competing with one another
for good deeds, and do not be dependent upon the people, for that way has
become clear."
And
Alee ibn Abee Taalib (radiyallaahu ta’aalaa ‘anhu) said,
"Indeed the one who lives completely from the hands of the
people, is like the one who plants a tree upon someone elses
land."
So
fear Allaah, my brother, being conscious of Him! For no one has acquired
something from the people, except that he becomes despised and contemptible
with the people, and the Believers are Allaahs
witnesses on the earth.
Be
careful not to earn through evil ways and then spend that wealth in obeying
Allaah, for indeed avoidance of it has been made an obligation and a duty by
Allaah, and indeed He is Pure (Tayyib) and accepts only that which is pure
(tayyib).
Do
you not see that a man who had a robe upon which some urine dropped, so he
wanted to clean it but he washed it with some
more urine?! Do you think that he has actually cleaned it? Of course not!
Indeed dirt and filth cannot be purified except with that which is pure, and
likewise the sin can only be wiped out with a good deed. And indeed Allaah is
Pure and accepts only that which is pure, and indeed the Haraam is not accepted
in any of the actions. Or can it be that someone commits a sin and then
eradicates it with [another] sin?!
[Related
by Aboo Nu'aym in al-Hilyah (8/71-72).]
Taken from Words of Advice From the
Salaf, published by Salafi Publications
