al-'Uzlah wa-l-Infirad — A Truthful Companion Is Better Than Solitude

Volume 1 · Page 181A Truthful Companion Is Better Than Solitude

Translation · EN

AI translation

A TRUTHFUL COMPANION IS BETTER THAN SOLITUDE

167 - ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us: Dāwūd ibn ʿAmr al-Ḍabbī narrated to me: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us: ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal informed me, from a man of Banū Sadūs, from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, that he said: "A truthful companion is better than solitude, and solitude is better than an evil companion. The parable of the righteous companion is like that of the seller of perfume: if he does not give you any, you will still catch a pleasant fragrance from him. And the parable of the evil companion is like that of the blacksmith: if he does not burn you, you will still catch a bad odor from him. The heart (qalb) was only named so because of its turning (taqallub); and the parable of the heart is like a feather in a desolate desert driven by the wind against a tree, with the wind flipping it inside out. Indeed, after you there will be tribulations like patches of the dark night; a man will enter the morning in them as a believer and enter the evening as a disbeliever, and enter the evening as a believer and enter the morning as a disbeliever." They said: "What do you order whoever among us reaches that time to do?" He said: "Be the woven mats of your homes."

Notes

(1) And in a narration: "If he does not give you some of his perfume, its fragrance will cling to you." And it is said: aḥdhāhu: he gave him.\
(2) Transmitted by Ibn Abī Shayba (13/385–386), Ibn al-Mubārak in al-Zuhd (342), and there in al-Zuhd no. (1237), al-ʿUqaylī in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (1/60), Abū al-Shaykh in al-Amthāl (325), and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilya (1/263), from the route of ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, with it.
And it is said: He is the carpet (ḥils) of his house: he does not leave it.
And according to them, except Ibn al-Mubārak, they named the Sadūsī man by the name: Abū Kabsha al-Sadūsī.

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Arabic (Source)

جَلِيسُ الصِّدْقِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ١٦٧ - حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنِي دَاوُدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو الضَّبِّيُّ، ثنا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَاصِمٌ الأَحْوَلُ، عَنْ رَجُلٍ مِنْ بَنِي سَدُوسَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيِّ، قَالَ: " جَلِيسُ الصِّدْقِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ، وَالْوَحْدَةُ خَيْرٌ مِنْ جَلِيسِ السُّوءِ، وَمَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ مَثَلُ صَاحِبِ الْعِطْرِ، إِنْ لَمْ يُحْذِكَ يُعْبِقْكَ مِنْ رِيحِهِ (١) ، وَمَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ السُّوءِ مَثَلُ الْقَيْنِ إِنْ لَمْ يَحْرِقْكَ يُعْبِقْكَ مِنْ رِيحِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ الْقَلْبُ لِتَقَلُّبِهِ، وَمَثَلُ الْقَلْبِ مَثَلُ رِيشَةٍ فِي الْفَلاةِ أَلْجَأَتْهَا الرِّيحُ إِلَى شَجَرَةٍ، فَالرِّيحُ تُصَفِّقُهَا ظَهْرًا لِبَطْنٍ، وَإِنَّ بَعْدَكُمْ فِتَنًا كَقِطَعِ اللَّيْلِ الْمُظْلِمِ، يُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ فِيهَا مُؤْمِنًا وَيُمْسِي كَافِرًا، وَيُمْسِي مُؤْمِنًا وَيُصْبِحُ كَافِرًا، قَالُوا: فَمَا تَأْمُرُ مَنْ أَدْرَكَ مِنَّا ذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ: كُونُوا أَحْلاسَ الْبُيُوتِ (٢) .

Notes

(١) وفي رواية " إن لم يحذك من عطره علقك من ريحه " ويقال: أحذاه: أعطاه.(٢) أخرجه ابن ابي شيبة (١٣/٣٨٥ ـ ٣٨٦) ، وابن المبارك في " الزهد " (٣٤٢) ، وهناك في " الزهد " رقم (١٢٣٧) ، والعقيلي في " الضعفاء " (١/٦٠) ، وابو الشيخ في " الأمثال " (٣٢٥) ، وأبو نعيم في " الحلية " (١/٢٦٣) ، من طريق عاصم الأحول، به.ويقال: هو حلس بيته: لا يبرحه.وعندهم، عدا ابن المبارك سموا الرجل السدوسي باسم: أبي كبشة السدوسي.