his fast with what is unlawful, spends the night in prayer, and then bears false witness by day—he mentioned other deeds of this sort—yet you will not find him speaking except what is right, while his actions are forever at odds with his words.
A neighbor of Yunus said, “I never saw anyone who made more istighfar (seeking forgiveness) than Yunus; he would lift his gaze toward the sky and ask for pardon.”
Hammad ibn Zayd said: I heard Yunus remark, “Soon your eye will see what it has never seen, and your ear will hear what it has never heard. You will leave one stage only to enter another that is even harsher, until the last of those stages is the crossing over the Sirat.”
Hammad ibn Zayd also related that a man once complained to Yunus of a pain in his stomach. Yunus said to him, “Servant of Allah, this abode does not suit you; seek an abode that does.”
Ghassan ibn al-Mufaddal al-Ghalabi narrated: One of our companions told me that a man came to Yunus ibn Ubayd and complained of hardship in his circumstances, his livelihood, and the sorrow this caused him. Yunus asked, “Would you be pleased to receive one hundred thousand in exchange for your eyesight?” The man replied, “No.” Yunus said, “For your hearing?” He said, “No.” Yunus said, “For your tongue?” He said, “No.” Yunus said, “For your intellect?” He said, “No.” All the while Yunus was reminding him of Allah’s favors upon him. Then Yunus concluded, “I reckon you possess hundreds of thousands, yet you complain of poverty!”
Hammad ibn Zayd said: I heard Yunus ibn Ubayd say, “We devoted ourselves to collecting what benefits other people and wrote it down, but we neglected what would benefit ourselves and left it aside.”
It is also related from Yunus that he said, “Paradise is hoped for the impetuous youth who still shows righteousness to his parents, whereas the devout worshipper who is undutiful is feared for the Fire.”
Hazm ibn Abi Hazm said: Yunus ibn Ubayd once passed by us on a donkey while we were seated at the door of Ibn Lahik. He stopped and said, “The one who, when the sunnah is pointed out to him, recognizes it has become a stranger, and even stranger is the one who points it out.”