on what he knows can dispense with what he does not know; and whoever practices what he knows, Allah will guide him to what he does not know. The one whose character turns bad disgraces his religion, his standing and his honour.

I also heard him say: “The greatest liar is the one who returns to the very sin he left; the most ignorant of people is he who prides himself on his good deeds; and the most learned of people about Allah is the one who fears Him most. A servant will never attain completeness until he prefers his religion to his desire, and he will never be ruined until he prefers his desire to his religion.”

Muhammad ibn ʿAbdawayh reported: I heard al-Fudayl say, “To abandon a deed for the sake of people is ostentation; to perform it for the sake of people is polytheism. Sincerity is that Allah protects you from both.”

Salim ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Khurasani said: I heard al-Fudayl remark, “Yesterday is only an object lesson, today is for action, and tomorrow is for hope.”

Fayd ibn Ishaq related that al-Fudayl said, “By Allah, it is not lawful for you to harm even a dog or a pig without right—so how can you harm a Muslim?!”

It is also related from him: “A person is not truly among the God-fearing until even his enemy feels safe from him.”

And from him: “The smaller a sin seems in your own sight, the greater it is with Allah; and the greater it seems to you, the smaller it is with Allah.”

Muhriz ibn ʿAwn said: I visited al-Fudayl in Mecca, and he said to me: “Muhriz, you too are with the hadith scholars—what have you done with the Quran? By Allah, if a single letter of it had been revealed in Yemen, we ought to travel there to hear it. By Allah, for you to be a herder of donkeys while remaining on what Allah loves is better for you than to circle the Kaʿbah while persisting in what Allah hates.”

Al-Mufaddal al-Janadi narrated: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Tabari told us, “I have never seen anyone more fearful for himself, nor more hopeful for people, than al-Fudayl. His recitation…"