He was asked, “What is asceticism?” He answered, “Contentment.”
He was asked, “What is scrupulous piety?” He answered, “To keep away from the forbidden.”
He was asked, “What is worship?” He answered, “Performing the prescribed duties.”
He was asked, “What is humility?” He answered, “To yield to the truth.”
He also said, “The hardest form of scrupulousness is that of the tongue.”
I say: Such indeed is the case. You may find a man careful about his food, clothing, and business dealings, yet once he speaks temptation enters through his words. He may try to tell the truth, yet his truthfulness is incomplete; or he may speak the truth but polish his speech so that he is praised for eloquence; or he may display the best he has so that he is held in reverence; or he may keep silent where speech is needed so that he will be commended. The cure for all of this is to withdraw from people—except for attending the congregational prayer.
ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Yazīd said: I heard Fudayl say, “If I had a single supplication that I knew would be answered, I would devote it to the ruler, for the righteousness of the ruler brings righteousness to the land and its people.”
I also heard him say, “There are only two kinds of scholars: the scholar of this world, whose knowledge is on open display, and the scholar of the Hereafter, whose knowledge is hidden. Beware of the scholar of the world; his drunkenness will harm you. Scholars are many, but sages are few.”
From him as well: “A servant does not attain the reality of faith until he regards affliction as a blessing and ease as a calamity, and until he no longer loves to be praised for worshipping Allah.”
Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ziyād al-Marwazī said: I heard Fudayl say, “If I were to swear that I am a show-off, it would be dearer to me than to swear that I am not. If I saw a man around whom people had gathered, I would say, ‘He is mad! Who is there around whom people gather who does not wish to embellish his speech for them?’”
Fayd ibn Isḥāq said: I heard Fudayl say, “This world is no place of residence; Adam was only cast down to it as a punishment. Do you not see how it is withheld from him and made bitter for him through hunger …”