174 – Abū ʿUthmān al-Fārisī narrated to me; he said: Muʿtamar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, from al-Furāt ibn Salmān, from al-Ḥasan, who said:

“The people were once cheerful and far more gentle; a man who carried no grief would not flaunt himself over one who had been afflicted. But today … trustworthiness has dwindled, greed has grown fierce, the severing of ties has become widespread, innovations (bidʿahs) have appeared, and the Sunnahs have been abandoned. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. A person today who truly understands this religion, whenever he lifts his gaze, finds himself saddened by what he sees among the people and even among his own acquaintances. Strange ways have become the norm, so that you can scarcely recognise anything any longer.”