Al-Tabarānī reports from him: “I would prefer to have spent one dirham on idle amusement, and for it to have been worth a hundred thousand in its place, for I fear that this verse may concern me: ‘And among people is he who buys idle talk to mislead from the way of Allah’ (Luqmān 31:6).” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/83) Ja‘far ibn Burqān reports on the authority of Maimūn ibn Mihrān: “I was with ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, and when I stood up to leave, ʿUmar said: ‘When this man and his peers are gone, nothing will remain of the people but the rabble.’” Some manuscripts read “mujāja”; al-Hilya confirms this reading, and Lisān al-ʿArab (lemma rjj) explains that rajašanās refers to the rabble and the ignorant. Imām Aḥmad relates from Mu‘ammar ibn Sulaymān al-Raqqī, from Furāt ibn Sulaymān, from Maimūn ibn Mihrān that he said: “There are three matters by which the soul cannot be tested: do not approach a ruler even if you say, ‘I will enjoin him to obedience to Allah’; do not be alone with a woman even if you say, ‘I will teach her the Book of Allah’; and do not lend your ear to a person of desire, for you do not know which of his desires may cling to your heart.” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/84–85; al-Dhahabī, Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’, 5/77) ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad reports from him on the commentary to “Indeed, Hell has been lying in wait” (al-Naba’ 78:21) and “Indeed, your Lord is at watch” (al-Fajr 89:14): “Consider these two watch-posts (mirsadayn) as granting permission.” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/84) On the verse “And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do” (Ibrāhīm 14:42), he observed that it serves as a severe warning to the oppressor and a consolation to the oppressed. (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/83–84) He said: “If the people of the Qur’an were upright, the people at large would be upright.” Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated via ‘Īsā ibn Sālim al-Thāshī from Abū al-Malīḥ: “I heard Maimūn ibn Mihrān say: ‘There is no good in this world except for two men: one who repents from sins, and one who strives for spiritual ranks.’” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/83; Ibn al-Jawzī, Sifat al-Safwa, 4/194) “There is no benefit in living or persisting in this world except for these two men: one who engages in expiatory acts (kafārāt), and one who works toward [spiritual] ranks; the continuance of anything else is a burden upon it.” Ja‘far ibn Burqān said: I heard Maimūn ibn Mihrān say: “This Qur’an has been implanted in the hearts of many people; therefore seek what remains of it in the ḥadīth. Among those who pursue this knowledge are some who use it as a commodity for worldly gain, and others who wish to argue with it; but the best of them is he who learns it and obeys Allah through it.” He also said: “Whoever follows the Qur’an, the Qur’an will guide him until it admits him into Paradise; and whoever abandons the Qur’an, the Qur’an will not abandon him until it casts him into the Fire.” (Abū Nu‘aym, al-Hilya, 4/84) Imām Aḥmad related on the same authority: “A man’s lawful income will not be secure until he places a barrier of the permissible between himself and the prohibited.” (ibid.) Maimūn said: “Whoever wishes to know his standing with Allah should examine his deeds, for he will inevitably be brought before them.” (ibid.) Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated via Yaḥyā ibn ‘Uthmān al-Ḥarbī from Abū al-Malīḥ on the authority of Maimūn ibn Mihrān: “A man from the Muhājirīn looked at a man praying, so he concealed [his gaze]….” (some copies read “akhfā”; al-Hilya, 4/84)