I have been informed that on the Day of Resurrection the destitute person will be brought forward and made to stand before Allah. He will be asked, “My servant, what kept you from performing Hajj?” He will answer, “My Lord, You gave me nothing with which to make the pilgrimage.” Allah will then say, “My servant has spoken the truth; take him to Paradise.” (1)
Ibrāhīm ibn Adham said: “I remained in Syria for 24 years—not for jihad nor for ribāṭ (guarding the frontier)—but only so that I could eat my fill of lawful bread.”
He also said: “Sorrow is of two kinds: a sorrow that is for you and a sorrow that is against you. Your sorrow for the Hereafter is in your favor; your sorrow for this world and its finery is to your detriment.”
And he said: “Renunciation (zuhd) is threefold: obligatory, recommended, and protective. Obligatory renunciation concerns what is unlawful; recommended renunciation is turning away from permissible desires; and protective renunciation is abstaining from matters of doubtful legitimacy.”
He and his companions denied themselves the public bath, cold water, and shoes, and they would not season their salt with spices. Whenever he sat at a table that contained rich food, he would toss the tastier portions to his companions and content himself with bread and olives.
He said: “Little covetousness and little greed beget truthfulness and scrupulousness, whereas abundant covetousness and greed beget anxiety and panic.”
A man once said to him, “Here is a cloak that I would like you to accept from me.” He replied, “If you are wealthy, I will accept it; if you are poor, I will not.” The man said, “I am wealthy.” Ibrāhīm asked, “How much do you possess?” He answered, “Two thousand.” Ibrāhīm said, “Would you like it to be four thousand?” When the man replied, “Yes,” he said, “Then you are poor; I will not accept it from you.”
Someone said to him, “Why do you not marry?” He replied, “If I were able to divorce my own self, I would have done so.”
He once remained in Mecca for 15 days with nothing but sand mixed with water for provisions, and he performed 15 prayers with a single ablution.
One day, on the bank of the Shariʿah canal, he ate a few crumbs that Abū Yūsuf al-Ghasūlī had soaked in water and placed before him. After eating, he rose, drank from the canal, returned, lay on his back, and said, “O Abū Yūsuf, if the kings and the sons of kings knew the bliss in which we live, they would fight us with swords for it as long as they lived, so as to enjoy the delightful life we possess.” Abū Yūsuf replied, “People sought ease and bliss but missed the straight path.” Ibrāhīm smiled and said, “Where did you get those words?”
While he was at al-Maṣṣīṣah with a group of his companions, a rider approached and asked, “Which of you is Ibrāhīm ibn Adham?” When directed to him, the rider said, “My master, I am your servant. Your father has died and left some wealth with the judge. I have brought you 10,000 dirhams for your expenses on the journey to Balkh, along with a horse and a mule.” Ibrāhīm remained silent for a long time, then raised his head and said, “If what you say is true, the money, the horse, and the mule are yours. Do not inform anyone about this.” It is said that he later went to Balkh and took the wealth from