Ahmad ibn Harb (rahimahullah) explains how he achieved enjoyment in ‘ibadah

Respected scholars

Who is the following attributed to and please mention the reference:

عبدت الله خمسين سنة، فما وجدت حلاوة العبادة حتى تركت ثلاثة أشياء: تركت رضى الناس حتى قدرت أن أتكلم بالحق، وتركت صحبة الفاسقين حتى وجدت صحبة الصالحين، وتركت حلاوة الدنيا حتى وجدت حلاوة الآخرة

Answer:

Hafiz Dhahabi (rahimahullah) has cited this as the statement of Ahmad ibn Harb (rahimahullah) -demise: 234 A.H-. He was a senior Jurist [Faqih] and Saint. He acquired Hadith from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (rahimahullah) and other senior Muhaddithun.

(Tarikhul Islam, vol. 10 pg. 756, Siyaru A’alamin Nubala, vol. 11 pg. 34)

Translation

I worshipped Allah for fifty years, but I only found the sweetness and true enjoyment of worship after abandoning three things:

  1. I stopped worrying about people’s happiness/hurting their feelings, which enabled me to speak the truth
  2. I desisted from spending time with open sinners, which allowed me to enjoy the company of the righteous
  3. I stopped pursuing the pleasures of this world, which allowed me to experience the sweetness of the Hereafter

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.

Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala

Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar

Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar

Original Source Link

This answer was collected from HadithAnswers.com. The answers were either answered or checked by Moulana Haroon Abasoomar (rahimahullah) who was a Shaykhul Hadith in South Africa, or by his son, Moulana Muhammad Abasoomer (hafizahullah), who is a Hadith specialist. 

Tags: Hadith

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