al-Khatib al-Baghdaadee said:

“To the ‘aalim, ignorance is seen as ignorance and to the jaahil (grossly ignorant), knowledge is seen as ignorance.”

[Kitaab al-Faqih wa’l-Mutafaqqih, 1/3]

Sufyaan Ath-Thawree said:

“A person who sits with a heretic (an adherent of bid’ah) will not escape one of three things: (a) either he will become a trial (fitnah) for others, (b) or some deviation will occur in his heart and he will slip and be cast into the Fire by Allah, (c) or he will say to himself, ‘By Allah, I don’t care what they say, I am confident about myself,’ but whoever feels secure from Allah about his religion even for the blinking of an eye, Allah will take his religion away from him.”

[Ibn Waddâh, Al-Bida’ p125]

Ibn Mas’ood said:

“A time will come in which a believer will be regarded lower than a slave girl.”

Imaam Ahmad records that ‘Ubaadah Ibn As-Saamit said to one of his colleagues:

“It is well possible that if you live a long life, you will see a man who read the Quraan from the tongue of Muhammad (saw), or from one who read it from Muhammad, repeating it and reciting it, treating its lawful as lawful, and its prohibited as prohibited. He will pass you on the way to his house, and his status in your eyes will be as insignificant as the head of a dead donkey.”

[Ahmad #17140 with a da’eef isnaad]

the Salaf said:

“If a man hears or knows of another man who is more obedient to Allaah than himself and this causes his heart to break – then this is not a case of vanity.”

Muhammad Ibn Yoosuf al-Asbahaanee, the worshipper, said,

“If a person hears of another person or knows of another person who is more obedient to Allaah than him, then that should grieve him.”

Wuhayb Ibn al-Ward said:

“If you are able to make sure that no one precedes you in hastening towards Allaah then do so.”

Al-Hasan al-Basree said:

“If you see a man competing with you with regard to this world then compete with him concerning the Hereafter.”

Al-Hasan Al-Basree said:

“A man from amongst them (the Sahaabah) would seek knowledge until it was readily seen from his khushoo’ (humbleness), his zuhd (asceticism), his speech and sight.”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nubalaa’]

Wahb Bin Munbih said:

“The example of the dunya (worldly life) and hereafter is like the example of a man who has two wives. If he pleases one of them, the other one will be displeased.”

[Kitaab Dham Ad-Dunya, 1/119]