٦٩ - باب استحباب العزلة عند فساد الناس والزمان أو الخوف من فتنة في الدين ووقوع في حرام وشبهات ونحوها

And from Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: «Indeed Allah loves the servant who is God-conscious, self-sufficient, and unobtrusive.» Narrated by Muslim. What is meant by «al-ghaniyy» (the rich) is richness of the soul, as has already been mentioned in the sound hadith.

And from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man said: Which of the people is best, O Messenger of Allah? He said: «A believer who strives with his self and his wealth in the path of Allah.» He said: Then who? He said: «Then a man who withdraws to one of the mountain passes, worshipping his Lord.» And in another narration: «who is mindful of Allah, and spares people from his harm.» Agreed upon.

And from him, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «It is soon to be that the best property of a Muslim will be sheep with which he follows the mountain peaks and the places where rain falls, fleeing with his religion from tribulations.» Narrated by al-Bukhārī. And «shaʿaf al-jibāl» (the peaks of the mountains) means their summits.

And from Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: «Allah did not send any prophet but that he herded sheep.» His Companions said: And you? He said: «Yes, I used to herd them for a few qīrāṭs for the people of Mecca.» Narrated by al-Bukhārī.

And from him, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, that he said: «Among the best livelihoods of people for them is a man holding the reins of his horse in the path of Allah, flying upon its back whenever he hears an alarm or a call to arms, charging off in pursuit of slaying or being slain wherever it is likely to be met; or a man among a small flock of sheep at the top of one of these peaks, or in the bottom of one of these valleys, establishing the prayer, giving the zakāt, and worshipping his Lord until certainty (death) comes to him, having nothing to do with people except in good.» Narrated by Muslim. «Yaṭīru» means he hastens. «Matnuhu» means its back. «Al-hayʿah» means the cry to war. «Al-fazʿah» is similar to it. «Maẓānn al-shayʾ» means the places where a thing is presumed to be found. «Al-ghunaymah», with a ḍammah on the ghīn, is the diminutive of al-ghanam (sheep). «Al-shaʿafah», with a fatḥah on the shīn and the ʿayn, is the summit of the mountain.