The characteristics and virtues of the pious — Hadith 1

ld are great. They endured (hardship) for a short while, and, in consequence, they secured comfort for a long time. It is a beneficial transaction that the All-generous Lord made easy for them. The world aimed at them, but they did not aim at it. It captured them, but they freed themselves from it. <br> During a night, they are upstanding on their feet reading portions of the Quran and reciting it in a well-measured way, creating through it grief for themselves, bearing good tidings for themselves, stirring their sorrows for their sins, and seeking by it the cure for their ailments. When they come across a Verse, which contains fear (of Hell), they bend the ears of their hearts towards it, and feel as though the sound of Hell and its cries are reaching their ears. When they come across a Verse creating eagerness (for Paradise), they pursue it avidly, and their spirits turn towards it eagerly, and they feel as if it is in front of them. <br> They bend themselves from their backs, glorify Allah the Sublime the Omnipotent, and prostrate themselves on their foreheads, their palms, their toes, and their knees. Their tears are flowing on their cheeks. They pray ardently to Allah for releasing them (from Hell). During the day, they are enduring, learned, virtuous and God-fearing. Fear (of Allah) has made them thin like arrows. If any one looks at them, he believes they are sick, although they are not sick, and he says that they have gone mad. In fact, great concern (i. e. , fear) has made them mad. <br> If they ponder over the greatness and absolute power of Allah, along with the mention of death and the terrors of the Day of Resurrection that affect them deeply, their hearts become frightened, their minds agitated, and their mentalities astonished. If they wake up, they take the initiative to doing the pure acts to Allah. They are not satisfied with their meager good acts and do not regard their major acts as great. They always blame themselves and are afraid of their deeds. When anyone of them is spoken of highly, he says: “I know myself better than others do, and my Lord knows me better than I know. O Allah do not blame me for what they say, and make me better than what they think of me and forgive me (those shortcomings) which they do not know. You are surely the knower of the things unseen and the coverer of the defects. ” <br> The peculiarity of anyone of them is that you will see that he has strength in religion, determination along with leniency, faith with conviction, eagerness in (seeking) knowledge, understanding along with comprehension, knowledge along with clemency, gain along with lenience, kindness along with almsgiving, moderation in riches, devotio