Sufyan al-Thawri

Sufyan al-Thawri or Abu Abdullah Sufyan ibn Said ibn Masruq al-Thawri (716 –778) was a Tābi‘ al-Tābi‘īn Islamic scholar and jurist, founder of the Thawri madhhab. He was also a great hadith compiler (muhaddith).

The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004)

 * Renunciation of the world is reduction of hope for worldly gain, not eating coarse foods or wearing a rough cloak.
 * p. 28
 * I have never seen anything easier than abstaining. Whatever yourself devises, abandon it.
 * p. 28
 * Flesh eaters are those who backbite; they eat human flesh.
 * p. 28
 * There is a punishment for all things. The punishments for the gnostic is to be cut off from His remembrance.
 * p. 28
 * Five souls are the most dignified in creation: a scholar who is not self-indulgent (moderate), a Sufi jurisprudent, a humble rich person, a thankful poor one, and a noble who follows the Sunnah.
 * p. 28
 * Moaning and wailing have ten kinds of which nine are full of showoff and only one kind is full of reality.
 * p. 28
 * If one tear falls on account of fear of God, it is better then fasting throughout life.
 * p. 28
 * He who spends life in remoteness is much better, for it was the practice of the foremost saintly people. They liked to live comely instead of grandeur.
 * p. 29
 * The king who seeks company of the ascetics is superior to that ascetic who seeks nearness of the king.
 * p. 29
 * Someone asked: "What is meaning of certainty? " He replied, it is the name of inner voice, and the folk of certainty arrive at the gnosis. And the meaning of certainty is that every affliction be considered sent by Allah.
 * p. 29
 * Sell not the friendship of the Lord for the friendship of the world and its possessions.
 * p. 29
 * I fear to accept anything from anybody lest my heart should start cherishing love for that person. I desire only to live in His thoughts.
 * p. 29
 * Worse than sin against God is sin against man.
 * p. 29
 * For the people of the world sleep is more profitable than to keep awake, for then they keep off worldly discourses during sleep.
 * p. 29