He was among the most important companions of Ibn ʿAbbās. We have transmitted the biographies of Ibn ʿAbbās’s companions in our book “Takmil”. All praise belongs to Allah.
Ṭāwūs’s kunya was Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. His father’s name was Kaysān. He belonged to the first generation of the Yemenite tābiʿūn (successors). He was among the children of the Persians whom Kisrā had sent to Yemen. Ṭāwūs met a group of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) and narrated from them. He was among the renowned imams, having combined in himself devotion, asceticism, beneficial knowledge, and righteous action. He met with about fifty Companions. Most of his narrations are from Ibn ʿAbbās. A group of tābiʿūn narrated from him, including Mujāhid, ʿAṭāʾ, ʿAmr b. Dīnār, Ibrāhīm b. Maysara, Abū Zubayr, Muḥammad b. al-Munkadir, al-Zuhrī, Ḥabīb b. Abī Thābit, Layth b. Abī Sulaym, Ḍaḥḥāk b. Muzāḥim, ʿAbd al-Malik b. Maysara, ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Muḥāriq, Wahb b. Munabbih, Mughīra b. Ḥakīm al-Ṣanʿānī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāwūs, and others.
Ṭāwūs passed away in Mecca, where he had gone for ḥajj. His funeral prayer was led by the caliph Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik. He was buried in Mecca. May Allah have mercy on him.
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAbd al-Razzāq that his father said:
“Ṭāwūs died in Mecca. No one led his funeral prayer until Hishām sent his son with guards. I saw ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥasan carrying the bier on his shoulder. His cap had fallen from his head and his cloak was torn at the back, because the crowd was so great. How could it not be so? For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Iman (faith) is from Yemen.’ (Ṭāwūs b. Kaysān was also from Yemen.) From Yemen, a group of people as we have mentioned emerged. Among them were Abū Muslim, Abū Idrīs, Wahb, Kaʿb, Ṭāwūs, and many others.”
Dāmura narrated that Ibn Shawdhub said: “In the year 105 AH, I attended the funeral of Ṭāwūs in Mecca. The people began to say, ‘May Allah have mercy on Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (Ṭāwūs).’ Ṭāwūs had performed ḥajj forty times.”
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from his father: “Ṭāwūs died while performing the rites of ḥajj at Muzdalifa—or Mina. While his body was being carried, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥasan b. ʿAlī held one end of the bier and did not let go until they reached the grave.”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAbd al-Razzāq:
“Ṭāwūs came to Mecca. The Commander of the Believers, Hishām, also arrived. At that time, it was said to Ṭāwūs: ‘The Commander of the Believers is so virtuous, possessing such and such virtues; if only you would visit him.’ Ṭāwūs replied: ‘I have no need of him.’ Those with him said: ‘We fear he may harm you if you do not go.’ Ṭāwūs then said: ‘In that case, he is not as virtuous as you claim.’”
Ibn Jarīr narrated from ʿAṭāʾ that he said:
“Ṭāwūs came to me and said: ‘O ʿAṭāʾ, beware of presenting your needs to those who close their doors in your face, or to those who draw a curtain before you. Present your needs to Allah, whose door is always open to you until the Day of Resurrection, who asks you to present your needs to Him, and who promises to respond to your request.’”
Ibn Jurayj narrated that Ṭāwūs, while interpreting the following verse, said:
‘As if they are called from a distant place, but they do not understand.’ (Fussilat 41:44) That is, they are called from a place distant from their hearts, so they do not understand.”
Al-Aḥjarī narrated from Layth that he said:
“Ṭāwūs said to me: ‘Teach the knowledge you have learned to your own nafs (the lower self), for the sense of trust and honesty has disappeared among people.’”
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Mahdī narrated from Ṣalt b. Rāshid:
“We were with Ṭāwūs when the governor of Khurāsān, Muslim b. Qutayba b. Muslim, came to him. He asked some questions, but Ṭāwūs dismissed him. I said to Ṭāwūs: ‘This is the governor of Khurāsān, Muslim b. Qutayba b. Muslim.’ He replied: ‘This is the easier way for both him and me.’”
Someone said to Ṭāwūs: “Your house has been repaired.” He replied: “But we have reached the evening of our lives.”
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated that Ṭāwūs said regarding the verse:
‘Man was created weak.’ (al-Nisāʾ 4:28) “Man was created weak regarding women. In no other matter is man as weak as he is regarding women.”
Abū Bakr b. Abī Shayba narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“Jesus, son of Mary, met Iblīs. Iblīs said to him:
— Do you not know that nothing will befall you except what Allah has decreed for you?
— Yes, that is so.
— Then climb to the top of this mountain and throw yourself down; see whether you live or die.
— Do you not know that Allah, the Exalted, has said: ‘My servant cannot test Me; I do as I will.’”
In another narration from al-Zuhrī, Jesus said: “The servant cannot test his Lord, but the Lord tests His servant.”
In another narration: “The servant cannot test his Lord, but the Lord tests His servant.”
After saying this, Jesus overcame Iblīs.”
Fudayl b. ʿIyāḍ narrated that Ṭāwūs said: “The ḥajj of the righteous and pious is performed mounted.” Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Ibn Abī Dāwūd:
“I saw Ṭāwūs and his companions, after performing the ʿaṣr prayer, turn to the qibla, not speaking to anyone, supplicating (dua) to Allah. Ṭāwūs said: ‘One who is not miserly and does not take charge of the property of orphans will not encounter hardship or affliction.’”
Ṭāwūs gave his son the following advice: “O my son! Keep company with the wise, for even if you are not one of them, you will be counted among them. Do not keep company with the ignorant, for even if you are not one of them, you will be counted among them. Know that everything has a purpose, and the purpose of a human being is the beauty of his intellect.”
Someone asked Ṭāwūs for something, and he dismissed him. The man said: “O father of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, I am your brother.” Ṭāwūs replied: “Of all people, are you the only one who is my brother?”
In another narration, a Kharijite asked Ṭāwūs for something, and he dismissed him. The man said: “I am your brother.” Ṭāwūs replied: “Of all Muslims, are you the only one who is my brother?”
ʿAffān narrated from Ayyūb:
“Someone asked Ṭāwūs for something. As Ṭāwūs was about to scold and dismiss him, he said: ‘Do you want to tie a rope around my neck and parade me around?’”
When Ṭāwūs saw a man with eye disease, dirty clothes, and in a miserable state, he said: “Go away! Poverty is from Allah, but why do you not approach water? Can you not find water?”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“It is better to admit to some of the wrongs committed than to persist in wrongdoing.”
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from Dāwūd b. Ibrāhīm:
“A group of people on ḥajj were stopped by a lion at night. The lion blocked their way, and the people collided with each other. At dawn, the lion left the road. The people dispersed and began to sleep. But Ṭāwūs got up and began to pray. Someone—according to another narration, his son—said to him: ‘Will you not sleep? You stayed awake all night and are tired.’ Ṭāwūs replied: ‘Does anyone sleep at dawn?’ In another narration, he said: ‘I do not think anyone sleeps at dawn.’”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from the son of Ṭāwūs:
“I asked my father: ‘What is the best and most virtuous thing to say for the deceased?’ He replied: ‘Istighfār (seeking forgiveness).’”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from Nuʿmān b. Zubayr al-Ṣanʿānī:
“Muḥammad b. Yūsuf—or Ayyūb b. Yaḥyā—sent 700 dinars to Ṭāwūs. He told the messenger: ‘If Ṭāwūs accepts this money from you, the governor will dress you in fine clothes and reward you.’ The messenger took the money to Ṭāwūs and said: ‘O father of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the governor has sent you this provision.’
— I have no need of it.
The messenger tried various ways to persuade him to accept the money, but Ṭāwūs refused. Later, taking advantage of Ṭāwūs’s distraction, the messenger left the money at the window of Ṭāwūs’s house. He then returned to the governor and said: ‘Ṭāwūs has taken the money.’ Some time later, the governor heard that Ṭāwūs had spoken against him and said to his men: ‘Send word to Ṭāwūs to return our money.’ The messenger went to Ṭāwūs and said: ‘You must return the money the governor sent you.’ He replied: ‘I did not take his money.’ The messenger reported this to the governor, who realized Ṭāwūs was telling the truth and said: ‘Find the man who delivered the money to him and bring him.’ The man was found and sent again to Ṭāwūs. He asked: ‘O father of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, did you take anything from the money I brought you?’ Ṭāwūs replied: ‘No.’ The man then looked at the window where he had left the money and found it untouched, with spiders having spun webs over it. He took the money and returned it to the governor.”
When Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik went on ḥajj, he told his men: ‘Find me a jurist so I can ask him about some rites of ḥajj.’ His chamberlain went out to look for a jurist. When they saw Ṭāwūs, they said: ‘This is Ṭāwūs al-Yamanī.’ The chamberlain told him: ‘Respond to the call of the Commander of the Believers.’ Ṭāwūs said: ‘Excuse me from this,’ but the chamberlain refused and brought him before Sulaymān. Ṭāwūs, describing his situation, said: ‘When I stood before Sulaymān, I thought to myself: “Allah will question me about my standing here.”’
Yes, when I entered his presence, I said to Sulaymān:
— O Commander of the Believers, a rock was standing at the edge of Hell, it rolled down and after seventy years reached the bottom and stopped. Do you know for whom Allah has prepared that rock?
— No, woe to you, for whom has Allah prepared it? You tell me.
— For the one who, after attaining rulership, oppresses people.”
According to a narration from al-Zuhrī, Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik saw a handsome and perfect man circumambulating the Kaʿba and asked al-Zuhrī: ‘Who is this, O Zuhrī?’ Al-Zuhrī replied: ‘This is Ṭāwūs, who met many Companions.’ Sulaymān then sent for Ṭāwūs. When Ṭāwūs arrived, Sulaymān said to him:
— Narrate ḥadīth to us.
— Abū Mūsā narrated to me that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The lowest person in the sight of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is the one who governs the Muslims but does not act justly towards them.’ Sulaymān’s face changed color, and he bowed his head for a long time. Then he raised his head and said to Ṭāwūs:
— Narrate ḥadīth to us.
— One of the Companions (according to Ibn Shihāb, this refers to ʿAlī) said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) invited me to a meal given by the Quraysh. At the meal, the Messenger said: ‘You have rights over the Quraysh, and the Quraysh have rights over the people. But as long as they show mercy when asked for mercy, judge justly, and return trusts to their owners, they have rights over the people. Whoever does not do so, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. Allah will not accept their obligatory or supererogatory acts of worship!’
Again, Sulaymān’s face changed color, and he bowed his head for a long time, then raised it and said to Ṭāwūs:
— Narrate ḥadīth to us.
— Ibn ʿAbbās narrated to me that the last verse revealed in Allah’s Book was: ‘And fear the Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.’ (al-Baqara 2:281)
ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated that ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said to Ṭāwūs:
“Why do you not present your needs to the Commander of the Believers (Sulaymān)?”
— I have no need of him.
ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was astonished at this reply.” Sufyān said: Ibrāhīm, standing before the Kaʿba, swore to us: “By the Lord of this Kaʿba, no one except Ṭāwūs treated the noble and the ignoble equally. In his eyes, all were equal—noble, ignoble, highborn, lowborn. The son of Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik came and sat with Ṭāwūs, but Ṭāwūs did not turn to look at him. When it was said to him: ‘The Commander of the Believers is sitting with you, and you do not turn to look at him—how can this be?’ he replied: ‘I did this so that he and his father would know that there are some servants of Allah who do not covet or value what they possess.’”
ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from the son of Ṭāwūs:
“We set out on the ḥajj journey and stopped in a town. I feared harm would come to my father because of his harshness towards governors and judges. In that town was the deputy of Muḥammad b. Yūsuf, named Ayyūb b. Yaḥyā, who was the brother of Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf. In another narration, the deputy was Ibn Nujayḥ, the most corrupt, arrogant, and tyrannical of the appointed governors. We stood for the morning prayer in the mosque, and I saw that Ibn Nujayḥ, having heard of my father’s presence, came and sat before him. He greeted my father, but my father did not return the greeting. Then he began to speak, but my father turned away from him, and when he turned to my father’s side, my father turned his face to the other side. Seeing this, I went to the deputy, took his hand, and said: ‘My father did not recognize you.’ My father, hearing this, interjected: ‘No, I know him well.’ The deputy said: ‘He knows me well; that’s why he did what you saw.’ Then, without saying anything, he left quietly. When I entered the house, my father reproached me: ‘O wretch! At other times you say, “I want to rise up against these governors and judges with the sword,” but now you cannot even speak a word against them.’”
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shāmī said: “I went to Ṭāwūs and asked permission to enter. His son came out, but he was very old. I said to him:
— Are you Ṭāwūs?
— No, I am his son.
— If you are his son, then your old father must be senile.
— A learned man does not become senile.
I entered. Ṭāwūs said to me:
— Ask what you wish, but do not prolong your words.
— No matter how concise I am, I cannot manage it in your presence.
— Do you want me to combine the Torah, the Gospel, and the Furqān (Qur’an) for you in this session?
— Yes.
— Then fear Allah so much that nothing is more fearful to you than Him, and hope in Him so much that your hope in Him is stronger than your fear. Wish for others what you wish for yourself.
On the Day of Resurrection, wealth and its owner will be brought to account. They will dispute with each other. The owner will say to the wealth:
— I gathered you over so many days, months, and years.
— Did I not fulfill your needs? But I and your love for me prevented you from obeying Allah’s command.
— This is the wealth we tied up and tried to secure, for which we sacrificed ourselves.”
ʿUthmān b. Abī Shayba narrated from Ḥabīb b. Abī Thābit:
“Five people gathered with me—never again did five like them gather with me. They were: ʿAṭāʾ, Ṭāwūs, Mujāhid, Saʿīd b. Jubayr, and ʿIkrima.”
Sufyān said: I asked ʿUbayd Allāh b. Abī Yazīd:
— With whom do you go to Ibn ʿAbbās?
— With ʿAṭāʾ and some of the common people. Ṭāwūs goes with some of the elite.
Ḥabīb said: Ṭāwūs said to me: “If I narrate a ḥadīth to you and you find it established, do not ask anyone else about it.” In another narration: “Do not ask anyone else about it but me.”
Abū Usāma narrated that Ṭāwūs said: “I met fifty of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him).”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from the son of Ṭāwūs:
“I said to my father:
— I want to marry such-and-such woman.
— Go and look at her.
I went home, put on my best and cleanest clothes, washed my head, and perfumed myself. When my father saw me in this state, he said:
— Sit down, do not go.”
ʿAbd Allāh, the son of Ṭāwūs, said: “My father would walk for a month on his way to Mecca, and would return in a month. When I asked him the reason, he explained: ‘According to a narration I have received, when a person sets out on a journey for obedience to Allah, he is counted as being with Allah until he returns home.’”
Ḥamza narrated from Khālid b. Kaʿb:
“When Ṭāwūs set out from Yemen, he would not drink water except from the old wells dating from the time of ignorance.”
Someone said to Ṭāwūs: “Pray (dua) for me, ask Allah on my behalf.” He replied: “Pray for yourself, for Allah responds to the supplication (dua) of the distressed.”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“In the past, there was a wise and thoughtful man. He grew old and stayed at home. One day he said to his son: ‘I am bored at home. Bring me some men so I can converse with them.’ His son gathered some people and told them: ‘Come to my father and converse with him. If you hear something unpleasant, excuse him, for he is old. But if you hear something good, accept it.’ They came and greeted the old man. The first thing he said was: ‘The wisest person is the one with taqwa (God-consciousness). The most incapable is the sinner. When a man wishes to marry, let him marry a woman of noble origin. If you find someone committing a sin, advise him, for he may have other sins as well.’”
Salama b. Shabīb narrated from ʿUmar b. Muslim al-Jurī:
“Ṭāwūs said to his son: ‘When you bury me, look at my grave. If you do not find me there, praise Allah. If you find me there, then indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.’”
ʿAbd Allāh said: “One of the sons of Ṭāwūs told me that he looked at his father’s grave and did not find him there, and joy was visible on his face.”
Qabīsa narrated that Ṭāwūs prayed (dua):
“O Allah, deprive me of abundance in wealth and children, but grant me iman (faith) and righteous deeds.”
Sufyān narrated from al-Zuhrī:
“If you had seen Ṭāwūs b. Kaysān, you would have known that he never lied.”
ʿAwn b. Salām narrated from ʿImrān b. Khālid al-Khuzāʿī:
“I was sitting with ʿAṭāʾ when someone came and said: O father of Muḥammad! Ṭāwūs says: ‘Whoever, after performing the ʿishāʾ prayer, prays two extra rakʿas, reciting Sūrat al-Sajda in the first and Sūrat al-Mulk in the second, will have the reward as if he stood at ʿArafa and revived the Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr).’
ʿAṭāʾ replied: ‘Ṭāwūs has spoken the truth. I have never neglected these two rakʿas.’”
Ibn Abī’s-Sirrī narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“Among the Children of Israel was a man who treated the insane. A beautiful woman became insane and was brought to him for treatment. The man became attracted to her, had sexual relations with her, and she became pregnant. Satan came to the man and said: ‘If what you have done becomes known, you will be disgraced. To prevent this, kill her and bury her in your house.’ The man killed the woman and buried her in his house. Some time passed. The woman’s family came and asked about her. The man said: ‘She died.’ Since he was known as a righteous and reputable person, they did not accuse him. But Satan went to them and said: ‘Your patient did not die; rather, that man had relations with her, made her pregnant, killed her, and buried her in his house at such-and-such a place.’ The family went to the man and said: ‘We do not accuse you, but tell us where you buried her and who was with you.’ They dug up his house and found the woman where she was buried. The man was arrested and imprisoned. Satan came to him and said: ‘I am your friend. If you want to escape this distress and prison, deny Allah.’ The man obeyed Satan and denied Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. But the woman’s family still killed him, and Satan abandoned him.
Ṭāwūs said: To my knowledge, the following verses were revealed about that man and those like him:
‘The example of the hypocrites is like Satan when he says to man, "Disbelieve!" But when he disbelieves, he says, "Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds."’ (al-Hashr 59:16)”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“A man from the Children of Israel had four sons. The man became ill. One of his sons said to his brothers: ‘Either you care for our father and take nothing from his inheritance, or I will care for him and take nothing from his inheritance.’ He cared for his father, buried him, and took nothing from the inheritance.
This son was poor and had children. He saw a dream in which he was told: ‘Go to such-and-such a place, dig there, and you will find one hundred dinars. Take them.’ He asked the one who spoke to him in the dream: ‘Will I take them with blessing or without blessing?’ The answer was: ‘No, without blessing.’ In the morning, he told his wife about the dream. She said: ‘Go and take the money; its blessing is that you will clothe me and provide for us.’ He refused, saying: ‘I will not take anything without blessing.’
That night, he had another dream: ‘Go to such-and-such a place, and you will find ten dinars. Take them.’ He asked: ‘With blessing or without blessing?’ The answer was: ‘Without blessing.’ In the morning, he told his wife, who again urged him to take the money, but he refused. On the third night, he had the same dream: ‘Go to such-and-such a place, and you will find one dinar. Take it.’ He asked: ‘With blessing or without blessing?’ The answer was: ‘With blessing.’ ‘That will do,’ he said.
In the morning, he went to the place described in the dream, found one dinar, and on the way saw a fisherman carrying two fish. He asked the price, and the fisherman said: ‘One dinar.’ He bought the two fish and took them home to his wife. She began to clean them and found in the belly of one a pearl of inestimable value. When she opened the second fish, she found another pearl like the first.
At that time, the ruler wanted to buy a pearl. His agents searched the market but could not find one like it until they found it with this man. The ruler said: ‘Go and bring me the pearl.’ When he saw it, Allah made it precious and sweet in his eyes. The ruler said: ‘Buy it for me.’ The owner said: ‘I will not sell it for less than thirty camel-loads of gold.’ The ruler agreed, and they went to the treasury, gave him thirty camel-loads of gold, and took the pearl.
The ruler, admiring the pearl, said: ‘We must find another like it, or this one is useless alone.’ They went to the man and said: ‘Do you have another pearl like this? If so, we will give you as much gold as before.’ The man asked: ‘Will you really do so?’ They said: ‘Certainly.’ They took the second pearl to the ruler, who was delighted and ordered them to satisfy the owner. They gave him another thirty camel-loads of gold. Allah knows best.
ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Mubārak narrated from Dāwūd b. Ṣabūr:
“We said to Ṭāwūs: ‘Recite some supplications (dua) for us.’ He replied: ‘I do not expect any reward for this.’”
Ibn Jarīr narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“Bukhul is when a person does not give from what he possesses and is miserly. Shuhh is when a person desires what is in the hands of others by unlawful means and is discontent. In another narration, shuhh is abandoning contentment or being miserly regarding what others possess, which is a disease of the qalb (the heart). A servant should keep himself as far as possible from this disease, for shuhh commands us to be miserly. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a sound ḥadīth: ‘Beware of shuhh, for shuhh destroyed those before you. It commanded them to be miserly, and they were miserly. It commanded them to sever family ties, and they did so. This is attachment to and love of the world.’”
Abū Bakr b. Abī Shayba narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“Know that if a person recites ten verses at night, one hundred or more rewards will be written for him; the more he recites, the more reward he will receive.”
Qutayba b. Saʿīd narrated that Ṭāwūs said: “The worship of a young man is not complete until he marries.”
Sufyān narrated from Ibrāhīm b. Maysara:
“Ṭāwūs said to me: ‘Either you marry, or I will say to you what ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said to Abū al-Zawāʾid: “What prevents you from marrying is either incapacity or wickedness.”’”
Ṭāwūs said: “Nothing preserves a believer’s religion except the pit.” (By ‘pit’ he meant his wife’s private part.)
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from Maʿmar b. Ṭāwūs and others:
“A man was walking with Ṭāwūs. When the man heard a crow caw, he said: ‘Good omen.’ Ṭāwūs replied: ‘There is neither good nor evil in this. Do not accompany me or walk with me anymore.’”
Bishr b. Mūsā narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“When a person wakes in the morning, Satan follows him. If, upon entering his house, he greets his family with salām, Satan stays back and says: ‘There is no place for us to rest here.’ If, when food is brought, he says the basmala, Satan says: ‘There is neither food nor rest for us here.’ But if he does not greet his family, Satan says: ‘We have found a place to rest here.’ If he does not say the basmala over his food, Satan says: ‘Here we have both food and a place to rest.’ The same applies in the evening. The angels record a person’s prayer, noting what he adds or omits, and do the same for his bowing, humility, and prostration.”
Ṭāwūs said: “When the fire of Hell was created, the angels’ hearts rose to their mouths. When Adam was created, they calmed down. When Adam heard thunder, he would say: ‘Glory be to Allah, who is exalted and free from all imperfection.’”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Mujāhid that he said to Ṭāwūs:
“O father of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, I saw you praying at the Kaʿba. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing at the door, saying to you: ‘Uncover your face and recite clearly and distinctly.’ Ṭāwūs said to Mujāhid: ‘Be quiet, let no one hear you say this.’ Then he fell into thought and finally began to speak.”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Ṭāwūs that he said to Abū Nujayḥ:
“O Abū Nujayḥ! One who speaks and has taqwa (God-consciousness) is better than one who is silent and has taqwa.”
Misʿar narrated from a man who said: “Ṭāwūs went to a man at dawn. They told him the man was sleeping, and he replied: ‘I do not think anyone sleeps at dawn.’”
Al-Thawrī said: “Ṭāwūs had begun to stay at home. When asked why, he replied: ‘The oppression of rulers and the corruption of people forced me to do so.’”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAbd al-Razzāq:
“On a cold winter morning, Ṭāwūs was praying a little late when the governor of Yemen, Muḥammad b. Yūsuf, the brother of Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf, passed by. Ṭāwūs was in prostration, and the governor, who was mounted, ordered a very expensive cloak or shawl to be thrown over Ṭāwūs. Even after it was placed on him, Ṭāwūs did not raise his head from prostration. When he finished his prayer and gave salām, he found the cloak on him, shook it off, and left without looking at it. The cloak remained on the ground.”
Nuʿaym b. Ḥammād narrated from Ṭāwūs that Ibn ʿAbbās said: “Every word spoken by the son of Adam, even his groaning in illness, is recorded in his book and is against him.”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, when he fell ill and began to groan, was told: “Ṭāwūs did not approve of the patient’s groaning.” So he stopped groaning.
Abū Bakr b. Abī Shayba narrated from Dāwūd b. Shabūr:
“Someone said to Ṭāwūs: ‘Pray (dua) to Allah for us.’ He replied: ‘I do not see fear of Allah in your heart, so how can I pray for you?’”
Ibn Ṭālūt narrated from Ḥasan b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Anbarī:
“Ṭāwūs passed by a butcher’s shop where heads were displayed on the counter. Seeing this, Ṭāwūs fainted.”
In another narration, it is said that Ṭāwūs would never eat on the evening of a day when he saw cooked heads.
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Ṭāwūs: “The dead are tested with hunger in their graves. On the days they are tested, they greatly desire that their relatives perform charitable acts and feed others on their behalf.”
Ibn Idrīs narrated that when women were mentioned, Ṭāwūs said: “In them is the kufr (disbelief) of those who have passed and those who remain.”
Abū ʿĀṣim narrated that Ṭāwūs said: It is said: “In your time, prostrate to a monkey—meaning, follow it in good matters.”
Abū Bakr b. Abī Shayba narrated that Ṭāwūs said:
“I have never seen anyone as confident in himself as I am. I saw a man who, if I had been asked, ‘Who is the most virtuous among those you know?’ I would have pointed to him. For a while, things remained thus. Then the man was afflicted with abdominal pain, sweated profusely, and I saw him lying on a mat, sweating so much that I could not tell from which side more sweat was pouring. Eventually, he died drenched in sweat.”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Abū Bashir:
When Ṭāwūs saw a group of Quraysh youths walking with an affected gait, he said to them: “You wear clothes your fathers never wore, and you walk in a way that even bridegrooms and those entering the bridal chamber would not approve.”
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Maʿmar:
“Ṭāwūs missed the ḥajj because he stayed to care for a traveling companion who had fallen ill.”
Misʿar b. Kudām narrated from Ṭāwūs that Ibn ʿAbbās said:
When asked who recites the Qur’an most beautifully, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “The one whose recitation makes you fear Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.”
Ibn Luhayʿa narrated from Ṭāwūs that Ibn ʿAbbās said:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The most beautiful reciter among the people is the one who is moved to sadness when reciting the Qur’an.”
Ṭāwūs narrated from ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ:
“The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) saw me wearing two garments dyed with safflower and asked: ‘Did your mother order you to wear these?’ I asked: ‘Shall I wash them?’ He replied: ‘No, wash one of them.’”
Muḥammad b. Maslama narrated from Ṭāwūs, from Ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Harsh and severe men, strict guards, and the helpers of oppressors are the dogs of Hell.”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from Ṭāwūs, from Anas b. Mālik:
I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say to ʿAlī, son of Abū Ṭālib:
“O ʿAlī, make many friends among the believers; the more friends you have in this world, the more blessing you will have in the Hereafter.” After receiving this instruction, ʿAlī befriended everyone he met for the sake of the Hereafter. Then he went to the Messenger of God. The Messenger asked: ‘O ʿAlī, did you carry out my command?’ He replied: ‘Yes, I did, O Messenger of God.’ The Messenger said: ‘Go and test their loyalty.’ ʿAlī went, then returned to the Messenger with his head bowed. The Messenger said again: ‘Go and test their loyalty.’ ʿAlī went, then returned smiling. The Messenger said: ‘O ʿAlī, I think only those who seek the Hereafter remained loyal to you.’ ʿAlī replied: ‘No, by Allah who sent you as a true Prophet, it is not so.’ The Messenger replied: ‘On that Day, friends will be enemies to one another except the God-conscious (muttaqūn). Allah will say: “O My servants, today you will have no fear.”’ (al-Zukhruf 43:67–68) O ʿAlī, mind your own affairs, guard your tongue, and overlook those who associate with you among the people of your time, so that you may be safe and successful.”
This narration has come only through this route. This is what we know on this matter. Allah knows best.