Abu Nujayd said, "A poet came to 'Imran ibn Husayn and 'Imran gave
him something. 'Imran was asked, 'You give to a poet?' He said, 'I am preserving
my reputation (from his satire).'"
Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "I came to the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I have praised
Allah and you in poems of praise and eulogies.' He said, 'As far as your
Lord is concerned, He must be praised,' and so I began to recite them.
Then a tall bald man asked for permission to enter. The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, told me, 'Be silent.' The man came in and
spoke for a time and then left. Then I recited again. Then the other man
came back and he made be silent again. Then the man left again. That happened
two or three times. I asked, 'Who is this man for whom I must be silent?'
He replied, 'This is a man who does not like vain things.'"
Raja' said. "One day Mihjan and I went to the mosque of the people
of Basra. Burayda al-Aslami was sitting there by one of the mosque doors.
Inside the mosque there was a man called Sabka who used to make the prayers
long. We came to the mosque door which had a fringed woollen cloth over
it. Now Burayda was someone who made jokes. He said, 'Mihjan, don't you
pray as Sabka prays?' Mihjan did not answer and went back. Mihjan said,
'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once
took me by the hand and we went together to the top of Uhud. He looked
down on Madina and said, "Woe to a town whose people will abandon it when
it becomes very prosperous. Then the Dajjal will come to it and find two
angels at each of its gates, so he will not enter it." Then he went down
until we reached the mosque and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, saw a man praying, prostrating and bowing. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked me,
"Who is this?" and I began to praise him, saying, "Messenger of Allah,
this is so-and-so and so-and-so." "Stop!" he said, "Do not let him hear
or you will destroy him."'"
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah reported that a man was praising another man
in the presence of Ibn 'Umar. Ibn 'Umar began to throw dust towards his
mouth. He said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, 'When you see those who praise people, throw dust in their
faces.'"
