Softening The Heart: Kitāb az-Zuhd wa’r-Raqāʾiq

by Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak

Yaḥyā ibn al-Mukhtār narrated that Ḥasan said, ‘Judge people by their actions and ignore their words. Allah will not leave any statement without a proof of action which confirms or denies it. When you hear good words, then wait and observe the speaker. If his words and actions agree, this is excellent and a blessing in itself, so take him as a brother, love him and have affection for him. But if his words and actions differ, something is unclear to you or hidden from you about him, so be wary of him. Do not let him deceive you as the son of Adam was deceived. You have both words and actions, but your actions say more about you than your words. You have a secret face and a public face, but your secret face is closer to the true you than your public face. You have what is immediate and what is final, but your final end is truer than what is immediate.’ (Ibn Abī ’d-Dunyā in Ṣamt 626).