In The Name of Allaah, The most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

He was Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham Ibn Mansoor Ibn Yazeed Ibn Aamir Ibn Ishaaq At-Tameemee, and it was said Al-Ajlee. He was originally from Balkh, then he resided in Syria and entered Damascus. He narrated hadeeth from his father, from Al-A’mash and Muhammad Bin Ziyaad – Abu Hurairah’s companion, and from Abu Ishaaq As-Sabee’ee.  Imaam An-Nasaa’ee said,  “Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham is a trustworthy narrator, reliable and he from those who abstain from the unnecessary pleasures of the worldly life”. He was one of the devout worshippers.

Abdullaah Ibnul Mubaarak [rahimahullaah] said,

“Ibraaheem was a virtuous man and he conducted himself in the worship of his Lord in a way that was hidden from others. Neither have I ever seen him openly remembering Allaah nor performing extra acts of worship [i.e. he performed extra acts of worship in seclusion]. None ever ate food with him, except that he was the last to raise his hand to eat”.

Ibraaheem Bin Bash’shaar [rahimahullaah] said to Ibraahem “Why have you stopped narrating hadeeth?” He replied, “I replaced it with three affairs:  (1) striving to be grateful to Allaah for the blessings He has bestowed on me- by acknowledging the blessing, proclaiming that it is from Allaah and utilising it in what is pemissible. (2) Striving to seek Allaah’s forgiveness due to sins. (3) Striving to prepare for the Afterlife”.

Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham said, “Grief is of two types: the grief that is in your advantage and the grief that is against you. Your grief regarding the hardships in the afterlife is in your advantage [i.e. it makes you prepare for that which saves a person in the afterlife]. And your grief regarding the worldly life [i.e. due to greed, mutual rivalry, covetousness etc] is against you”.

Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham said, “Abstinence is three types: Obligatory, recommended and the abstinence that is based on safety. The obligatory abstinence is that one abstains from what is unlawful, the recommended abstinence is that one abstains from the unnecessary lawful desires and the abstinence that is based on safety is that one abstains from doubtful (or ambiguous) matters”.

Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham said, “Having less eagerness and desire for the extra and unnecessary things of worldly life leads a person to truthfulness and makes him avoid doubtful matters out of fearing that he will fall into what is unlawful and thus puts himself in trouble in the afterlife. Having a lot of eagerness and desire for the excess and unnecessary things of the worldly life leads to grief and anxiety”.

He used to supplicate, saying “O Allaah! Turn me away from the humiliation that results from disobeying You and grant me the honour that is associated with obedience to You”.

A man said to Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham, “I would love that you take this Jubbah [i.e. a long outer garment that resembles an open coat, having long sleeves] as a gift from me”. He said to the man, “If you are a wealthy person I will accept  it, otherwise I will not”. The man said, “I am wealthy”. He said to him, “How much do you have?” The man said, “I have two thousand”. He said to the man, “Do you wish that this two thousand increases to four thousand?” The man said, “Yes”. He said to the man, “You are poor and I do not accept this Jubbah from you”.

Al-Awzaa’ee [rahimahullaah] once him as his guest, but  he limited what he ate, so Al-Awzaa’ee said to him, “Why did you limit what you ate”, he replied, “Because you also limited what you ate”. Then Ibraaheem prepared food and invited Al-Awzaa’ee, so he said to Ibraaheem, “Do you not fear that this is tantamount to extravagance?” Ibraaheem replied, “No, rather extravagance is that which is spent in disobedience to Allaah, but as for what a man spends on his brothers, it is part of the religion”. [Ref 1]

A Man came to Ibraaheem Bin Ad’ham and said, “O Abu Ishaaq! Indeed, I have transgressed against myself [through severe sinning], so tell me that which will stop me from sinning and rescue my heart from it”. Ibraaheem said to him, “If you accept five things then you can fulfil them, you will not be harmed and the satisfaction one feels in the heart as a result of obedience to Allaah will not ceased to be with you”. The man said, “O Abu Ishaaq! Give them to me”.  Ibraaheem said, “As for the first affair, when you want to disobey Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic] do not eat the provision [He has created]!” The man said, “Where would I eat from when it is the fact that everything in the earth is from the provision [Allaah has created]?!” Ibraaheem said to him, “O you! Is it befitting that you eat the provision [provided by Allaah] and disobey Him?” The man said, “No, tell me the second affair”. Ibraaheem said, “When you want to disobey Allaah, do not dwell on the land [Allaah has created]”. The man said, “This is even greater than the first, because when it is the case that the eastern and western regions of the earth, and what is between them belongs to Allaah, then where would I dwell?” So, Ibraaheem said to him, “O you! Is it befitting that you eat the provision and dwell on the land [Allaah has created], but you disobey Him?”. The man said, “No, tell me the third affair”.

Ibraaheem said, “When you want to disobey Allaah whilst being provided with the provision and dwelling on the land [Allaah has created], then be at a place where Allaah cannot see you”. The man said, “How can that be when it is the fact that Allaah knows everything that is hidden”. So, Ibraaheem said to him, “O you! Is it befitting that you eat from the provision and dwell on the land [Allaah has created], but you disobey Him whilst He sees you and what you do?” The man said, “No, tell me the fourth affair”. Ibraaheem said, “When the angel of death comes to remove your soul, then tell him, ‘Delay my departure from this world so that I may perform sincere repentance and righteous deeds for the sake of Allaah”. The man said, “He [i.e. the angel of death] will not accept [this request]”. Ibraaheem said, “O you! When it is the fact that you cannot stop death so that you can repent nor can you delay it, then how can you be freed from this [situation]?!” The man said, “Tell me the fifth affair”. Ibraaheem said, “When Az-Zabaaniyah [i.e. the guards of hell] come on the day of judgement to take you to the fire, then do not go”. The man said, “Neither will they leave me nor agree to [leave me]”. Ibraaheem said, “Then how can you hope for safety?!” The man said, “O Ibraaheem! This admonition is enough for me! This admonition is enough for me! This admonition is enough for me. I seek Allaah’s Forgiveness and I repent to Him”.

Ref 1: An Excerpt From Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 10. Pages 135-139

Ref 2: Ta’leeq Alaa Bawaa’ithil Khilaas Min Adh-Dhunoob’ by Shaikh Abdur Razzaaq Al-Badr (hafidhahullaah). Lesson 1]