Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “No saying is proper unless accompanied with action and no saying and action is proper unless accompanied with intention, and no saying, action and intention is proper unless they are consistent with the sunnah.”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “The scholar is [like] a doctor of this nation and the wealth is the sickness. Therefore, when the doctor brings the sickness to himself how can he treat others?!”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “It is befitting for a man to persuade his child to acquire knowledge because he will be asked about this.”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “If you know yourself, then you will not be harmed by whatever is said about you.”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “We do not know of anything better than seeking knowledge with (a sincere) intention (for the sake of Allāh).”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “Three qualities are from patience: Not speaking about your misfortune, (not speaking about) your pain, and not praising yourself.”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “Safety lies in not wanting to be known.”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “Sometimes a man will narrate a ḥadīth to me that I knew before his mother gave birth to him. However, out of good manners, I will listen to him (as though I did not know it).”
Sufyān ath-Thawrī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said: “When a servant renounces the world, Allāh will cause wisdom to grow in his heart and to come forth from his tongue. He will grant him insight into the faults of the world, its diseases, and its cures.”
