narrated by Ibn Taymiyyah in Kitaab al-Waseelah p. 92
al-Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have Mercy on him) said:
“I have seen Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir – and he was the leader of the Reciters of the Qur’aan – that he would never be asked about a hadeeth except that he would weep, until we had calmed him down.
And I have seen Ja’far ibn Muhammad who used to smile alot, yet whenever the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was mentioned to him, he would turn pale. I have never seen him narrating the hadeeth of Allaah’s Messenger sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam except in a state of purification.
And when times deteriorated, I never saw him except in one of three conditions: either praying, observing silence, or reciting the Qur’aan. He never uttered a word having no significance, and he was one of the scholars and worshippers
who had great fear of Allaah.
Whenever ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn al-Qaasim mentioned the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he turned pale as if the blood had been drained from his face, and his tongue dried-up due to reverence for Allaah’s Messenger sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
I went to ‘Aamir ibn ‘Abdullaah ibn az-Zubayr, and whenever the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was mentioned to him, he would weep so much, until he was unable to weep any longer.
I saw az-Zuhree – and he was from the kindest of people, and closest to them – that when the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was mentioned to him, he would not be able to recognise you, nor would you be able to recognise
him (from his intense weeping).
I came to Safwaan ibn Sulaym – and he was one of the mujtahid scholars and worshippers – that whenever he mentioned the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam he would weep, and he would not stop weeping, to the extent that the people would have to get up and leave him.”
Mohammad Awan 