Imam Ahmad رحمہ اللہ mentioned:
“I worshipped Allah for fifty years and I did not experience the sweetness of worship until I abandoned three things:
abandoned pleasing the people in order to be able to speak the truth.
I abandoned the companionship of sinners until I found companionship of the righteous.
And I abandoned the sweetness of the worldly-life until I found the sweetness of [seeking after] the hereafter.”
[Siyar Alam an-Nubala |1/347]














