Hadhrat Umar-bin-Abdul Aziz
(Rahmatullah alaih) appointed a person as the governor of a province.
Somebody remarked that this person had held the same post under
Hajjaj-bin-Yusuf (the notorious blood shedder) also. Hadhrat Umar bin
Abdul Aziz (Rahmatullah alaih) immediately issued orders for
his dismissal.
The man protested: “I had been with
Hajjaj only for a very short time." To this, the Khalifa
replied: "His company for a day or even less is sufficient to
render a man unfit for public service."
"A man is known by the company he
keeps." The company of pious people leaves a faint impression of
piety on the character of a person and likewise evil company has its
evil influence. That is why association with bad people is always
discouraged. Even the company of animals is not without its
own effect.
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Nabi SAW said: "Pride and
arrogance are prone to be found in those who own camels and horses,
while meekness and humility characterize those who tend sheep and
goats." Nabi SAW is reported to have said: "A person who
associates with a pious man is like one who sits with a musk-seller.
Although he does not receive any musk from the latter, the pleasant
smell would still be a source of pleasure to him. But bad company may
be likened to a furnace; a man sitting near one cannot escape the
smoke and the fumes, even though a spark does not fall on him."
