Wahab bin Munabbah says:
"Abdullah bin Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho) lost his eyesight in his
old age. I once led him to the Haram in Mecca, where he heard a group of people exchanging
hot words among themselves. He asked me to lead him to them. He greeted them with
'Assalamu Alaikum.' They requested him to sit down, but he refused and said: 'May I tell
you about people whom Allah holds in high esteem? These are those whom His fear has driven
to absolute silence, even though they are neither helpless nor dumb. Rather they are
possessors of eloquence and have power to speak and sense to understand. But constant
glorification of Allah's name has so over-powered their wits that their hearts are
overawed and their lips sealed. When they get established in this state, they hasten
towards righteousness. Whither have you people deviated from this course? After this
admonition, I never saw an assembly of even two persons in the Haram."
It is said that Hadhrat Ibne Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho) used to weep so
much with Allah's fear that the tears streaming down his cheeks had left permanent marks
on them.
In this story, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho) has
prescribed a very easy way to righteousness. This is to meditate over the greatness of
Allah. If this is done, it becomes very easy to perform all other acts of righteousness
with full sincerity. Is it so very difficult to devote a few minutes, out of the twenty
four hours of a day at one's disposal, to this spiritual meditation?