وَعَن ابنِ الْمسيب سُمِعَ
يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ يُحِبُّ الطِّيبَ نَظِيفٌ يُحِبُّ النَّظَافَةَ كَرِيمٌ يُحِبُّ الْكَرَمَ جَوَادٌ يُحِبُّ الْجُودَ فَنَظِّفُوا أُرَاهُ قَالَ: أَفْنِيَتَكُمْ وَلَا تشبَّهوا باليهود «قَالَ: فذكرتُ ذَلِك لمهاجرين مِسْمَارٍ فَقَالَ: حَدَّثَنِيهِ عَامِرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِثْلَهُ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «نَظِّفُوا أَفْنِيتَكُمْ»
“God is good and likes what is fragrant (Tayyib is ‘good’ and tib is ‘perfume’, or ‘fragrance.’); clean and likes cleanliness; generous and likes generosity; munificent and likes munificence; so cleanse (I think he said, your courtyards), and do not imitate the Jews.”
I mentioned that to Muhajir ibn Mismar and he said he had been told by Amir ibn Sad, on his father’s authority, that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had said something similar, but he said, “Cleanse your courtyards.”