Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-‘Ala reported: Al-Shafi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, said to me, “Pleasing people is a goal you can never achieve, and I know of no way to be safe from them, so you must be concerned with what benefits you and hold onto it.”
Source: Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’ 9/122
عَنْ يُونُس بْن عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَى قَالَ قَالَ لِي الشَّافِعِيُّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ النَّاسُ غَايَةٌ لَا تُدْرَكُ وَلَيْسَ لِي إِلَى السَّلَامَةِ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ فَعَلَيْكَ بِمَا يَنْفَعُكَ فَالْزَمْهُ
9/122 حلية الأولياء وطبقات الأصفياء