Al-Adab Al-Mufrad

Mihsan al-Ansari reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When someone is secure in his property, healthy in his body and has his food for the day, it is as if he owned the entire world."

Mu'adh ibn 'Abdullah ibn Khubayb al-Juhani related from his father that his uncle said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out to them with the traces of ghusl on him. He was cheerful so we thought he had been with his wives. We said, 'Messenger of Allah, we see that you are cheerful.' He said, 'Yes, and praise be to Allah!' Then wealth was mentioned that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is no harm in wealth for someone who has taqwa, but health for the person who has taqwa is even better than wealth. Cheerfulness is a blessing.'"

An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an al-Ansari reported that he asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about righteousness and sin. He said, "Righteousness is good character and sin is what gnaws at your conscience and that which you dislike for other people to become aware of."

Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the best of people, the most generous of people and most courageous of people. One night the people of Madina were alarmed by a noise and the people went towards its source. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, met them, having already reached the source of the noise before them and he was saying, "Do not be alarmed. Do not be alarmed." He was riding a horse belonging to Abu Talha without a saddle and a sword was hung around his neck. He said, "I found it (the horse) like a great river" or it was a great river (meaning its speed).

Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Every act of kindness is sadaqa. Part of kindness is that you offer your brother a cheerful face and you pour some of your bucket into his water vessel."

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Which is the best action?" He replied, "Belief in Allah and jihad in His Way." He was asked, "Which slaves are best?" He replied, "The highest in price and the most precious to their people." He said, "What do you think I should do if I am unable to fight?" He said, "Help someone in trouble or work for someone who does not work." He said, "What do you think that I should do if I am too weak (to act accordingly)?" He said, "Spare people your evil. That is a sadaqa which you bestow on yourself."

Sa'id ibn Abi Burda related from his grandfather that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Every Muslim owes sadaqa." He said, "What do you think he should do if he cannot find anything to give?" He replied, "He should find work and thus benefit himself and be able to give sadaqa." He said, "What do you think he should do if he cannot or does not do that?" He said, "He should help someone with a great need." He said, "What do you think he should do if he cannot or does not do that?" He replied, "He should command the good." He asked, "What do you think he should do if he cannot or does not do that?" He replied, "He should refrain from evil. That is sadaqa for him."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to supplicate, "Oh Allah, I ask You for health, restraint, trustworthiness, good character, and contentment with the decree."

"It is the believers who are successful: those who are humble in their prayer; those who turn away from worthless talk; those who actively pay zakat; those who guard their private parts." (23:1-5)' She said, 'That was the character of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.'"

Salim ibn 'Abdullah said, "I never heard 'Abdullah ever curse anything." Salim mentioned that 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said, "It is not fitting for a believer to be a curser."

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah does not love the loud and coarse nor the one who shouts in the markets."

'A'isha reported that some Jews came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Poison ('sam' instead of 'salam') be upon you." 'A'isha said, "And upon you and may the curse of Allah and the anger of Allah be upon you!" The Prophet said, "Easy, 'A'isha, you must be gentle. Beware of harshness and coarseness." She asked, "Didn't you hear what they said?" He said, "Didn't you hear what I said? I repeated it to them and what I said about them will be accepted and what they said about me will not be accepted."

'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A believer is not a defamer nor a curser nor coarse nor obscene."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A person who is two-faced cannot be trusted."

'Abdullah said, "The most blameworthy thing in a believer's character is coarseness."

'Ubayd al-Kindi al-Kufi reported that he heard 'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The cursers are cursed."

Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those who curse will be neither witnesses nor intercessors on the Day of Rising."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The true person must not be a curser."

Hudhayfa said, "People do not curse one another without that curse coming true."

'A'isha reported that Abu Bakr cursed one of his slaves and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Abu Bakr! The cursers and the true! No, by the Lord of the Ka'ba," and he repeated that two or three times. That very same day Abu Bakr freed one of his slaves. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and said, "Do not do that again (i.e. curse someone)."

Samura reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not curse one another with the curse of Allah, not the anger of Allah nor with the Fire."

Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Messenger of Allah, invoke a curse for us against the idolaters.' He replied, 'I was not sent as a curser. I was sent as a mercy.'"

Himam said, "We were with Hudhayfa when he was told, 'A man has a hadith going back to 'Uthman.' Hudhayfa said, 'I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "A mischief-maker will not enter the Garden."'"

Asma' bint Yazid reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you who is the best of you?" "Yes,," they replied. He said, "Those who remind you of Allah when you see them." He went on to say, "Shall I tell you who is the worst of you?" "Yes," they replied. He said, "Those who go about slandering, causing mischief between friends in order to separate them, and desiring to lead the innocent into wrong action."

'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The person who says something indecent and the person who makes it known are equal as far as the wrong action is concerned."

Shubayl ibn 'Awf said, "It is said, 'Whoever hears something indecent and then spreads it is like the one who originated it.'"

'Ata thought that an exemplary punishment should be carried out on anyone who makes adultery known. He said, "He has made indecency known."

Hukaym ibn Sa'd heard 'Ali say, "Do not be hasty, spreading and divulging secrets. Ahead of you lies a severe, distressing affliction and events which would take a long time explain - namely oppressive conflicts."

Ibn 'Abbas said, "When you want to mention your companion's faults, remember your own faults."

Ibn 'Abbas spoke about the words of Allah Almighty, "Do not find fault with one another" (49:11) and he said that these words mean, "Do not attack one another."

Ad-Dahhak said, "It was about us (the Banu Salima) that these words were revealed, 'Do not find fault with one another' (49:11)" He went on to say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to us and there was not a man among us who did not have two names. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to say, 'O so-and-so!' and they said, 'Messenger of Allah! That will make him angry!'"

'Ikrima was heard to say, "I do not know which o f them, either Ibn 'Abbas or Ibn 'Umar, was giving his companions food, and a slavegirl was working in their presence. One of them said to her, 'Harlot!' He said, 'Easy! If she does not exact the hadd punishment (i.e. for slander) from you in this world, she will take it from you in the Next World.' The man said, 'And what do you think if it (what I said) is the truth?' He replied, 'Allah does not love anyone who greatly exceeds the sounds in speaking of indecencies."

'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said. "The believer is neither a defamer nor a curser nor outrageous nor obscene."

Abu Bakr reported that a man was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and someone praised him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Woe to you! You have cut off the head of your companion!" and he repeated that several times. He went on, "If one of you must praise someone, he should say, 'I consider that so-and-so is such-and-such.' Allah is the One who will take account of him if he thinks that he is indeed like that, No one can appropriate Allah's right to attest to someone's character."

Abu Musa reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard a man praise another man and he was using exaggeration in his praise of him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You have destroyed - or broken - the man's back."

Ibrahim at-Taymi reported that his father said, "We were sitting with 'Umar and one man praised another man to his face." He said, "You have wounded the man. May Allah wound you."

Zayd ibn Aslam reported that his father heard 'Umar state, "Praise is slaughter." The transmitter added, "He meant when it is accepted."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best of men is Abu Bakr. The best of men is 'Umar. The best of men is Abu 'Ubayda. The best of men is Usayd ibn Hudayr. The best of men is Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas. The best of men is Mu'adh ibn 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh. The best of men is Mu'adh ibn Jabal." Then he said, "The worst of men is so-and-so. The worst of men is so-and-so," until he had named seven men.

'A'isha said, "A man asked permission to come to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Messenger of Allah said, 'He is an evil son of his tribe.' When the man came in, the Prophet was courteous and cheerful towards him. When that man left, another man asked permission to come in. He said, 'He is an excellent son of his tribe.' When he came in, he was not cheerful towards him as he had been cheerful towards the other man. When he left, I said, 'Messenger of Allah, you said what you said about so-and-so and yet you were courteous to him. You said what you said about so-and-so and I did not see you do the same.' He said, ''A'isha, the worst of people are those who are feared on account of their bad language.'"

Abu Ma'mar said, "A man began to praise one of the amirs. Al-Miqdad began to throw dirt in his face and said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to throw dust into the faces of those who praise people.'"

'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah reported that a man was praising another man in the presence of Ibn 'Umar. Ibn 'Umar began to throw dust towards his mouth. He said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'When you see those who praise people, throw dust in their faces.'"

Raja' said. "One day Mihjan and I went to the mosque of the people of Basra. Burayda al-Aslami was sitting there by one of the mosque doors. Inside the mosque there was a man called Sabka who used to make the prayers long. We came to the mosque door which had a fringed woollen cloth over it. Now Burayda was someone who made jokes. He said, 'Mihjan, don't you pray as Sabka prays?' Mihjan did not answer and went back. Mihjan said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once took me by the hand and we went together to the top of Uhud. He looked down on Madina and said, "Woe to a town whose people will abandon it when it becomes very prosperous. Then the Dajjal will come to it and find two angels at each of its gates, so he will not enter it." Then he went down until we reached the mosque and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man praying, prostrating and bowing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked me, "Who is this?" and I began to praise him, saying, "Messenger of Allah, this is so-and-so and so-and-so." "Stop!" he said, "Do not let him hear or you will destroy him."'"

Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "I came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I have praised Allah and you in poems of praise and eulogies.' He said, 'As far as your Lord is concerned, He must be praised,' and so I began to recite them. Then a tall bald man asked for permission to enter. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told me, 'Be silent.' The man came in and spoke for a time and then left. Then I recited again. Then the other man came back and he made be silent again. Then the man left again. That happened two or three times. I asked, 'Who is this man for whom I must be silent?' He replied, 'This is a man who does not like vain things.'"

Abu Nujayd said, "A poet came to 'Imran ibn Husayn and 'Imran gave him something. 'Imran was asked, 'You give to a poet?' He said, 'I am preserving my reputation (from his satire).'"

Ibn 'Awn reported, "They used to say, 'Do not honour your guest in a way which will be burdensome for him.'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When a man visits his brothers, Allah tells him, 'You have been good and your evening will be good and you can take your place in the Garden.'"

Umm ad-Darda' said, "Salman came from al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon) to Syria to visit us on foot wearing a shirt (kisa') and trousers." Shawdhab said, "Salman was seen wearing a short with all his hair shaved off and his large ears showing. He was told, 'You have made yourself ugly.' He replied, "The real good is the good of the Next World.'"

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited one of the houses of the Ansar and ate some food with them. When he left, he asked for a place in the house and some water was sprinkled on a carpet for him. He prayed on it and made supplication for them.

'Abdulkarim Abu Umuyyah came to Abu Al'aliyah and on him were wool clothes. So Abu Al'aliyah said "These are but the clothes of monks, as the Muslims, when visiting each other, would beautify themselves.‏"

'Abdullah, the client of Asma', said, "Asma' brought out to me a cloak of Tayalisah (a type of mantle) which had a collar border a span (wide) of brocade and verily it's two openings were hemmed with it (i.e. brocade). She said, 'This is the of the cloak of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He used to wear it for delegations and on Jumu'a.' "