Riyad as-Salihin

At the time of giving the pledge of allegiance, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took from us an oath that we would not wail..

When 'Abdullah bin Rawahah (May Allah be pleased with him) became unconscious, his sister began to weep and shout: "Alas! For the mountain among men. Alas! for such and such (mentioning his virtuous qualities)." When he recovered his consciousness, he said: "I was asked (disapprovingly, by the angels) about everything you said concerning me whether I am as you said.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited Sa'd bin 'Ubadah during his illness. He was accompanied by 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf, Sa'd bin Abu Waqqas and 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with them). When they entered his house, they found him unconscious. The Messenger of Allah asked, "Has he died?" They replied: "No, O Messenger of Allah." Hearing this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began to weep. When his Companions saw this, they also began to weep too. He said, "Listen attentively: Allah does not punish for the shedding of tears or the grief of the heart, but takes to task or show mercy because of the utterances of this (and he pointed to his tongue).".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a garment of scabies (Allah knows the nature thereof).".

A woman who had taken a pledge of allegiance at the hand of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Among the matters in respect of which we gave the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) the pledge not to disobey him in any Ma'ruf .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone dies and the mourner gets up and says: 'Alas! For the mountain among men. Alas! For the chief ...' and such like, Allah will put two angels in charge of him who will beat on the breast and ask him (disapproving): 'Were you like that?' ".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Two things are signs of disbelief on the part of those who indulge in them: Slandering one's lineage and wailing over the dead.".

Some people asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about soothsayers. He (ﷺ) said, "They are of no account." Upon this they said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! But they sometimes make true predictions." Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "That is a word pertaining to truth which a jinn snatches (from the angels) and whispers into the ears of his friend (the soothsayers) who will then mix more than a hundred lies with it.".The narration in Al-Bukhari is: "The angels descend in the clouds and mention matters which has been decreed in heaven; Satan steals a hearing (listens to it stealthily) and communicates it to the soothsayers who tell along with it a hundred lies."

Narrated Safiyyah, daughter of Abu 'Ubaid, on the authority of some of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) who said, "He who goes to one who claims to tell about matters of the Unseen and believes in him, his Salat (prayers) will not be accepted for forty days.".

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The practice of 'Iyafah, the interpretation of omens from the flight of birds, the practice of divination by drawing lines on the ground and taking evil omens are all practices of Al-Jibt (the idol, the diviner, or sorcerer).".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who acquires a branch of the knowledge of astrology, learns a branch of magic (of which he acquires more as long as) he continues to do so.".

I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have recently emerged from ignorance and Allah has favoured me with Islam. There are still some men among us who visit the soothsayers to consult them (on matters relating to the future)." He (ﷺ) replied, "Do not visit them." I said: "There are some men who are guided by omens." He replied, "These are the ideas which come up in their minds but you should not be influenced by them (i.e., these things) should not prevent them from pursuing their works." I said: "There are some men who practise divination by drawing lines on the ground." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, "There was a Prophet who drew lines, the line which agrees with the line drawn by that Prophet would be correct.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited the price of a dog, the earning of an prostitute, and the money given to a soothsayer..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Not the transmission of disease of one person to another and no evil omen, but I am pleased with good omens." He was asked: "What is good omen?" He replied, "A good word.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There is no infection and no evil omen; but if there is anything (that may be a source of trouble) then it could be a house, a horse, and a woman.".

The Prophet never took ill omens..

When talking of omens was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) he said, "The best type of omen is the good omen." He added, "A Muslim should not refrain from anything because of an omen." He (ﷺ) told them, "When any of you sees anything which he dislikes, he should say: 'Allahuma la ya'ti bil-hasanati illa Anta, wa la yadfa'us- sayyi'ati illa Anta, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa Bika (O Allah ! You Alone bring good things; You Alone avert evil things, and there is no might or power but in You)."'.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Those who draw pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection; and it will be said to them: 'Breathe soul into what you have created."'.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited me after returning from a journey, and I had a shelf with a thin cloth curtain hanging over it and on which there were portraits. When he saw it, the colour of his face changed (because of anger) and he said, "O 'Aishah! the most grievous torment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be for those who imitate (Allah) in the act of His creation." 'Aishah said: We tore it into pieces and made a cushion or two cushions out of that..

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Every painter will go to Hell, and for every portrait he has made, there will be appointed one who will chastise him in the Hell." Ibn 'Abbas said: If you have to do it, draw pictures of trees and other inanimate things..

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Whosoever makes a picture, will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and will be asked to infuse soul therein, which he will not be able to do.".

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Those who will receive the most severe punishment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be painters (of living objects).".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The Almighty Allah said: 'Who is more an oppressor than him who goes to create like My creation? Let him make an ant or a grain of corn or a grain of barley."'.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a portrait.".

Jibril (Gabriel) promised to visit the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) but delayed and this grieved him very much. When he came out of his house, Jibril met him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him about the reason of delay, and he replied: "We do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a portrait.".

Jibril (Gabriel) (ﷺ) made a promise with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to come at a definite hour; that hour came but he did not visit him. There was a staff in the hand of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He threw it from his hand and said, "Never does Allah back out of His Promise, nor do His messengers." Then he noticed a puppy under his bed and said, "O 'Aishah, when did this dog enter?" She said: "By Allah, I don't know." He then commanded that it should be turned out. No sooner than had they expelled it, Jibril came and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him, "You promised to visit me. I waited for you but you did not come." Whereupon he said: "The dog kept me from coming. We do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a picture.".

'Ali bin Abu Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Shall I not send you to do a task that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had assigned to me? Spare no portrait unwiped out, and leave not a high grave unlevelled.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who keeps a dog other than one for guarding the fields or herds or hunting, will lose two Qirat every day out of his rewards.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who keeps a dog, will lose out of his good deeds equal to one Qirat every day, except one who keeps it for guarding the fields or the herd.".In a narration of Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is reported to have said: "He who keeps a dog for any reason other than to guard his property (lands) or his flock of sheep, his good deeds equal to two Qirat will be deducted every day."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Angels do not accompany the travellers who have with them a dog or a bell.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The bell is one of the musical instruments of Satan.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited riding a camel which eats dung, or animal or human waste..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Spitting in the mosque is a sin, and its expiation is that the spittle should be buried in earth.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw spittle or snot or sputum, sticking to the wall towards Qiblah and scratched it off..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is not proper to use the mosque for urinating or easing oneself. They are merely built for the remembrance of Allah and the recitation of the Qur'an", or as he stated..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone hears a man inquiring in the mosque about something he has lost, he should say: 'La raddaha Allahu 'alaika (May Allah not restore it to you),' for mosques are not built for this purpose."

The Messenger of Allah said, "When you see someone buying or selling in the mosque, say to him: 'La arbaha-Allahu tijarataka (May Allah not make your bargain profitable)!' When you see someone announcing something lost in it, say: 'May Allah not restore it to you!"'.

A man announced (the loss of his camel) in the mosque, uttering these words: "Has any one seen my red camel?" Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "May it not be restored to you! The mosques are built for what they are meant to be (i.e., prayer, remembrance of Allah, acquiring knowledge, etc.).".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited (us) from buying and selling in the mosque; (he also prohibited us from) making announcement in it about something lost and from reciting poems in it..

While I was in the mosque, someone threw a pebble at me, and when I looked up, I saw that it was 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, who said: "Go and call me these two men." I brought them and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) asked them: "Where are you from?" On their replying that they belonged to At-Taif, he said: "Had you been the inhabitants of Al-Madinah, I would have given you a beating for raising your voices in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who has eaten garlic should not come to our mosque.".The narration in Muslim is: "He who has eaten garlic should not come to our mosques."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who has eaten from this plant (i.e., garlic) should not approach us and should not offer Salat (prayer) along with us.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who has eaten garlic or onion should keep away from us or our mosques.".

"O you people! You eat garlic and onion. I think the odour of these to be very offensive. I saw that if the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) happened to find a man with such offensive odour in the mosque, he would order him to be taken out of the mosque and sent to Al-Baqi'. He who wants to eat any of these, should cook them till their odour dies out..

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade (us) from sitting with our legs drawn up to our belly (Ihtiba') during the Friday Khutbah (religious talk before the prayer)..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When anyone of you intends to sacrifice the animal and enter in the month of Dhul-Hijjah, he should not get his hair cut or nails pared till he has offered his sacrifice.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has prohibited you from taking an oath by your fathers. He who must take an oath, may do so by swearing in the Name of Allah or he should remain silent.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Swear neither by the name of Taghut (i.e., false deities, false leaders, etc.) nor by your fathers.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who swears by Amanah (trust) is not one of us.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone swears that in such and such case he will be free from Islam and afterwards he turns out to be a liar, he will be as he has sworn; but if he is speaking the truth, he will not revert safely to Islam.".