Riyad as-Salihin

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Command your children to perform Salat (prayer) when they are seven years old, and beat them for (not offering) it when they are ten, and do not let (boys and girls) sleep together"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Teach a boy Salat (the prayer) when he attains the age of seven years, and punish him (if he does not offer it) at ten"..The narration in Abu Dawud is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Order a boy to perform Salat (the prayer) when he is seven years old".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Jibril kept recommending treating neighbours with kindness until I thought he would assign a share of inheritance"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded me thus, "O Abu Dharr! Whenever you prepare a broth, put plenty of water in it, and and give some of it to your neighbours"..In another narration of Muslim, narrated Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him): My friend, (Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) advised me saying, "Whenever you prepare a broth, put plenty of water in it, and give some to your neighbours and then give them out of this with courtesy."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer." It was asked, "Who is that, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "One whose neighbour does not feel safe from his evil"..Another narration of Muslim is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He will not enter Jannah whose neighbour is not secure from his wrongful conduct".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "O Muslim women! No one of you should consider insignificant (a gift) to give to her neighbour even if it is (a gift of) the trotters of a sheep"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "No one should prohibit his neighbour from placing a peg in his wall". Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) added: Now I see you turning away from this (Sunnah), but by Allah, I shall go on proclaiming it..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him not harm his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be kind to his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him either speak good or remain silent"..

I said, "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I have two neighbours, to which of them should I send a present?" He (ﷺ) replied, "To the one whose door is nearer to you".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The best of companions with Allah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neighbours to Allah is the one who is the best of them to his neighbour"..

I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) , "Which of the deeds is loved most by Allah?" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Salat at its proper time." I asked, ''What next?" He (ﷺ) replied, ''Kindness to parents." I asked, ''What next?" He replied, ''Jihad in the way of Allah.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "No son can repay (the kindness shown by his father) unless he finds him a slave and buys him and emancipates him"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be hospitable to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him maintain good the ties of blood relationship; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, must speak good or remain silent"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah created all the creatures and when He finished the task of His creation, Ar-Rahm (ties of relationship) said: '(O Allah) at this place I seek refuge with You against severing my ties.' Allah said: 'That I treat with kindness those who treat you with kindness and sever ties with those who sever ties with you.' It said: 'I am satisfied.' Allah said: 'Then this is yours". Then Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Recite this Ayah if you like: 'Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship? Such are they whom Allah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight". (47:22,23)..The words in Al-Bukhari are: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah (SWT) says: 'He who maintains good ties with you, I maintain good ties with him; and he who severs your ties, I sever ties with him".

A person came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked, "Who among people is most deserving of my fine treatment?" He (ﷺ) said, "Your mother". He again asked, ''Who next?" "Your mother", the Prophet (ﷺ) replied again. He asked, "Who next?" He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said again, "Your mother." He again asked, "Then who?" Thereupon he (ﷺ) said," Then your father."In another narration: "O Messenger of Allah! Who is most deserving of my fine treatment?" He (ﷺ) said, "Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then your nearest, then nearest"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced, whose parents, one or both, attain old age during his life time, and he does not enter Jannah (by rendering being dutiful to them)"..

A man said to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "I have relatives with whom I try to keep the ties of relationship but they sever relations with me; and whom I treat kindly but they treat me badly, I am gentle with them but they are rough to me." He (ﷺ) replied, "If you are as you say, it is as if you are feeding them hot ashes, and you will be with a supporter against them from Allah as long as you continue to do so"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who desires ample provisions and his life be prolonged, should maintain good ties with his blood relations". .

Abu Talhah (May Allah be pleased with him) was the richest among the Ansar of Al-Madinah and possessed the largest property; and among his possessions what he loved most was his garden known as Bairuha' which was opposite the mosque, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) often visited it and drank from its fresh water. When this ayah was revealed: "By no means shall you attain Al-Birr (piety, righteousness - here it means Allah's reward, i.e., Jannah), unless you spend (in Allah's Cause) of that which you love," (3:92). Abu Talhah came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and said: "Allah says in His Book: 'By no means shall you attain Al-Birr, unless you spend (in Allah's Cause) of that which you love,' and the dearest of my property is Bairuha' so I have given it as Sadaqah (charity) for Allah's sake, and I anticipate its reward with Him; so spend it, O Messenger of Allah, as Allah guides you". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Well-done! That is profitable property. I have heard what you have said, but I think you should spend it on your nearest relatives." So Abu Talhah distributed it among his nearest relatives and cousins..

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah and said, "I swear allegiance to you for emigration and Jihad, seeking reward from Allah." He (ﷺ) said, "Is any of your parents alive?" He said, "Yes, both of them are alive." He (ﷺ) then asked, "Do you want to seek reward from Allah?" He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Go back to your parents and keep good company with them"..In another narration it is reported that a person came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and sought his permission to participate in Jihad. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, "Are your parents alive?" He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet a(ﷺ) said, "(You should) consider their service as Jihad."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The person who perfectly maintains the ties of kinship is not the one who does it because he gets recompensed by his relatives (for being kind and good to them), but the one who truly maintains the bonds of kinship is the one who persists in doing so even though the latter has severed the ties of kinship with him"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The bond of relationship is suspending from the Throne, and says: 'He who keeps good relations with me, Allah will keep connection with him, but whosoever severs relations with me, Allah will sever connection with him"..

It has been narrated that Maimuna bint Al-Harith (May Allah be pleased with her) had set free a slave-girl without the Prophet's permission. When her turn came (the Prophet (ﷺ) used to visit his wives in turns), she made mention of that to him saying, "Did you know I have set slave-girl free?" He said, "Have you, indeed?" She replied, "Yes". He (ﷺ) then remarked, "Had you given her to your maternal uncles, you would have your reward increased"..

My mother came to me while she was still a polytheist, so I asked Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "My mother, who is ill-disposed to Islam, has come to visit me. Shall I maintain relations with her?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Yes, maintain relations with your mother"..

When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told the women that they should give Sadaqah (charity), even if it should be some of their jewellery, I returned to 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud and said, "You are a man who does not possess much, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has commanded us to give Sadaqah. So go and ask him if giving to you will serve the purpose; otherwise, I shall give it to someone else." He asked me that I should better go myself. I went and found a woman of the Ansar at the door of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), waiting to ask a similar question as mine. The Prophet (ﷺ) was endowed with dignity, and so we could not go in. When Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) came out to us, we said to him: "Go to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and tell him that there are two women at the door who have come to ask him whether it will serve them to give Sadaqah to their husbands and to orphans who are in their charge, but do not tell him who we are. Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) went in and asked him, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him who the women were. When he told him that they were a woman of the Ansar and Zainab, he asked him which Zainab it was, and when he was told it was the wife of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, he (ﷺ) said, "They will have a double reward, one for maintaining the ties of kinship and another for Sadaqah"..

Heraclius asked me, "What does this Prophet (ﷺ) teach you?" I said, "He orders us to worship Allah Alone and not to associate a thing with Him in worship, to discard what our ancestors said, to perform the Salat (prayer), speak the truth, and maintain the ties of kinship"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will soon conquer a land where people deal with Qirat."And according to another version: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will soon conquer Egypt where Al-Qirat is frequently mentioned. So when you conquer it, treat its inhabitants well. For there lies upon you the responsibility because of blood ties or relationship (with them)"..

When this Verse was revealed: "And warn your tribe (O Muhammad (ﷺ)) of near kindred". (26:214) Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called the Quraish; when they gathered, he said to them: "O sons of 'Abd Shams; O sons of Ka'b bin Lu'ai, rescue yourselves from the Fire! O sons of Murrah bin Ka'b, rescue yourselves from the Fire! O sons of 'Abd Manaf, rescue yourselves from the Fire! O sons of 'Abdul-Muttalib, rescue yourselves from the Fire! O Fatimah, rescue yourself from the Fire, for I have no power (to protect you) from Allah in anything except that I would sustain relationship with you"..

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying openly not secretly, "The family of so-and-so (i.e., Abu Talib) are not my supporters. My supporter is Allah and the righteous believing people. But they (that family) have kinship (Rahm) with whom I will maintain good the ties of kinship"..

A man came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said, "Direct me to a deed which will admit me to Jannah and take me away from the Fire". The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Worship Allah and associate no partner with Him, perform As-Salat, pay Zakat, and maintain the ties of kinship"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When you break fast, you should do it with a date-fruit for there is blessing in it, and if you do not find a date- fruit, break it with water for it is pure." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) added: "Charity towards a poor person is charity, and towards a relation is both charity and maintaining the ties (of kinship)"..

I had a wife whom I loved but 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) disliked her. He asked me to divorce her and when I refused, 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and mentioned the matter to him. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked me to divorce her..

A man came to me and said, "I have a wife whom my mother commands me to divorce". I replied him that I had heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "A parent is the best of the gates of Jannah; so if you wish, keep to the gate, or lose it.".

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: "A mother's sister is equivalent to (real) mother (in status)".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Shall I not inform you of the biggest of the major sins?" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked this question thrice. We said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah. (Please inform us.)". He said, "Ascribing partners to Allah, and to be undutiful to your parents". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat up from his reclining position and said, "And I warn you against giving forged statement and a false testimony; I warn you against giving forged statement and a false testimony". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) kept on repeating that warning till we wished he would stop..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "(Of the) major sins are: to ascribe partners to Allah, disobey parents, murder someone, and to take a false oath (intentionally)"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is one of the gravest sins to abuse one's parents." It was asked (by the people): "O Messenger of Allah, can a man abuse his own parents?" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He abuses the father of somebody who, in return, abuses the former's father; he then abuses the mother of somebody who, in return, abuses his mother"..Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "One of the major sins is to curse one's parents". It was submitted: "O Messenger of Allah! How can a man curse his own parents?" He (ﷺ) said, "When someone curses the parents of another man who in return abuses the former's father; and when someone abuses the mother of another man who in return abuses his mother."

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The person who severs the bond of kinship will not enter Jannah"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden you: disobedience to your mothers, to withhold (what you should give), or demand (what you do not deserve), and to bury your daughters alive. And Allah dislikes idle talk, to ask too many questions (for things which will be of no benefit to one), and to waste your wealth"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The finest act of goodness is that a person should treat kindly the loved ones of his father".

'Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) met a bedouin on his way to Makkah, he greeted him, offered him to mount the donkey he was riding and gave him the turban he was wearing on his head. Ibn Dinar said to him: "May Allah make you pious! Bedouins can be satisfied with anything you give them (i.e., what you have given the bedouin is too much). Upon this, 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said, the father of this man was one of 'Umar's friends whom he loved best, and I heard Messenger of Allah saying, "The finest act of goodness is the good treatment of someone whom one's father loves".Another narration goes: When 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) set out to Makkah, he kept a donkey with him to ride when he would get tired from the riding of the camel, and had a turban which he tied round his head. One day, as he was riding the donkey, a bedouin happened to pass by him. He ('Abdullah bin 'Umar) said, "Aren't you so-and-so?" The bedouin said, "Yes". He ('Abdullah bin 'Umar) gave him his donkey and his turban and said, "Ride this donkey, and tie this turban round your head". Some of his companions said, "May Allah forgive you, you gave to this bedouin the donkey which you enjoyed to ride for change, and the turban which you tied round your head".'Abdullah bin 'Umar said,"I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, 'The finest act of goodness is the kind treatment of a person to the loved ones of his father after his death,' and the father of this person was a friend of 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him)..

We were sitting with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when a man of Banu Salamah came to him and asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Is there any obedience to parents left that I can show to them after their death?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Yes, to pray for them, to supplicate for their forgiveness, to fulfill their promises after their death, to maintain the ties of kinship which cannot be maintained except through them, and honour their friends.".

I never felt jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) as much as I did of Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her), although I have never seen her, but the Prophet (ﷺ) used to mention her very often. Whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut it into pieces and send them to the women friends of Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her). When I sometimes said to him: "You treat Khadijah in such a way as if there is no woman on earth except her". He (ﷺ) would say, "Khadijah was such and such (commending her and speaking well of her), and I had children from her"..

I set out along with Jarir bin 'Abdullah Al-Bajali (May Allah be pleased with him) on a journey and he served me. I said to him: "Don't do that." Thereupon, he said, "I have seen the Ansar doing this with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I swore by Allah, whenever I accompany anyone of the Ansar, I would serve him"..

I went along with Husain bin Sabrah and 'Amr bin Muslim to Zaid bin Arqam (May Allah be pleased with them) and, as we sat by his side, Husain said to him, "Zaid, you acquired great merits, you saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), listened to him talking, fought by his side in (different) battles, and offered Salat (prayer) behind him. Zaid, you have indeed earned great merits. Could you narrate to us what you heard from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?" Zaid said, "By Allah! I have grown old and have almost spent up my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), so accept what I narrate to you, do not compel me to narrate what I fail to narrate". He then said, "One day Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up to deliver a Khutbah at a watering place known as Khumm between Makkah and Al-Madinah. He praised Allah, extolled Him, and exhorted (us) and said, 'Amma Ba'du. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Rubb and I will respond to Allah's Call, but I am leaving with you two weighty things: the first is the Book of Allah, in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.' He exhorted (us to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said, 'The second is the members of my household, I remind you (to be kind) to the members of my family. I remind you (to be kind) to the members of my family. Husain said to Zaid, "Who are the members of his household, O Zaid? Aren't his wives the members of his family?" Thereupon Zaid said, "His wives are the members of his family. (But here) the members of his family are those for whom Zakat is forbidden". He asked, "Who are they?" Zaid said, "Ali and the offspring of 'Ali, 'Aqil and the offspring of 'Aqil and the offspring of Ja'far and the offspring of 'Abbas." Husain asked, "For all of them the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden?" Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "Yes"..Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I am leaving behind me two weighty things. One of them is the Book of Allah; that is the strong rope of Allah. Whosoever holds firmly to it, will be the guided, and whosoever leaves it goes astray".

Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "Show reverence to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) by honouring the members of his family.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The person who is best versed in the recitation of the Book of Allah, should lead the prayer; but if all those present are equally versed in it, then the one who has most knowledge of the Sunnah; if they are equal in that respect too, then the one who has emigrated (to Al-Madinah) first, if they are equal in this respect also, then the oldest of them. No man should lead another in prayer where the latter has authority, or sit in his house, without his permission"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would place his hands upon our shoulders when we would form rows for As-Salat (the prayer) and say, "Stand in straight rows and do not differ among yourselves, or else your hearts will differ due to disaccord. Let those be nearest to me who are mature and endowed with understanding (of the religion), then those who are nearest to them in these respects and then those who are nearest to them"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Let those be nearest to me in Salat (prayer) who are mature and possess (religious) knowledge, then those who are nearest to them in these respects". He repeated this three times and then added, "Beware of indulging in the loose talks of the markets (when you are in the mosque)"..