Riyad as-Salihin

'Abdullah bin Sahl and Muhaiyisah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with them) went to Khaibar during the period of the truce (after its conquest) and they separated to perform their duties. When Muhaiyisah returned to `Abdullah bin Sahl, he found him murdered, drenched in his blood. So he buried him and returned to Al-Madinah. Then `Abdur-Rahman bin Sahl, Huwaiyisah and Muhaiyisah, the two sons of Mas`ud went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and spoke about the case of their (murdered) friend. `Abdur-Rahman, who was the youngest of them all, started talking. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Let those older than you speak first." So he stopped talking and the (other two) spoke about the case of their (murdered) friend. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Will you take an oath whereby you will have the right to receive the blood money of your murdered man?" And mentioned the rest of the Hadith. .

After the battle of Uhud, the Prophet (ﷺ) arranged the burial of two of the martyrs in one grave. In each case he would ask, "Which one of them had learnt more Qur'an by heart?" Whichever was thus pointed out to him, was placed by him first in the Lahd..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "It was shown to me in my dream that I was cleaning my teeth with a Miswak and two men came to me, one being older than the other. I gave the Miswak to the younger one, but I was asked to give it to the older, which I did"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is out of reverence to Allah in respecting an aged Muslim, and the one who commits the Qur'an to memory and does not exaggerate pronouncing its letters nor forgets it after memorizing, and to respect the just ruler"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "He is not one of us who shows no mercy to younger ones and does not acknowledge the honour due to our elders"..

A begger asked 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) for charity and she gave him a piece of bread. Thereafter, one well-dressed person asked her for charity and she invited him to sit down and served him food. When she was asked about the reason for the difference in treatment, she said: "Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) instructed us: 'Treat people according to their status"..

'Uyainah bin Hisn came to Al-Madinah and stayed with his nephew Al-Hurr bin Qais who was among those who were close to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) and had access to his council. The scholarly persons, whether they were old or young, had the privilege of joining his council and he used to consult them. 'Uyainah said to Al-Hurr: "My dear nephew, you have an access to the Leader of the Believers. Will you obtain permission for me to sit with him?" Al-Hurr asked 'Umar and he accorded permission. When 'Uyainah came into the presence of 'Umar, he addressed him thus: "O son of Al-Khattab, you neither bestow much on us nor deal with us justly." 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) got angry and was about to beat him when Al-Hurr said: "O Leader of the Believers, Allah has said to his Prophet (ﷺ): 'Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don't punish them),

I was a boy during the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and used to commit to my memory what he said, but I do not narrate what I preserved because there were among us people who were older than me..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If a young man honours an older person on account of his age, Allah appoints someone to show reverence to him in his old age".

After the death of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) : "Let us visit Umm Aiman (May Allah be pleased with her) as Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to visit her". As we came to her, she wept. They (Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said to her, "What makes you weep? Do you not know that what Allah has in store for His Messenger (ﷺ) is better than (this worldly life)?" She said, "I weep not because I am ignorant of the fact that what is in store for Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (in the Hereafter) is better than this world, but I weep because the Revelation has ceased to come". This moved both of them to tears and they began to weep along with her..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A man set out to visit a brother (in Faith) in another town and Allah sent an angel on his way. When the man met the angel, the latter asked him, "Where do you intend to go?" He said, "I intend to visit my brother in this town." The angel said, "Have you done any favour to him?" He said, "No, I have no desire except to visit him because I love him for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious." Thereupon the angel said, "I am a messenger to you from Allah (to inform you) that Allah loves you as you love him (for His sake)".

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Whosoever visits an ailing person or a brother of his to seek the Pleasure of Allah, an announcer (angel) calls out: 'May you be happy, may your walking be blessed, and may you be awarded a dignified position in Jannah"..

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "The similitude of good company and that of bad company is that of the owner of musk and of the one blowing the bellows. The owner of musk would either offer you some free of charge, or you would buy it from him, or you smell its pleasant fragrance; and as for the one who blows the bellows (i.e., the blacksmith), he either burns your clothes or you smell a repugnant smell"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A woman is married for four things: for her wealth, for her lineage, for her beauty or for her piety. Select the pious, may you be blessed!"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said to Jibril (Gabriel), "What prevents you from visiting us more frequently?" Thereupon was revealed the Ayah: "(The angels say:) 'And we (angels) descend not except by the Command of your Rubb. To Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between those two". (19:64).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Keep only a believer for a companion and let only a pious eat your food"..

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "Man follows his friend's religion, you should be careful who you take for friends"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A person will be summoned with the one whom he loves"..Another narration is: The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked; "What about a person who loves a people but cannot be with them?" (i.e., either he cannot attain their lofty position of righteousness or that he has not met with them in this life). He (ﷺ) replied, "A person will be in the company of those whom he loves".

A bedouin came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said to him, "When will be the Hour (i.e., the Day of Resurrection)?" He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, "What preparation have you made for it?" He said, "Only the love of Allah and His Messenger." Then Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will be with those whom you love.".The narration in Muslim is: The man replied: "I have made no significant preparation with regard to Salat (prayer), Saum (fasting) and Sadaqah (charity) but I love Allah and His Messenger".

A man came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! What do you think of a man who loves some people but does not go any nearer to their position?" He (ﷺ) replied, "A man will be with those whom he loves"..

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "People are like gold and silver; those who were best in Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance) are best in Islam, if they have religious understanding; and the souls are like recruited soldiers, they get mixed up with those similar with them in qualities and oppose and drift away from those who do not share their qualities"..

When delegations from Yemen came to the help of (the Muslim army at the time of Jihad) 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) would ask them, "Is there Owais bin 'Amir amongst you?" (He continued searching him) until he met Owais (May Allah be pleased with him). He said, "Are you Owais bin 'Amir?" He said, "Yes". 'Umar asked, "Are you from the Qaran branch of the tribe of Murad?" He said, "Yes". He 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) again said, "Did you suffer from leucoderma and then you were cured from it but for the space of a dirham?" He said, "Yes". He 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "Is your mother still alive?" He said, "Yes". He 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, 'There would come to you Owais bin 'Amir with the reinforcement from the people of Yemen. He would be from Qaran (the branch) of Murad. He had been suffering from leucoderma from which he was cured but for a spot of a dirham. He has a mother to whom he is very dutiful. If he were to take an oath in the Name of Allah, Allah would fulfill his oath. And if it is possible for you, ask him to ask forgiveness for you.' So, ask forgiveness for me". He Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) did so. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) then said, "Where do you intend to go?" He said, "To Kufah." He 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "Let me write a letter for you to its governor," whereupon he Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "I love to live amongst the poor people". The following year, a person from among the elite (of Kufah) performed Hajj and he met 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him). 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) asked him about Owais (May Allah be pleased with him). He said, "I left him in a state with meagre means of sustenance in a decayed house." (Thereupon) 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, 'There would come to you Owais bin 'Amir of Qaran, a branch (of the tribe) of Murad, along with the reinforcement of the people of Yemen. He had been suffering from leucoderma which would have been cured but for the space of a dirham. He has a mother to whom he is very dutiful. Were he to swear, trusting Allah, for something, Allah would fulfill his oath. If you can ask him to pray for forgiveness for you, do so". This man went to Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) and asked him to pray for forgiveness for him. Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "You have just returned from a blessed journey, it is you who should pray for forgiveness for me; and did you meet 'Umar?" The man said, "Yes". 'Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) then prayed for forgiveness for him. People became aware of the high status of Owais (May Allah be pleased with him) and he set out following his course..

I sought permission of the Prophet (ﷺ) to perform 'Umrah. He granted me leave and said, "Dear brother! Do not forget us in your supplications". ('Umar added): This is something I would not exchange for the whole world.Another narration is: He (ﷺ) said, "Include us, my dear brother, in your supplications." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to visit Quba', either mounted or on foot and would offer two Rak'ah prayer in the mosque there..Another narration is: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to visit the mosque at Quba' every Saturday (i.e., every week) either mounted or on foot, and Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) used to do the same thing.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There are three qualities whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of Iman: To love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) more than anyone else; to love a slave (of Allah) only for (the sake of) Allah; and to abhor returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would abhor to be thrown into the fire (of Hell)"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Seven are (the persons) whom Allah will give Shade of His Thrown on the Day when there would be no shade other than His Throne's Shade: A just ruler; a youth who grew up worshipping Allah; a man whose heart is attached to mosques; two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom an extremely beautiful woman seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying): 'I fear Allah'; a man who gives in charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the left hand does not know what the right has given; and a person who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes well up"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, the Exalted, will say: 'Where are those who have mutual love for the sake of My Glory? Today I shall shelter them in My Shade when there will be no shade except Mine"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! You will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you shall not believe until you love one another. May I inform you of something, if you do, you love each other. Promote greeting amongst you (by saying As-salamu 'alaikum to one another)"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A man set out to visit a brother (in Faith) in another town and Allah sent an angel on his way. When the man met the angel, the latter asked him, "Where do you intend to go?" He said, "I intend to visit my brother in this town". The angel said, "Have you done any favour to him?" He said, "No, I have no desire except to visit him because I love him for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious." Thereupon the angel said, "I am a messenger to you from Allah (to inform you) that Allah loves you as you love him (for His sake)"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said about the Ansar: "Only a believer loves them, and only a hypocrite hates them. Allah loves him who loves them and Allah hates him who hates them"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'For those who love one another for the sake of My Glory, there will be seats of light (on the Day of Resurrection), and they will be envied by the Prophets and martyrs"..

I once entered the mosque in Damascus. I happened to catch sight of a young man who had bright teeth (i.e., he was always seen smiling). A number of people had gathered around him. When they differed over anything they would refer it to him and act upon his advice. I asked who he was and I was told that he was Mu'adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) The next day I hastened to the mosque, but found that he had arrived before me and was busy in performing Salat. I waited until he finished, and then went to him from the front, greeted him with Salam and said to him, "By Allah I love you." He asked, "For the sake of Allah?" I replied, "Yes, for the sake of Allah". He again asked me, "Is it for Allah's sake?" I replied, "Yes, it is for Allah's sake." Then he took hold of my cloak, drew me to himself and said, "Rejoice,! I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, 'Allah, the Exalted, says: My love is due to those who love one another for My sake, meet one another for My sake, visit one another for My sake and spend in charity for My sake"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When a man loves his brother (for Allah's sake) let him tell him that he loves him"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) held my hand and said, "O Mu'adh, By Allah, I love you and advise you not to miss supplicating after every Salat (prayer) saying: 'Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika, wa husni 'ibadatika,' (O Allah, help me remember You, expressing gratitude to You and worship You in the best manner)"..

A man was with the Prophet (ﷺ) when another man passed by and the former said: "O Messenger of Allah! I love this man (for Allah's sake)". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Have you informed him?" He said, "No". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said, "Tell him (that you love him)". So he went up to the man and said to him, "I love you for the sake of Allah;" and the other replied, "May Allah, for Whose sake you love me, love you.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'I will declare war against him who treats with hostility a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah loves a slave, calls out Jibril and says: 'I love so-and-so; so love him'. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of heavens that Allah loves so- and-so; so love him; and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him"..

Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) appointed a man in charge of an army unit who led them in Salat (prayer); he always concluded his recitation with Surat Al-Ikhlas: "Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ)): 'He is Allah, (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (Allah - the Self-Sufficient). He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable to Him."' (112:1-4) Upon their return to Al-Madinah, they mentioned this to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who said, "Ask him why he does so?" He was asked and he said, "This Surah contains the Attributes of Allah, the Gracious, and I love to recite it. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then told them, "Tell him that Allah loves him"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who performs the Fajr (dawn) prayer comes under the Protection of Allah, so beware lest Allah questions you about what you owe Him. For if He questions anyone of you and he falls short of fulfilling the duty which he owes Him, He will requite and then throw upon his face into the Hellfire"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I have been commanded (by Allah) to fight people until they testify that there is no true god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and perform Salat and pay Zakat. If they do so, they will have protection of their blood and property from me except when justified by Islam, and then account is left to Allah"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who professes La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah), and denies of everything which the people worship besides Allah, his property and blood become inviolable, and it is for Allah to call him to account"..

I said, "Tell me, O Messenger of Allah, if I meet an infidel, and we fight together, and he cuts off my hands with his sword, then hides from me behind a tree and (then) says he has submitted himself to Allah. Shall I kill him after he has said it?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Do not kill him." I submitted, "But O Messenger of Allah, he cut off one of my hands and only then he said it." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then replied, "Do not kill him, for if you do so, he will be in the position in which you were before you killed him (i.e., he will be considered a Muslim and thus his life will be inviolable), and you will be in the position in which he was before he made his testimony (i.e., your life will not be inviolable, for his heirs can ask for Qisas)"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent us to Huraqat, a tribe of Juhainah. We attacked that tribe early in the morning and defeated them, (then) a man from the Ansar and I caught hold of a man (of the defeated tribe). When we overcame him, he said: 'La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah).' At that moment, the Ansari spared him, but I attacked him with my spear and killed him. By the time we went back to Al-Madinah, news had already reached Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said to me, "O Usamah, did you kill him after he professed La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah)?" I said, "O Messenger of Allah! He professed it only to save his life." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) repeated, "Did you kill him after he had professed La ilaha illallah?" He went on repeating this to me until I wished I had not embraced Islam before that day (so that I would have not committed this sin)..Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Did you kill him in spite of his professing La ilaha illallah?" I said, "O Messenger of Allah! He said out of fear of our arms." He (ﷺ) said, "Why did you not cut his heart open to find out whether he had done so sincerely or not?" He continued repeating it until I wished that I had embraced Islam only that day.

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) dispatched a contingent of the Muslims to a tribe of the polytheists. The two sides met (in combat) at one place. A man among the polytheists was so dashing that, whenever he intended to kill a man from Muslims, he killed him. Amongst the Muslims, too, was a man looking forward to (an opportunity of) his (polytheist's) unmindfulness. He (the narrator) said: We talked that he was Usamah bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him). When he raised his sword, he (the soldier of the polytheists) uttered: "La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah)." But he (Usamah bin Zaid) killed him. When the good news of victory reached Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) he asked him (about the events of the battle), and he informed him about the man (Usamah) and what he had done. He (Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) sent for him and asked him why he had killed him. He (Usamah) said, "O Messenger of Allah, he struck the Muslims and killed such and such of them." And he named some of them. (He continued): "I attacked him and when he saw the sword he said: 'La ilaha illallah."' Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Did you kill him?" He (Usamah) replied in the affirmative. The Messenger of Allah then remarked, "What would you do with regard to (the utterance): La ilaha illallah, when it comes (before you) on the Day of Resurrection?" He (Usamah) said, "O Messenger of Allah! Beg forgiveness for me". He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, "What would you do with regard to (the utterance): La ilaha illallah, when it comes (before you) on the Day of Resurrection?" He (Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) added nothing to it but kept repeating, "What would you do with regard to (the utterance): La ilaha illallah, when it comes (before you) on the Day of Resurrection?"..

I heard 'Umar bin Al- Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) reported saying: "In the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) some people were called to account through Revelation. Now Revelation has discontinued and we shall judge you by your apparent acts. Whoever displays to us good, we shall grant him peace and security, and treat him as a near one. We have nothing to do with his insight. Allah will call him to account for that. But whosoever shows evil to us, we shall not grant him security nor shall we believe him, even if he professed that his intention is good.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), the truthful and the receiver of the truth informed us, saying, "The creation of you (humans) is gathered in the form of semen in the womb of your mother for forty days, then it becomes a clinging thing in similar (period), then it becomes a lump of flesh like that, then Allah sends an angel who breathes the life into it; and (the angel) is commanded to record four things about it: Its provision, its term of life (in this world), its conduct; and whether it will be happy or miserable. By the One besides Whom there is no true god! Verily, one of you would perform the actions of the dwellers of Jannah until there is only one cubit between him and it (Jannah), when what is foreordained would come to pass and he would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell until he enter it. And one of you would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell, until there is only one cubit between him and Hell. Then he would perform the acts of the dwellers of Jannah until he would enter it.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Hell will be brought on that Day (the Day of Resurrection) with seventy thousand bridles; and with every bridle will be seventy thousand angels, pulling it"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The least tortured man on the Day of Resurrection is one underneath whose feet will be placed two live coal, and his brain will be boiling, and he would think that he is the most tortured, while he is the least tortured"..

Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Among the people of Hell are there those who will be emersed in fire to their ankels, some to their knees, some to their waists, and some to their throats"..

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying, "Mankind will stand before Allah, the Rubb of the worlds (on the Day of Resurrection), some of them will stand submerged in perspiration up to half of their ears"..