Sunan Abi Dawud

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the mosque, and saw them (his companions) in separate groups. He said: How is it that I see you in separate groups?

It seems he liked collective gathering.

When we came to the Prophet (ﷺ), each one would sit down where there was room.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the one who sat in the middle of a circle.

Sa'id ibn AbulHasan said: When AbuBakrah came to us to give some evidence, a man got up from his place, but he refused to sit in it saying: The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade this, and the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade anyone to wipe his hand on the garment of anyone whose clothing he had not himself provided.

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ), another man got up from his place for him, and when he went to sit in it, the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade him. Abu Dawud said: The name of Abu al-Khusaib is Ziyad b. 'Abd al-Rahman.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: A believer who recites the Qur'an is like a citron whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet, a believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which has no fragrance but has sweet taste, a profligate who recites the Qur'an is like basil whose fragrance is sweet but whose taste is bitter, and the profligate who does not recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth which has a bitter taste and has not fragrance. A good companion is like a man who has musk; if nothing of it goes to you, its fragrance will (certainly) go to you; and a bad companion is like a man who has bellows; if its (black) root does not go to you, its smoke will (certainly) go to you.

Anas said: We used tell one another that a good companion is like... He then transmitted the rest of the tradition.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Anas b. Malik from the Prophet (ﷺ) through a different chain of narrators in a similar way.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Associate only with a believer, and let only a God-fearing man eat your meals.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: A man follows the religion of his friend; so each one should consider whom he makes his friend.

The spirits are in marshaled hosts; those who know one another will be friendly, and those who do not, will keep apart.

Gladden people and do not scare them; make things easy and do not make them difficult.

I came to the Prophet (ﷺ). The people began to praise me and make a mention of me. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I know you, that is, he knew him. I said: My father and mother be sacrificed for you! you were my partner and how good a partner ; you neither disputed nor quarrelled.

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat talking (to the people), he would often raise his eyes to the sky.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spoke in a distinct and leisurely manner.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spoke in a distinct manner so that anyone who listened to him could understand it.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Every important matter which is not begun by an expression of praise to Allah is maimed. Abu Dawud said: It has also been transmitted by Yunus, 'Aqil, Shu'aib, Sa'id b. 'Abd al-Aziz from al-Zuhri from the Prophet (ﷺ) in Mursal form (the link of the Companion is missing).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Every sermon which does not contain a tashahhud is like a hand cut off.

A beggar passed by Aisha and she gave him a piece of bread. Another man who wore clothes and had a good appearance passed by her, and she made him sit down and he ate (with her). When she was asked about that, she replied: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Treat the people according to their ranks. Abu Dawud said: The version of Yahya is short. Abu Dawud said: Maimun did not meet 'A'ishah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Glorifying Allah involves showing honour to a grey-haired Muslim and to one who can expound the Qur'an, but not to one who acts extravagantly regarding it, or turns away from it, and showing honour to a just ruler.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: One should not sit between two men except with their permission.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: It is not lawful for a man to separate two persons except with their permission.

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat, he had his knees drawn up supported by his hands. Abu Dawud said: 'Abd Allah b. Ibrahim was an old man and his traditions were rejected.

She saw the Prophet (ﷺ) sitting with his arms round his legs. She said: When I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in such humble condition in the sitting position (according to Musa's version), I trembled with fear.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came upon me when I was sitting thus: having my left hand behind my back and leaning on the fleshy part of it, and said: Are you sitting in the manner of those with whom Allah is angry?

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade sleeping before the night prayer and talking after it.

When the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed the dawn prayer, he sat cross-legged where he was till the sun had come well up.

Two persons should not talk privately ignoring the third, for that will grieve him.

Abu Salih said: I asked Ibn `Umar: If they are four? He replied: Then it does not harm you.

I was sitting with my father and there was also a boy with him. He got up and then returned. So my father mentioned a tradition on the authority of Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: If anyone gets up from where he has been sitting and comes back to it, he has most right to it.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would sit and we would also sit around him. If he got up intending to return, he would take off his sandals or something he was wearing, and his Companions recognising his purpose (that he would return) would stay where they were.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: People who get up from an assembly in which they did not remember Allah will be just as if they had got up from an ass's corpse, and it will be a cause of grief to them.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone sits at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah; and if he lies at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah.

There are some expressions which a man utters three times when he gets up from an assembly he will be forgiven for what happened in the assembly; and no one utters them in an assembly held for a noble cause or for remembrance of Allah but that is stamped with them just as a document is stamped with a signet-ring. These expressions are: Glory be to Thee, O Allah, and I begin with praise of Thee, there is no god but thou; I ask Thy pardon, and return to Thee in repentance.

A similar tradition has also been transmitted by Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (ﷺ) through a different chain of narrators.

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) intended to get up from the assembly he used to say in the last. Glory be to Thee. O Allah, and I begin with praise of Thee, I testify that there is no god but Thou; I ask Thy pardon, and return to Thee in repentance. The man asked: Messenger of Allah! you utter the words now which you did not do in the past? He replied: (This is an) atonement for what takes place in the assembly.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: None of my Companions must tell me anything about anyone, for I like to come out to you with no ill-feelings.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called me. He intended to send me with some goods to AbuSufyan to distribute among the Quraysh at Mecca after the conquest. He said: Search for a companion. Then Amr ibn Umayyah ad-Damri came to me and said: I have been told that you are intending to make a journey and are seeking a companion. I said: Yes. He said: I am your companion. I then went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: I have found a companion. He asked: Who is he? I replied: Amr ibn Umayyah ad-Damri. He said: When you come down to the territory of his people, be careful of him, for a maxim says: If one is your real brother, do not feel safe with him. So we proceeded, and when I reached al-Abwa', he said to me: I have some work with my people at Waddan, so stay here till I come back. I said: Do not lose your way. When he turned his back, I recalled the words of the Prophet (ﷺ). So I rode my camel and galloped without stopping. When I reached al-Asafir, he was pursuing me with a group of men. So I galloped and forged ahead of him. When he saw me that I had outstripped him, they returned and he came to me. He said to me: I had some work with my people. I said: Yes. We then went on until we reached Mecca, and I gave the goods to AbuSufyan.

A believer is not stung twice from the same hole.

when the Prophet(ﷺ) walked, it looked as if he bent forwards.

I saw the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ). I asked: How did you see him? He said: He was white, good-looking, and when he walked, it looked as if he was descending to a low ground.

The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) forbade that a man should lie placing(and according to Qutaibah’s version: “should raise”) one of his legs over the other. Qutaibah’s version adds: When he was lying on his back.

‘Abbad b. Tamim quoted his paternal uncle as saying that he had seen the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) lying on his back in the mosque according to Qa’nabi’s version) placing one foot over the other.

‘Umar b. al-khattab and ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan used to do that.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When a man tells something and then departs, it is a trust.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Meetings are confidential except three: those for the purpose of shedding blood unlawfully, or committing fornication, or acquiring property unjustly.

The most serious breach of trust in Allah’s sight is that a man who has intercourse with his wife, and she with him, spreads her secret.

A mischief-maker will not enter paradise.

The worst of the people is a man who is double-faced; he presents one face to some and another to others.