Virtues and Manners

‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb reported from his father, who reported from his grandfather: The most rebellious of people against Allah, Exalted and Glorified, is someone who kills another in the sacred precincts of Allah; kills someone other than his killer; or someone kills someone out of a pre-Islamic animosity.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that after stoning Al-Aslami, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and said: "Avoid this filth, which Allah has prohibited. The one who commits it, let him conceal himself with Allah's concealment and repent to Allah, for, indeed, anyone who exposes his sin to us, we shall enforce the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, on him."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When anyone of you beats his brother, he should avoid the face."

’Usāmah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am not leaving behind a more harmful trial for men than women."

Abu Kabshah ‘Amr ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I swear by Allah for three things which I am going to tell you about. Remember them well: The wealth of a man will not diminish by charity; Allah augments the honor of a man who endures an oppression patiently; and he who opens a gate of begging, Allah opens a gate of poverty (or he said a word similar to it)." He also said: "Remember well what I am going to tell you: The world is for four kinds of people. (1) One upon whom Allah has bestowed wealth and knowledge and so he fears his Lord in respect to them, maintains the ties of kinship, and acknowledges the rights of Allah on him; this type will have the best position. (2) One upon whom Allah has conferred knowledge but no wealth, and he is sincere in his intention and says: 'Had I possessed wealth, I would have acted like so-and-so.' He will be treated according to his intention, and his reward is the same as that of the other. (3) One whom Allah has given wealth but no knowledge and he squanders his wealth ignorantly, does not fear Allah in respect to it, does not discharge the obligations of kinship, and does not acknowledge the rights of Allah. Such a person will be in the worst position. (4) One upon whom Allah has bestowed neither wealth nor knowledge and he says: 'Had I possessed wealth, I would have acted like so-and-so (i.e. he would squander his wealth).' He will be treated according to his intention, and both will have equal sin."

‘Ubaidullah ibn Mihsan al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever among you wakes up in the morning healthy in his body, secure in his dwelling, and has his food for the day, it is as if the whole world has been given to him."

Abu Rib‘i Hanzhalah ibn Ar-Rabī‘ al-Usaydi, one of the scribes of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) reported: I met Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: 'How are you?' I said: 'Hanzhalah has turned into a hypocrite.' He said: 'Glory be to Allah, what are you saying?' I said: 'When we are in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), he reminds us of Paradise and Hellfire as if we are seeing them with our very eyes, and when we depart from his company, we attend to our wives, children, and business, and we forget much of that.' Abu Bakr said: 'By Allah, we do experience the same.' So I and Abu Bakr went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, Hanzhalah has turned into a hypocrite.' Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'And how is that?' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, when we are in your company, you remind us of Hellfire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, then when we depart from you we attend to our wives, children, and business, and we forget much of that.' Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzhalah, time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation) and time (should be devoted to worldly affairs).' He said this thrice."

Abu Khubayb ‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Az-Zubayr got up during the battle of Al-Jamal, he called me and I stood up beside him, and he said to me: "O my son, today one will be killed either as an oppressor or as an oppressed one. I see that I will be killed as an oppressed one. My biggest worry is my debts. Do you think that anything will be left of our property after the debts are settled?" Then he said: "O my son, sell our property and pay my debts." He then willed (bequeathed) one-third of his property and willed one-third of that portion to ‘Abdullāh's sons. He said: "One-third of the one third. If any property is left after the settlement of the debts, one-third (of the one-third of what is left) is to be given to your sons." (Hisham, a sub-narrator, said: "Some of the sons of ‘Abdullāh were equal in age to the sons of Az-Zubayr, like Khubayb and ‘Abbād. ‘Abdullāh had nine sons and nine daughters at that time.") ‘Abdullāh added: "He (Az-Zubayr) went on advising me regarding his debts, saying: 'If you should fail to settle part of the debts, appeal to my Master to help you.' By Allah! I could not understand what he meant till I asked, 'O father, who is your Master?' He replied: 'Allah (is my Master).' By Allah, whenever I had any difficulty regarding his debts, I would say: 'O Master of Az-Zubayr, settle his debts on his behalf,' and Allah would (help me to) settle it. Az-Zubayr was martyred leaving no dinar or dirham except for land and property, including a land which was (called) Al-Ghāba, and eleven houses in Madīnah, two in Basra, one in Kufa and one in Egypt. The source of the debt which he owed was, that if somebody brought some money to deposit with him, Az-Zubayr would say: 'No, (I won't keep it as a trust) but I take it as a debt, for I am afraid it might be lost.' Az-Zubayr was never appointed governor or collector of the tax of Kharaj or any other similar thing, but he collected his wealth (from the war booty he gained) during the holy battles he took part in, in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān (may Allah be pleased with them). When I counted his debt, it turned out to be two million and two hundred thousand." (The sub-narrator added:) Hakīm ibn Hizam met ‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr and asked him: "O my nephew, how much is the debt of my brother?" ‘Abdullāh did not reveal the exact amount and said: "One hundred thousand." Hakīm said: "By Allah! I don't think your property will cover it." Upon that, ‘Abdullāh said to him: "What if I told you that it is two million and two hundred thousand?" Hakīm said: "I don't think you can repay it; so if you are unable to repay all of it, I will help you." Az-Zubayr had bought Al-Ghāba for one hundred and seventy thousand. ‘Abdullāh sold it for one million and six hundred thousand. Then he called out to the people saying: "Any person who has any money claim on Az-Zubayr should come to us in Al-Ghāba." There came to him ‘Abdullāh ibn Ja‘far whom Az-Zubayr owed four hundred thousand. He said to ‘Abdullāh, "If you wish I will forgo the debt." ‘Abdullāh said: 'No.' Then Ibn Ja‘far said: "If you wish you can defer repayment if you are going to defer the repayment of any debt." ‘Abdullāh said: 'No.' Ibn Ja‘far said: "Then give me a piece of the land." ‘Abdullāh said (to him): "Yours is the land extending from this place to this place." So, ‘Abdullāh sold most of the land and settled the debt perfectly, with four and a half shares remaining unsold from the land of Al-Ghāba. He then went to Mu‘āwiyah while ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmān, Al-Mundhir ibn Az-Zubayr and Ibn Zam‘ah were sitting with him. Mu‘āwiyah asked: "At what price have you appraised Al-Ghāba?" He said: "One hundred thousand for each share." Mu‘āwiyah asked: "How many shares are left?" ‘Abdullāh replied: "Four and a half shares." Al-Mundhir ibn Az-Zubayr said: "I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand." ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmān said: "I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand." Ibn Zam‘ah said: "I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand." Mu‘āwiyah said: "How much is left now?" ‘Abdullāh replied: "One share and a half." Mu‘āwiyah said: "I would like to buy it for one hundred and fifty thousand." ‘Abdullāh ibn Ja‘far then sold his share to Mu‘āwiyah for six hundred thousand. When ‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr had paid all the debts, Az-Zubayr's other sons said to him, "Distribute our inheritance among us." He said: "No, by Allah, I will not distribute it among you till I announce in four successive Hajj seasons: 'Would those who have money claims on Az-Zubayr come so that we may repay them." So, he started to announce that in public in every Hajj season, and when four years had elapsed, he distributed the inheritance among the heirs. Az-Zubayr had four wives, and after the one-third of his property was excluded (according to the will), each of his wives received one million and two hundred thousand. So the total amount of his property was fifty million and two hundred thousand.

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make matters easy and do not make them difficult, and give people glad tidings and do not drive them away."

Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I only say to you what the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say. He used to say: "Allāhumma inni a‘ūdhu bika min al-‘ajzi wal-kasal, wal-jubni wal-bukhl, wal-harami wa ‘adhāb al-qabr. Allāhumma āti nafsi taqwāha, wa zakkiha anta khayru man zakkāha, anta waliyyuha wa mawlāha. Allāhumma inni a‘ūdhu bika min ‘ilmin la yanfa‘, wa min qalbin la yakhsha‘, wa min nafsin la tashba‘, wa min da‘watin la yustajābu laha" (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from inability, indolence, cowardice, miserliness, decrepitude, and torment of the grave. O Allah, grant me the sense of piety and purify my soul as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Protector and its Guardian. O Allah, I seek refuge with You from knowledge that is not beneficial, from a heart that does not fear, from a soul that is not satisfied, and from a supplication that is not answered).

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) went to his bed, he would blow into his hands, recite the Mu‘awwidhāt (Sūrat al-Ikhlās, Sūrat al-Falaq, and Sūrat An-Nās), and then pass his hands over his body. In another narration: “Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went to his bed every night, he would join his hands together, blow into them, and recite in them Sūrat al-Ikhlās, Sūrat al-Falaq, and Sūrat An-Nās. He would then pass his hands over as much of his body as he could reach, beginning from his head, face, and the front of his body. He would do this three times.”

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ''Praise be to Allah Who gave us food and drink, provided for us sufficiently, and gave us shelter, for how many there are who have no one to provide for them or to give them shelter.''

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from hunger, for it is an evil bed-fellow, and I seek refuge in You from treachery, for it is an evil hidden trait."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a Mukātab (a slave who buys himself from his owner) came to him and said: Indeed, I have been unable to fulfill my Mukātabah (manumission) contract, so help me. He said: Shall I not teach you words that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) taught me? If you were burdened with a debt like the mountain of Sīr, Allah would pay it off on your behalf. He said: "Say: Allāhumma ikfini bihalālika ‘an harāmik waghnini bifadlika ‘amman siwāk (O Allah, suffice me with what You have made lawful against what You have made unlawful, and make me with Your bounty in no need of anyone besides You).".

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) liked comprehensive supplications and would leave aside anything else.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "While a man was walking, dressed in fine clothes and admiring himself, with his hair well-combed and he was walking haughtily, suddenly Allah caused the earth to swallow him, and he continues to sink therein until the Day of Judgment.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three supplications that will undoubtedly be answered: the supplication of the oppressed, the supplication of the traveler, and the supplication of a parent against his child."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, there will be three categories of people whom Allah will not speak to, purify, or look at, and they will receive a painful punishment. These are: an aged man who commits adultery, a king who often lies, and a destitute person who is arrogant.”

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) came out of the house of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) during his final illness. The people asked: "O Abu al-Hasan, how is the Messenger of Allah this morning?" He said: "He is feeling better this morning, by the grace of Allah."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "O Allah, I seek refuge with You from incapacity, laziness, cowardice, senility, and miserliness. And I seek refuge with You from the torment of the grave. And I seek refuge with You from the trials of life and death." Another narration adds: "... and from the burden of heavy debt and the tyranny of men."