Virtues and Manners

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When one-third of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would get up and call out: 'O people, remember Allah. The Rājifah has come (the first blowing of the Horn which will shake the whole universe and thus cause all life to cease), followed by the Rādifah (the second blowing of the Horn which will restore life and thus mark the Resurrection Day). Death has approached with all that it comprises. Death has approached with all that it comprises." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I frequently invoke Allah's peace and blessings upon you. How much of my supplication should I devote to you?" He said: "As much as you wish." I said: 'A quarter?' He said: "As much as you wish, and if it is more, then it will be better for you." I said: "Then, one half?" He said: "As much as you wish, and if it is more, then it will be better for you." I said: "Then, two- thirds?" He said: "As much as you wish, and if it is more, then it will be better for you." I said: "Shall I devote all my supplication to invoke Allah's peace and blessings upon you?" He said: "Then, you will be relieved of your worries and your sins will be forgiven."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Abu Bakr As-Siddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) had a slave who used to give him a portion of his daily income as the master's share. Abu Bakr used to eat the food bought with that share. Once he brought him some food and Abu Bakr ate from it. The slave then said: "Do you know what this is?" Abu Bakr said: "What is it?" The slave said: "I did some soothsaying for a man before I embraced Islam, and I was not good at soothsaying but I deceived him. He met me and rewarded me for my work. That is what you have eaten from." Upon hearing this, Abu Bakr inserted his hand (in his mouth) and vomited all that was in his stomach.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Al-‘Adbā', the Prophet's she-camel, was never outrun, or could hardly be outrun. It so happened that a Bedouin came riding atop a young camel of his, and it outran Al-‘Adbā'. This incident was so hard upon the Muslims, until he (the Prophet) came to know it and so he said: "It is the law of Allah that nothing rises high of the worldly life except that He brings it down."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When we ascended (a high land), we used to say Takbīr, and when we descended, we used to say Tasbīh. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his armies, ascended hills, they would say Takbīr, and when they descended, they would say Tasbīh.

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Anyone has an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter Paradise." A man said:" What if one likes his clothes and shoes to look good?" He said: "Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Arrogance is to reject the truth and look down on people."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To say 'subhān Allah wa al-hamdulillāh wa lā ilāha illa Allah wa Allāhu akbar (Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Most Great)' is more beloved to me than everything upon which the sun rises."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the people of Yemen came, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There have come to you the people of Yemen." They were the first to bring the (practice of) handshake.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah does not listen as attentively to anything as He listens to a prophet with a melodious voice chanting the Qur’an audibly."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "No Muslim visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels will send blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a share of reaped fruits in Paradise.”

Al-Barā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No two Muslims meet and shake hands except that their sins are forgiven before they part."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever acquires knowledge that should be pursued for the sake of Allah Almighty for the sole purpose of securing worldly gains shall not smell the ‘Arf of Paradise on the Day of Judgment." i.e., its fragrance.

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure at what he does. Verily, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, ask forgiveness from Allah for the knowledgeable. The superiority of a scholar over a devout worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham, only knowledge. So whoever acquires it has actually taken abundant wealth."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who is asked something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the Day of Resurrection."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that they directly heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Whoever says, 'there is no god but Allah, and Allah is Greatest,' his Lord affirms it, saying: 'There is no god but Me, and I am Greatest.' When one says, 'there is no god but Allah alone; He has no partner,' Allah says, 'there is no god but Me alone; I have no partner.' When one says: 'There is no god but Allah. To Him is the dominion and to Him is praise,' Allah says: 'There is no god but Me. To Me is the dominion, and to Me is praise.' When one says, 'there is no god but Allah, and there is no might nor power save with Allah,' Allah says: 'There is no god but Me, and there is no might nor power save with Me.' He (the Prophet) used to say: 'Anyone who says this in his illness then dies, the Fire will not consume him.'"

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Indeed, the hearts of all the children of Adam are between two Fingers of the Most Compassionate, like one heart; He directs it as He wills." Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allāhumma musarrif al-qulūb sarrif qulūbana ‘ala tā‘atik (O Allah, the Turner of the hearts, direct our hearts towards Your obedience)."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Paradise and Hellfire argued with each other (each claiming to be better than the other). Paradise said: ‘The weak and poor will enter me.’ Hellfire said: ‘The tyrants and arrogant will enter me.’ He said to Hellfire: ‘You are My punishment with which I will exact revenge upon whomever I wish.’ Then He said to Paradise: ‘You are My mercy with which I will show mercy to whomever I wish.’”

Suhayl reported: Abu Sālih used to order us that if anyone of us wanted to sleep, he should lie on his right side, and then say: "O Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, the Cleaver of grains and date seeds, the Revealer of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Criterion (the Qur'an), I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything that You have grasp of its forelock (You have full control over it). O Allah, You are the First, there is nothing before You, You are the Last and there is nothing after You, You are the Highest and there is nothing above You, and You are the Nearest and there is nothing nearer than You. Remove the burden of debt from us and relieve us of poverty." Abu Sālih used to narrate this from Abu Hurayrah, who narrated it from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "People are precious metals, like the metals gold and silver. The best of them in the pre-Islamic period are the best of them in Islam, if they understand. Souls are conscripted soldiers, whichever of them come together, they unite and whichever of them disregard each other, they diverge." Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ''You find people like metal; the best of them in the pre-Islamic era are the best of them in Islam, if they understand. And you find the best of people in this matter are those who detest it most. And you find the most evil of people are the two-faced; the ones who come to these with one face and to those with another.''

Anas ibn Sirīn reported: I was with Anas ibn Mālik(may Allah be pleased with him) in the company of some Magians when a sweet was brought in a silver vessel, and Anas did not eat from it. The man was told to change the vessel, and he replaced it with a wooden bowl and brought it. Thereupon, he ate from it.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever swears by Al-Lāt and Al-‘Uzza should say: 'There is no god but Allah'. And whoever says to his companion 'Come and gamble with me' should give charity."