Virtues and Manners

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The family of Muhammad (ﷺ) never ate their fill of wheat bread for three consecutive nights from the time he arrived in Madīnah until he passed away.

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The bedding of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was made of leather stuffed with palm fiber. In the version of Muslim: The pillow of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), which he reclined against, was made of leather stuffed with palm fiber.

‘Amr ibn al-Hārith, the brother-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the brother of the Mother of the Believers, Juwayriyah bint al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with them), reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not leave behind at his death a single dirham or dinar, nor a male or female servant, nor anything else—except his white mule, his weapon, a piece of land—which he declared as charity.

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A believer is not a slanderer, nor a curser, nor a person who speaks obscenely, nor a person who uses foul language."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says a hundred times in a day: "La ilāha illallāhu wahdahu la sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamdu wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadīr" (There is no god but Allah. He is One, and He has no partner with Him; to Him belong the sovereignty and praise, and He is competent over all things); he will have a reward equivalent to that of emancipating ten slaves; a hundred good deeds will be added to his record; a hundred of his sins will be erased; and he will be shielded against the devil on that day till the evening; and no one will exceed him in doing good deeds except someone who says more than that."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says: Radītu billāhi rabban, wa bil-Islāmi dīnan, wa bi Muhammadin rasūla (I am pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, with Muhammad as a Messenger), Paradise is guaranteed for him."

Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) often used to ask his Companions: "Did anyone of you have a dream?" So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah willed to relate. One day he said: "Last night, I had a vision in which two men (angels) came to me, woke me up and said to me: 'Let’s go!' So I set out with them. We came across a man lying down and another man was standing over his head holding a big rock. He was throwing the rock at the man's head, smashing it. When it struck him, the stone rolled away and he (the thrower) followed it and picked it up. No sooner had he returned to the (first) man than his head was restored to its former state. The thrower then did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are they?' They said: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came to a man lying flat on his back with another man standing over his head with an iron hook. He would put the hook in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eyes from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he has done with the first side. He had hardly completed that side, when the first returned to its normal state. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are these?' They said: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across something like a Tannūr (a pit, usually clay-lined, for baking bread)." I (the narrator) think the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There was a lot of noise and voices in that oven." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘We looked into it and saw naked men and women, and a flame was reaching up to them from underneath, and when it reached them they cried out loudly. I asked: 'Who are these?' They said to me: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across a river.’" I (the narrator) think he said: “…red, like blood.” The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: "...and in the river, there was a man swimming, and on the bank, there was a man who had collected many stones. While the other man was swimming, the first man went up to him. The former (who was swimming) opened his mouth and the latter on the bank threw a stone into his mouth, he then went on swimming again. Then again, he (the former) returned to him (the latter), and every time the former returned, he opened his mouth and the latter threw a stone into his mouth; the process was repeated. I asked my two companions: “Who are these?” They replied: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' We proceeded on until we came to a man with a repulsive appearance; the most repulsive appearance you ever saw a man having! Beside him there was a fire and he was kindling it and running around it. I asked my two companions: 'Who is this (man).' They said to me: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation with all sorts of spring flowers. In the middle of the garden there was a very tall man and I could hardly see his head due to his towering height. Around him there were children in such an enormous number as I have never seen. I said to my two companions: 'Who is this?' They replied: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we came to a majestic, huge garden, greater and better than any garden I have ever seen. My two companions said to me: 'Go up!' So I went up." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added. "So we ascended until we reached a city built of gold and silver bricks, and went to its gate and asked (the gatekeeper) to open the gate, and it was opened. We entered the city and found there men with one side of their bodies as handsome as the most handsome person you have ever seen, and the other side as ugly as the ugliest person you have ever seen. My two companions told those men to throw themselves into the river. There was a river flowing across (the city) and its water was milky white. The men went and threw themselves in it and returned to us after their ugliness had disappeared, and they came in the best of shapes.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) further added: ‘My two companions said to me: 'This place is Paradise of Eden, and that is your palace.' I raised up my sight and there I saw a palace, like a white cloud. My two companions said to me: 'That palace is your residence.' I said to them: 'May Allah bless you both! Let me enter it.' They replied: 'You will not enter it now, but you shall enter it (one day).' I said to them: 'I have seen many wonders tonight. What does all that I have seen mean?' They replied: 'We will tell you: As for the first man you came upon, whose head was being smashed with the rock, he was a man who learns the Qur'an and discards it, and who sleeps neglecting the enjoined prayers. As for the man you came upon, whose was having the sides of mouth, nostrils, and eyes torn off from front to back, he was a man who leaves his house in the morning and tells lies that are spread all over the world. Those naked men and women you saw in the oven-like construction, they are the adulterers and the adulteresses. The man who was given a stone to swallow was the eater of usury and the repulsive-looking man you saw near the fire, kindling it, and going around it, was Mālik, the gatekeeper of Hell. The tall man you saw in the garden was Prophet Ibrahīm (peace be upon him) and the children around him are those who died upon the Fitrah.'" According to Al-Barqāni's narration: “…were those who were born upon the Fitrah” The narrator added: “Some Muslims asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about the children of the polytheists?’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: ‘And also the children of the polytheists.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘My two companions added: 'The men you saw who were half handsome and half ugly were these people who had mixed an act that was good with another that was bad, but Allah forgave them.'" According to another narration: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One night two men came to me and took me to a sacred land.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) told of the same incident as above and said: "After walking for a while, we came upon a pit, like an oven, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom with a fire raging in it. When the flames rose up (the people in it) also rose up until they were about to come out of it, and when the fire subsided they too would go down with it. In it were naked men and women.” In this narration, we also find: "We came upon a river of blood,” and the narrator was not doubtful: “...a man was in it, and another man was standing on its bank with stones in front of him facing the man standing in the river. Whenever the man in the river wanted to come out, the other one threw a stone into his mouth which made him retreat to his original position. So, whenever he wanted to come out, the other would throw a stone into his mouth and he would retreat to his original position.” In this narration, we also find: "They made me climb the tree and they made me enter an abode so beautiful, the like of which I have never seen before...There (I saw) old men and youths.” In this narration, we also find: “As for the one whose cheek you saw being torn away, he was a liar and he used to tell lies, and the people would report those lies on his authority until they spread all over the world. So he will be punished like that until the Day of Resurrection...The one whose head you saw being crushed is a man whom Allah had given knowledge of Qur'an, but he used to sleep at night (meaning: he did not recite it then) and he did not act upon it (meaning: act upon its orders, etc.) by day. So this punishment will go on until the Day of Resurrection. The first house you entered was the abode of the believers in general and the other house was the abode of the martyrs. I am Jibrīl, and this is Mikā'īl. Raise your head.” I looked up and saw something like clouds. They said to me: “That is your abode.” I said: “Let me enter it.” They said: “You have not completed your life term yet. When you do, you will certainly enter it."

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not keep the farmland lest you should desire the world."

‘Ubādah ibn as-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him), who witnessed Badr and was one of the chiefs chosen to represent his tribe on the night of ‘Aqabah, reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, and around him was a group of his Companions: "Give me your pledge that you will not associate anything with Allah, that you will not steal, that you will not commit adultery, that you will not kill your children, that you will not bring forth slander you have invented between your hands and legs, and that you will not disobey in righteousness. Whoever among you fulfills these, his reward is with Allah. And whoever commits any of these and is punished in this world, it will be an expiation for him. And whoever commits any of these and Allah covers him, then it is up to Allah; if He wills, He will pardon him, and if He wills, He will punish him." So we gave him our pledge on that.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So, glad tidings to the strangers."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The heart of an elderly person remains young in two things: in the love of this world and long hopes."

Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware of insignificant sins, for indeed, an example of insignificant sins is like a group of people who alighted at the bottom of a valley: one of them brought a stick, and another brought a stick, until they cooked their bread. Verily, insignificant sins, if one is held accountable for them, they perish him."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Remember the destroyer of pleasures frequently," meaning death.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was only sent to perfect noble morals."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) never addressed us except that he said: "He who has no integrity has no faith, and he who does not keep his covenant has no religion."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood by some people who were sitting, and said: "Shall I not tell you who among you are the best and who are the worst?" He said: They remained silent, so he repeated this three times. Then a man said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah, tell us who among us are the best and who are the worst. He (ﷺ) said: "The best of you are those from whom good is expected and people are safe from their evil; and the worst of you are those from whom no good is expected and people are not safe from their evil."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "He who does not thank people in fact does not thank Allah."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty said: The son of Adam hurts Me by cursing time, while I am time. The matter is in My Hands, I alternate the night and the day."

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: We passed with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) by Al-Hijr, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "Do not enter the dwellings of those who have wronged themselves, unless you are weeping, lest what befell them should befall you." Then he urged and hastened, leaving it behind.

Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: Who among you heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the trials? Some people said: We heard him. He said: Perhaps you mean the trial of a man in his family and his neighbor? They said: Yes. He said: That is expiated by prayer, fasting, and charity. But who among you heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mention the trial that surges like the waves of the sea? Hudhayfah said: The people remained silent, and I said: I did. He said: May your father be sacrificed for you! Hudhayfah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The trials are presented to the hearts, like a reed mat, stick by stick. Any heart that absorbs them, a black spot will be marked in it, and any heart that rejects them, a white spot will be marked in it, until the hearts become two: one white, like a smooth rock, untouched by any trial as long as the heavens and the earth remain, and the other black and discolored, like a jug, turned upside down, not acknowledging what is good nor rejecting what is evil, except for what it has absorbed of its desires." Hudhayfah said: I informed him that between you and them is a closed door, which is about to be broken. ‘Umar said: Will it be a break, may you have no father? If it were opened, perhaps it would have been restored. I said: No, it will be broken. I informed him that this door is a man who will either be killed or die, a speech that is not full of falsehoods. Abu Khālid said: I said to Sa‘d: O Abu Mālik, what is "black and discolored"? He said: It is extreme whiteness mixed with blackness. He said: I said: What is "a jug turned upside down"? He said: Turned over.