Virtues and Manners

Al-Mustawrid ibn Shaddād (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This world in comparison with the Hereafter is like the amount of water one of you gets when he dips his finger in the sea. Let him see what his finger returns with."

Sahl ibn Sa‘d As-Sā‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man passed by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) so he said to a man who was sitting with him: "What do you say about this man?" He replied: "He is one of the noblest of people. By Allah, if he proposes marriage his proposal deserves to be accepted, and if he intercedes his intercession deserves to be accepted." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Then another man passed by. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think about this man?" He replied: "O Messenger of Allah, this is one of the poor Muslims. If he proposes marriage he does not deserve to get married, and if he intercedes his intercession does not deserve to be accepted, and if he speaks he does not deserve to be listened to." The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "This one (the second) is better than an earthful of the other (the first).”

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) never said: "No" to anyone who asked him for something. Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Never was the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked for anything by someone who was about to accept Islam but that he gave it to them. A man came to him and asked for alms, so he gave him a number of sheep (so large that they filled the space) between two mountains. So the man returned to his people and told them: "O my people, embrace Islam, for Muhammad gives lavishly like someone who does not fear any poverty." Some people would embrace Islam only for worldly gains, but Islam soon became dearer to them than the whole world and all what is in it.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If the believer were to know what is with Allah of punishment, no one would hope to enter Paradise, and if the non-believer were to know what is with Allah of mercy, no one would despair of entering Paradise."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No people leave a gathering in which they did not remember Allah except that it will be as if they are leaving the carcass of a donkey, and it will be a cause of regret for them."

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: While I was walking with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the Harrah of Madīnah, the Mount of Uhud came in sight. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Dharr!" I said: "I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "I would not be pleased to have the like of Uhud in gold and three days pass while even one dinar thereof remains with me, except what I keep for debts. Otherwise, I would distribute it among Allah's slaves like this, and like this, and like this", pointing to his right, his left, and his back. He walked and said: "The rich ones will be the ones with the least good deeds on the Day of Judgment except those who spend their wealth like this, and like this, and like this", pointing to his right, left, and back, "but these are only few." Then he said to me: "Stay in your place. Do not leave it until I come back to you." Then he proceeded in the darkness of night until he went out of sight. I then heard a loud voice and I was afraid that someone might have attacked the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). So I wanted to go to him, but I remembered what he had said: "Do not leave until I come back to you." Therefore, I stayed at my place until he came back to me. I said: "I heard a voice and I was afraid of it" and I mentioned that to him. He said: "Did you hear it?" I replied: 'Yes.' He said: "That was Jibrīl who came to me and said: 'Whoever died of your Ummah without associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise.'" I said: "Even if he committed fornication and theft?" He said: "Even if he committed fornication and theft."

Abu Mūsa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember His Lord is like the example of the living and the dead person." The wording of Muslim reads: "The example of the house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is like the example of the living and the dead person."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) passed through the market with people around him. He came across a dead goat with its ears cut off. He held it by (the remaining part of) one ear and said: "Who of you would like to have this for one dirham?" They said: "We do not like to have it for anything whatsoever. What shall we do with it?" Then he said: "Would you like to have it anyway?'' They said: "By Allah, had it been alive, it would be of little value because of its cut ears. How could it be worth anything when it is dead?" Thereupon he said: "By Allah, the world is less worthy to Allah than this is to you.''

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One day the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sat on the pulpit, and we sat around him. He said: "Verily, among the things I fear the most for you after me is the splendor and adornment of this worldly life when they become plentifully available to you." A man said: O Messenger of Allah, can good bring forth evil? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent, and it was said to him: What is the matter with you? You are talking to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he is not talking to you. We noticed that he was receiving revelation. He said: He wiped off his sweat and said: "Where is the questioner?" It seemed as if he liked his question. He said: "Verily, good does not bring forth evil, but some of what grows in spring kills or is about to kill except for the eater of Khadrā’ (kind of plant) that eats until both its flanks expand, then it faces the sun and defecates and urinates and starts to graze again. This wealth is, indeed, green and sweet. A good companion of the Muslim, it is from which he gives to the needy, the orphan, and the wayfarer—or as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said. Whoever takes it unlawfully is like the one who eats but is never satiated, and it will be a witness against him on the Day of Judgment."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most entitled among people to my good companionship?" He said: "Your mother." The man said: "Who next?" He said: "Your mother." The man asked again: "Who next?" He replied: "Your mother." The man further said: "Who next?" He said: "Your father." In another narration, the man asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most entitled among people to my good companionship?" He said: "Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, and then those who are the closest to you."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Anyone spends a pair in the way of Allah will be called from the gates of Paradise: 'O slave of Allah, this is good! So, whoever was from the people of prayer will be called from the gate of prayer; whoever was from the people of Jihad will be called from the gate of Jihad; whoever was from the people of fasting will be called from the gate of Ar-Rayyān; and whoever was from the people of charity will be called from the gate of charity.'" Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Whoever is called from one of these gates will have nothing to worry about. Will anyone be called from all of those gates?" He said: “Yes, and I hope that you will be one of them."

Abu Yahya Khuraym ibn Fātik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever spends something in the cause of Allah, it will be recorded for him as much as seven hundred times.”

Thawbān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who can guarantee for me that he will never ask people for something, and I will guarantee Paradise for him?" So I said: "I do." Since then, Thawabān (may Allah be pleased with him) never asked anyone for anything.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever goes out to seek knowledge is in the cause of Allah until he returns.”

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has seen me in a dream will see me when he is awake – or it is as if he has seen me while he is awake; the devil does not take my shape."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says: Subhānallāh al-‘azhīm wa bihamdih (Glory be to Allah the Most Great and praise is due to Him), a date palm will be planted for him in Paradise."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) passed by us while we were repairing a hut that we owned. He said: "What is this?" We replied: "It has become weak, so we are repairing it." He said: "I foresee that the matter (meaning death) is swifter/sooner than that."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: While the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was eating food with six of his Companions, a Bedouin came in and ate it up in two morsels. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If only he had mentioned the name of Allah, it would have been enough for all of you."

Wahshiyy ibn Harb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: They said: O Messenger of Allah, we eat but we do not get satiated. He said: "Perhaps you eat separately." They said: Yes. He then said: "Get together over your food and mention the name of Allah, so that it will be blessed for you."

Jabalah ibn Suhaym reported: We were afflicted with a year of drought at the time of ‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr. We were provided with dates. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pass by us while we were eating and he would say: "Do not take two at a time, for indeed the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade taking two at a time." Then he said: "Unless one asks for his brother's permission."