Riyad as-Salihin

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "How can salvation be achieved?" He replied, "Control your tongue, keep to your house, and weep over your sins.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When the son of Adam gets up in the morning, all the limbs humble themselves before the tongue and say: 'Fear Allah for our sake because we are with you: (i.e., we will be rewarded or punished as a result of what you do) if you are straight, we will be straight; and if you are crooked, we will become crooked."'.

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Inform me of an act which will cause me to enter Jannah and keep me far from Hell." He (ﷺ) replied, "You have asked me about a matter of great importance, but it is easy for one for whom Allah makes it easy." He added, "Worship Allah, associate nothing with Him in worship, offer As-Salat (the prayer), pay the Zakat, observe Saum (fasting) during Ramadan and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House of Allah, if you can afford it." He (ﷺ) further said, "Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness? Fasting is a screen (from Hell), charity extinguishes (i.e., removes) the sins as water extinguishes fire, and standing in prayers by a slave of Allah during the last third part of the night." Then he recited: "Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Rabb in fear and hope, and they spend (in charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." (32:16-17) Then he added, "Shall I tell you of the root of the matter, its pillar and its highest point?" I replied: "Yes! Certainly, O Prophet of Allah." He said, "The root of this matter (foundation) is Islam, its pillar (mainstay is) As-Salat (the prayer) and its highest point is Jihad (fighting in the Cause of Allah)." Then he asked, "Shall I tell you of that which holds all these things?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." So he took hold of his tongue and said, "Keep this in control." I asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall we really be accounted for what we talk about?" He replied, "May your mother lose you! People will be thrown on their faces into the Hell on account of their tongues."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do you know what is backbiting?" The Companions said: "Allah and His Messenger know better." Thereupon he said, "Backbiting is talking about your (Muslim) brother in a manner which he dislikes." It was said to him: "What if my (Muslim) brother is as I say." He said, "If he is actually as you say, then that is backbiting; but if that is not in him, that is slandering.".

Delivering the sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage on the day of Sacrifice at Mina, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Verily your blood, your property and your honour are as sacred and inviolable as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours and in this town of yours. Verily! I have conveyed this message to you."

I said to the Prophet (ﷺ): "Such and such thing of Safiyyah (May Allah be pleased with her) is sufficient for you." (She means to say that she was a woman with a short stature). He said, "You have indeed uttered a word which would pollute the sea if it were mixed in it." She further said: I imitated a person before him and he said, "I do not like that I should imitate someone even (if I am paid) in return such and such.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "During the Mi'raj (the Night of Ascension), I saw a group of people who were scratching their chests and faces with their copper nails. I asked, 'Who are these people, O Jibril?' Jibril replied: 'These are the people who ate flesh of others (by backbiting) and trampled people's honour."'.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The blood, honour and property of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who defends the honour of his (Muslim) brother, Allah will secure his face against the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.".

When the Prophet (ﷺ) stood up to offer As-Salat (the prayer) he asked, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshum?" A man replied: "He is a hypocrite. He does not love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not say that. Do you not know that he said: La ilaha illallah (there is no true god except Allah),' seeking His Pleasure. Allah has made the fire of Hell unlawful for him who affirms that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah.".

The Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting among the people in Tabuk. He (ﷺ) said, "What happened to Ka'b bin Malik?" A person from the tribe of Banu Salamah said: "O Messenger of Allah! the embellishment of his cloak and an appreciation of his sides have allured him, and he was thus detained." Mu'adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "Woe be upon you! You have passed indecent remarks. O Messenger of Allah! by Allah, we know nothing about him but good." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remained silent..

A man sought permission for audience with the Prophet (ﷺ). He said, "Give him permission but he is a bad member of his tribe.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I do not think that so-and-so understands anything of our Faith."Al-Bukhari said: Al- Laith bin Sa'd, who is one of the narrators of this Hadith, said: The two men mentioned by the Prophet (ﷺ) in this Hadith were hypocrites (i.e., they revealed Faith and concealed disbelief).

I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said to him: "Muawiyah and Abul-Jahm sent me a proposal of marriage." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Muawiyah is destitute and he has no property, and Abul-Jahm is very hard on women.".

We set out on a journey along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and we faced many hardships. 'Abdullah bin Ubaiy (the chief of the hypocrites at Al- Madinah) said to his friends: "Do not spend on those who are with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) until they desert him." He also said: "If we return to Al-Madinah, the more honourable (meaning himself, i.e., Abdullah bin Ubaiy) will drive out therefrom the meaner (meaning Messenger of Allah (ﷺ))." I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and informed him about that and he sent someone to 'Abdullah bin Ubaiy. He asked him whether he had said that or not. Abdullah took an oath that he had not done anything of that sort and said that it was Zaid who carried a false tale to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Zaid said: I was so much perturbed because of this until this Verse was revealed verifying my statement:"When the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad (ﷺ)), they say: 'We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah.' Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed." (63:1) Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called the hypocrites in order to seek forgiveness for them from Allah, but they turned away their heads..

Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, said to the Prophet (ﷺ): Abu Sufyan is a niggardly man and does not give me and my children adequate provisions for maintenance unless I take something from his possession without his knowledge. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to her, "Take from his possessions on a reasonable basis that much which may suffice for you and your children.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The person who goes about with calumnies will never enter Jannah.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by two graves and said, "Both of them (the persons in these graves) are being tortured, and they are not being tortured for a cardinal sin. But indeed they are great sins. One of them used not to save himself from being soiled with his urine, and the other one used to go about with calumnies (among the people to rouse hostilities, e.g., one goes to a person and tells him that so-and-so says about him such and such evil things).".

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Shall I tell you what 'Al-'Adhu' (falsehood and slandering) is? It is calumny which is committed among the people.".

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "None of my Companions should convey to me anything regarding another because I desire to meet everyone of you with a clean heart.".