Riyad as-Salihin

One of the sons of Abu Talhah (May Allah be pleased with him) was ailing. Abu Talhah went out and the boy died in his absence. When he came back, he inquired, "How is the boy?". Umm Sulaim, the mother of the boy, replied, "Better than before". Then she placed his evening meal before him and he ate it; and thereafter slept with her. At last, she said to him: "Arrange for the burial of the boy". In the morning, Abu Talhah went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and informed him of the event. He enquired, "Did you sleep together last night?" Abu Talhah replied in the affirmative, on which the Prophet (ﷺ) supplicated, "O Allah bless them." Thereafter, she gave birth to a boy. Abu Talhah said to me: "Take up the boy and carry him to the Prophet (ﷺ)"; and he sent some dates with him. The Prophet (ﷺ) enquired, "Is there anything with him?" He said; "Yes, some dates". The Prophet (ﷺ) took a date, chewed it and put it in the mouth of the baby and rubbed the chewed date around the baby's gum and named him 'Abdullah..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The strong man is not one who is good at wrestling, but the strong man is one who controls himself in a fit of rage.".

I was sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) when two men began to quarrel and curse each other and the face of one of them turned red and the veins of his neck were swollen (from rage). Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I know of a word, if he were to utter that, his rage would vanish and that is: A'udhu billahi minash-Shaitan nir-rajim (I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed)." So they (Companions) said to him: "The Prophet (ﷺ) tells you to utter: 'I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The one who suppresses anger and has the power to give effect to it, will be called out by Allah, the Exalted, to the forefront of the creatures on the Day of Resurrection and he will be asked to choose any of the virgins (Hur) of his liking"..

A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) for an advice and he (ﷺ) said, "Do not get angry". The man repeated that several times and he replied, "Do not get angry"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A Muslim, male or female, continues to remain under trial in respect of his life, property and offspring until he faces Allah, the Exalted, with no sin record"..

'Uyainah bin Hisn came to Al-Madinah and stayed with his nephew Hurr bin Qais who was among those whom Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) showed favour to. The knowledgeable people (Qurra'), whether they were old or young, had the privilege of joining Umar's council and he used to consult them. 'Uyainah said to Hurr: "My nephew, the Leader of the Believers shows favour to you. Will you obtain permission for me to sit with him?" Hurr asked 'Umar and he accorded permission. When 'Uyainah came into the presence of 'Umar, he addressed him thus: "O son of Khattab, you neither bestow much on us nor deal with us justly." 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) got angry and was about to beat him up when Hurr said: ''O Leader of the Believers, Allah said to His Prophet (ﷺ): ' Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don't punish them).' (7:199) This one is from the ignorants. When Hurr recited this, 'Umar became quite motionless in his seat. He always adhered strictly to the Book of Allah..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will see after me favouritism and things which you will disapprove of." They submitted: "What do you order us to do (under such circumstances)?" He replied, "Discharge your obligations and ask your rights from Allah"..

A person from among the Ansar said, "O Messenger of Allah! You appointed such and such person and why do you not appoint me?" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "After me you will see others given preference to you, but you should remain patient till you meet me at the Haud (Al- Kauthar in Jannah)"..

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at one time when he confronted the enemy, and was waiting for the sun to set, stood up and said, "O people! Do not long for encountering the enemy and supplicate to Allah to grant you security. But when you face the enemy, show patience and steadfastness; and keep it in mind that Jannah lies under the shade of the swords." Then he invoked Allah, saying, "O Allah, Revealer of the Book, Disperser of the clouds, Defeater of the Confederates, put our enemy to rout and help us in over-powering them"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Truth leads to piety and piety leads to Jannah. A man persists in speaking the truth till he is enrolled with Allah as a truthful. Falsehood leads to vice and vice leads to the Fire (Hell), and a person persists on telling lies until he is enrolled as a liar".'.

I remember (these words) from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Give up what is doubtful to you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt"..

He (ﷺ) told (us): "Worship Allah Alone and do not associate a thing with Him; and give up all that your ancestors said. "He also commands us to perform Salat (prayers), to speak the truth, to observe modesty and to strengthen the ties of kinship..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "He who asks Allah for martyrdom, Allah will raise him to the high status of the martyrs, even if he dies on his bed"..

"One of the earlier Prophets who was out on an expedition proclaimed among his people that no man should follow him who had married a woman with whom he wished to cohabit but had not yet done so, or who had built houses on which he had not yet put the roofs, or who had bought sheep or pregnant she-camels and was expecting them to produce young. He, then, went on the expedition and approached the town at the time of the 'Asr prayer or little before it. He then told the sun that both it and he were under command and prayed Allah to hold it back for them, so it was held back till Allah gave him victory. He collected the spoils and it (meaning fire) came to devour these, but did not. He said that among the people there was a man who stole from the booty. He told them that a man from every tribe must swear allegiance to him, and when a man's hand stuck to his, he said: "There is thief among you and every individual of your tribe must swear allegiance to me". (In course of swearing of allegiance,) hands of two or three persons stuck to his hand. He said: "The thief is among you". They brought him a head of gold like a cow's head and when he laid it down, the fire came and devoured the spoils. Spoils were not allowed to anyone before us, then Allah allowed spoils to us as He saw our weakness and incapacity and allowed them to us"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul it so long as they have not separated; and if they tell the truth and make everything clear to each other (i.e., the seller and the buyer speak the truth, the seller with regard to what is purchased, and the buyer with regard to the money) they will be blessed in their transaction, but if they conceal anything and lie, the blessing on their transaction will be eliminated.".

Once we were sitting in the company of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when there appeared a man dressed in very white clothes and having extraordinary black hair. No signs of fatigue of journey appeared on him and he was known to none of us. He sat down facing the Prophet (ﷺ) leaning his knees against the knees of the Prophet (ﷺ) and placing both of his palms over his two thighs and said, "O Muhammad (ﷺ)! Tell me about Islam". He (ﷺ) replied, "Islam is to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah; that you observe Salat (prayers), pay Zakat, observe Saum (fasting) of Ramadan and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) of the House, provided you have resources of making journey to it." He replied: "You have spoken the truth." We were surprised to see that he had asked him and confirmed the correctness of the answers. He then enquired: "Tell me about Iman." He (ﷺ) said: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day and that you believe in preordainment (destiny), its bad and good consequences." He said, "You have spoken the truth." He then enquired: "Tell me about Ihsan." He (ﷺ) said, "It is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him; and although you do not see Him, He sees you." He enquired: "Inform me about the Hour (i.e., the Day of Resurrection)." He (ﷺ) replied, "I have no more knowledge thereof than you". He said, "Inform me about some of its signs." He (ﷺ) said, "They are - that a bondswoman gives birth to her own master, and that you will find the barefooted, naked, poor shepherds competing one another in the construction of higher buildings." Then he departed. The Messenger of Allah kept silent for a while then he said to me, "O 'Umar! Do you know who the questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He was Jibril (Gabriel); he came to you to teach you your religion."

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Fear Allah wherever you are, do good deeds after doing bad ones, the former will wipe out the latter, and behave decently towards people"..

One day, I was riding behind the Prophet (ﷺ) when he said, "O boy! I will instruct you in some matters. Be watchful of Allah (Commandments of Allah), He will preserve you. Safeguard His Rights, He will be ever with you. If you beg, beg of Him Alone; and if you need assistance, supplicate to Allah Alone for help. And remember that if all the people gather to benefit you, they will not be able to benefit you except that which Allah had foreordained (for you); and if all of them gather to do harm to you, they will not be able to afflict you with anything other than that which Allah had pre-destined against you. The pens had been lifted and the ink had dried up"..

You indulge in (bad) actions which are more insignificant to you than a hair while we considered them at the time of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to be great destroying sins"..