Riyad as-Salihin

We were sitting with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) were also there among the audience. In the meanwhile Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) got up and left us. We waited long for his return: When we were worried about his safety, and got scared, we got up. I, therefore, went out to look for Messenger of Allah and came to a garden which belonged to the Ansar. He (ﷺ) said to me "Go and give glad tidings of Jannah to anyone who testifies 'La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah),' being whole-heartedly certain of it".

The Prophet (ﷺ) recited the Words of Allah, the Exalted, and the Glorious, about Ibrahim (ﷺ) who said: "O my Rubb! They have led astray many among mankind. But whosoever follows me, he verily, is of me". (14:36) and those of 'Isa (Jesus) (ﷺ) who said: "If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise". (5:118). Then he (ﷺ) raised up his hands and said, "O Allah! My Ummah, my Ummah," and wept; Allah, the Exalted, said: "O Jibril (Gabriel)! Go to Muhammad (ﷺ) and ask him: 'What makes you weep?" So Jibril came to him and asked him (the reason of his weeping) and the Messenger of Allah informed him what he had said (though Allah knew it well). Upon this Allah said: "Jibril, go to Muhammad (ﷺ) and say: 'Verily, We will please you with regard to your Ummah and will never displease you"..

I was riding a pillion with the Prophet (ﷺ) on a donkey. He (ﷺ) said, "O Mu'adh, do you know what is the right of Allah upon His slaves, and what is the Right of His slaves upon Allah?" I said: "Allah and His Messenger know better". Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah's Right upon His slaves is that they should worship Him Alone and associate nothing with Him; and His slaves' right upon Him is that He should not punish who does not associate a thing with Him." He (Mu'adh) added: I said to the Messenger of Allah: "Shall I give the glad tidings to people?" He (ﷺ) said, "Do not tell them this good news for they will depend on it alone"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When a believer is questioned in the grave, he testifies that, 'there is no true god except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.' About him the Words of Allah, the Exalted, are: 'Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the firm statement (The Testimony of Faith) in this world and the Hereafter)". (14:27).

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When an infidel accomplishes any good deed, he is rewarded for it in this world; and in the case of a Muslim, Allah stores up his good acts for him in the Hereafter and provides him with subsistence in this life due to his obedience."Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah does not wrong a believer a good deed because he is given blessings for it in this world and will be rewarded for it in the Hereafter. But the infidel is given in the world the reward for good deeds, he has performed for the sake of Allah and when he comes to the Hereafter, there is no good deed for which he can be rewarded"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The five daily Salat (prayers) are like a great river running by your door in which you take a bath five times a day.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Any Muslim dies and forty men who do not associate anything with Allah (in worship), perform his funeral prayer, Allah makes them intercede for him".

There were, about forty of us with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in a camp when he said, "Aren't you pleased that you will constitute one-fourth of the inhabitants of Jannah?" We said, "Yes". He again said, "Aren't you pleased that you will constitute one-third of the inhabitants of Jannah?". We said: "Yes." Upon this he (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, I hope that you will constitute one-half of the inhabitants of Jannah; and the reason is that only Muslims will be admitted into Jannah; and you are no more compared to the polytheists than as a white hair on the skin of a black ox, or a black hair on the skin of a white ox.".

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will deliver to every Muslim, a Jew or a Christian and say: 'This is your ransom from Hell-fire."'Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There would come people amongst the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection with sins as heavy as a mountain, and Allah would forgive them"..

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "A believer will be brought close to his Rubb on the Day of Resurrection and enveloping him in His Mercy, He (SWT) will make him confess his sins by saying: 'Do you remember (doing) this sin and this sin?' He will reply: 'My Rubb, I remember.' Then He (SWT) will say: 'I covered it up for you in the life of world, and I forgive it for you today.' Then the record of his good deeds will be handed to him"..

A man kissed a woman and he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and made a mention of that to him. It was (on this occasion) that this Ayah was revealed:"And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-As-Salat), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night .

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed a sin liable of ordained punishment. So execute punishment on me". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not ask him about it, and then came the (time for) Salat (prayers). So he performed Salat with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished Salat, the man stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have committed a sin. So execute the Ordinance of Allah upon me". He (ﷺ) asked, "Have you performed Salat with us?" "Yes", he replied. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Verily, Allah has forgiven you"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah is pleased with His slave who eats a meal and praises Him for it; and takes a drink and praises Him for it"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, stretches His Hand during the night so that those who commit sins by day may repent, and He stretches His Hand in the day so that those who commit sins by night may repent. He keeps doing so until the sun rises from the West"..

In the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, I used to think that people who used to worship idols, were deviated and did not adhere to the true religion. Then I heard of a man in Makkah who was preaching a message. So I mounted my camel and went to him. I found that (this man who was) Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remained hidden because of the persecution by his people. I had entered Makkah stealthily and when I met him I asked him, "Who are you?" He (ﷺ) said, "I am a Prophet." I asked; "What is a Prophet?" He said, "Allah has sent me (with a message)". I asked, "With what has He sent you?" He said, "He sent me to strengthen the ties of kinship, to destroy idols so that Allah alone should be worshipped and nothing should be associated with Him". I asked, "Who has followed you in this?" He said, "A freeman and a slave". (At that time only Abu Bakr and Bilal (May Allah be pleased with her) were with him). I said, "I shall follow you". He said, "You can not do that now. Do you not see my situation and that of the people? Go to your people, and when you hear that my cause has prevailed, come to me". So I went back to my people, and while I was with my people, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) emigrated to Al-Madinah. I continued to ask people about him till some of my people visited Al- Madinah. On their return, I asked them, "How is that man who has arrived in Al-Madinah faring?" They said, "People are hastening to him. His own people had planned to kill him but did not succeed." Then I went to Al-Madinah and came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, do you recognize me?" He (ﷺ) said, "Yes, you are the one who met me in Makkah." I said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell me of that which Allah has taught you and of which I am unaware. Tell me about Salat first." He (ﷺ) replied, "Perform the Fajr (morning) Salat, then stop Salat until the sun has risen up to the height of a lance, for when it rises, it rises up between the horns of the devil, and the infidels prostrate themselves before it at that time. Then perform Salat, for Salat is witnessed and angels attend it, until the shadow becomes equal to the length of its object; then stop Salat, for at that time Jahannam (Hell) is heated up. Then pray when the shadow becomes longer, for the prayer is witnessed and angels attend it, until you perform 'Asr prayer; then stop Salat till sun sets, for it sets between the horns of a devil. At that time the infidels prostrate themselves before it." I then asked the Messenger of Allah to tell me about Wudu', and he (ﷺ) said, "When a person begins the Wudu' and washes his mouth and nose, the sins committed by his face, mouth and nostrils are washed out. Then when he washes his face as commanded by Allah, the sins of his face are washed out with the water from the sides of his beard. Then when he washes his hands up to elbows, the sins of his hands are washed out through his fingers with water. Then he passes his wet hands over his head and the sins of the head are washed out through the ends of his hair with water. Then he washes his feet up to the ankles, the sins of his feet are washed out through his toes with water. Then, if he stands up for Salat and praises Allah, glorifies Him, proclaims His Greatness as He deserves and devotes his heart wholly to Allah, he emerges sin free as the day he was born".When 'Amr bin 'Abasah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated this Hadith to Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) a Companion of the Prophet (ﷺ), the latter said to him, "Watch what you are saying. O 'Amr bin 'Abasah, a man will be getting all of this in one shot?" 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with him) replied, "O Abu Umamah, I have attained old age, my bones have become dry, my death is approaching and there is no need for me to tell lies concerning Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ). Had I not heard this from the Messenger of Allah only once, twice, thrice (and he counted up to seven) I would never have reported it. Indeed I have heard this frequently"..

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah intends to show mercy to a people, He collects their Prophet before them and makes him a herald to happiness for them in the Hereafter; and when He intends to destroy a people, He punishes them while their Prophet is alive, and destroys them while he is alive and watches them and makes him witness their destruction because they disbelieved in him and disobeyed his commands"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks of Me when he remembers Me.' By Allah! Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than one of you who unexpectedly finds in the desert his lost camel. 'He who comes closer to Me one span, I come closer to him a cubit; and he who comes closer to Me a cubit, I come closer to him a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running"..

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying three days before his death: "Let none of you die unless he has good expectations from Allah"..

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'O son of adam, I forgive you as long as you pray to Me and hope for My forgiveness, whatever sins you have committed. O son of 'Adam, I do not care if your sins reach the height of the heaven, then you ask for my forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of 'Adam, if you come to Me with an earth load of sins, and meet Me associating nothing to Me, I would match it with an earthload of forgiveness."'.

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If a believer had full knowledge of the chastisement of Allah, none would covet His Jannah; and were an infidel to know the Mercy Allah has, none would despair of His Jannah"..