Life of Muhammad 2

----

[Edited Excerpts. Prophet's Morals Teachings and Holy Sayings. Chapters on his life events and battles etc are omitted. Prophet's achievments in Medina is included.]

THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD

The Greatest Liberator, The Holiest Prophet

By Allama Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi (2007)


[Note: Pages numbers in the printed edition are shown]


# In the name of Allah

(He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions, though the polytheists may be averse).

Quran, 9:33

(Certainly a Messenger has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers is he most kind and merciful).

Quran, 9:128

(And We have not sent you but to all mankind as a bearer of good news and as a warner, but most mankind do not know).

Quran, 34:28

(He it is Who raised among the inhabitants of Mecca a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His communications and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error).

Quran, 62:2

(And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds).

Quran, 21:107


# Introduction

(page 1)

We are before the greatest of all propagandists of Allah who has destroyed idles, wide opened horizons of knowledge and thinking, freed man from sins of life, and erected to him a high edifice of development and creativeness.

We are before the great mercy that Allah has granted to His people to assist and guide them to that which is most upright, light to them their way, and clear to them their course.

We are before the Divine Gift that has inspired minds to do good, and given them richness and creativity in their conducts, relations, and manners.

We are before the greatest reformer in the history of mankind who has built the structures of the civilization for the nations of the worlds and the peoples of the earth after they had been living in disorder and confusion.

We are before the greatest hero in the history of the whole world who could change the history of mankind from darkness into a bright life shining with awareness, safety, love, and beauty.

We are before the great heroisms that have denied weakness, refused submission and subservience, and set out swiftly in their way to raise the Word of Allah high in the earth and to liberate man from slavery and bad habits.

We are before the great Prophet and with him his cousin Imam Ali, who was a world of heroisms himself. They



(10)

have established in the Arabic East the pillars of the faith in Allah on which the powers of goodness and peace are built.

We are before the gift of Allah to the whole world; the great Prophet who said, “I am but a gifted mercy”.

(2)

Definitely, all sides of the human greatness have existed in the conducts, manners, maxims, and teachings of the Prophet that enrich intellect and make it fertile all the time; not an intellect of a certain age or a culture of a special milieu, but the intellects and cultures of all ages and all milieus throughout history.

The conducts of the Prophet have set the educational bases and the live methods of man’s behavior with himself, his family, and his society. These methods keep pace with man’s nature and changes of time, and react with life. They do not clash with the nature or the rules of the universe, but it will remain alive and man cannot find its like or alternative until Allah will inherit the earth and all that on it.

(3)

Prophethood is the gift of Allah to His people that carry out the rules of truth and justice and repair what deviates in the systems of their life. In any case, prophethood is not bound to the laws which people are bound to in choosing their rulers and leaders, but it is in the hand of the Great Creator Who has created the universe and given life. He is most aware of whomever He chooses for the guidance of His people, the reforming of their affairs, the rectifying of their behaviors, and the purifying of their souls.


(11)

Since the first dawn of the history of mankind, Allah chose the best of His people to inform of His missions and spread goodness and love among all people. The prophets carried the mission of Allah and did all what they could in teaching and guiding their nations to better their lives that would assure to them happiness, dignity, and justice.

The last and master of the prophets, Prophet Muhammad, as well, carried out the mission of his Lord after bearing all kinds of troubles and sufferings in the way of rescuing Allah’s people from the claws of ignorance and its sins. He caused springs of knowledge and wisdom flow to everywhere, and carried lanterns that lit the ways for all peoples, illuminated minds, and guided the deviants.

(4)

The important thing in the sending of prophets is the inviting of people to monotheism and to worship Allah alone with no partner. The faith in Allah is a base that all powers of good, safety, and peace are built on. He, who believes in Allah the One and Only, does not commit a sin, wrong, or aggression. Surely, all the disasters of wars and the calamities that afflict people result from the lack of the faith in Allah. Therefore, the invitation to the faith in Allah was the most important thing that all prophets kept on in their missions to the nations. You do not read the life of anyone of the prophets of Allah except that you see that the sincere invitation to monotheism and the true faith in Allah alone with no partner was the most prominent task in all the prophets’ missions.

(5)

The mission of Prophet Muhammad was distinguished, in inviting to monotheism, with irrefutable proofs that relied on


(12)

perceptible notions that could not be doubted or suspected. It did not involve in philosophical studies or other complicated arguments that that simple people could not understand. Prophet Muhammad avoided that and he relied on the perceptible proofs that existed in all phenomena in the universe and in the creation of man himself with his wonderful systems such as his brain, sight, hearing, perceiving…etc. These clear proofs have been mentioned in many verses in the Holy Quran .

It is worth mentioning that most of the Quranic verses that were revealed on monotheism and that refuted the thoughts of the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah; ignorance) were revealed in Mecca and not in Medina, because the people of Mecca were idolaters whereas Medina, which the Prophet took as his capital, was of little polytheism and atheism, and its people believed in Islam and defended it devotedly. In this good town, the Word of Monotheism was raised high and its lights extended to the nations of the world and the peoples of the earth.

(6)

The mission of the Prophet was not limited to monotheism and the other spiritual rites only, but also it included all phenomena and affairs of life. The Prophet had established the social systems for the individual, family, society, and state. He had, as well, set the foreign and interior policies of government which were based on pure justice and truth.

The mission of Islam has extended to all sides of life and opened new horizons to reason. It has fully cared for knowledge and made it the base in every thing even the witnesses that should not depend on supposition. Islam has not permitted the imitation of one’s fathers in the concerns of beliefs, but one



(13)

must follow knowledge and certainty in this matter to be certain of his beliefs before Allah and before himself.

(7)

From among what the Prophet was very careful for in his mission was to do away with poverty and put an end to neediness. He legislated (by the command of Allah) taxes such as zakat, khums, and the social insurance, and encouraged charity with all means. He established his economic systems on the goal of spreading ease among all people and preventing the monopolizing of wealth by some few people. He strictly prohibited the means that made wealth accumulate in the hands of a certain class of people. He prohibited usury, exploitation, monopoly of foods, injustice in dealings, and swindle. He legislated the law of inheritance that would prevent excessive wealth by not limiting the inheritance to the eldest child as the case in some western countries. Indeed, the Islamic economy can achieve easiness, in its wide notion, for all people.

(8)

From the legislations of Islam is the care for the general health and the making of medicine preventive. Islam has prevented the excessiveness in having food. Allah says, (and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does not love the extravagant).[1] Excessiveness in having food has many bad complications. It causes stomach illnesses, fatness, and heart illnesses. If Muslims follow that in their life, they will not need to go to physicians, and medicine will be just protective to them.

From the means that the Prophet has called for in this concern is cleanness which he has considered as a part from


Notes:

[1] Quran, 7:31.


(14)

faith. Cleanness is not limited to one’s body only, but it includes what man eats, drinks, wears, and the place where he lives and works besides streets, stores, and all kinds of buildings so that to prevent the spread of diseases and epidemics.

(9)

As for the Prophet’s personality, it has filled the mouth of the universe with its highness, perfection, and virtue. In all stages of his life, the Prophet was the highest example of the human perfection in all senses of the word. Since his early youth, he was far away from amusement and nonsense. He did not mix with the youth of Quraysh who were sinking into debauchery and lubricity. He was the most truthful, best in retaining kinship, and most altruist, especially to the poor, of all people. His wife Khadija (may Allah have mercy on her) often said to him, “You retain kinship, carry food (to the poor), entertain guests, and help people in their calamities.”

A poet said about him,

“You have been created purified from every defect,

as if you have been created as you like.”

Indeed, Allah has created him for virtues, perfection, and high morals away from any kind of defect or error.

(10)

There was another thing in the Prophet’s personality that had exceeded the limit of description or praise; he had a great will and determination that no one had ever had throughout history. He alone undertook the mission of Allah and fought his relatives, on the top of whom was his uncle Abu Lahab, and most people of his society. He cared neither for them nor for their resistance. He remained withstanding before all their


(15)

aggressions, and he announced his immortal word, “If I am given the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left one to give up this matter, I will not do until Allah will make it prevail or I shall die for it.” He remained high like a mountain. He did not delay even for a while in propagandizing for his principles and values until Allah made him win and then the word of monotheism went high in that idolatrous society. He destroyed their idols as he destroyed their ignorance, bad beliefs, bad habits, and bad traditions.

(11)

The messenger of Allah announced his mission in the quarters of Mecca which was his homeland and whose people were known for their selfishness, haughtiness, and pride. And naturally, his mission clashed with their beliefs, traditions, habits, and desires. They were filled with rage and spite. Therefore, they agreed unanimously on putting out this light in its cradle. They resisted this mission with all their powers and abilities. The brutal men of power and authority from Quraysh, headed by their chief Abu Sufyan, fought him with all means they had, and he met from them all kinds of sufferings and troubles. They mocked at him and ordered their children to throw him with stones, ash, and dust. He sought protection against them with his brother and cousin Ali bin Abi Talib though he was very young then. Ali was always beside him chasing and preventing the children of Quraysh from harming him.

(12)

During the days of his ordeal, no one sided with the messenger of Allah except his uncle Abu Talib the faithful of Quraysh and chief of Mecca. Abu Talib reared the mission, believed in it


(16)

devotedly, and did his best for it. He armed his sons to defend and guard the Prophet. At the head of his sons was the immortal hero of Islam; Imam Ali who sacrificed his life for the Prophet and supported him in all situations and battles. So, Abu Talib and his children were the striking force that the Prophet sought protection in against the harms of Quraysh.

Abu Talib believed in Islam, and its values and teachings went deep into his inners. It was he who recited:

“I have realized that Muhammad’s religion

is the best of religions of mankind.”

Abu Talib often and always encouraged his nephew (Prophet Muhammad) to keep on his mission and not to mind for the people of Quraysh and their resistance and harms. He said in one of his poems (addressing the Prophet):

“By Allah, they shall not reach you with all their crowds,

until I shall be buried in the ground.

So, reveal your mission openly feeling no fear,

And be delighted at that and rest in relief.”[1]

May Allah reward Abu Talib with all good for his devotedness and great efforts in safeguarding the Prophet; otherwise, Quraysh would do away with him and with his mission since being in its cradle. In a coming chapter, we shall talk about some bright pages of Abu Talib’s jihad for the Prophet and for Islam.


Notes:

[1] Asna al-Matalib fee Najat Abi Talib, p. 25.


(17)

(13)

The weak, the disabled, and slaves in Mecca believed in Islam and embraced its principles and goals. They were certain that Islam had come to free them from the severity and persecution of Quraysh. They were certain that they would be the masters later on and the tyrants of Quraysh would be submissive slaves to them.

Also some aware youth from Quraysh, who had good thinking and attentive minds, embraced Islam and a good group from the ladies of Quraysh believed in Islam too. They all scorned and mocked at the idols of Quraysh which were worshiped as holy gods. This thing made the people of Quraysh too much angry and they were filled with grudge that they began torturing those Muslims very severely. They concentrated the torment on the weak Muslims who had no tribe to protect them or an authority to resort to against the punishment of the masters of Quraysh. Yasir, Sumayyah, Ammar, Bilal al-Habashi, Khabbab bin al-Art, and Abdullah bin Mas’ud were from among those first Muslims who received much punishment from the arrogants of Quraysh. Abu Jahl invented, in torturing those weak Muslims, different kinds of severest torturing, but all that could not take them away from Islam. In fact, it gave them new natures in being more patient, stable, and certain. They were
neither confused nor hesitated in what they had believed in.

The Prophet permitted those who believed in his mission to emigrate to Abyssinia to worship Allah safely there. The Prophet remained in Mecca with some of his family and some other believers though they received severe harms and persecution.




(18)

(14)

When the Prophet was afflicted with the death of his uncle Abu Talib, he no longer had a strong supporter to resort to or one of authority that might protect him from the plots and assaults of Quraysh. Therefore, the people of Quraysh agreed on killing him. Their men surrounded his house with unsheathed swords waiting for the dawn to attack and do away with him. The revelation came down ordering him to leave Mecca. He went out under the darkness of night while no one of those forty men could feel him. He ordered his brother and cousin Imam Ali to sleep in his (the Prophet) bed, and Imam Ali responded delightedly to be the sacrifice for the messenger of Allah.

The Prophet set out towards Yathrib (Medina) whose crowds of people received him splendidly with joys and delights for he honored their country by his coming to it. He felt with them safety after fear, strength after weakness, and ease after suffering.

(15)

The Prophet did not sit passively in Yathrib even for a moment. He united the people of Medina and reconciled them with each other especially the two major tribes al-Owss and al-Khazraj who suffered enmity, grudge, and bloodsheds since long ago. The Prophet fraternized them with each other and removed enmity and spite from among them. The Prophet fraternized the Muhajireen (emigrants)[1] and the Ansar


Notes:

[1] “The Muhajireen” were the first Muslims who emigrated from Mecca to Medina and “the Ansar” were the people of Medina who believed in the Prophet and protected and supported him and his followers.

(19)

(supporters) as well and bound them by the bond of the Islamic brotherhood that was stronger than the brotherhood of kinship. He established a mosque (the Mosque of the Prophet) and took it as a center to his government and an institute to spread his teachings. Islam spread as fast as light and the great Islamic state was established. This state, after no long, extended to most sides of the world and the Word of Allah raised high among the nations and peoples of the earth.

(16)

The Prophet changed the dark methods of life that were based on ignorance, aggression, and misery. He removed that terrible nightmare and spread instead light, knowledge, wisdom, safety, and ease.

This study sheds lights on some aspects of the great personality of Prophet Muhammad in whose holiness and greatness all men of knowledge and intellect have believed. The history of the Prophet’s life is full of treasures of thought, development, and creativity. Indeed, his life is a history of humanity in all its dimensions and affairs. Famous orientalists like Ernest Renan, Goldzieher, Stock Harjo, Gustave Lenon, and others have acknowledged that. Certainly, the civilization of Islam was established in Mecca, Medina, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, al-Qayrawan, Cordoba, Granada, and led to the spread of civilization in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin.[1]

(17)

Praise be to Allah Who has given us success in writing a big encyclopedia on the lives of the infallible imams; the imams of guidance and the lanterns of Islam, may Allah have blessings


Notes:

[1] The Revolution of Islam and the Hero of the Prophets, p. 76.

(20)

and peace on them. It has covered a great deal of their concerns and received acceptance and satisfaction from readers who showed their praise and gratefulness towards it. But, I found inside me a feeling of shortcoming and in my conscience blaming and scolding for I have not written about the life of their grandfather, the master of the prophets and the last of the messengers. And now, after the assistance and kindness of Allah, I begin a comprehensive study on the life of the Master of the Prophets and the great sufferings he had faced in carrying out the mission of his Lord among that society that had no ray of understanding and in saving it from the life of superstition and ignorance.

(18)

In this study on Prophet Muhammad, I do not mention the long isnad[1] that have been mentioned in the books of history and biographies, for there is no pleasure in that to the readers who like easiness and facility in the books.

Anyhow, the biography (of the Prophet) is full of fertile and fresh literature that satisfies reason and feelings and fits the life of all people, and it is not of a literature of a special age or a certain generation but of all ages and all generations. It has inspired geniuses and men of letters and they poetized it all or some of it like Ahmed Shawqi, the Egyptian poet, or prosed it like Taha Husayn and other old and modern writers. Anyhow, I depend in my studies on the reliable traditions that reason and logic accept and the methods of the scientific thinking match.


Notes:

[1] Isnad: chain of authorities which is an essential part in the transmission of a tradition.

(21)

(19)

To be loyal, I have to offer my gratefulness to His Eminence Sayyid Ali the son of Allama ayatollah Sayyid Tahir as-Salman for publishing this book with its three volumes as a service to knowledge and to the nation and to present the genuine values and high ideals in the life of the Great Savior Prophet Muhammad. I pray Allah to reward his efforts and satisfy his wishes, and He is the Giver of success.

Holy Najaf
Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi
2\5\1424 AH.


# His characteristics

Allah has not created a virtue by which man is honored and exalted except that it was among the elements of the Prophet’s personality. Allah has created and purified him from every defect. All lofty characteristics and high ideals were available in him by which he could change the course of the history of the world and destroyed the beliefs of that world of ignorance that practiced all kinds of sins.

In the history of the great personalities of the whole world there is no one that can be compared to Prophet Muhammad in his talents, geniuses, powers, and attributes. He raised the mission of his Lord whereas he had no force that could protect him against the tide of ignorance except his uncle Abu Talib the faithful one of Quraysh and his son the hero of Islam Imam Ali…The following are some of the Prophet’s attributes.

Willpower
It is certain in psychology that willpower is one of the most distinct qualities that man has and that it makes him immortal, great one. Immorality has been recorded for some men who entered the field of wars like Napoleon, Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, and others, whereas they had no other prominent quality except this one (willpower).

The Prophet entered into a terrible struggle against the evil, ignorant powers and destroyed their forts and pillars by his strong will and determination besides his other peculiarities…Quraysh was armed with all its material powers and it entered the field of disputes against the messenger of Allah, but he did not care and the fact that he was alone with a very few believers who followed him and who had no strong fort to resort to, did not make him feel weak or unable before the great numbers of his opponents. The Prophet,



(74)

though his supporters were very few, imposed his will over the pages of the universe. He said to his uncle,

“By Allah O uncle, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand so that I give up this matter (the mission), I will never do until Allah will make it prevail or I shall die for it…”

The Prophet’s grandson Imam al-Husayn, the father of the free, had inherited this aspect from his grandfather when he stood against the head of ignorance and injustice Yazid bin Mo’awiya, Abu Sufyan’s grandson, and said his immortal word,

“I do not see death except happiness and life with the unjust except boredom…”

The Prophet kept on his struggle until Allah granted him victory and then he firmed monotheism everywhere and saved mankind from idolatry and ignorance.

High morality
Prophet Muhammad was a sign from the signs of Allah in morals and manners and he was distinguished from all the prophets and all human beings by his unequalled moralities. By his morals he could attracts the hearts, even of his opponents, and could unite the Arabs and lead them to purify the earth from idolatry and ignorance. Therefore, Allah praised him in the Holy Quran when saying, (And most surely you are with sublime morality).[1] The Prophet said about himself, “Surely, I have been sent to accomplish the nobilities of character.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Quran, 68:4.
[2] As-Sunan al-Kubra, vol. 10 p. 192, Itthaf as-Sadeh al-Muttaqin, vol. 6 p. 17, Kashful Ghumma, vol. 1 p. 244.

(75)

The Prophet’s high morals were from the essence of his nature. They were neither affected nor acquired. Historians say that the Prophet hated pretence and artificiality. He often prayed Allah saying, “O Allah, as You have bettered my creation, better my manners!”

Here, we mentions some examples of his moralities.

Some Jewish man was too spiteful to the Prophet. He exaggerated in harming him. He threw soil and ashes on him whenever he passed by his house. One day, the Jew became ill. The Prophet went to the Jew’s house. He knocked the door and the Jewish man’s wife opened the door. The Prophet said to her, “Your husband has accustomed us to some habit, but he stopped it and I suppose he is ill. Now, I am coming to visit him.” She permitted him in. when the Jew saw the Prophet, he was surprised and said, “These are the morals of prophets.” He turned a Muslim and took away all spites from his heart toward the Prophet.

When someone greeted the Prophet in the street, the Prophet did not leave until that person would leave first. If some man shook hands with him, he did not take off his hand until that man would take off his hand first.[1]

He did never say to anyone even one word that might tease or harm him, but he met people with nice and good statements.

One day, some man came to the Prophet but he hesitated and could not talk to him because of the Prophet’s gravity. The Prophet said to him, “I am but a son of a woman from Quraysh who ate jerked meat in Mecca.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Sahih of at-Tarmithi, vol. 2 p. 255, Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 190.
[2] Tareekh Baghdad, vol. 6 p. 220.

(76)

He divided his time (of meeting) among his companions equally.[1] He met the old and the young, the free and slaves with smiles without showing any sign of anger towards anyone except when he saw a bad deed that was unlike what Allah wanted; then, anger appeared on him.

Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Prophet had never stretched his legs before anyone sitting with him at all. When someone sat with him, he would not leave until that one would leave first.[2]

Aa’ishah (the Prophet’s wife) narrated, “No one at all was better than the messenger of Allah in good manners. Whenever someone of his companions and family called him, he would say to him: At your service!”[3]

Aa’ishah said, “The Prophet’s morals were like the Quran whose meanings and attributes would not end.” These were just a few examples on the Prophet’s moralities that have filled the books of biographers and changed the course of history and established the government of Allah in the earth.

A word by Imam Ali
We end this article with a word said by Imam Ali about the morals and manners of the Prophet. He said,

“The messenger of Allah did never shake hands with anyone and took off his hand (first), and no one talked with him about something and he left (first) until that one would leave. No one argued with him (and he interrupted him) except that that one would stop talking first. He had never been seen while


Notes:

[1] Rawdhat al-Kafi, p. 268, Mushkil al-Aathar, vol. 4 p. 299.
[2] Makarim al-Akhlaq, p. 15.
[3] Tafsir ar-Razi, vol. 15 p. 82 when interpreting this verse (And most surely you are with sublime morality) 68:4.


(77)

stretching his legs before anyone sitting with him. Whenever two things occurred to him, he chose the severest of them. He did not avenge himself when being wronged except when the laws of Allah were violated, and then his vengeance would be for the sake of Allah. He did never have food while leaning (on something) until he left this world. He was never asked for something and he said “no” at all. He did not return a beggar, except by satisfying his need or with lenient reply. He offered the lightest prayer and made the shortest speech. He was the least of people in wasting. He was known by his good fragrance when he came. When he had food with people, he was the first one to eat and the last one to stop eating. When he ate, he ate from the food that was directly before him, but when the food was dates or ripe dates, his hand would move here and there. When he drank water, he drank (from a cup) in three drinks. He sucked water and not quaffed it. His
right hand was for eating, drinking, taking, and giving. He did not take anything except with his right hand and did not give anything except with his right hand, and his left hand was for other than that. He liked the right side in all his affairs; putting on clothes and shoes and in dismounting (that he began with his right hand or right leg). When he prayed Allah (for himself or for others), he repeated his prayer three times, when he spoke, he spoke once (he did not repeat his saying), and when he asked permission, he asked three times. His speech was so clear that whoever heard it could understand it. When he spoke, something like light was seen coming out from between his teeth. When you see him, you say: there is a gap between his two front teeth. His looking was glancing. He did never say to anyone anything that he hated. When he walked, he walked as if he came down from a slope. He often said: the best of you are the best in morals. He neither
dispraised nor praised an epicure. He did not interrupt his companions when talking. Everyone that talked about him said:



(78)

I have not seen with my eyes anyone like him before or after him.”[1]

Forbearance
From the most prominent characteristic of the Prophet was his great patience and forbearance. He was the best of all people in this concern. Historians mention many cases on his patience that we mention here some examples of them.

Anas bin Malik narrated, “Once, I was with the Prophet who was wearing a garment with course edges. A Bedouin drew the Prophet’s garment severely and the edge affected the Prophet’s neck while he (the Bedouin) cried harshly at the Prophet, “O Muhammad, load on my these two camels from the wealth of Allah. Surely, you do not load from your wealth or from the wealth of your father…!”

However, the Prophet was not angry and he said kindly to the Bedouin, “The wealth is Allah’s and I am His slave…”

Then, the Prophet smiled at the man and said, “O Bedouin, would it be avenged on you for what you did to me?”

The Bedouin said, “No.”

The Prophet asked why not and the Bedouin said, “Because you do not requite a bad deed with a bad deed.”

The Prophet smiled and ordered his companions to load on one of the Bedouin’s camels some dates and on the other some barley.[2]

Another example on the Prophet’s patience is that when his front teeth were broken and his forehead was wounded in the


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 16 p. 237.
[2] Dala’il an-Nubuwwah (proofs of prophethood) by Ibn Na’eem, p. 134.

(79)

Battle of Uhud, his companions, who were very angry for that, asked him to pray Allah against the enemy, but he replied kindly and mercifully, “I have not been sent as a curser but a herald and mercy. O Allah, guide my people for they do not know!”[1]

Thus, mercy, in the full sense of the word, appeared in his great soul towards his enemies who exceeded in wronging and harming him. He prayed Allah for and not against them.

One day, the Prophet was sleeping at midday. When he woke up, he saw a man standing with an unsheathed sword intending to kill him. The man said to the Prophet, “Who can protect you from me?”

The Prophet said with confidence, “Allah is the one who protects me from you.”

The man was upset and the sword fell down from his hand. The Prophet took the sword and said to the man, “Who can protect you from me?”

The man said submissively, “Be the best taker (of the sword)!”

The Prophet pardoned the man who went back to his people while being astonished at the Prophet’s morals. He said to his people, “I have come to you from the best one of all people.”

Bujayr bin Zuhayr became a Muslim. His brother Ka’b knew about that and wrote to him a letter blaming him for that. At the end of the letter he mentioned some verses of poetry in which he scolded Bujayr and criticized Islam. Bujayr went to the Prophet complaining against his brother and mentioning his poetry to the Prophet who felt pain and announced that Ka’b was to be killed. Bujayr sent a letter to his brother


Notes:

[1] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 7 p. 20, al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 11 p. 189.

(80)

informing him that the Prophet would pardon whoever came to him repenting and would not ask him about what he had committed before Islam. When the letter reached Ka’b, he resorted to his tribe asking them to protect him, but no one responded to him. He went to Medina and came to Imam Ali as guest. Imam Ali took him to the mosque and said to him, “This is the messenger of Allah. Go to him and ask for security!”

Ka’b went to the Prophet saying to him, “O messenger of Allah, I am Ka’b bin Zuhayr.”

Some man from the Ansar jumped to him asking permission saying, “O messenger of Allah, let me alone with this enemy of Allah to cut his neck!’

The Prophet blamed the man and said to him, “Let him alone. He has come repentantly.”

Then, Ka’b began reciting his famous poem in which he declared his fear and asked the Prophet to forgive him. When he recited this verse:

‘Surely the messenger is a light that it is guided by it,

and a strict sword from the unsheathed swords of Allah”

the Prophet offered to him his own garment as gift and welcomed him.

Once, Zayd bin Sa’nah, before being a Muslim, came to the Prophet to take back his debt from him. He drew the Prophet’s dress and took it off his shoulders and talked to him harshly. Umar scolded the man, but the Prophet smiled and said to Umar, “I and he are in need of something other than this. O Umar, you should ask me to pay back debt well and ask him to ask for debt in a good manner.”[1]


Notes:

[1] Sharh ash-Shifa’, vol. 1 p. 226, Manahil as-Safa, p. 17.


(81)

The Prophet paid back the man’s debt and gave twenty Sa’s[1] more, and that was the reason for him to be a Muslim. Then, he said about the Prophet, “The much ignorance towards him does not increase but his patience.”[2]

Another example on his high patience is that he pardoned Abu Sufyan who often and always fought and tried to kill him. However, when the Prophet pardoned Abu Sufyan, he was astonished and said admiringly, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. How patient, how kind (to kin), and how generous you are!”[3]

He also pardoned Wahshi (after being a Muslim) who had killed his (the Prophet) uncle Hamza. He announced a general amnesty to his enemies from the people of Mecca and said, “Go! You are the freed ones (tulaqa’).”[4]

Requiting a bad doer with kindness was from the Prophet’s nature that he had been created with, and by which he occupied people’s hearts. Some poet says about the Prophet,

“His people met him with harshness but he overlooked,

and a patient one always overlooks.

He held people with understanding and patience,

for he was a sea that burdens did not tire him.”


Notes:

[1] Sa’ is a measure of capacity which is about three kilograms.
[2] As-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, vol. 9 p. 118.
[3] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 6 p. 166, Sharh ash-Shifa’, vol. 1 p. 29, Manahil as-Safa, p. 18, Sharh Ma’ani al-Aathar, vol. 13 p. 32.
[4] As-Sunan al-Kubra, vol. 9 p. 118.


(82)

Generosity
Undoubtedly, the Prophet was the most generous, charitable one to the poor and the deprived. Historians mention many examples on this matter. Here are some:

Once, some man asked the Prophet for help, and the Prophet gave him sheep in so great number. When the man went back home astonishedly, he said to his people, “Be Muslims, for Muhammad gives in a way that he does not fear poverty.”[1]

He set free the captives of Hawazin who were about six thousand persons.[2]

He gave to more than one person one hundred camels, and gave to Safwan one hundred camels and then another one hundred camels.[3]

Some woman gifted him with a garment and he was in need of it. When he put it on, some companion saw it and said, “O messenger of Allah, how beautiful it is!” The Prophet took it off and gave it to the companion.[4]

When the Prophet came back from (the battle of) Hunayn, nomads came to him asking for giving until they forced him against a tree and took away his garment. He said to them, “Give me back my garment! If I had blessings as much as these shrubs, I would divide them among you, then you would not find me stingy, liar, or coward.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Jawahir al-Bihar fee Fadha’il al-Mukhtar, vol. 1 p. 41.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Muhammad the Perfect Example, p. 26.
[5] Ibid, p. 25.

(83)

One day, some wealth was brought to him from Bahrain. He asked his companions to scatter it and they did. It was the biggest wealth that had ever been brought to him. He went to the mosque and when he finished offering the prayer, he came and divided the wealth among his companions without leaving anything to himself.

Once, he went to al-Ja’ranah (near Mecca). He divided monies there and people crowded around him while he was giving to them until they forced him to a tree and took his cloak. He said to them, “Give me back my cloak. By Allah, if I had as much as the trees of Tehama, I would divide it among you.”[1]

It is worth mentioning that the Prophet’s charity was not limited to the poor, but it included even animals. Once, ripe dates were offered to him and there was a sheep near him. He began eating the dates with his right hand and holding the stones with his left. He made a sign to the sheep and it came toward him and began eating the stones in his left hand. He did not throw the stones on the ground lest they would be dirty and the sheep might not eat them.[2]

Imam Ali described the Prophet’s liberality saying,

“He was the most generous of all people in giving, the most in forbearance, the most truthful one, the most lenient, and from the noblest tribe. Whoever sees him once reveres him, and whoever mixes with him thoughtfully loves him. His describer says: I have seen like him neither before nor after him.”[3]

It is worth mentioning that the Prophet undertook by himself the giving to the poor and he did not entrust that to


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 16 p. 430.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Sahih of at-Termithi, vol. 2 p. 286.

(84)

anyone else. Aa’isha narrated that she had not seen the Prophet entrust his charities to anyone other than himself, but it was he himself who put the charity in the askers’ hands. Anyhow, the Prophet was the most generous one in goodness as ibn Abbas said.

This aspect had been inherited by his beloved grandson Imam al-Hasan who did not know any value to money except to satisfy the hunger of a hungry one or to clothe a naked one with it until he was called as “the munificent one of the Ahlul Bayt” though all of the Ahlul Bayt were generous.

Modesty
Though the Prophet was the master of all creatures and the greatest one in the universe, he was the most humble one. He said to his companions, “I am but a bondsman; I eat as a bondsman eats and sit as a bondsman sits.”[1]

He himself milked his sheep, patched his clothes, mended his shoes, served himself, hobbled his camel, feed his sumpter, had food with his servant, and carried his baggage from the market.[2]

Once, some man said to him, “O you, the best of mankind!” The Prophet replied to him, “That is Abraham”.[3]

He said to his companions, “Do not praise me as the Christians praised the son of Mary. I am but a bondsman. You say: the slave of Allah and His messenger.”[4]


Notes:

[1] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 8 p. 407, al-Kamil fee adh-Dhu’afa’, vol. 1 p. 255.
[2] Jawahir al-Bihar fee Fadha'il al-Mukhtar, vol. 1 p. 50.
[3] Fat~hul Bari, vol. 8 p. 533, ad-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 1 p. 116, Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 4 p. 204.
[4] Sharh as-Sunna, vol. 7 p. 130.


(85)

Anas bin Malik narrated that once some woman met the Prophet in the street and asked him for a need. He responded to her. He sat down (with her) in the street and carried out her need.[1]

One day, Adiy bin Hatim[2] came to the Prophet, and the Prophet took him to his house. He welcomed and received him warmly. He spread out to him a rug and asked him to sit on it while he himself sat on the ground. Adiy was astonished at the Prophet’s high morals and he declared reverently and admiringly, “I acknowledge that you do not intend to exalt yourself in the earth nor to make mischief” and then he turned Muslim.[3] Really, the Prophet was the highest example in every virtue that Allah has created in the earth.

Asceticism
Another prominent characteristic the Prophet had was his asceticism towards the worldly life. He turned his back to this life’s pleasures and lived away from its desires. He lived the life of the poor and the needy. The following are some examples on his asceticism:

Aa’ishah narrated, “The Prophet’s stomach was not filled with food at all. He did not complain to anyone. Poverty was more beloved to him than wealth. Even if he remained hungry suffering from hunger all his night, that did not prevent him from fasting his next day; though, if he wished, he would ask his Lord to endow him with all treasures of the earth, its fruits, and the easiness of its living. I was pitiful to him for what I saw in


Notes:

[1] Sharh as-Sunna, vol. 7 p. 130.
[2] His father Hatim at-Ta’iy was famous for his unequalled liberality.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 4 p. 227, As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Katheer, vol. 4 p. 125, 126.


(86)

him. I patted with my hand on his abdomen for the hunger I saw in him, and I said: may my soul be sacrificed for you! Would that you enjoy from this life what might sustain you! He said, ‘O Aa’ishah, what do I have to do with this life? My brothers the Arch-Prophets tolerated what was bitterer than this and they passed away and came to their Lord Who honored their coming and rewarded them abundantly, and so I feel shy that if I live at ease, that tomorrow I may miss many things. There is nothing is more beloved to me than to join my brothers and friends.”[1]

One day, some man came to the Prophet and saw him sitting on a mat, which affected his body, and a pillow which affected his cheek. The man said painfully, “Neither Khosrau nor Caesar are satisfied with this! They sleep on silk and brocade while you sleep on this mat!” The Prophet said to him, “I am better than them both. What do I have to do with this life? The example of this life is like a rider who passed by a tree that had a shadow. He sat under it. When the shadow turned away, he went and left the tree.”

Aa’ishah narrated, “The messenger of Allah did never become satiated with bread for three successive days until he passed to his way (died).”

Ibn Abbas narrated, “The messenger of Allah and his wives spent successive nights hungrily finding nothing for dinner.”[2]

Aa’ishah narrated, “The bed that the messenger of Allah slept on was from leather filled with palm-tree fibers. He (Allah’s blessing be on him) died while his armor was mortgaged to a Jew in return for the spending of his family. He often prayed, “O


Notes:

[1] Akhlaq an-Nubuwwah (moralities of prophethood), p. 286.
[2] Uyun al-Athar, vol. 2 p. 428.


(87)

Allah, make the livelihood of Muhammad’s family (as enough as) sustenance.”[1]

Some man from the Ansar offered to the Prophet a sa’ of ripe dates. The Prophet asked the maid that brought the dates to go in to see whether there was a plate in the house to put the dates in. She could not find any. Then, he swept a place with his dress and said to her, “Put them (the dates) on this ground!” Then he said, “By Him in Whose hand my soul is, if this world equaled to Allah a mosquito’s wing, He would not give anything from it to the unbelievers and the hypocrites.”[2]

This is just a bit from the Prophet’s asceticism that his successor and guardian Imam Ali followed. He (Imam Ali) had divorced this life thrice until he left to the better world while leaving after him neither yellow (gold) nor white (silver). His whole intention during his reign was just to fulfill pure justice and truth caring for nothing else.[3]

Turning to Allah
The Prophet feared Allah to a degree that Imam as-Sadiq said about him, “Nothing was more beloved to the messenger of Allah than to remain afraid and hungry for the sake of Allah the Almighty.”[4]

Ibn Umar narrated, “We counted in a meeting of the messenger of Allah his saying for one hundred times: ‘My Lord, forgive me


Notes:

[1] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 2 p. 446, Sunan of ibn Majah, vol. 2 p. 539, Fat~h al-Bari, vol. 11 p. 16.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 16 p. 456.
[3] Rawdhat al-Kafi, p. 163.
[4] Ibid.

(88)

and turn to me (mercifully), You are the Oft-Returning, the Forgiver.’”[1]

He turned to Allah totally and exhausted himself in worshipping until Allah revealed to him, (Taha. We have not revealed unto you this Quran that you might be distressed).[2] In fact, Prophet Muhammad exceeded all the prophets in his worshipping and turning to Allah. Here are some pictures about his worship:

His prayer
It may be more useful to talk about some matters concerning the Prophet’s prayer.

a. assigning the time of prayer

The one who announced the times of the Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (noon), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and Isha’ (evening) prayers was Bilal,[3] and sometimes was Abdullah bin Mas’ud.[4]

b. the caller (mu’azzin)

The Prophet’s special caller (one who calls out the azan) was Bilal al-Habashi.[5] Bilal pronounced the [sh] as [s] and said in the azan (ass~hadu) instead of (ash~hadu). The hypocrites mocked at and criticized him for that. Bilal informed that to the Prophet who was pained by that and he said, “The (s) of Bilal is (sh) near Allah the Almighty. The (s) of Bilal is better than your (sh).”


Notes:

[1] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 8 p. 350.
[2] Quran, 20:1-2.
[3] Al-Muwatta’, vol. 1 p. 13, Sharh as-Sunna, vol. 2 p. 59.
[4] Sunna ibn Majah, vol. 1 p. 216, Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 1 p. 108.
[5] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 3 p. 129.

(89)

Ibn Umm Maktum was another caller to the Prophet.[1] He and Bilal called out the azan in Medina. It is said that the Prophet had five callers of azan. They were Bilal, Amr bin Umm Maktum, Owss Abu Makhdura, Sa’d, and Ziyad. A caller of azan had a special position in the Muslim society, and some tradition had been transmitted about this.

c. His care for congregational prayer

The Prophet took much care of the congregational prayer which is an important manifestation of worship and submission to Allah the Almighty, besides that it is an important manifestation of the Muslims’ power, unity, and cohesion. From his concern for this matter that he tried to set fire to the houses of those who refused to participate in the congregational prayer.[2]

d. Regulating the rows of Muslims

Bilal al-Habashi regulated the rows of praying Muslims and he patted on their hamstrings by his durrah (a dried bunch of date-palm fruit) to be orderly,[3] so that the prayer would be offered splendidly.

e. His much praying

The messenger of Allah offered too many prayers. He found in prayer the greatest pleasure in his life for, in prayer, he talked with his Lord. His feet swelled because of his much praying. Aa’ishah said to him, “O messenger of Allah, why do


Notes:

[1] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 2 p. 3.
[2] Kitab as-Salat (the book of prayer) by Ahmed bin Hanbal, p. 14, Sunan ibn Majeh, vol. 1 p. 259, trad. No. 791.
[3] Kitab as-Salat by Ahmed bin Hanbal, p. 14.


(90)

you do so whereas Allah has forgiven you your previous and later error?” He said, “Do I not like to be a grateful slave?”[1]

Umm Salama narrated, “The Prophet offers prayer and then he sleeps inasmuch as his praying, then he offers prayer inasmuch as his sleeping, then he sleeps inasmuch as his praying, and so on until the morning.”[2]

Imam Ali narrated, “When these verses (O you wrapped up in your raiment! Keep vigil the night long, save a little)[3] were revealed to the Prophet, he began spending all the night in worshipping until his feet swelled. Then, he began lifting one leg and putting down the other. After that, Gabriel came down to him with this verse (Taha. We have not revealed unto you this Quran that you might be distressed).”[4]

f. His weeping in his prayers

When Prophet Muhammad offered prayers, he wept because of the fear of Allah. Mutrif narrated that his father said, “I saw the messenger of Allah offer prayer while there was buzzing in his chest because of weeping like the buzzing of querns.”[5]

Imam Ali imitated the messenger of Allah in his weeping in the prayer, and he, as historians say, approached to Allah with his heart and soul until he became unconscious.[6]


Notes:

[1] Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 4 p. 1830, trad. no. 4557, Kitab at-tafsir in interpreting the verse 2 in the Sura 48.
[2] Sahih of at-Termithi, vol. 2 p. 152.
[3] Quran, 73:1-2.
[4] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 1 p. 273.
[5] Rawdhat al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 489, Sahih of Abu Dawud, vol. 2 p. 91.
[6] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 1 p. 97.


(91)

And so, all the infallible imams followed this way. They, as most of historians say, were true examples of turning loyally to Allah and fearing Him. This could be clearly seen in their prayers that manifested the fear of Allah and the weeping because of the submission to Him.

Coyness
Abu Sa’eed al-Khidri said, “The messenger of Allah was coyer than a virgin in her veil.”[1]

When Allah granted the Prophet with the great victory of conquering Mecca, which was a center of idolatry and a strong fort for the Prophet’s opponents, he entered the city surrounded by his armed forces but lowering his face to the ground feeling coy and shy towards the people of Quraysh who strived in their struggle against him and his mission. He addressed them softly saying, “Go! You are free.”

From his coyness was that he did not declare the names of whom he disliked, but he said, “What about some people who say so-and-as…what about some people who do so-and-so…”[2]

He said, “When Allah wants to destroy someone, He takes coyness out of him. When Allah takes coyness out of him, you shall not find him except that he is hated and disdained. When you find him but hated and disdained, then fidelity is taken out of him. When fidelity is taken out of him, you shall find him disloyal and distrusted. When you find him but disloyal and distrusted, then mercifulness is taken out of him. When mercifulness is taken out of him, you shall not find him but


Notes:

[1] Faydh al-Qadeer, vol. 5 p. 159.
[2] Tareekh al-Islam (the history of Islam), As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ath-Thahabi, p. 455.

(92)

cursed and damned, and when you find him but cursed and damned, then the noose of Islam is taken out of him.”[1]

He also said, “Coyness and faith are associated with one link; when one of them is taken out, the other one shall follow it.”[2]

The Prophet’s grandson Imam Zaynol Aabidin inherited this aspect from his grandfather and he was the coyest of people at his time. About this point, al-Farazdaq, the famous poet, recited,

“He overlooks because of his coyness and it is overlooked for his gravity,

that he is not talked with except when he smiles.”

Remembrance of Allah
The messenger of Allah was always busy mentioning Allah. Historians say, “When he woke up in the morning, he recited “praise be to Allah too much in any case”. He repeated that for three hundred and sixty times. In the evening, he did the same.”[3]

He often said, “The best of worship is the saying of ‘la ilaha illallah; there is no god but Allah’.”[4]

Imam Abu Abdillah (as-Sadiq) narrated, “The messenger of Allah did not leave a meeting, even if he was in a hurry, unless he asked Allah the Almighty twenty-five times to forgive him.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Sunan ibn Majeh, vol. 2 p. 1347, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 119.
[2] Ma’ani al-Akhbar, p. 410, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 71 p. 335.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 489.
[4] Ibid., p.506.
[5] Ibid., p. 504.

(93)

Everyday, he asked Allah seventy times to forgive him and added to it (the asking for forgiveness) ‘and I turn to Him’.[1]

His weeps when certain verses are recited before him
Ibn Mas’ud said, “I recited before the messenger of Allah some verses from the Sura of an-Nisa’, and when I reached this verse (How will it be, then, when We bring from every people a witness and bring you as a witness against these),[2] his eyes were filled with tears.”[3]

Abdullah[4] narrated, “The messenger of Allah asked me, ‘Recite (from the Quran) to me!’ I said, ‘Do I recite to you while it (the Quran) has been revealed to you?’ he said, ‘I like to hear it from other than me.’ I recited until I reached this verse (How will it be, then, when We bring from every people a witness and bring you as a witness against these?). His eyes began shedding tears.”[5]

The Prophet had attached to Allah with all his feelings and passions and this was due to his absolute knowledge of Allah the Almighty.

Compassion and mercifulness
The Prophet was too compassionate and merciful to all people even to his opponents. Allah has announced that in the Holy Quran when saying, (Certainly a Messenger has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 505.
[2] Quran, 4:41.
[3] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1 p. 374.
[4] He might be Abdullah bin Mas’ud. (the translator)
[5] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1 p. 380.


(94)

distress, excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers (he is) compassionate).[1]

He was merciful to his people, who considered him a liar, resisted him, and tried to kill him, that he did not invoke Allah against them. Once, Gabriel came to him and said, “Allah the Almighty has heard the reply of your people to you and what they faced you with, and so he has ordered the Angel of Mountains to obey you that you might order him to do to them as you like.” After greeting him, the Angel of Mountains said to the Prophet, “Order me as you like! If you want, I will tear down the two submissive ones (two mountains in Mecca) over them.” The Prophet said, “I hope that Allah may make from among their progenies ones who shall worship Allah and not associate with Him anything else.”[2]

It was infinite mercifulness that Allah had declared in the Quran. Allah had said about the Prophet, (And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds).[3] Was there any mercy to people greater than the Prophet who raised the Word of Allah high in the earth which was the source of every mercy and blessing, and established a wonderful, developed system to reform the life of all human beings?

From his compassionate and mercifulness was that some people brought their newborn children to the Prophet to name them and to pray Allah to bless them. The Prophet took the babies and put them in his lap. It happened that some babies made water in the Prophet’s lap, and so some companions might shout at the babies’ families, but the Prophet


Notes:

[1] Quran, 9:128.
[2] Sharh as-Sunna, vol. 13 p. 214, ash-Shafa, vol. 1 p. 255, Tafsir ibn Katheer, vol. 3 p. 259.
[3] Quran, 21:107.


(95)

said, “Do not make the baby cut his urination!” Then, the Prophet prayed Allah for the new born children, and their families became delighted while the Prophet went to wash his body and clothes.[1]

Prophet Muhammad was very merciful to his family and children. His servant Anas bin Malik said, “I have not seen anyone more merciful to his family than the messenger of Allah.”[2]

Loyalty
There is no doubt that the Prophet was the most loyal of all human beings and the most careful in meeting good with good. From his loyalty to his wife Khadijah was that whenever a gift was offered to him, he gifted it to one of her friends.[3]

Aa’ishah said, “I was not jealous of any woman as I was of Khadijah for what I heard about her from the messenger of Allah. He often slaughtered a sheep and offered its meat to her close friends. Once, a woman asked permission to come in to him (the Prophet). He welcomed her warmly and asked much about her affairs. When she left, he said, ‘She often visited us at the days of Khadijah, and being loyal (to one’s old fellows) is from faith.”[4]


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 66 p. 426.
[2] Sahih of Muslim, Kitab al-Fadha’il, vol. 7 p. 76, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 6 p. 163.
[3] Al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhari, p. 232, Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 4 p. 175.
[4] Al-Amali by ash-Shajari, vol. 2 p. 152, It~haf as-Sadah al-Muttaqin, vol. 6 p. 235.

(96)

From his loyalty was that he often sent to Thuwaybah, Abu Lahab’s maid,[1] gifts and clothes because she had suckled him when child. When she died, he asked whether someone from her relatives was there, but it was said to him none.[2]

Once, his foster-father came to him, and he received and welcomed him too warmly. He spread to him a part of his garment to sit on. Then, his breast-feeding mother came, and he spread to her the other end of his garment from the other side and she sat on it.[3]

Really, he was the best example in loyalty. He had bound himself to that. From his loyalty to his companions was that if one of them was absent for three days, he would ask about him; if he was on travel, he would pray Allah for him, and if he was at home or ill, he would visit him.

One day, an-Najashi’s[4] delegation came to him. He himself began serving them. His companions said to him, “We do that for you.” He said, “They honored our companions, and I like to reward them.”[5]

Courage
There is no doubt that the messenger of Allah was the bravest and most courageous one. Imam Ali said about the Prophet’s courage, “We, when war became hot and fighting


Notes:

[1] Abu Lahab was the Prophet’s uncle, but he harmed the Prophet too much until Allah cursed him in the Quran.
[2] Jawahir al-Bihar fee Fadha’il an-Nabiy al-Mukhtar, vol. 1 p. 48.
[3] Ibid.
[4] An-Najashi was the King of Abyssinia who had received and protected the first Muslim emigrants who had fled from the persecution of Quraysh.
[5] Dala’il an-Nubuwwah by as-Sayooti, vol. 2 p. 307, It~haf as-Sadah al-Muttaqin, vol. 7 p. 103.

(97)

fierce, took the messenger of Allah a shelter. No one would be nearer to the enemy than he would. On the Day (battle) of Badr, we sought protection with the Prophet, though he was the nearest of us to the enemy. He was the most courageous of people.”[1]


Al- Abbas narrated about the Prophet’s courage saying, “When the Muslims and the unbelievers met on the Day (battle) of Hunayn, Muslims ran away, but the messenger of Allah hurried with his mule towards the unbelievers while I was holding its (the mule) reins trying to hinder it not to ran fast, and so was Abu Sufyan bin al-Harith. Then he (the Prophet) called out: O Muslims…”[2]

Imran bin Hussayn said, “The messenger of Allah did not met a battalion (in a war), except that he was the first one to strike. When Ubay bin Khalaf saw him on the Day of Uhud, he began saying, ‘Where is Muhammad? May I not remain alive if he remains alive!’ When he saw the messenger of Allah, he attacked him, but some men got in his way. The Prophet ordered them to let him alone. He (the Prophet) took a bayonet from al-Harith and stabbed Ubay in his neck that made him about to fall down from his horse. He ran away back toward Quraysh while saying, ‘Muhammad has killed me.’ They said to him, ‘You are all right.’ He said, ‘If all people were there, Muhammad would kill them. Has he not said: I kill you? By Allah, if he spat on me, he would kill me.’ Then, he died in Serif (near Mecca).”[3]


Notes:

[1] Jawahir al-Bihar, vol. 1 p. 43, and somehow like that in Kashful Ghummah, vol. 1 p. 9.
[2] Fat~hul Bari, vol. 8 p. 28, Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 4 p. 37, Musnad Abi Ouanah, vol. 4 p. 276, Sunan Abi Dawud, vol. 3 p. 50.
[3] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol. 2 p. 67, ath-Thiqat by ibn Habban, vol. 1 p. 229.


(98)

The Prophet’s courage was beyond description. It was inherited by his grandson Imam al-Husayn who was one of the most courageous people. He was in the middle of the battlefield alone before that blind army who ran away before the Imam as goats run away when a wolf attacks them according to the historians’ words. When Imam Husayn was felled in the field of honor and dignity, that huge army feared and felt coward to approach him.

The love to the poor
One of the Prophet’s splendid characteristics was his love to the poor. In the deep of himself he had great love and sincerity toward them. He was a father, shelter, and refuge to them. They got from him indescribable kindness and charity. He often recommended Muslims to be kind and charitable to the poor. He made to them an imposed share in the wealth of the rich. He legislated zakat for that purpose and made it obligatory. From his love to the poor was that he often prayed Allah to resurrect him with the poor. Abu Sa’eed narrated, “I heard the messenger of Allah saying, ‘O Allah make me live a poor, die a poor, and resurrect me with the community of the poor. The most wretched one of the wretched is he for whom the poverty of this life and the torment of the afterlife are gathered.’”[1]

Anas narrated that the messenger of Allah said, “O Allah, make me live a poor and resurrect me with the community of the poor on the Day of Resurrection.” Aa’ishah asked him, “Why, O messenger of Allah?” He said to her, “They (the poor) enter the Paradise forty autumns before the rich. O Aa’ishah, do not reject a poor even by (giving him) a half of a date. O


Notes:

[1] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 2 p. 56.


(99)

Aa’ishah, love the poor and approach to them, because Allah will approach you on the Day of Resurrection.”[1]

Disdaining of haughtiness
The Prophet too much hated sublimity, haughtiness, and selfishness. Ibn Abbas narrated, “One day, I walked behind the messenger of Allah to see if he hated walking behind him or liked it. He caught me with his hand and made me beside him, and thus I knew that he hated that (walking behind him).”[2]

He hated to be received with glorification and praising. He often said to his companions, “Do not get up for me as foreigners get up glorifying each other!”[3]

Patience
The Prophet was patient with all kinds of hardships and calamities. He suffered from Quraysh too much. They harmed, abused, and fought him when he was in Mecca, and when he emigrated to Medina, they followed after him and provoked the tribes there against him. They waged severe wars against him, but he was patient towards all that.

Imam as-Sadiq said, “Allah the Almighty sent Muhammad (as prophet) and ordered him of patience by saying, (And bear patiently what they say and avoid them with a becoming avoidance).[4] He, blessings of Allah be on him, was patient towards the hardships he met from his people until Allah the Almighty granted him with the great victory.”


Notes:

[1] Sahih of at-Termithi, vol. 2 p. 56.
[2] Tareekh Baghdad, vol. 12 p. 91.
[3] Sahih of Abu Dawud, vol. 2 p. 224.
[4] Quran, 73:10.

(100)

Allah has ordered his prophet to be patient by saying, (and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely these acts require courage).[1] Allah has educated him with these high morals to be a guide and educator to all human beings.

Justice
The Prophet undertook pure justice. He was natured with it and he fulfilled it in the world of existence. Justice was the most important element of his mission that he spared no effort to realize it among all classes of the society.

Once, an ignorant man said to the Prophet, “Be just, O Muhammad!”

The Prophet said to him, “May Allah forgive you! Who will be just if I am not? Then, I fail and lose if I am not just.”[2]

He did not punish anyone for another’s error and did not affirm anyone’s claim against another. He spread justices in the full sense of the word among all people with all their classes, ranks, and races. He did not differentiate anyone from another in rights and duties. He equalized the all without excluding anyone. He built his state on the best form of justice that assured all people’s rights, security, and easiness.

Cleanness
The Prophet was famous for his cleanness and neatness. Anas said, “I had never smelt ambergris, musk, or anything better than the scent of the messenger of Allah. When he shook hands with someone, he (someone) remained all his day smelling that scent. When he put his hand on some boy’s head,


Notes:

[1] Quran, 31:17.
[2] Ash-Shafa, vol. 1 p. 223.

(101)

he (the boy) was distinguished by his scent among boys. When he walked in a street, his scent affected that street.”

The Prophet encouraged people to care much for cleanness. He said, “Islam has been built on cleanness.” The cleanness that the Prophet recommended includes all sides of life; the cleanness of drinking water, food, clothes, and dwellings.

His fondness of perfumes
The Prophet was fond of perfumes. He spent on them more than his spending for food. Whatever good perfume was shown to him, he used it. He said, “It is good in scent and light in carrying.” He often anointed with violet oil and said that it was the best of all ointments. He also used musk and ghaliya (a kind of perfume).[1] When he perfumed himself with musk, the white of musk was seen in his partings.[2]

Sense of humor
There was another character in the Prophet’s personality; it was the sense of humor and jesting with people.

Once, a somehow stupid man came to the Prophet and said to him, “O messenger of Allah, carry me (help me)!” The Prophet said to him, “I carry you on the kid of a she-camel.” The man said, “What can the kid of a she-camel benefit me with?” The Prophet said humorously, “Does a camel begot but the kid of a she-camel?”[3]

One day, an old woman came to the Prophet to pray Allah for her that she would be in the Paradise. The Prophet said


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 16 p. 433.
[2] Furoo’ al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 263.
[3] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. 2 p. 133, al-Mustadraf, vol. 2 p. 263.


(102)

jestingly, “O Umm so-and-so, no old woman enters into the Paradise.” She left crying. The Prophet said to his companions, “Tell her that no old woman enters the Paradise. Allah the Almighty says, (Then We have made them virgins, loving, equals in age [1]). [2]

Khawwat bin Jubayr al-Ansari, before the advent of Islam, roved about houses and committed adultery with women. When he was asked what he did, he claimed that he looked for his lost camel. Khawwat became a Muslim at the hand of the Prophet. After some time, he came to the Prophet. The Prophet said to him humorously, “What about your lost camel?”

Khawwat replied politely, “O messenger of Allah, Islam has hobbled it.”[3]

One morning, the Prophet was somehow displeased. One of his companions said that he would make him laugh. He went to the Prophet and said to him, “May my father and mother die for you! I have been informed that when ad-Dajjal (charlatan ‘Antichrist’) will appear, people will be suffering hunger. He will invite them to meals. Do you see that if I shall live until that time, I shall devour from his porridge and when I shall be satiate, I shall believe in Allah and deny him, or I shall refrain from his food? The Prophet laughed and his laughing was just smiling. He said, “No, but Allah will satisfy you with what he satisfies the believers.”[4]

Once, he said to a woman from the Ansar, “Follow your husband for there is white in his eyes.” She joined her husband


Notes:

[1] Quran, 56:36-37.
[2] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 282.
[3] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. 2 p. 132, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 9 p. 362.
[4] Nathr ad-Durr, vol. 2 p. 132, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 9 p. 363.


(103)

and said to him, “The Prophet says that there is white in your eyes.” Her husband said, “Do you not see that the white of my eye is more than its black?!”[1]

The Prophet saw Suhayb, whose eye was sore and he was eating some dates. The Prophet said to him, “O Suhayb, do you eat dates in spite of your sore-eyedness?” He said, “O messenger of Allah, I eat them by my sound half.”

There are many other examples showing that the Prophet dealt with people with high moralities and infinite politeness and he humored them and met their natures and likings.

Eloquence and rhetoric
The messenger of Allah was the master of eloquence and the head of all eloquent and elegant speakers. His eloquence and rhetoric had astonished the chiefs of wisdom and eloquence. His maxims were at the top that had no complication or ambiguity.

Al-Ghazali says, “The messenger of Allah spoke eloquently with neither excess nor shortage. His speech followed each other that his listener memorized and understood it.”[2]

By his eloquence, the messenger of Allah could occupy the hearts and prevail the souls. Many of those, who believed in him, were attracted by his wonderful speech and truthful invitation. It is related that he has said, “I am the most eloquent of those who speak Arabic, and I have been grown up among the Bani Sa’d.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 282, Nihayatul Irab, vol. 4 p. 3.
[2] Ihya’ul Uloom, vol. 2 p. 367.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 176. At-Tabarani mentioned the tradition in this way, “I am the most eloquent one of the Arabs; I was born in Quraysh and I grew up in Bani Sa’d, so how could solecism come to me?!”


(104)

Some of his companions said to him, “O messenger of Allah, how eloquent you are! We have not seen anyone more eloquent than you.”

He said, “What prevents me from that, while the Quran has been revealed in my tongue and in a clear Arabic tongue?”[1]

It is related that the Prophet said, ‘I have been given all eloquence’ and ‘Wisdom has been briefed to me’.

Anyhow, we shall mention some of his educational recommendations, speeches, and maxims which are signs of eloquence and rhetoric.

Gravity
Prophet Muhammad was unique in gravity. Necks submitted to him and people had not seen like him in gravity and solemnity. Historians say that when he sat, nothing of his organs would appear. When he sat, he embraced his legs with his hands. He did not speak without reason, and he refrained from answering whoever talked impolitely. Ibn Abi Halah said, “The messenger of Allah kept silent on four things; forbearing, caution, estimation, and pondering.”

Prudent policy
Prophet Muhammad was distinguished by his prudent and intelligent policy like which had not been found in all periods of history. He ruled that ignorant society with his kindness and high morals and tolerated their severity, rudeness, and aggression. He was patient towards all harms and sufferings he met from the rude people of that society until they


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 6 p. 230.

(105)

responded to his mission and believed in his principles and values. And then he made from them a strong army armed with faith, and they fought against their fathers and brothers willingly and satisfactorily until they built the great Islamic state that prevailed over most of the world and was the only power in the earth that could not be defeated. All that was due to the Prophet’s policy that was based on the pure justice and truth.


# Examples from the Prophet’s supplications

Prophet Muhammad was the greatest propagandist of Allah in the earth and was the interpreter of His revelation, the leader of monotheists, the master of devotees, and the last of prophets who had raised highly the word of monotheism and had defeated everything worshipped away from Allah. He spread the knowing of Allah and proved His oneness, and so he lit minds and souls and established edifices of faith and refuted all suspicions of atheists.

The Prophet devoted himself totally in his mission to Allah since the first moment when he offered his life and all his powers to spread his religion and to save man from the darkness of ignorance and superstitions. He undertook the educating of man and the refining of his behavior. He established educational programs for that, so that man might be happy in his life and afterlife. From among those programs was his supplications that could calm down confused souls with the spirituality they (supplications) had.

The importance of Du’a (supplication)
For the Prophet, du’a was too important. Many traditions were transmitted from him showing that. He said, “Du’a is the very worship.”[1]

He said, “Du’a is the key to mercy.”[2]

He said, “Du’a is the weapon of believers.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Nahj al-Fasahah, vol. 1 p. 323, quoted from Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 1 p. 333, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 4 p. 467.
[2] Nahj al-Fasahah, vol. 2 p. 323, quoted from Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 62.
[3] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 492.


(266)

The benefits of Du’a
The determined, inevitable fate can be repelled by some things, one of which is the du’a. The Prophet said, “Practice du’a too much because du’a repels the fate.”

He also said, “Some man may be deprived of livelihood because of a sin that he commits, and nothing can repel the decree of fate except du’a, and nothing increases one’s old except piety.”[1]

He said, “Dutifulness to parents increases one’s old, lying decreases one’s livelihood, and du’a repels the decree of fate.”[2]

He said, “Du’a repels the decree of fate.”[3]

He said, “Guard your properties by zakat, cure your sick ones by charity, and prepare du’a for afflictions.”[4]

He said, “Nothing repels the decree of fate except du’a and nothing increases one’s old except piety.”[5]

He said, “Carefulness is not useful before the decree of fate, but du’a is useful before what has come down (of affliction) and what has not come down yet.”[6]

Those whose du’a is responded to
Some traditions were transmitted from the Prophet showing that Allah promptly responds to the supplication of some people, such as:


Notes:

[1] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 5 p. 277.
[2] At-Targheeb wet-Tarheeb, vol. 3 p. 596.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 63.
[4] Nahj al-Fasahah, vol. 1 p. 324, quoted from al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 1 p. 128.
[5] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 493.
[6] Shu’ab al-Eeman, vol. 2 p. 50.

(267)

1. The wronged

The Prophet said, “Beware of the supplication of a wronged one because he just asks Allah for his right, and Allah the Almighty does never prevent any rightful one from his right.”[1]

This tradition declares that Allah responds to the supplication of the wronged whether they are believers or not and He avenges severely on the unjust.

The Prophet said, “The supplication of a wronged one is responded to even if he is a dissolute, because his dissoluteness is against himself.”[2]

He said, “Avoid the invocations of the wronged because there is no screen between them and Allah.”[3]

He said, “Beware of the wronged one’s invocation because it is carried on the clouds, and Allah the Almighty says: by My glory and loftiness, I will make you (the wronged one) win even if after a time.”[4]

He said, “Beware of the wronged one’s invocation, because it goes up to the heaven like a spark.”[5]

He said, “He, who invokes (Allah) against one who has wronged him, will be supported.”[6]


Notes:

[1] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 507.
[2] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 3 p. 367.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 400.
[4] Al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 4 p. 84, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 2 p. 305.
[5] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 29.
[6] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 1 p. 343.

(268)

2. The father’s supplication for his children

From the supplications that Allah responds to is the prayer of a father for his children because he prays eagerly, loyally, and from the deep of the heart. The Prophet said,

“A father’s prayer for his child is like the Prophet’s prayer for his nation.”[1]

3. One’s prayer for his brother

The Prophet said, “The brother’s prayer for his brother secretly shall not be rejected.”[2]

4. The prayer of one who is far away for another who is far away

The Prophet said, “The promptest of prayers in being responded to is the prayer of one, who is far away (from his country and home) for one, who is far away (from country and home).”[3]

5. The prayer of an afflicted believer

The Prophet said, “Avail the prayer of an afflicted believer.”[4]

6. The supplication at affection

The Prophet said, “Avail the supplication at affection (godliness) because it is a mercy.”[5]

7. The supplication of one who is done good to

The Prophet said, “The prayer of one, who is done good to, for the good-doer shall not be rejected.”[6]


Notes:

[1] Mishkat al-Anwar, p. 163, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 98.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 98.
[3] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 6 p. 343.
[4] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 103.
[5] Nahj al-Fasahah, vol. 1 p. 321, quoted from Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 103.
[6] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 98.


(269)

8. The Muslim’s prayer for his Muslim brother

The Prophet said, “The prayer of a Muslim secretly for his brother is responded to. There is an angel at his head entrusted with him that whenever he (the Muslim) prays for his brother in good, the angel says: Amen! And you shall get the same.”[1]

9. Answered supplications

The Prophet said, “There are five supplications that are responded to; the supplication of a wronged one until he is made satisfied, the supplication of a hajji until he comes back home, the supplication of a warrior in the way of Allah until he comes back home, the supplication of a sick one until he recovers, and the supplication of a brother secretly for his brother; and the promptest of these supplications in being answered is the supplication of a brother secretly for his brother.”[2]

10. Supplications that are not rejected

The Prophet said, “There are three (persons) that Allah has promised not to reject any of their supplications; a faster until he breaks his fasting, a wronged one until he is made satisfied (against the wrong-doer), and a traveler until he comes back home.”[3]

Supplications that are not responded to

The Prophet said, “Either you enjoin the good and forbid the wrong or Allah will make your evils prevail over you and then the beneficent ones of you shall pray Allah but it shall not be responded to them.”[4]


Notes:

[1] Nahj al-Fasaha, vol. 1 p. 322.
[2] Shu’ab al-Eeman, vol. 2 p. 46.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 99.
[4] Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat, vol. 5 p. 29, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 66.


(270)

He said, “Supplicate Allah while you are confident in the response, and know well that Allah does not respond to a supplication from a neglectful, inadvertent heart.”[1]

The best of du’as
Here are some of the best du’as, transmitted from the Prophet, that man may supplicate Allah with:

1. Abundance of livelihood at old-age

“O Allah, increase Your livelihood to me at my old-age and at the end of my life.”[2]

2. The fear of Allah

“O Allah, make me fear You as if I see You, make me happy with my being pious to You, do not make me wretched by Your disobedience, choose for me the best of Your decrees, and bless Your fate to me so that I may not like to hasten what You have delayed, or to delay what You have hastened, and make my richness be in my soul.”[3]

3. Gratefulness and patience

“O Allah, make me patient, make me grateful, and make me in Your security. O Allah, make me grateful, make me patient, and make humble in my eye, and high in the eyes of people.”[4]

4. Doing good

“O Allah, make me from those who when doing good become delighted and when doing bad ask for forgiveness.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 5 p. 217, Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 1 p. 334.
[2] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 543.
[3] Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat, vol. 6 p. 121.
[4] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 686.
[5] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 5 p. 189.

(271)

5. Bliss in this life

“O Allah, forgive me my sin, make my house (life) more comfortable, and bless my livelihood.”[1]

6. Good end

“O Allah, make our end good in all the affairs and protect us from the disgrace of this life and the torment of the afterlife.”[2]

7. Protection

“O Allah, protect me by Islam when standing, protect me by Islam when sitting, protect me by Islam when sleeping, and do not make an enemy or envier rejoice at my misfortune. O Allah, I ask you (to give me) from every good whose treasuries are in Your hand, and I seek Your protection from every evil whose treasuries are in Your hand.”[3]

8. Resurrection with the poor

“O Allah, make me live as a poor, make me die as a poor, and resurrect me with the group of the poor. Surely the most wretched one is he upon whom the poverty of this life and the torment of the afterlife accumulate.”[4]

9. Reconciliation

“O Allah, reconcile us with each other, conciliate our hearts, guide us to the ways of peace, save us from darkness into light, and keep us away from vices whether apparent or hidden. O Allah, bless our hearings, sights, hearts, spouses, and offspring,


Notes:

[1] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 4 p. 181.
[2] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 5 p. 189.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 187.
[4] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 4 p. 322.

(272)

and accept our repentance, You are the Oft-Returning, the Merciful.”[1]

10. Sound faith and life

“O Allah, better to me my faith which is the protection of my affairs, better to me my life in which my living is, better to me my afterlife in which there shall be my resurrection, make living as increase to me in every good, and make death as relief to me from every evil.”[2]

11. Help at dying

“O Allah, assist me against the hardships of death and the agonies of death.”[3]

12. Forgiveness

“O Allah, forgive me my sin, ignorance, wastefulness in my affairs, and what You are more aware of than me. O Allah, forgive me my error, intention, joking, and seriousness and all that is in me. O Allah, forgive me what I have committed and what I shall commit, and what I have concealed and what I have disclosed.”[4]

13. Best qualities

“O Allah, enrich me with knowledge, adorn me with patience, honor me with piety, and pretty me up with healthiness.”[5]

14. Fear of Allah

“O Allah, share out to us from Your fearing what may hinder us from Your disobediences, from Your obedience what You may


Notes:

[1] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 1 p. 219, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 187.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 185, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 6 p. 18.
[3] Al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 23 p. 34.
[4] Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 7 p. 166.
[5] Tahthib al-Ahkam, vol. 3 p. 73.


(273)

take us to Your Paradise by, and from certainty what may make the misfortunes of this life easy to us, and make us enjoy our hearings, sights, and power as long as You make us live, and make all that be lasting to us, and make our revenge on one who has wronged us, make us win victory over our enemy, do not make our affliction in our religion, do not make this life the most of our interest nor the end of our knowledge, and do not make one, who shall not have mercy on us, prevail over us.”[1]

15. Seeking soundness

“O Allah, You have created my self and You make it die. Its death and living are to You; so if You make it live, protect it, and if You make it die, forgive it. O Allah, I ask You for good health.”[2]

“O Allah, make me sound in my body, make me sound in my hearing, and make me sound in my sight. O Allah, I seek Your protection from disbelief and poverty. O Allah, I seek Your protection from the torment of the grave; there is no god but You.”[3]

16. More knowledge

“O Allah, benefit me with what You have taught me, teach me what may benefit me, and increase my knowledge.”[4]

17. Good qualities

“O Allah, I ask you for guidance, piety, chastity, and sufficiency.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Nahj al-Fasahah, vol. 1 p. 333.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 15 p. 337.
[3] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 5 p. 42.
[4] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 3 p. 70.
[5] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 8 p. 81.


(274)

18. Faith

“O Allah, I ask You for good health with faith, faith with good morals, and success followed by deliverance.”[1]

19. Blessing of morning

“O Allah, bless to my nation (their activities) in early morning.”[2]

20. The fear of Allah

“O Allah, by Your knowing of the unseen and Your power over the creation, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if You know that death is better to me. O Allah, I ask You to make me fear You secretly and openly, and ask You for the word of loyalty in satisfaction and anger, and ask You for temperance in poverty and wealth.”[3]

21. Good deeds

“O Allah our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire.”[4]

22. The increase in good

“O Allah, give us more and do not decrease (Your giving to) us, honor us and do not disgrace us, give us and do not deprive us, prefer us and do not prefer others to us, please us and be pleased with us.”[5]

23. Self-control

“O Allah, do not entrust me to my self in the twinkle of an eye, and do not take away from me the good You have given to me.”[6]


Notes:

[1] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 523.
[2] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1 p. 156, al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 8 p. 24.
[3] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 524, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 174.
[4] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 3 p. 288.
[5] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 5 p. 8.
[6] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 62 , Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 64.

(275)

24. Guardians of Muslims

“O Allah, harass whoever undertakes something of my nation’s affairs and harasses them, and be kind to whoever undertakes something of my nation’s affairs and treats them kindly. And I seek Your protection from the whole evil.”[1]

25. Seeking goodness

“O Allah, I ask You for the whole goodness that which I know and that which I do not know, and I seek Your protection from the whole evil that which I know and that which I do not know.”[2]

26. Soundness against diseases

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from leprosy, madness, and from bad diseases.”[3]

27. Safety from bad qualities

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from impotence, laziness, cowardice, stinginess, senility, cruelty, inadvertence, dependence, lowness, and misery. And I seek Your protection from poverty, disbelief, disobedience, dissension, hypocrisy, pride, and self-conceit. And I seek Your protection from deafness, dumbness, madness, leprosy, and bad diseases.”[4]

28. Bad neighbor


Notes:

[1] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 6 p. 7.
[2] Sunan of ibn Majah, vol. 2 p. 264.
[3] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 1 p. 346.
[4] Al-Mustadrak ala as-Sahihayn, vol. 1 p. 530, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 188.

(276)

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from a bad neighbor in the permanent abode (towns) because the neighbor of desert (Bedouin) often moves.”[1]

29. A cunning friend

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from a cunning friend whose eyes see me and whose heart watches me; if he sees a good deed, he conceals it, and if he sees a bad deed, he spreads it.”[2]

30. Knowledge and labor

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from knowledge that does not benefit, a deed that is not accepted (by Allah), and a supplication that is not responded to.”[3]

31. Debt

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from the dominance of debt, the dominance of opponents, and the gloat of enemies.”[4]

32. Enticement

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from the enticement of women and I seek Your protection from the torture of the grave.”[5]

33. Abomination

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from abominable morals, abominable desires, abominable deeds, and from diseases.”[6]


Notes:

[1] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 1 p. 572.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 185.
[3] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 8 p. 87.
[4] Sunan of an-Nassa’iy, vol. 2 p. 268, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 2 p. 173.
[5] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 189.
[6] Sunan of at-Tarmithi, vol. 5 p. 233.


(277)

34. Bad day

“O Allah, I seek Your protection from a bad day, from a bad night, from a bad hour, from a bad friend, and from a bad neighbor in the permanent abode.”[1]

35. At travel

When the Prophet wanted to travel, he recited this du’a:

“O Allah, You are the companion in the travel and the successor in the family. O Allah, accompany us with loyalty and accept us with success. O Allah, cover to us the land and make the travel easy to us. O Allah, I seek Your protection from the hardship of the travel (the journey towards the afterlife) and the grief of the last abode.”[2]

Supplications the Prophet taught to Ali
First supplication:

One day, the Prophet sent Imam Ali to Yemen to invite the people there to monotheism and to embrace Islam. The people of Yemen turned Muslims at Imam Ali’s hand with no fight. The Prophet supplied Imam Ali with this holy supplication:

“O Allah, I turn to You with no trust from me in other than You, nor a hope taking me except to You, nor a power that I rely on, nor a means that I resort to except the seeking of Your favor, expecting of Your mercy, and the havening into the best of that which You have accustomed me to, and You are more aware of what has come to me before in my turning to You of what I like and hate; so in whatever You cast on me Your power, it is


Notes:

[1] Al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, vol. 67 p. 294.
[2] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 8 p. 116.


(278)

praiseworthy Your trial (on me) and clear Your decree in it, and You efface what You will, and establish (what You will), and with You is the source of ordinance.

O Allah, avert from me the fates of every calamity, and the means of every hardship, and spread on me a shadow from Your mercy, vastness from Your favors, and a grace from Your pardon so that I do not like the hastening of what You have delayed nor the delaying of what You have hastened, that besides what I ask You to be my guardian to my family, children, and fellows as best as You be a guardian to any absent of the believers in keeping every honor, covering every sin, pardoning every disobedience, and repelling every affliction, and grant me for that the gratefulness to You, the remembrance of You, the good worshipping to You, and the satisfaction with Your decree of fate, O You the Guardian of the believers.

And make me, with all that You have entrusted me with and my children and what You have granted to me, be from the believing men and believing women who are in Your refuge that is not violated, in Your protection that is not assaulted, in Your neighboring that is not left, Your safeguard that is not broken, and in Your shelter that is not exposed, for whoever is in Your refuge, protection, neighboring, safeguard, and shelter will be safe and protected, and there is no power and strength except in Allah, the High, the Great.”[1]

Second supplication:

From the supplications that the Prophet had ta*ught to Imam Ali is this one narrated by Anass bin Uways:

“O Allah, You are Allah, and You are the Beneficent, and You are the Merciful, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Giver of peace, the


Notes:

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 4 p. 292-293.


(279)

Granter of security, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Superb, the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden, the Praised, the Glorious, the Beginner, the Restorer, the Loving, the Witness, the Ancient, the Highest, the Great, the Aware, the Truthful, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Grateful, the Forgiver, the Wise, the Lord of power, the Firm, the Vigilant, the Great, the Aware, the Rich, the Guardian, the Protector, the Lord of Majesty and Generosity, the Magnificent, the Aware, the Rich, the Guardian, the Judge, the Strainer, the Enlarger, the Just, the Loyal, the Guardian, the Truth, the Manifest, the Creator, the Bestower of sustenance, the Granter, the Forgiver, the Lord, the Trustee, the Kind, the Sustainer, the Bestower, the Lord, the Trustee, the Subtle, the Aware, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Rewarder of deeds, the Exalted, the Near, the Responder (to supplications), the Sender, the Heir, the Vast, the Everlasting, the
Alive, the Existing that does not die, the Eternal, the Light, the Forgiver, the Unique, the Vanquisher, the One, the Eternal, the One who neither begets nor is He Begotten, and there is none like unto Him, the Possessor of might, the Powerful, the Aware of the unseen, the Originator, the Inventor, the Strainer, the Enlarger, the Caller, the Assistant, the Repeller, the Harmful, the Benefiting, the Honorer, the Degrader, the Sustainer, the Giver, the Prominent, the Good-doer, the Kind, the Favorer, the Giver of life and death, the Doer of whatever He wills, the Master of the Kingdom; You give the kingdom to whomsoever You like, and take away the Kingdom from whomsoever You like, You exalt whomsoever You like and degrade whomsoever You like, in Your hands is all good, and surely You have power over all things. You cause the night to pass into the day and You cause the day to pass into the night, You bring forth the living out of the dead, and you bring
forth the dead out of the living, and You give sustenance to whomsoever You like without measure. (O You) the One Who causes dawn to break, Who causes the grain


(280)

and the stone germinate. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.

O my Lord! Whatever saying I have said, whatever oath I have taken, whatever vow I have vowed in this day of mine and this night; Your will is on all that, so that whatever You like may occur and whatever You do not like may not occur. So avert (affliction) away from me by Your power and might as there is no might or power save in Allah, the High, the Great.

O Allah! By these attributes that are accepted to You, send blessings on Mohammad and on the Progeny of Muhammad and forgive me, have mercy on me, accept my repentance, accept my deeds, improve my conditions, ease for me my affairs, increase my sustenance, and make me, by the Honor of Your Face, in no need of all of Your people, and save my face, hand, and tongue from asking other than You, and make to me deliverance and escape in my affairs, as You know and I do not know, and You have Power and I do not, and You have power over all things; by Your mercy O most Merciful of all the merciful, and send blessings on Mohammad and on his progeny the good, the pure.”[1]

Third supplication:

From the supplications that the Prophet had taught to Imam Ali is this one narrated by Uways al-Qurani:

“O Allah! I ask from You not from other than You, and I turn to You and not to any other than You. I ask from You, O You the security for the afraid, and the Protector of the seekers of protection; You are the Judge of all goodness, the Forgiver of slips, the Effacer of bad deeds, the Recorder of good deeds, the


Notes:

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 4 p. 292-293.

(281)

Exalter of degrees, I ask You by the best of all requests and the most successful that people should not ask except by them, and I ask You by You O Allah, O Beneficent, and by Your best attributes, highest examples, and by Your blessings that are uncountable, and by Your attributes that are noblest to You, most beloved to You, most honored in position near You, the nearest as means to You, the most in getting to destination, the promptest to You in response, and by Your stored, glorious and most glorious, great and greatest Name that You love and are pleased with and pleased with whoever supplicates You by it and You respond to his supplication, and it is certain that You do not prevent Your asker by it (from response), and by every Name that is for You in the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms, and the Criterion (Furqan), and by every Name that is for You which You have taught or not taught to any one from Your people, and by every Name by which the carriers
of Your Throne, Your angels, and Your choices from Your people call upon You, and by the askers from You, the turners to You, the seekers of Your protection, and by the suppliants to You, and by every servant who worships You in a land, in a sea, in a plain, or in a mountain, I supplicate You with a supplication of one whose neediness has become so heavy, whose sin so great, who has put his self to perishment, whose power has become so weak, who does not trust in anything of his deeds, nor does he find to his sin a forgiver but You, nor to his effort a refuge but You. I have escaped from You to You confessing and not disdaining, and not being haughty before worshipping You. O You, the comfort of every resorting poor, I ask You that You are Allah that there is no god but You, the Compassionate, the Favorer, the Inventor of the heavens and the earth, the Possessor of glory and generosity, the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Beneficent, the
Merciful; You are the Lord and I am the servant, You are the owner and I am the owned, You are the Mighty and I am low, You are the Rich and I am poor, You are the Alive and I am dead, You are the Immortal



(282)

and I am mortal, You are the Good-doer and I am the bad doer, You are the Forgiver and I am sinful, You are the Merciful and I am the fallible, You are the Creator and I am the creature, You are the Powerful and I am weak, You are the Giver and I am the beggar, You are the Securer and I am afraid, You are the Sustainer and I am the sustained one, and You are the only One deserving that I complain to Him, ask for His help, and wish from Him, because how many sinful ones there are that You have forgiven and how many mistakers there are that You have pardoned, so pardon me, have mercy on me, relieve me from what has afflicted me, do not expose me with what I have committed against myself, take my hand (guide me), and the hands of my parents and children, and have mercy on us by Your mercy, O the One of Majesty and Generosity.”[1]

Fourth supplication

From the other supplications that the Prophet had taught to Imam Ali is this one:

“All praise is due to Allah. There is no god but He, the King, the Truth, the Manifest, the Administrator without any minister and without consultation with any of his slaves. He is the First, who cannot be described, and the Eternal after the annihilation of all creatures. He is the greatest in Lordship, the Light of the heavens and the earths, and the Creator and Inventor of them out of nothing. With no pillar He created both of them and opened them apart. So the heavens stood stable in obedience to His commandment and the earths became fixed on the surface of the water with their pegs. Then our Lord rose high in the highest heavens, the Beneficent on the Throne He sat. Everything that is in the heaven and in the earth and in between them and what is below the earth is to Him. So, I bear witness


Notes:

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 4 p. 296-297.


(283)

that verily You are Allah. There is none to elevate what You have lowered and no one to exalt him whom You leaves in disgrace and no one to bring into disgrace him whom You exalts and no one to prevent what You give and no one to give what You withhold. You are Allah, there is no god but You. You have existed when there was neither built sky nor broad earth nor brilliant sun nor dark night, nor bright day, nor deep sea, nor firm mountain, nor moving star, nor shining moon, nor blowing wind, nor raining cloud, nor flashing lightning, nor glorifying thunder, nor breathing soul, nor flying bird, nor blazing fire, nor flowing water. You existed before the existence of everything and You created everything and controlled everything and originated everything. You enriched some and reduced others to poverty, caused some to die and brought others to life, and made some people glad and others weep, and then You mounted the Throne. O Allah, You are Blessed and
Supreme. You are Allah that there is no god other than You. You are the Creator, the Supporter. Your Decree is overpowering and Your Knowledge is irrefutable. Your plan is wonderful, Your promise is true, Your word is right, Your judgment is just, Your saying is right guidance, Your Revelation is light, Your mercy is vast, Your pardon is great, Your grace is excessive, Your gift is abundant, Your cord is strong, Your might is ever-ready, the resorter to You is honored, Your punishment is severe, and Your plotting is cunning. O Lord! You are the place of every complaint, You are present in every gathering, the Witness of every secret, and the ultimate goal of every need, the Dispeller of every sorrow, the Affluence of every needy person, the fort for every refugee, the security for every afraid one, a shield for the weak, a treasure for the poor, the Deliverer of griefs, the helper of the virtuous; such is Allah, our Lord, there is no god but He. You
suffice from Your servants whoever relies on You, and You are the Protector of whoever resorts to You and beseeches You. You are the shield for whoever seeks refuge with You, the


(284)

supporter of whoever seeks You support. You forgive the sins of whoever seeks Your forgiveness. Your are the Powerful One of the powerful, the greatest of the great, the Master of masters, the Lord of lords, the Guardian of guardians, the Helper of those crying for help, the Reliever of the distressed, the best of all listeners, the best of all seers, the best of all judges, the quickest of all reckoners, the most Merciful of the merciful, the best of all forgivers, the Satisfier of the needs of the faithful, and the Assistant of the virtuous.

You are Allah, there is no god but You the Lord of the worlds. You are the Creator and I am the creature. You are the Master and I am the servant. You are the Lord and I am a slave. You are the Provider and I am provided. You are the Giver and I am a beggar, You are the Generous and I am a miser. You are the Mighty and I am weak. You are the Noble and I am humble. You are the Rich and I am needy. You are the Master am I am the slave. You are the Forgiver and I am sinful. You are the Omniscient and I am ignorant. You are the Forbearing and I am hasty. You are the All-Merciful and I am mercified. You are the Curer and I am sick. You are the Responder and I am distressed. And I bear witness that verily You are Allah, there is no god but You, the Giver to Your servants (even) with no request (from them), and I bear witness that verily You are Allah, the One, the Peerless, the Unique, the Independent, the Single, and to you we must return. O Allah, have
blessings upon Muhammad and his family the holy and pure, and forgive my sins, keep my faults concealed, and extend to me from You mercy and bounteous sustenance O the most Merciful of the merciful! All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and Allah is Sufficient to us and is the best Reliable, and there is no might and power save in Allah the Exalted, the Great.”[1]


Notes:

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 4 p. 289-300.

(285)

Fifth supplication:

This is another supplication taught by the Prophet to Imam Ali to supplicate Allah with it at Iftar (the breaking of fasting):

“O Allah the Lord of the Great Light, the Lord of the Sublime Throne, the Lord of the Swelling Sea, the Lord of the Big Shaf’ (the day of Eid ul-Adha) and the Honored Light, and the Lord of the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms, and great Criterion (Furqan).

You are God in the heavens and God in the earth, and there is no god in them other than You. You are Mighty in the heavens and Mighty in the earth, and there is no mighty one in them other than You. You are King in the heavens and King in the earth, and there is no king in them other than You.

I ask You by Your Great Name, by the Light of Your Holy Face, and Your Ancient Kingdom, O You Ever-Living, Eternal, Ever-living, Eternal, and by Your Name by which the heavens and the earth have shone, and Your Name by which the first people had been righteous and by which the last people become righteous. O You the Alive One before everything alive, and the Alive One after everything alive, O You the Alive One, there is no god but You; have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and forgive my sins and make to me in my affairs ease and near deliverance and fix me on the religion of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and on the guidance of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and on the Sunna of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, peace be on him and on them, and make my deeds from among the accepted and highly raised deeds, and grant to me as You have granted to Your saints and the people of Your obedience, for I believe in You, rely on You, turn to You, and my coming is to You, and gather to me and to my family the whole goodness, and keep away from me, from my parents, from my family, and



(286)

from my children the whole evil; You are the Kind, the Favorer, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, You give goodness to whomever You like and withhold it from whomever You like, so bestow on me Your mercy, O You the most Merciful of the merciful.”[1]

Supplications the Prophet taught to Fatima
The Prophet himself brought up and educated his daughter Fatima, the principal of all women of the worlds. He fed her with all kinds of piety and planted in her all excellent qualities and high morals that made her a unique and unequaled example for every Muslim woman. From that which the Prophet fed Fatima with were noble supplications that made her close to Allah all the time by them. The following are some of those supplications:

First supplication

“O Allah the Noblest Mentioned One, and the most Ancient One in glory and might, O Allah the Merciful One for every seeker of mercy, and the Refuge of every resorter to You, O Allah Who have pity on every grieved one who complains his grief and sorrow to You, O Allah the best One from Whom favor is asked and You give it secretly, O Allah Whom the angels that are shining with light fear, I ask You by the Names that the carriers of Your Throne call upon You by, and those around Your Throne in Your light glorify You by them for the fear of Your punishment, and by the Names that Gabriel, Michael, and Israfel call upon You by, that You may respond to me, relieve my grief, and keep my sins concealed.


Notes:

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib, vol. 4 p. 301-302.


(287)

O You Who order of the Cry in His creatures and soon they will be resurrected in the al-Sahira,[1] I ask (You) by that Name by which You give life to the rotten bones, that You give life to my heart, dilate my chest, and improve my affairs.

O You Who have singled out the everlastingness for Yourself and created for Your creation death and life, O You Whose doing is just a saying, Whose saying is a commandment, and Whose commandment is executed on whomever You like, I ask You by the Name by which Your friend (Abraham) had called upon You when he was thrown into fire and You responded to him and said, (O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham),[2] and the Name by which Moses had called upon You from the right side of the mountain, and You responded to him, and the Name by which You had relieved the distress of Ayyoub (Job), and accepted the repentance of Dawud (David), and subjugated for Solomon the wind to blow, and (subjugated) the Devils, and taught him the language of birds, and the Name by which You had granted to Zachariah Yahya, and created Jesus from the Holy Spirit with no father, and the Name by which You had created the Throne and the Divine Seat, and the Name by which You had
created the Angels, and the Name by which You had created the jinn and men, and the Name by which You had created the whole creation and everything You wanted, and the name by which You had the power over everything, I ask You be these Names that You may give to me what I ask You for, and satisfy my needs.”[3]


Notes:

[1] It is said, as in traditions, that al-Sahira is a land in other where than this earth where people shall be resurrected.
[2] Quran, 21:69.
[3] The Life of the Principal of Women Fatima az-Zahra’, p. 55-57.

(288)

Second supplication:

The Prophet taught Fatima this du’a to be recited at affliction:

“O You the Aware of the unseen and the secrets in the inners, O You the Obeyed the All-Knowing, O Allah, O Allah, O Allah, the defeater of the parties for Muhammad, the Plotter against the Pharaoh for Moses, the Savior of Jesus from the hands of the unjust, the Rescuer of the people of Noah from drowning, the Merciful to Your servant Jacob, the Reliever of Job’s distress, the Savior of Thun-Noon (Jonah) from darks, the Doer of every goodness, the Guide to every goodness, the Enjoiner on every goodness, the Creator of goodness, and the One of goodness, You are Allah; I turn to You in what I know and You are the Knower of the unseen, I ask You to have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad.”[1]

Third supplication:

From the supplications that the Prophet taught to his daughter Fatima is this one to repel sleeplessness. Imam Ali narrated that once Fatima complained to the messenger of Allah of sleeplessness and he said to her to supplicate Allah with this du’a:

“O You the Satisfier of hungry abdomens, the Coverer of naked bodies, the Calmer of beating nerves, the Putting to sleep of sleepless eyes, calm down my beating nerves, and permit to my eye a soon sleeping.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 88 p. 370.
[2] The Life of the Principal of Women Fatima az-Zahra’, p. 58.

(289)

Fourth supplication:

The Prophet taught this supplication to Fatima to recite it when she wanted to go into the mosque:

“O Allah, forgive me my sins and open to me the doors of Your favor.”

And to recite, when going out of the mosque:

“O Allah, forgive me my sins and open to me the doors of Your mercy.”[1]


Notes:

[1] The Life of the Principal of Women Fatima az-Zahra’, p. 58.


# Educational recommendations

The Prophet paid much attention to establish a society balanced in behavior, understanding, values, and morals. Therefore, he supplied the society with treasures in the field of education and social development that would take people to perfection.


The Prophet’s recommendations to Imam Ali
The Prophet recommended Imam Ali with maxims and decencies to be not specially for Imam Ali, but to be a guide and method for all Muslims…here, we choose only some passages from those recommendations and not all of their texts.

1. The Prophet said to Imam Ali,

“O Ali, from certainty is that you should not please anyone by displeasing Allah, or praise anyone for what Allah has given to you, or dispraise anyone for what Allah has not given to you, because livelihood cannot be brought by a desire of a greedy one nor can it be kept away by the dislike of a disliker. Allah by His will and favor has made mercy and deliverance in certainty and satisfaction, and made grieve and sorrow in suspicion and dissatisfaction.

O Ali, there is no poverty worse than ignorance, no property more beneficial than reason, no loneliness more desolate than self-conceit, no assistance better than consultation, no reason like (good) management, no ancestry like good morals, and no worship like consideration.

O Ali, the plague of speech is lying, the plague of knowledge is forgetting, the plague of worship is slackness, the plague of generosity is the reminding of the favor, the plague of courage is oppression, the plague of beauty is the self-conceit, and the plague of ancestry is priding.



(292)

O Ali, Keep to truthfulness and let no lie come out of your mouth at all, and do not dare to commit any treason at all. Fear Allah as if you see Him. Spend your wealth and soul for the sake of your religion. Do keep to the good morals, and do avoid the bad morals.

O Ali, the most beloved deeds to Allah the Almighty are three things; he, who carries out what Allah has imposed on him, is one of the best worshippers, he, who abstains from what Allah has prohibited, is one of the most pious people, and he, who is satisfied with what Allah has given to him, is one of the wealthiest people.”

O Ali, there are three things that are from the nobilities of character; to maintain kinship with those who shun you, to give to those who deprive you, and to pardon those who wrong you.

O Ali, there are three saving things; to restrain your tongue, weep for your sin, and feel satisfied (and pleased) in your house.

O Ali, the masters of deeds are three things; being just to people against yourself, regarding brothers (others) as equal (to you) for the sake of Allah, and remembering Allah at any case.

O Ali, there are three men that are from the guests of Allah; a man who visits his believing brother for the sake of Allah is one of the visitors of Allah and Allah surely is generous to His visitors and He grants them what they ask for, and a man who offers a prayer and then he anthems until the next prayer is the guest of Allah, and surely Allah is generous to His guests, and the performers of major hajj and minor hajj are delegations to Allah, and surely Allah is generous to His delegations.

O Ali, there are three things that their rewards are in this life and in the afterlife; the performing of hajj keeps poverty away, charity repels afflictions, and the maintaining of kinship prolongs one’s age.


(293)

O Ali, there are three things that if someone does not have them, his deeds shall not be right; piety that hinders him from the disobediences of Allah the Almighty, knowledge by which he refutes the ignorance of the fool, and reason by which he humors people.

O Ali, there are three men that shall be under the shadow of the Throne on the Day of Judgment; a man who wishes to his brother what he wishes to himself, a man who faces a matter but he does not act until he knows well whether there is satisfaction or dissatisfaction to Allah in that matter, and a man who does not censure his brother for some defect until he repairs that defect in himself, and whenever he repairs a defect in himself, he shall find another, and it is sufficient to man to be busy with himself.

O Ali, there are three things that are from the gates of piety; generosity, good speaking, and patience with harm.

O Ali, in the Torah there are four things beside four things; he who is stingy with the worldly life is angry at Allah, he who complains against a calamity that has afflicted him, as if he complains against his Lord, he who comes to a wealthy person and makes himself low before him, the two thirds of his religion shall go away, and he who shall enter the Fire from this nation is one of those who have taken the signs of Allah as mere amusement and play.

There are four things beside four things; whoever prevails shall appropriate, whoever does not consult (others) shall regret, as you condemn (others) you shall be condemned, and poverty is the major death.

He was asked: is it the poverty of dinars and dirhams? He said: it is the poverty in religion.


(294)

O Ali, every eye shall weep on the Day of Judgment except three eyes; an eye that has remained sleepless in the way of Allah, an eye that has been lowered before the prohibitions of Allah (unlawful look), and an eye that has shed tears for fear of Allah.

O Ali, blessed is the figure that Allah looks at while weeping for a sin that no one has ever known except Allah.

O Ali, there are three destructive things and three saving things. As for the destructive things, they are; followed desires, obeyed stinginess, and self-deceit. And as for the saving things, they are; justice at satisfaction and angry, temperance in wealth and poverty, the fear of Allah secretly and openly as if you see Him (Allah), and if you do not see Him, surely He sees you.

O Ali, there are three things that truthfulness is ugly in; talebearing, telling a man about his wife what he hates, and refuting someone intending to do good.

O Ali, there are four things that go in vain; the eating after being satiate, a lamp in the light of the moon, the planting in a moor, and the doing of a favor to one who is not fit for it.

O Ali, there are four things that are the promptest in being punished for; a man that you do him good and he rewards your good doing by doing you bad, a man that you do not wrong but he wrongs you, a man that you agree with him on something and you are loyal to him but he betrays you, and a man that you maintain kinship with but he turns his back to you.

O Ali, there are four things that whoever has had, his faith in Islam shall be perfect; truthfulness, gratefulness, modesty, and good manners.



(295)

O Ali, the littleness of asking people for needs is the present wealth, and the muchness of being in need of people is a basement and it is the present poverty.”[1]

2. In another recommendation, the Prophet said to Imam Ali, “O Ali, every sin has a repentance except bad morals, for whenever their owner gets out of a sin, he falls into another.”[2]

3. The Prophet said to Imam Ali,

“O Ali, the best of jihad is when one does not intend to do wrong to anyone.”

O Ali, whoever people fear his tongue is from the people of the Hell.

O Ali, the worst of people is one whom people respect just to be safe from his impudence and from the harm of his evil.

O Ali, the worst of people is one who sells his afterlife for his worldly life, and worse than him is one who sells his afterlife for the life of other than him.”[3]

4. The Prophet said to Imam Ali,

“O Ali, Allah the Almighty has removed by Islam the arrogance of the Pre-Islamic people and their priding on their fathers. Surely the human beings are from Adam and Adam is from earth, and the most honored one of them is the most pious.”[4]

5. The Prophet said to Imam Ali,


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 6-9.
[2] Musnad of Imam Ali, p. 47.
[3] Wasa’il ash-Shia, vol. 6 p. 333.
[4] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 53.


(296)

“O Ali, I forbid you from three things; envy, stinginess, and pride.”[1]

6. The Prophet said,

“O Ali, he, who learns a science to compete by it with the fools, or to argue with scientists, or to invite people for himself, is from the people of the Hell.”[2]

7. The Prophet said,

“O Ali, care for four things before four things; your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, and your life before your death.”[3]

8. The Prophet said,

“O Ali, make your manners good with your family, neighbors, associates, and companions and you shall be recorded near Allah in the high degrees.”[4]

9. The Prophet said,

“O Ali, there are three things that are from the gates of piety; generosity, good speech, and patience with harms.”[5]

The Prophet’s recommendation to Fatima
The Prophet had recommended his daughter Fatima with this recommendation saying,

“He is not from the believers the one whose neighbors do not feel safe from his vices. Let him, who believes in Allah and the


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 53.
[2] Ibid., p. 54.
[3] Ibid., p. 49. It means to perform one’s obligations and to do good deeds during one’s youth before his old age, and when healthy before being ill…etc.
[4] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 67.
[5] Ibid., p. 62.

(297)

Last Day, not harm his neighbor. Let him, who believes in Allah and the Last Day, either say good (things) or keep silent. Allah the Almighty loves a patient, abstinent one and He hates an indecent, stingy one who is importunate in demanding. Modesty is from faith and faith is in the Paradise, and indecency is from obscenity and obscenity is in the Fire…”[1]

The Prophet’s recommendation to Qays
One day, Qays bin Aasim came to the Prophet with some men from Bani Tamim and he asked the Prophet to offer him a recommendation that might benefit him, for he lived in the desert. The Prophet said to him,

“O Qays, there is with glory lowness, with living death, and with this life an afterlife. Everything has a reckoner, over everything there is a watcher, for every good deed there is a reward, for every bad deed there is a punishment, and for every end there is a prescribed book, and you must, O Qays, have a companion to be buried with you who shall be alive while you shall be dead. So if he is generous, he shall be kind to you, and if he is villain, he shall deny you, and then he shall not be resurrected except with you and you shall not be resurrected except with him, and you shall not be asked except about him. So do not make him except good, because if he is good you shall be delighted with him and if he is bad you shall not feel aversion except from him; he is your deeds.”[2]

The Prophet’s recommendation to Ibn Mas’ud
Abdullah bin Mas’ud was one of the closest companions of the Prophet. He did very well in his jihad for Allah and Islam, and he met different kinds of torment from Quraysh. In return


Notes:

[1] The Life of the Principal of Women Fatima az-Zahra’, p. 54.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. p. 111.

(298)

for that, the Prophet was too loyal to him and he offered to him this immortal recommendations.

Ibn Mas’ud narrated, “One day, five men from our companions and I came to the Prophet after a famine that had afflicted us where we did not drink and eat for four months except water, milk, and the leaves of trees. We asked: until when shall we suffer this severe famine?

The Prophet said, ‘You shall suffer it as long as you live; therefore, give thanks to Allah, for I have read the Book of Allah that has been revealed to me and to those before me, and I have found those who would enter the Paradise not other than the patient.’”

Then the Prophet began advising Ibn Mas’ud with these recommendations that we mention just some of them. The Prophet said,

“O ibn Mas’ud, Allah the Almighty has said, (only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure),[1] and (These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient),[2] and (Surely I have rewarded them this day because they were patient, that they are the triumphants).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, this saying of Allah, (And He has rewarded them, because they were patient, with garden and silk),[4] and (These shall be granted their reward twice, because they have persevered),[5] and (Or do you think that you would enter the garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before


Notes:

[1] Quran, 39:10.
[2] Quran, 25:75.
[3] Quran, 23:111.
[4] Quran, 76:12.
[5] Quran, 28:54.


(299)

before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them),[1] and (And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient).[2]

Some one asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, who are the patient?’

The Prophet said, ‘They are those who are patient with the obedience of Allah and with His disobedience, who have gained lawful gain, spent moderately, and done favors, and therefore they shall be successful and prosperous.’ Then, the Prophet said to ibn Mas’ud,

‘O ibn Mas’ud, there appear on them (the patient) reverence, gravity, calmness, pondering, leniency, justice, learning, consideration, good management, piety, benevolence, abstinence, the love (of others) for (the sake of) Allah, the hatred for Allah, giving trusts back to their owners, justice in judgment, maintenance of true witness, supporting the people of the truth, resistance against sinners, and pardoning of mistakers.

O ibn Mas’ud, they are those who when being afflicted, they are patient, and when given, they are grateful, and when judging, they are just, and when speaking, they are truthful, and when promising, they fulfil (their promise), and when erring, they ask for forgiveness, and when doing good, they are delighted, and when the ignorant address them, they say: ‘Peace’, and when passing by what is vain, they pass by it with dignity, and who spend the night before their Lord, prostrate and standing, , and they speak to people kindly. O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, it is these who are triumphant.


Notes:

[1] Quran, 2:214.
[2] Quran, 2:155.


(300)

O ibn Mas’ud, (Is he whose heart Allah has opened for Islam so that he follows a light from his Lord).[1] When this light comes into the heart, the heart is opened and dilated.’

One of the attendants asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, does that have any sign?’

The Prophet said, ‘Yes, the turning away from the abode of enticement (the worldly life), the turning to the abode of immortality, and the getting ready for death before its time. Whoever turns his back to this life, he does not wish for it and he leaves it for its people.’

The Prophet added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, the saying of Allah (He might try you, which of you is best in conduct)[2] means that which of you is more abstinent towards this life which is the abode of enticement, the abode of one who has no abode, and to which, that who has no reason, accumulates (wealth…etc.). Surely the most fool of people is he who wishes for this life. Allah the Almighty has said, (Know that this world's life is only sport and play and gaiety and boasting among yourselves, and a vying in the multiplication of wealth and children, like the rain, whose causing the vegetation to grow, pleases the husbandmen, then it withers away so that you will see it become yellow, then it becomes dried up and broken down; and in the hereafter is a severe chastisement)[3] and Allah the Almighty has said, (and We granted him wisdom while yet a child).[4] It means the asceticism in this life. Allah has said to Moses, ‘O Moses, the adorned ones
shall not adorn themselves with any adornment more attractive to My eye like asceticism. O Moses, if you see poverty coming,


Notes:

[1] Quran, 39:22.
[2] Quran, 11:7, 67:2.
[3] Quran, 57:20.
[4] Quran, 19:12.

(301)

you say: welcome to the sign of the righteous, and if you see wealth coming, you say: a guilt whose punishment has come sooner.

O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) of this saying of Allah the Almighty, (And were it not that all people would have become one nation, We would certainly have assigned to those who disbelieve in the Beneficent Allah (to make) of silver the roofs of their houses and the stairs by which they ascend. And for their houses doors (of silver) and couches of silver whereon to recline. And (other) embellishments of gold; and all this is naught but provision of this world's life, and the hereafter is with your Lord only for those who guard against evil),[1] and His saying, (Whoever desires this present life, We hasten to him therein what We please for whomsoever We desire, then We assign to him the hell; he shall enter it despised, driven away. And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be rewarded).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, whoever longs for the Paradise hastens to do good deeds, and whoever fears the Fire gives up desires, and whoever expects death refrains from lusts, and whoever turns his back to this life calamities shall be easy to him.

O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) this saying of Allah the Almighty, (The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well bred horses and cattle and tilth, is made to seem fair to men).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, Allah has chosen Moses by the talking to him, when the green of legumes could be seen in his abdomen


Notes:

[1] Quran, 43:33-53.
[2] Quran, 17:18-19.
[3] Quran, 3:14.

(302)

because of his thinness, but when Moses went to the shadow, he did not ask except for some food to eat because of hunger.

O ibn Mas’ud, if you want, I shall tell you about Noah the prophet of Allah; he lived one thousand but fifty years inviting for Allah. In the morning he said: I shall not remain (alive) until the evening, and when the evening came, he said: I shall not remain until the morning. Therefore, his clothes were of animal hair and his food was barley.

And if you want, I shall tell you about Solomon; though he was a great king he himself ate barley and offered to people white wheat, and his clothes were of animal hair. When the night came, he hanged his hand to his neck and began offering prayers until the morning.

And if you want, I shall tell you about Abraham the friend of Allah; his clothes were of wool and his food was barley.

And if you want, I shall tell you about Yahya (Prophet John); his clothes were of tree fibers and he ate the leaves of trees.

And if you want, I shall tell you about Jesus the son of Mary that is a wonder; he said: my sustenance is hunger, my sign is the fear (of Allah), my clothing is of wool, my mount is my two legs, my lamp in the night is the moon, my warm in the winter is the rays of the sun, and my fruits and nourishment are the legumes of the ground which beasts and cattle eat from. I spend the night while having nothing and when the morning comes I have nothing, but there is no one on the face of the earth wealthier than me.

O ibn Mas’ud, all that was from them (the prophets). They hated what Allah hated, deemed low what Allah deemed low and regarded insignificant what Allah regarded insignificant.



(303)

Allah praised them in His Book. He said about Noah, (Surely he was a grateful servant).[1]

He said about Abraham, (And Allah took Abraham as a friend).[2]

He said about David, (O Dawud! We have set you as a viceroy in the earth).[3]

He said about Moses, (And Allah spoke directly unto Moses).[4]

He also said about Moses, (and We brought him nigh in communion).[5]

He said about John, (And we gave him wisdom when a child).[6]

He said about Jesus, (O Eesa son of Mariyam! Remember My favor on you and on your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy Spirit, that you spoke to the people in the cradle and when of old age, and when I taught you the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Bible, and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission).[7]

And He said, (surely they used to hasten, one with another in deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing and they were humble before Us).[8]

O ibn Mas’ud, all that was because of what Allah had frightened them of, saying in His Book, (And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be


Notes:

[1] Quran, 17:3.
[2] Quran, 4:125.
[3] Quran, 38:26.
[4] Quran, 4:164.
[5] Quran, 19:52.
[6] Quran, 19:12.
[7] Quran, 5:110.
[8] Quran, 21:90.


(304)

a separate part of them),[1] and (and the prophets and the witnesses shall be brought up, and judgment shall be given between them with justice, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, the Fire shall be for whoever practices a prohibited thing and the Paradise shall be for whoever turns his back to a permissible thing. Therefore, keep to asceticism because that is from what Allah prides on with the angels and by which He will come to you with His face, and the Almighty will have blessing on you.

O Ibn Mas’ud, after me, peoples shall come who shall eat variant kinds of foods, ride mounts, make up like the makeup of a wife for her husband, adorn themselves like women, and wear their (women) uniform like the uniform of arrogant kings. They shall be the hypocrites of this nation at the end of time. They shall be drinkers of wines, players of gambling, followers of lusts, abandoners of congregations, sleepers at time of obligations, and wasters of their boundaries. Allah the Almighty says, (But there came after them a generation, who neglected prayers and followed sensual desires, so they will meet perdition).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, they are like oleander; its flower is beautiful but its taste is bitter. Their speech is full of wisdom whereas their deeds are a disease that cannot be cured. (Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Nay, on the hearts there are locks).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, what shall benefit one who enjoys the pleasures of this life when he shall be thrown forever into the Fire? (They


Notes:

[1] Quran, 15:43-44.
[2] Quran, 39:69.
[3] Quran, 19:59.
[4] Quran, 47:24.


(305)

know the outward of this world's life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless).[1] They shall build houses, erect palaces, and decorate mosques, but their interest shall be not but the pleasures of this life which they shall be keeping to and involving into. Their gods shall be their abdomens (desires). Allah the Almighty has said, (And you make strong fortresses that perhaps you may last forever. And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (like) tyrants. So guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey Me),[2] and said, (Have you then considered him who takes his low desire for his god, and Allah has made him err purposely and has set a seal upon his ear and his heart and put a covering upon his eye. Who can then guide him after Allah? Will you not then be mindful).[3]

He is not but a polytheist that makes his desires his religion and his abdomen as his god; whenever he desires any thing permissible or impermissible, he shall not abstain from it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and they rejoice in this world's life, and this world's life is nothing compared with the hereafter but a temporary enjoyment).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, their mihrabs are their women, their honor is their dirhams and dinars, and their purpose is their abdomens. These are the worst of evildoers; sedition is with them and to them it shall return.

O ibn Mas’ud, (think of) the saying of Allah the Almighty, (Have you then considered if We let them enjoy themselves for years?


Notes:

[1] Quran, 30:7.
[2] Quran, 26:129-131.
[3] Quran, 45:23.
[4] Quran, 13:26.

(306)

Then there comes to them that with which they are threatened. That which they were made to enjoy shall not avail them).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, their bodies are not satisfied and their hearts do not show reverence.

O ibn Mas’ud, Islam has started strange and shall return strange as it has started. So blessed are the strangers! Whoever of your offspring shall live in that time should not offer greetings in their meetings, not escort their deads, and not visit their sick ones, because they shall follow your law and appear with your mission, but they shall contradict your deeds, and so they shall die on other than your religion. They are not from me nor am I from them. Therefore, do not fear anyone other than Allah, because Allah the Almighty says, (Wherever you are, death will overtake you, though you are in lofty towers),[2]and (On the day when the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women will say to those who believe: Wait for us, that we may have light from your light…and the deceiver deceived you concerning Allah. So today ransom shall not be accepted from you nor from those who disbelieved; your abode is the Fire; it is your patron and evil is the
end).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge intending (the interests of) this life and prefers to it (knowledge) the love of this life and its pleasures shall deserve the wrath of Allah and shall be in the lowest abyss of Fire with the Jews and the Christians who have turned their backs to the Book of Allah. Allah the Almighty has said, (and when there comes unto them


Notes:

[1] Quran, 26:205-207.
[2] Quran, 4:78.
[3] Quran, 57:13-15.

(307)

that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on the disbelievers).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns the Quran just for this life and its interests, Allah will prevent him from entering the Paradise.

O ibn Mas’ud, whoever learns knowledge but does not act according to it Allah will resurrect him blind on the Day of Resurrection, and whoever learns knowledge just for pride and fame wishing for the interests of this life Allah will deprive him of his blessing, depress his living, and leave him to his desires, and whomever Allah leaves to his desires shall perish. Allah the Almighty has said, (And whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship with his Lord).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, let your companions be the righteous and your brothers the pious and the ascetics, because Allah the Almighty has said in His Book, (Friends on that day will be foes, one to another, except the Righteous).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, keep to the fear of Allah and the performing of obligations, because He says, (He is worthy to be feared and worthy to forgive)[4] and says, (Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him; that is for him who fears his Lord).[5]

O ibn Mas’ud, keep away from you what does not concern you and keep to what suffices you, because Allah says, (Every man


Notes:

[1] Quran, 2:89.
[2] Quran, 18:110.
[3] Quran, 43:67.
[4] Quran, 74:56.
[5] Quran, 98:8.


(308)

of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him (to be headless of others).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware to give up an obedience and go to a disobedience pitying your family, because Allah the Almighty says, (O people! Keep your duty to your Lord and fear a Day when the parent will not be able to avail the child in aught, nor the child to avail the parent. Surely Allah’s promise is the very truth. Let not the life of the world beguile you, nor let the deceiver beguile you, in regard to Allah).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware of this life and its pleasures, lusts, and adornment, and the eating of the ill-gotten gains, and gold, silver, mounts, women, children, accumulations of gold and silver, cattle, and tilth, for that is the pleasure of the worldly life and with Allah there is the most excellent abode. (Say: Shall I tell you what is better than these? For those who guard (against evil) are gardens with their Lord, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and pure mates and Allah's pleasure; and Allah is Seer of the servants).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not be self-deceit before Allah, nor be self-deceit by your prayers, deeds, piety, and worship.

O ibn Mas’ud, when you recite the Book of Allah and get at a verse that has enjoining and forbidding, repeat it with pondering and consideration and do not be heedless to that, because the forbidding means the avoiding of disobediences and the enjoining means the doing of goodness and benevolence. Allah the Almighty says, (Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt,


Notes:

[1] Quran, 80:37.
[2] Quran, 31:33.
[3] Quran, 3:15.


(309)

and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly).[1]

O Ibn Mas’ud, do not deem a sin as insignificant or trivial, and avoid major sins, because when a servant shall look at his sins on the Day of Judgment, his eyes shall shed pus and blood. Allah the Almighty says, (On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there might be a long duration of time).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, When it said to you: ‘Fear Allah’, do not be angry, because He says, (And when it is said unto him: Be careful of thy duty to Allah, pride carries him off to sin, therefore hell is sufficient for him).[3]

Historians mention that Abdul Melik bin Marwan, the Umayyad king, used to say, “Whoever enjoins on us the fear of Allah we will behead him.”

The Prophet added, ‘O ibn Mas’ud, make your hope little; when it is morning, you say: I may not remain alive until the evening, and when it is evening, you say: I may not remain alive until the morning. Get yourself ready for leaving this life, and love the meeting with Allah and do not hate His meeting, because Allah loves the meeting with whoever loves the meeting with Him and hates the meeting with whoever hates the meeting with Him.

O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth, a time shall come to people when they consider wine as lawful…the


Notes:

[1] Quran, 3:25.
[2] Quran, 3:30.
[3] Quran, 2:206.

(310)

curse of Allah, the angels, and of people in whole be on them. I am free from them and they are free from me.

O ibn Mas’ud, one, who commits adultery with his mother, is easier to Allah than one who mixes with his money inasmuch as a grain of mustard seed out of usury, and whoever drinks an alcoholic drink a little or much is worse to Allah than one who eats usury, because it (wine)[1] is the key to every evil.

O ibn Mas’ud, when you do a doing, make it loyally for the sake of Allah, because He does not accept from His servants except the loyally done deeds. He says, (And no one has with him any boon for which he should be rewarded, except the seeking of the pleasure of his Lord, the Most High, and he shall soon be well-pleased).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, leave aside the pleasures of this life, its foods, sweet, warm, cool, ease, and enjoyments and keep your self to abstinence from them, because you shall be asked about all that. Allah the Almighty says, (Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about the boons).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, let this life and its pleasures not busy you, for Allah the Almighty says, (What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, if you do a doing of benevolence and you intend by it other than Allah, then do not expect from Him a reward for


Notes:

[1] We have discussed the great harms of wine in our book, Labor and the Rights of a Laborer in Islam.
[2] Quran, 92:19-21.
[3] Quran, 102:8.
[4] Quran, 23:115.

(311)

that, for He says, (and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, If people praise you and say that you fast in the day and spend the night in worship while you do not do so, then do not be delighted with that, because Allah the Almighty says, (Do not think those who rejoice for what they have done and love that they should be praised for what they have not done; so do by no means think them to be safe from the chastisement, and they shall have a painful chastisement).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, do a lot of good deeds and benevolence, because both a good-doer and a bad-doer shall regret; the good-doer shall say: I wish I had done much more good deeds, and the bad-doer shall say: I have been neglectful. The proof of that is His saying, (Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not advance sin and delay repentance, but advance repentance and delay sin, for Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (But man would fain deny what is before him).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware of enacting a heretical norm, because if a servant enact a bad norm, he shall bear its sin and the sin of whoever practices it. Allah the Almighty has said, (and We record that which they send before (them) and that which they leave behind),[5] and (Man shall on that day be informed of what he sent before and (what he) put off).[6]


Notes:

[1] Quran, 18:105.
[2] Quran, 3:188.
[3] Quran, 75:2.
[4] Quran, 75:5.
[5] Quran, 36:12.
[6] Quran, 75:13.


(312)

O ibn Mas’ud, do not lean on this life and do not trust in it, because you shall leave it soon. Allah the Almighty says, (So We turned them out of gardens and springs),[1] (And cornfields and palm-trees having fine spadices).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, consider the ancient nations and the tyrannical kings who had passed away, for Allah says, (and Aad and Thamud and the dwellers of the Rass and many generations between them).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to give up sin secretly and openly, (whether) minor or major (it is), because Allah the Almighty sees you wherever you are and He is with you, so avoid them (sins).

O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy and openness, on the land and in the sea, in the night and the day, because He says, (Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, take Satan as enemy, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Satan is your enemy, so take him for an enemy),[5] and He says about Iblis, (Then I will certainly come to them from before them and from behind them, and from their right-hand side and from their left-hand side; and you shall not find most of them thankful),[6] and (He said: The truth then is and the truth


Notes:

[1] Quran, 26:57.
[2] Quran, 26:148.
[3] Quran, 25:38.
[4] Quran, 58:7.
[5] Quran, 35:6.
[6] Quran, 7:17.


(313)

do I speak. That I will most certainly fill hell with you and with those among them who follow you all).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, be careful not to eat impermissible thing, not to wear impermissible thing, not to take from impermissible thing, and not to disobey Allah, because Allah the Almighty says to Iblis, (And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your voice, and collect against them your forces riding and on foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and hold out promises to them; and the Shaitan makes not promises to them but to deceive),[2] and says, (therefore let not this world's life deceive you, nor let the deceiver deceive you in respect of Allah).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not approach any impermissible thing of wealth and women, for Allah the Almighty says, (And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens),[4] and do not prefer the worldly life to the afterlife by pleasures and lusts, because Allah the Almighty says in His Book, (Then as for him who is inordinate, and prefers the life of this world, then surely the hell is the abode).[5]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not betray any one in some money that he leaves with you or a trust that he entrusts you with, because Allah says, (Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to their owners).[6]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not talk about anything except when knowing it that you have heard or seen it, for Allah the Almighty says,


Notes:

[1] Quran, 38:84-85.
[2] Quran, 17:64.
[3] Quran, 31:33, 35:5.
[4] Quran, 55:46.
[5] Quran, 79:37-39.
[6] Quran, 4:58.

(314)

(And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge; surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be questioned about that),[1] and (Their testimony shall be written down and they shall be questioned),[2] and (When the two Receivers receive, sitting on the right and on the left. He utters not a word but there is by him a watcher at hand),[3] and (And certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him, and We are nearer to him than his life-vein).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not worry about livelihood, for Allah the Almighty says, (And there is no animal in the earth but on Allah is the sustenance of it)[5], and (And in the heaven is your sustenance and what you are promised of),[6] and (And if Allah touch you with affliction, there is none to take it off but He; and if He touch you with good, then He has power over all things).[7]

O ibn Mas’ud, by Him Who has sent me with the truth as prophet, whoever turns his back to this life and wishes for the trade of the afterlife surely Allah will trade for him behind his trade and make his trade profitable. Allah the Almighty says, (Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which the hearts and eyes shall turn about).[8]


Notes:

[1] Quran, 17:36.
[2] Quran, 43:19.
[3] Quran, 50:17-18.
[4] Quran, 50:16.
[5] Quran, 11:6.
[6] Quran, 51:22.
[7] Quran, 6:17.
[8] Quran, 24:37.

(315)

Do not relieve your tongue from the remembrance of Allah, and that is by saying: glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is great. This is the profitable trade. Allah the Almighty says, (…they hope for a gain which will not perish. That He may pay them back fully their rewards and give them more out of His grace).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, make whatever you see by your eye and your heart admires it (make it) for Allah, for this is the trade of the afterlife; Allah the Almighty says, (What is with you passes away and what is with Allah is enduring).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, love the righteous because man shall be (resurrected) with whom he loves, and if you cannot do deeds of benevolence, then love the ulama (scholars), because Allah the Almighty says, (And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they).[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware to associate anything with Allah for a twinkle of an eye even if you are sawed by a saw, cut into pieces, crucified, or burned in fire. Allah the Almighty says, (And (as for) those who believe in Allah and His messengers, these it is that are the truthful and the faithful ones in the sight of their Lord).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, be patient with those who make remembrance of Allah, glorify Him, often say ‘there is no god but Allah’, praise Him, do due to His obedience, and call upon Him in the morning and in the evening. Allah says, (And withhold yourself


Notes:

[1] Quran, 35:29-30.
[2] Quran, 16:96.
[3] Quran, 4:69.
[4] Quran, 57:19.


(316)

with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them),[1] and (neither are you answerable for any reckoning of theirs, nor are they answerable for any reckoning of yours, so that you should drive them away and thus be of the unjust).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not prefer to the remembrance of Allah anything, because He says, (and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest),[3] and (Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me),[4] and (And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me),[5] and (Call upon Me, I will answer you).[6]

O ibn Mas’ud, Keep to calmness and gravity, and be easy, lenient, chaste, submissive (to Allah), pious, pure, dutiful, immaculate, purified, truthful, loyal, sound, right, reasonable, righteous, patient, grateful, faithful, god-fearing, worshipping, ascetic, merciful, knowledgeable, and aware (of religion). Allah the Almighty says, (Most surely Ibrahim was forbearing, tender-hearted, oft-returning (to Allah)),[7] and ( And the servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace. And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing),[8] and (And they who, when reminded of the


Notes:

[1] Quran, 18:28.
[2] Quran, 6:52.
[3] Quran, 29:45.
[4] Quran, 2:152.
[5] Quran, 2:186.
[6] Quran, 40:60.
[7] Quran, 11:75.
[8] Quran, 25:63-64.


(317)

communications of their Lord, do not fall down thereat deaf and blind. And they who say: O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard (against evil). These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient, and shall be met therein with greetings and salutations. Abiding therein; goodly the abode and the resting-place),[1] and (Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, and who keep aloof from what is vain and who are givers of poor-rate, and who guard their private parts, except before their spouses or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blamable. But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits, and those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, and who pay heed to their prayers; these are the heirs who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein),[2] and (Those shall be in
gardens, honored),[3] and (Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them, they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust. Those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them; these are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, let the pity to your family and children not make you involve in disobediences and unlawfulness, for Allah the Almighty says, (The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man), except him who comes to Allah with a heart free (from


Notes:

[1] Quran, 73-76.
[2] Quran, 23:1-11.
[3] Quran, 70:35.
[4] Quran, 8:2-4.

(318)

evil)).[1] And keep to the remembrance of Allah and the good deeds, for Allah the Almighty says, (and the ever-abiding good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those, who guide people to goodness and enjoin them to do good, while they themselves are inadvertent to it. Allah the Almighty says, (What! do you enjoin people to be good and neglect your own souls?)[3]

O ibn Mas’ud, be careful to keep your tongue, because Allah the Almighty says, (On that day We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they earned).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, be careful of your hidden thought, for Allah the Almighty says, (On the day when hidden thoughts shall be searched out. Then will he have no might nor any helper).[5]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware of a day when the pages shall be laid open, and scandals shall be manifest. Allah the Almighty says, (And We will set up a just balance on the day of resurrection, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and though there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (yet) will We bring it, and sufficient are We to take account).[6]

O ibn Mas’ud, fear Allah in secrecy as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, surely He sees you. Allah the Almighty says,


Notes:

[1] Quran, 26:88-89.
[2] Quran, 18:46.
[3] Quran, 2:44.
[4] Quran, 36:65.
[5] Quran, 86:9-10.
[6] Quran, 21:47.

(319)

(Who fears the Beneficent Allah in secret and comes with a penitent heart; enter it in peace, that is the day of immortality).[1]

O ibn Mas’ud, be fair to people against yourself, and be loyal in advising the community and be merciful to them. If you are so and Allah is displeased with the people of a village while you are among them and He wants to send down torment over them, He will look at you and be merciful to them. Allah the Almighty says, (And it did not behoove your Lord to have destroyed the towns tyrannously, while their people acted well).[2]

O ibn Mas’ud, beware of showing people that you are pious and reverent while between you and your Lord you keep on disobedience and sin. Allah the Almighty says, (He knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal).[3] O ibn Mas’ud, do not be from those who are strict to people while loose to themselves. Allah the Almighty says, (why do you say that which you do not do?).[4]

O ibn Mas’ud, when you do something, do it with knowledge and reason, and beware of doing something without good management and knowledge, for, exalted is He, He says, (And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly).[5]

O ibn Mas’ud, keep to truthfulness and do not let any lie come out of your mouth. Be just to people against yourself and be kind. Call people to benevolence, maintain relations with your kin, do not deceive people, and fulfill to them what you have promised them of, for Allah the Almighty says, (Surely Allah


Notes:

[1] Quran, 50:33-34.
[2] Quran, 11:117.
[3] Quran, 40:19.
[4] Quran, 61:2.s.
[5] Quran, 16:92.


(320)

enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).[1]”[2]

The Prophet’s recommendation to Abu Tharr
Abu Tharr was one of the sincerest companions to the Prophet. He struggled against the corrupted Umayyad rule that appropriated the wealth of Allah and took His people as slaves. Abu Tharr began here and there announcing the real principles of Islam that called for resisting despotism and tyranny that angered Uthman bin Affan, the chief of the Umayyads, who was the caliph then. Uthman did Abu Tharr unforgivable wrong by exiling him to ar-Rabatha that was the worst spot in the desert of the Arabia. He lived there very severely under house arrest where there was no means of life until he died hungrily, whereas the Umayyads had accumulated the gold of Muslims in their houses to spend it on their pleasures and red nights. The tragedy of Abu Tharr was one of the most terrible events in the history of Islam.

Anyhow, Abu Tharr was preferred by the Prophet and was one of his closest companions; therefore, he offered to him these precious recommendations. Abu Tharr narrated, “One day in the morning, I went to the messenger of Allah in his mosque, and I found no one of people except the Prophet and Ameerul Mo'minin beside him. I seized the opportunity of that privacy in the mosque and said,

‘O messenger of Allah, may my father and mother die for you, recommend me with what Allah may benefit me by.’


Notes:

[1] Quran, 16:90.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 92-110.


(321)

The Prophet said, ‘Yes, and you are honorable, Abu Tharr! You are from us the Ahlul Bayt, and I will offer to you a recommendation that you may keep in mind because it is a combination of the ways and means of goodness. If you keep it, you shall have two shares (of reward).

O Abu Tharr, worship Allah as if you see Him; if you do not see Him, surely He sees you. Know that the first of the worshipping of Allah is the knowing of Him; He is the First before every thing that there is no thing before Him, the One that there is no second to Him, the Everlasting to no end, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and what there is in them and what there is between them, and He is Allah, the most Kind, the most Aware, and He is powerful over everything. Then, is the faith in me, and the acknowledging that Allah the Almighty has sent me to the whole people as a bringer of good news, a warner, an inviter to Allah by His permission, and a luminous light. And then, is the love of my progeny whom Allah has kept away uncleanness from them and purified them a thorough purification.

O Abu Tharr, know that Allah, glory be to Him, has made my progeny among my nation as the Ark of Noah; whoever embarks on it shall be saved and whoever turns his back to it shall drown, and as the Gate of Hittah (of forgiveness) of the children of Israel that whoever enters it shall be safe.

O Abu Tharr, keep what I recommend you with and you shall be happy in this life and in the afterlife.

O Abu Tharr, there are two blessings that many of people are wronged in; good health and leisure.

O Abu Tharr, make use of five things before five things; your youth before your senility, your good health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your business, and your life before your death.



(322)

O Abu Tharr, beware of procrastination in your hoping, for you are of your day and not the day after it. If tomorrow is for you, then be in tomorrow as you are in today, and if tomorrow is not for you, you shall not regret what you have wasted today.

O Abu Tharr, how many are those who receive a day but they do not finish it, and who wait for tomorrow but they do not reach it!

O Abu Tharr, if you think of death and its fate, you shall hate hope and its temptation.

O Abu Tharr, be in this life as if you are a stranger or a passerby, and consider yourself as one of the people of graves.

O Abu Tharr, when you are in the morning, do not talk to yourself about evening, and when you are in the evening, do not talk to yourself about morning. Take from your good health before your illness, and from your life before your death, because you do not know what your name shall be tomorrow (alive or dead).

O Abu Tharr, beware that felling may fall upon you at the slip, and then the slip shall not be pardoned, and you shall not be able to return, and he, whom you leave (the heir) with what you leave (inheritance) shall not praise you…

O Abu Tharr, be with your age stingier than with your dirham and dinar.

O Abu Tharr, does one wait except for arrogant-making wealth, forgetful-making poverty, a corruptive illness, confuting senility, a finishing off death, the Dajjal (Antichrist) that is the worst, awaited absentee, or the Hour (Day of Judgment)? Surely the Hour is much more terrible and more grievous.

O Abu Tharr, the worst of people in position to Allah on the Day of Resurrection shall be a scholar that it is not benefited by his


(323)

knowledge. Whoever seeks knowledge just to attract people to him shall not find the scent of the Paradise.

O Abu Tharr, whoever seeks knowledge to cheat people by it shall not find the scent of the Paradise.

O Abu Tharr, when you are asked about some knowledge that you do not know, you say: ‘I do not know’ and thus you shall be saved from its responsibility. Do not give a fatwa on that which you have no knowledge of, and thus you shall be saved from the torment of Allah on the Day of Resurrection.

O Abu Tharr, some people of the Paradise shall see some people of the Fire and say to them: what has made you enter into the Fire while we ourselves have entered the Paradise by virtue of your discipline and education? They shall say to them: we used to enjoin goodness, but we ourselves did not do it.

O Abu Tharr, the rights of Allah, glory be to Him, are more greater than to be fulfilled by the servants, and the blessings of Allah are much more than to be counted by the servants, but be evening and morning repentant.

O Abu Tharr, you are in the passage of the night and the day in (gradually) decreased terms and preserved deeds, and death comes unexpectedly. Whoever plants goodness shall soon harvest goodness, and whoever plants evil shall soon harvest regret; every planter gets like what he plants.

O Abu Tharr, no slack one misses his fate and no greedy can get what has not been determined to him. Whoever is given good surely it is Allah Who has given it to him, and whoever is saved from an evil surely it is Allah Who has saved him from it.

O Abu Tharr, the pious are masters and jurisprudents are leaders and the association with them is an increase (of goodness). A believer sees his sin as if he is under a rock fearing


(324)

that it may fall over him, and a disbeliever sees his sin as if some flies pass by his nose.

O Abu Tharr, if Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, wants for some servant goodness, He makes his sins before his eyes materialized and the sin to him very heavy and great, and if He wants for some servant evil, He makes him forget his sins.

O Abu Tharr, do not consider the littleness of a committed sin, but consider the One Whom you disobey.

O Abu Tharr, the soul of a believer is more confused by sin than a sparrow when it is thrown into the trap.

O Abu Tharr, he, whose sayings conform to his deeds, shall be blessed, and he, whose sayings contradict his deeds, just censures himself.

O Abu Tharr, a man may be deprived of his livelihood because of a sin that he commits.

O Abu Tharr, leave what you have nothing to do with, and do not talk about what does not concern you, and store your tongue as you store your money.

O Abu Tharr, Allah, highly praise be to Him, shall put some people into the Paradise and give them until they shall be bored, and there shall be some people above them in the Highest Degrees. When they shall look at them, they shall know them and say: our Lord, they are our brothers that we were with in the worldly life; by what You have preferred them to us? It shall be said: How far! How far! They were hungry when you were satiate, thirsty when you quenched your thirst, they spent the night in worship when you slept, and they went (to jihad) when you were saved (peacefully).

O Abu Tharr, Allah, highly praise be to Him, has made my delight in prayer and made prayer beloved to me as He has



(325)

made food beloved to the hungry and water to the thirsty. When a hungry one eats, he shall be satisfied, and when a thirsty one drinks water, he shall quench his thirst, but I do not be satisfied whatever I offer prayers.

O Abu Tharr, whoever voluntarily offers twelve rak’as in a day and a night other than the obligatory ones there shall be a due right to him a house in the Paradise.

O Abu Tharr, as long as you are in the prayer, you are knocking at the door of the Mighty King, and whoever knocks at the door of the King much, it shall be opened to him.

O Abu Tharr, no believer gets up to offer the prayer except that benefaction is scattered on him from between him and the Throne, and an angel is entrusted with him to call out: O son of Adam, if you know what you get in the prayer and Whom you talk to, you shall not leave.

O Abu Tharr, blessed are the bannermen on the Day of Resurrection; they shall carry them (banners) and precede the people to the Paradise. They are the precedents to mosques in dawns and other than dawns.

O Abu Tharr, prayer is the pillar of the religion, and the tongue (remembrance) is greater, charity removes sin, and the tongue is greater, fasting is protection from the Fire, and the tongue is greater, jihad is honor, and the tongue is greater.

O Abu Tharr, a degree in the Paradise is like what is between the heaven and the earth. A servant may raise his sight and a light shall glitter to him that shall be about to take away his sight; he shall be frightened by that and say: what is this? It shall be said to him: this is the light of your brother. He shall say: my brother so-and-so! We both worked in the worldly life and now he has been preferred to me as so? It shall be said to him: he was better



(326)

than you in deeds. Then, satisfaction shall be put into his heart until he shall be satisfied.

O Abu Tharr, this life is the prison of a believer and the paradise of a disbeliever. No believer in it except that he is sad; and how does he not become sad where Allah, highly praise be to Him, has promised him that he shall enter the Hell and has not promised him that (when) he shall get out of it, and he shall meet diseases, calamities, and many things that depress him, and shall be oppressed without triumphing, wishing for a reward from Allah the Almighty? He is still sad in it (this life) until he leaves it, and when he leaves it, he shall resort to ease and honor.

O Abu Tharr, Allah, glory be to Him, has been never worshipped with anything like long sorrow.

O Abu Tharr, he, who has been given knowledge that does not make him weep, surely has been given knowledge that does not benefit him, because Allah has described the knowledgeable by saying, (Surely those who were given knowledge before it, when it is read unto them, fall down prostrate on their faces in obeisance; saying: Glory to our Lord! Verily the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled. They fall down on their faces, weeping, and it increases humility in them).[1]

O Abu Tharr, let him, he who can weep, weep, and let him, he who cannot, make his heart feel sorrow and feign weeping. Surely a hard heart is far from Allah the Almighty, but you do not feel.

O Abu Tharr, by Him in Whose hand the soul of Muhammad is, if this life equaled near Allah to a wing of a mosquito or a fly, He would not give to the disbelievers in it a sip of water.


Notes:

[1] Quran, 17:107-109.

(327)

O Abu Tharr, Allah, the Blessed, the High, revealed to my brother Jesus: O Jesus, do not love this life, for I do not love it, but love the afterlife because it is the abode of the Return.

O Abu Tharr, Gabriel brought to me the treasures of the world on a gray mule and said to me: O Muhammad, these are the treasures of the world, and nothing of your share near your Lord shall be decreased. I said: O my beloved Gabriel, I am in no need of them; when I am satisfied (with food), I thank my Lord, and when I am hungry, I ask Him.

O Abu Tharr, when Allah, glory be to Him, wants for a servant goodness, He makes him knowledgeable of the religion, abstinent in this life, and aware of the defects of himself.

O Abu Tharr, no servant becomes abstinent in this life except that Allah plants wisdom in his heart and makes his tongue utter it, makes him aware of the defects of life, its diseases, and its cures, and takes him out of it whole to the abode of peace.

O Abu Tharr, when you see your brother abstinent towards this life, listen to him because he casts wisdom.

I (Abu Tharr) asked: O messenger of Allah, who is the most abstinent of people? He said:

It is he who does not forget graveyards and perishment, who leaves the further pleasures of this life, who prefers what lasts to what passes away, who does not consider tomorrow as one of his days, and who considers himself as one of the dead (getting ready to death).

O Abu Tharr, Allah, the Blessed, the High, did not reveal to me to accumulate wealth, but He revealed to me: (But hymn the


(328)

praise of your Lord, and be of those who make prostration (unto Him). And serve your Lord until certainty comes to you).[1]

O Abu Tharr, I put on coarse clothes, sit on the ground, lick my fingers (after having food), ride the donkey without saddle, and let others sit behind me (on a mount), so whoever refrains from my Sunna is not from me.

O Abu Tharr, the love of wealth and honor is more harmful to one’s religion than two savage wolves in a pen of sheep that they attack and when the morning comes, they shall leave nothing in it.

I said: O messenger of Allah, do the fearers (of Allah), the fighters (in the way of Allah), the humble, the rememberers of Allah too much precede people to the Paradise?

The Prophet said:

No, but it is the poor Muslims; they overstep people’s necks and the guardians of the Paradise shall say to them: stay where you are until you shall be judged. They shall say: for what shall we be judged? By Allah, we had no authority that we might give liberally or be just, nor were we given wealth that we might prevent or give, but we worshipped our Lord until He called us and we responded.

In this passage, the Prophet invited to asceticism in this life and not to pounce upon its pleasures and desires. And indeed, Abu Tharr the great companion followed this recommendation when he turned his back to this world and refused to respond to the Umayyad rule when great monies were offered to him, but he refused them and preferred the satisfaction of Allah until he died very poor and wretched in the


Notes:

[1] Quran, 15:98-99.


(329)

worst spot of the desert in ar-Rabathah; and thus he was the leader of the poor and the wretched.

The Prophet added:

O Abu Tharr, this life is a preoccupation of hearts and bodies, and surely Allah, the Blessed, the High, will ask us about what He has afforded us of permissible boons, so how about the impermissible pleasures we have enjoyed?

O Abu Tharr, I have prayed Allah, highly praise be to Him, to make the sustenance of whoever loves me as necessary subsistence, and to give whoever hates me abundant wealth and children.

O Abu Tharr, blessed are the abstinents in this life, the wishers for the afterlife, who take the earth of Allah as a carpet, its soil as a bed, and its water as a flavor, and who take the Book of Allah as their symbol and His invocation as their garment…

O Abu Tharr, the tilth of the afterlife is the good deed, and the tilth of this life is wealth and children

O Abu Tharr, my Lord has told me saying: by My glory and honor, worshippers do not get like what they get by weeping (for fear of Allah). I will build for them in the Highest Association a palace that no one shall participate with them in it.

I said: O messenger of Allah, which of the believers is more reasonable?

The Prophet said:

The most of them in remembering death and the best of them in getting ready to it.

O Abu Tharr, when the light (of faith) enters the heart, the heart shall expand and dilate.



(330)

I said: what is the sign of that, may my father and mother die for you O messenger of Allah?

The Prophet said:

The returning to the Abode of Eternity, the turning away from the abode of temptation, and the getting ready for death before its coming.

O Abu Tharr, fear Allah, and do not show people that you fear Allah so that they may honor you while your heart is dissolute.

O Abu Tharr, two moderate rak’as (offered) with consideration is better than spending a (whole) night in worshipping while the heart is inadvertent.

O Abu Tharr, the truth is (heavy and) bitter and falsehood is light and sweet. Perhaps a pleasure of a moment may cause a lasting sorrow.

O Abu Tharr, judge yourself before you are judged because it shall be easier for your judgment tomorrow. Weigh yourself before you are weighed, and get prepared for the Greatest Show when you shall be showed. There is nothing hidden to Allah.

O Abu Tharr, the example of him, who calls with no work, is like the example of him who shoots with no bowstring.

O Abu Tharr, Allah sets right, by the righteousness of a servant himself, his children and the children of his children, and preserves him in his house and the houses around his as long as he is among them.

O Abu Tharr, a good companion is better than loneliness, and loneliness is better than a bad companion, and the saying of good is better than keeping silent, and silence is better than the saying of evil.


(331)

O Abu Tharr, do not make friends except with the faithful. Let no one eat from your food except a pious one, and do not eat from the food of disobeyers.

O Abu Tharr, Feed your food to whom you love for the sake of Allah, and eat from the food of whoever loves you for the sake of Allah.

O Abu Tharr, Allah the Almighty is at the tongue of every sayer, so let man fear Allah and know what he says.

O Abu Tharr, avoid extra speech, and it is sufficient to you the speech by which you get to your need.

O Abu Tharr, it is enough for one as lying that he says all what he hears.

O Abu Tharr, nothing is worthier of being imprisoned than the tongue.

O Abu Tharr, from glorifying Allah is the honoring of an old Muslim, the active appliers of the Quran, and a just ruler.

O Abu Tharr, he does not do (good deeds) who does not guard his tongue.

O Abu Tharr, do not be a censurer, praiser, defamer, or disputer.

O Abu Tharr, a servant still increase in being far from Allah as long as his morals are bad.

O Abu Tharr, a good word is as charity, and every step that you step towards prayer is charity.

O Abu Tharr, whoever responds to the propagandist of Allah and well maintains the mosques of Allah, his reward from Allah shall be the Paradise.

I said: May my father and mother die for you O messenger of Allah, how are the mosques of Allah maintained?


(332)

The Prophet said:

Voices should not be loud in them (the mosques), it should not be argued on falsehood, contracts of selling or buying should not be concluded in them, and you avoid nonsense as along as you are in them. If you do not do, then do not blame except yourself on the Day of Resurrection.

O Abu Tharr, Allah the Almighty gives you, as long as you are sitting in the mosque, for every breath you breathe a degree in the Paradise, and the angels pray for you and record to you for every breath you breathe ten good deeds and removes from you ten bad deeds.

O Abu Tharr, do you know what about this verse (O you who believe, be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful)[1] has been revealed?

I said: I do not know.

The Prophet said:

About the waiting for a prayer after a prayer.

O Abu Tharr, the performing of wudu’ (ablution) at calamities is from penances and the much going to mosques is the bond (with Allah).

O Abu Tharr, Allah, the Blessed, the High, says: the most beloved servants to Me are the loving one another for the sake of Me, whose hearts are attached to mosques, and who seek the forgiveness of Allah in the early dawns; it is they that when I want to punish the people of the earth I remember them and give up My punishment against them.


Notes:

[1] Quran, 3:200.


(333)

O Abu Tharr, every sitting in the mosque is nonsense except three; the reciting of a praying one, the remembrance of Allah, or a seeking of knowledge.

O Abu Tharr, be in practicing piety more careful than your care for your deeds, because practicing piety does not decrease in value, and how does a thing that is accepted (by Allah) decrease? Allah the Almighty says, (Allah only accepts from those who guard (against evil)).[1]

O Abu Tharr, one does not be from the pious until he calls himself to account more than a partner when calling his partner to account. Let he know well wherefrom his food, drinks, and clothes are; whether they are well-gotten or ill-gotten?

O Abu Tharr, he who does not care that wherefrom he has obtained wealth, Allah does not care that wherefrom He throws him into fire.

O Abu Tharr, let him, he who is pleased to be the most generous one of people, fear Allah.

O Abu Tharr, the most beloved one of you to Allah is the most of you in remembering Him, and the most generous one of you near Allah, glory be to Him, is the most pious one of you, and the most saved one of you from the torment of Allah is the most of you in fearing Him.

O Abu Tharr, the pious are those who fear Allah from something that is not feared from, fearing that they may involve in ambiguity (whether lawful or not).

O Abu Tharr, whoever obeys Allah the Almighty remembers Allah even if his prayer, fasting, and reciting of the Quran are little.


Notes:

[1] Quran, 5:27.


(334)

O Abu Tharr, the origin of the religion is piety and its head is obedience.

O Abu Tharr, be pious and you shall be the best of worshippers; the best thing in your religion is piety.

O Abu Tharr, the virtue of knowledge is better than the virtue of worshipping. Know that if you offer prayers until you become like bows, and you fast until you become like bowstring, that shall not benefit you except with piety.

O Abu Tharr, the people of piety and abstinence in this life are the real guardians of Allah.

O Abu Tharr, whoever shall not come, on the Day of Resurrection, with three (things) shall be a loser; piety that prevents him from what Allah, glory be to Him, has prohibited, patience by which he repels the ignorance of the fool, and good manners by which he humors people.

O Abu Tharr, if you are pleased to be the strongest of people, then rely on Allah, and if you are pleased to be the most generous of people, then fear Allah, and if you are pleased to be the wealthiest of people, then be about what there is in the hands of Allah, glory be to Him, more certain that about what there is in your hands.

O Abu Tharr, if all people follow this verse, it shall be sufficient to them: (and whoever is careful of (his duty to) Allah, He will make for him an outlet, and give him sustenance from whence he thinks not; and whoever trusts in Allah, He is sufficient for him; surely Allah attains His purpose).[1]

O Abu Tharr, Allah, highly praise be to Him, says: by My honor and glory, My servant does not prefer My desires to his desires


Notes:

[1] Quran, 65:2-3.


(335)

except that I make his richness in himself, and (relieve) his griefs in his afterlife, and make the heavens and the earth assure his sustenance, and suffice to him his lose, and I will be (assistant) to him from behind the trading of every trader.

O Abu Tharr, if the son of Adam runs away from his livelihood as he runs away from death, his livelihood shall come to him as death comes to him.

O Abu Tharr, Allah, the Blessed, the High, does not look at your figures or properties, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.

O Abu Tharr, piety is here. Piety is here (he pointed to his chest).

O Abu Tharr, there are four things that no one obtains them except a faithful; silence which is the first of worship, humility to Allah, glory be to Him, the remembrance of Allah at any case, and the littleness of properties.

O Abu Tharr, intend to do good deed even if you do not do it, lest you are recorded as one of the unmindful.

O Abu Tharr, beware of backbiting, because backbiting is worse than adultery.

I said: O messenger of Allah, what for?

He said: because one commits adultery and then he repents and Allah accepts his repentance, but backbiting is not forgiven until the one backbitten forgives it.

O Abu Tharr, reviling a Muslim is disobedience, fighting him is disbelief, eating his flesh (backbiting him) is from the disobediences of Allah, and the inviolability of his properties is like the inviolability of his blood.

I said: O messenger of Allah, what is backbiting?

He said: to mention your brother with what he hates.


(336)

I said: even if that which is mentioned is available in him?

The Prophet said: know that if you mentioned what there is in him, you backbite him, and when you mention what there is not in him, you fabricate against him.

O Abu Tharr, whoever repels backbiting from his Muslim brother surely Allah, glory be to Him, will save him from the Fire.

O Abu Tharr, whoever his Muslim brother is backbitten near him and he is able to repel backbiting from him and he does that, Allah will assist him in this life and in the afterlife, and if he lets him down though he is able to repel backbiting from him, Allah will let him down in this life and in the afterlife.

O Abu Tharr, a talebearer shall not enter the Paradise.

O Abu Tharr, the practiser of talebearing shall not be relieved from the torment of Allah in the afterlife.

O Abu Tharr, he, who has two faces and two tongues (hypocrite) in this life, shall have two tongues in the Fire.

O Abu Tharr, meetings should be (held) with fidelity, and the disclosing of your brother’s secret is betrayal, so avoid that and avoid the meeting of the tribe.

O Abu Tharr, the deeds of the people of this life from Friday to the next Friday are shown to Allah on Monday and Thursday, and every faithful servant shall be forgiven except one who there is between him and his brother enmity. Allah says (to the angels): leave aside the deeds of these two until they make peace with each other.

O Abu Tharr, beware of deserting your brother, because one’s deed is not accepted because of desertion.


(337)

O Abu Tharr, I prohibit you from desertion, and if you have to do, then do not desert (your brother) more than three days, and whoever dies during them the Fire shall be worthier of him.

O Abu Tharr, whoever likes men to stand for him reverently let him take his seat in the Fire.

O Abu Tharr, whoever dies while there is in his heart inasmuch as a whit of pride shall not find the scent of the Paradise except if he repents before that (death)…pride is that when you give up the truth and overstep it to other than it, and you look at people and see that no one’s honor is like yours and no one’s blood is like yours.

O Abu Tharr, most of those who enter the Fire are the proud.

O Abu Tharr, blessed is he who is humble to Allah the Almighty with no defect, who lowers himself with no misery, spends money that he has collected in no disobedience, is merciful to the needy and the wretched, and associates with the people of jurisprudence and wisdom. Blessed is he whose inward is right, whose outward is good, and who keeps his evil away from people. Blessed is he who works due to his knowledge, spends the extra of his money, and holds back the nonsense of his speech.”[1]

Another recommendation to Abu Tharr
One day, the Prophet said to Abu Tharr, “Shall I teach you some words that Allah may benefit you with?”

Abu Tharr said, “O yes, the messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet said, “Keep (your duty to) Allah and He will keep you. Keep (obedient to) Allah and you shall find Him in front of you. Know Allah at ease and He will know you at


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 17, p. 74, al-Amali, vol. 2 p. 138.


(338)

distress. If you want to ask, ask Allah the Almighty. If you want assistance, seek the assistance of Allah, for the Pen has recorded what shall take place until the Day of Resurrection. If the whole human beings gather together to benefit you with something that has not been determined for you, they shall not be able to do that.”[1]

The Prophet’s recommendation to Mu’ath bin Jabal
When the Prophet sent Mu’ath a wali over Yemen, he supplied him with these recommendations that are from the political principles in Islam. The Prophet said,

“O Mu’ath, teach them the Book of Allah, and well educate them with the good morals. Put the people in their real positions-the good and the evil ones of them- and fulfill the decree of Allah among them and do not exclude any one in His decree and wealth, because it is not your guardianship or property. Give trusts back to them (their owners) whether little or much, and keep to kindness and pardoning but in no cases of giving up the truth. Apologize to the people of your job for everything you fear that a defect may happen in it until they excuse you. Deaden the habits of ignorance (the pre-Islamic age) except what Islam has acknowledged, and manifest all affairs of Islam whether little or great. Let most of your attention be to prayer, because it is the head of Islam after the acknowledgment of the religion. Remind the people of Allah and the Last Day, and follow preachment because it is stronger to them in doing what Allah likes. Then, spread among
them teachers, and worship Allah to Whom you shall return, and do not fear in the way of Allah the blame of any blamer.


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 90 p. 424.


(339)

I recommend you of the fear of Allah, truthfulness in speaking, fulfillment of covenant, repaying of trusts, avoiding of betrayal, leniency in speech, offering of salutation, dutifulness to neighbors, mercifulness to orphans, good deeds, little wishing, the love of the afterlife, terrifying from Punishment (of the afterlife), keeping to faith, awareness of the Quran, suppressing of anger, and being kind.

Beware of reviling a Muslim, obeying a sinner, disobeying a just ruler, denying a truthful one, or believing a liar. Remember your Lord at every tree and rock, and seek repentance for every sin; secretly for secretly and openly for openly.

O Mu’ath, as I see that we shall not meet until the Day of Resurrection; otherwise, I will brief my recommendation, but I see that we shall not meet forever. Then, know, O Mu’ath, that the most beloved one of you to me is he who shall meet me in the same state that he leaves me in.”[1]

His recommendation to Salman al-Farisi
The Prophet recommended his close companion Salman al-Farisi with seven things and ordered him not to leave them. Salman narrated,

“He (the Prophet) recommended me to look at one who is lower than me and not to look at one who is above me, to love the poor and approach them, to say the truth even it is bitter, to maintain kinship with my relatives even if they desert me, and not to ask people for anything. He also recommended me to often and always say: ‘there is no power and might save in Allah, the High, the Great’ for it is a treasure from the treasures of the Paradise.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 127.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77, p. 129.

(340)

His recommendation to al-Fadhl bin al-Abbas
The Prophet said to his cousin al-Fadhl bin al-Abbas,

“O boy, fear Allah and you shall find Him in front of you. O boy, fear Allah and you shall find Him sufficient to you away from anyone else than Him. If you ask (for something), ask Allah, and if you seek assistance, seek the assistance of Allah. If the whole creatures gather together to repel something from you that has been decreed for you, they shall not be able to do, and if the whole creature gather together to bring you something that has not been decreed for you, they shall not be able to do. Know that success is with patience, and deliverance is with distress, and ease is with hardship, and everything that shall come is near. Allah the Almighty says: if the hearts of My servants gather with the heart of the most wretched one of My servants, that shall not decrease from My power inasmuch as a wing of a mosquito, and if the hearts of My servants gather with the heart of the happiest one of My servants, that shall not increase My power inasmuch as
a wing of a mosquito. And if I give to every servant all what he asks Me for, that shall not be except like a needle that a servant from My servants inserts into the sea, that because My giving is just saying and My promise is just saying; I just say to a thing: be! and it shall be.”[1]

A recommendation to Khalid bin Zayd
The Prophet said to Khalid after he had asked him to recommend him,

“I recommend you of five things; to despair of what there is in people’s hands because it is the real richness, and beware of greediness because it is lasting poverty, and offer the prayer as if you soon shall leave (this world), and beware of (doing) what


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77, p. 136.

(341)

you have to apologize for, and like for your brother as what you like for yourself…”

His recommendation to Harmalah
Harmalah al-Anbari asked the Prophet to guide him to something that might benefit him, and the Prophet said to him,

“See what you hate that people may talk about, and then if you are alone, do not do it!”[1]

His recommendation to Abu Umayyah
A man from Bani Tamim called Abu Umayyah came to the Prophet and asked him, “What do you invite people for, O Muhammad?”

The Prophet said, “(I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge; I and whosoever follows me),[2] and invite to One Who when a distress afflicts you and you invoke Him, He will relieve you from it, and if you seek His assistance when you are depressed, He will assist you, and if you ask Him when you are in need, He will enrich you.”

These affected the man and he said, “Advise me, O Muhammad!”

The Prophet said to him, “Do not be angry!”

The man asked, “More!”

The Prophet said, “Accept from people what you accept to them from yourself.”

The man said, “More!”


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 232.
[2] Quran, 12:108.


(342)

The Prophet said, “Do not revile people that you get enmity from them.”

The man said, “More!”

The Prophet said, “Do not abstain from benevolence near its people (who deserve it).”

The man said, “More!”

The Prophet said, “Endear yourself to people and they shall love you. Meet your brother with a smiling face. Do not be weary that your weariness may deprive you of this life and the afterlife. Wrap yourself (with loincloth) to the middle of the leg, and beware of loosing the loincloth and the shirt, for that is from pride and Allah does not like pride.”[1]

His recommendation to some man
The Prophet said to some man who asked him for advice,

“Remember death much and that shall make you abstinent towards it. Keep to gratitude, for that increases blessings. Supplicate Allah too much, because you do not know when it shall be responded to you. Beware of oppression, because Allah the Almighty had determined that whoever (has been oppressed, Allah will most certainly aid him),[2] and He says, (O people, surely your oppression is against your own souls).[3] And beware of plotting, because Allah has determined that (the evil plot encloses but the men who make it).[4]”[5]


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 41-42.
[2] Quran, 22:60.
[3] Quran, 10:23.
[4] Quran, 35:43.
[5] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 35.


(343)

His recommendation to another man
The Prophet said to some man asking him for advice,

“Do not associate with Allah anything even if you are burnt with fire and tortured, except that when your heart is firm with faith. Keep to your parents; obey them and be dutiful to them when they are alive and when they are dead, and if they order you to leave your wife and property, then do that, because that is from faith. Keep to the obligatory prayer; do not leave it intendedly, because whoever leaves an obligatory prayer intendedly the protection of Allah shall be free from him. Beware of drinking wine and every intoxicant for they are the key to every evil.”[1]

His recommendations to some other men
The Prophet said to some man asking him for advice, “do not be angry!...the strong one is not he who is strong at battle, but the strong one is he who controls himself at anger.”[2]

He said to another man who asked him for advice, “Keep your tongue! Keep your tongue!”

The man asked again, “Advise me, O messenger of Allah!”

The Prophet said to him, “Keep your tongue!”

The man said again, “Advise me, O messenger of Allah!”

The Prophet said, “May Allah have pity on you! Shall anything throw people on their noses in the Fire except the harvests of their tongues?!”[3]


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool., p. 41.
[2] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 47.
[3] Ibid, p. 56.

(344)

The Prophet said to some other man asking for advice, “Keep to the despair of what there is in people’s hands because it is the lasting wealth.”

The man said, “O messenger of Allah, advise me more!”

The Prophet said, “Beware of greediness, because it is the lasting poverty.”

The man said, “O messenger of Allah, advise me more!”

The Prophet said, “If you intend to do something, think deeply about its end; if it is good and reasonable, then you follow it, and if it is error, you give it up.”

Abu Tharr narrated that the messenger of Allah advised some man by saying to him,

“Decrease pleasures and then poverty shall be easy to you, and decrease sins and death shall be easy to you. Advance your wealth before you (spend it in good ways) and you shall be pleased to follow it. Be satisfied with what you have been given and your judgment (on the Day of Resurrection) shall be light to you. Do not busy yourself away from what has been obligated on you with what has been assured to you, because you shall not miss what has been determined for you, and you shall not obtain what has been kept away from you, so do not strive for what has already been determined, and strive for a property that shall not disappear in an abode that shall not be left to another place.”[1]

The Prophet recommended Muslims about women saying, “Allah the Almighty recommend you to be kind to women, for they are your mothers, daughters, and aunts.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 187.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 16 p. 374.

(345)

He also said, “Fear Allah concerning women, because they are as captives near you.”[1]

He said, “The best of you are the best to their women.”[2]

He said, “The best of you is the best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wife. No one honors women except that he is generous, and no one insults them except that he is mean.”[3]

The Prophet gave a general recommendation for all Muslims saying,

“I recommend the present of my nation and the absent of them, and those that are in men’s backs and women’s wombs until the Day of Resurrection to maintain kinship even if (one of their relatives is) at (a distance of) a journey of one year, because this is from the religion.”[4]

He said, “I recommend you of the Book of Allah and my progeny, for I have asked Allah the Almighty not to separate between them until they would come to me at the pond (in the Paradise), and He has granted me that.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 5 p. 73, Da’a’im (pillars of) al-Islam, vol. 2 p. 214.
[2] Sunan of ibn Majah, vol. 1 p. 636.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 16 p. 408.
[4] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 158.
[5] Ibid., vol. 1 p. 347.


# Preachments and advices

On every occasion, the Prophet preached and advised Muslims to guide them towards perfection. The following are some of the preachments transmitted from him on different occasions:

1. Warning against the love of this life

The Prophet said,

“Why do I see that the love of this life has overcome many of people to a degree that as if death in this life has been predetermined on other than them, and as if the truth in this life has been obligated on other than them? As if the news they hear about the deads before them is to them as if they (the deads) are travelers who soon shall come back to them…and you eat their inheritance and shall be immortal after them! How far! How far! Does the last of them not take a lesson from the first of them? They have ignored and forgotten every preachment in the Quran, felt safe from the evil of the end of every bad deed, and not feared the coming down of a great affliction, or the disasters of every happening.

Blessed is he whose gain is well, whose inward is virtuous, whose outward is right, and whose morality is straight.

Blessed is he who spends the extra of his money, and holds back the nonsense of his speech.

Blessed is he who is humble to Allah (honored is His mention), who is abstinent in what has been permitted to him without denying my Sunna, who has refused the pleasure of this life without turning away from my Sunna, who has followed the benevolent ones from my progeny after me, who has associated with the people of jurisprudence and wisdom, and who has been kind to the people of wretchedness.



(348)

Blessed is he from among the believers who gains money with no disobedience and spends it in no disobedience and benefits by it the people of wretchedness, and who keeps away from the people of haughtiness, pride, and the wish for this life, who originate heresies unlike my Sunna, and follow other than my conduct.

Blessed is he who betters his manners with people, offers to them his assistance, and keeps them safe from his evil.”[1]

2. Good deed

The Prophet said,

“Blessed is he whose age is long and his deeds are good, and so his end shall be good where his Lord will be pleased with him. And woe unto him whose age is long and his deeds are bad, and so his end shall be bad where his Lord will be displeased with him.”[2]

3. Noble attributes

The Prophet said,

“Accept from me six things and I will assure to you the Paradise; when you speak, do not tell lies, when you promise, do not break (your promise), when you are trusted (with a trust), do not betray, and lower your sight, keep your honors (private parts), and hold back your hands and tongues (from harming others).”[3]

4. Fancy and wishes

The Prophet said,


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 29-30.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 112.
[3] Ibid.

(349)

“The thing that I most fear for my nation of is fancy and long hope. As for fancy, it takes one away from the truth, and as for long hope, it makes one forget the afterlife…and this is the life that is about to leave, and this is the afterlife that is about to come, and for each of them there are children, so if you can be from the children of the afterlife and not from the children of this life, then be, because today you are in the abode of doing with no judgment, and tomorrow you shall be in the abode of judgment with no doing…”[1]

5. The most afflicted people

The Prophet said when asked about the people who are most afflicted in this life’

“the prophets, then the likes, and then the likes. A believer is tried inasmuch as his faith and his good deeds. He, whose faith is true and his deeds are good, is afflicted too much, and he, whose faith is trivial and his deeds are insignificant, shall be afflicted little.”[2]

6. The deeds that take to the Paradise and to the Fire

The Prophet said,

“By Allah, there is no doing that approaches (man) to the Fire except that I have told you about and prohibited you from, and there is no doing that approaches to the Paradise except that I have told you about and ordered you to do. The Loyal Spirit (Gabriel) has inspired in me that: no soul (man) shall die until it gets all its sustenance, so be nice in requesting, let the delay in giving something of sustenance not make you ask for what Allah


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 117.
[2] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 39.

(350)

has through disobeying Him, for surely nothing from what Allah has, shall be got except by His obedience.”[1]

7. After this life is either the Paradise or the Fire

The Prophet said,

“O people, you have terms so regard your terms, and you have ends, so regard your ends. A believer is between two fears; an end that has been predetermined and he (the believer) does not know what Allah will do to him, and a term remaining that he does not know what Allah will judge on it. So, let a servant take from himself to himself, and from his life to his afterlife, and from youth before old age, and from life before death. By Him in Whose hand the soul of Muhammad is, there shall be no conciliation, and there shall be no abode after this life except the Paradise or the Fire.”[2]

8. Devotedness to Allah

The Prophet said,

“Whoever devotes himself to Allah, Allah will suffice him, and whoever devotes himself to this life, Allah will entrust him to it. Whoever tries (to get) something through the disobeying of Allah, it shall be farther to him than what he has hoped and nearer to what he has avoided. Whoever seeks the praises of people (to him) through the disobediences of Allah, his praiser from among them (people) shall turn a dispraiser. Whoever pleases people by displeasing Allah, Allah will entrust him to them (people), and whoever pleases Allah by displeasing people, Allah will save him from their evil. Whoever betters what is between him and Allah, Allah will suffice him as to what there is between him and people. Whoever betters his inward Allah will


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool., p. 40.
[2] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 37.


(351)

better his outward. Whoever works for his afterlife Allah will suffice him the affairs of his life.”[1]

9. Remembering death

The Prophet said,

“Often remember the terminator of pleasures, because if you remember it in hardship and ease and become pleased with it, you shall be rewarded, and if you remember it in wealth that it makes it hated to you and then you give it generously, You shall be rewarded. Deaths are stoppers of deeds, and nights are approachers of terms, and man is between two days; a day that has passed and its deeds have been counted and sealed, and a day that has remained and he (man) may not reach it. A servant, at the going out of his soul and entering into his grave, shall see the reward of what has already done before, and the insignificance of the wealth he has left that it might be from falsehood he has collected and from a right (of others) he has prevented.”[2]

10. With death

The Prophet said, “O people, as if death in it (this life) has been predetermined on other than them, and as if the truth has been obligated on other than us, and as if the dead whom we escort are travelers that soon shall come back to us; we put them into their graves and eat their inheritance as if we are immortal after them that we have forgotten every preachment and felt safe from every hardship.

Blessed is he whose defects have busied him away from the defects of people, and who spends from wealth that he has obtained from no disobedience, who have been kind to people of


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1., p. 38.
[2] Ibid..


(352)

neediness and wretchedness, and who associates with the people of jurisprudence and wisdom.

Blessed is he who humiliates himself, betters his morality, repairs his inward, and keeps his evil away from people.

Blessed is he who works due to his knowledge, spends the extra of his property, holds back the nonsense of his speech, whom the Sunna has included him and he does not exceed it to heresy.”[1]

11. Hastening to goodness

The Prophet said,

“He, who longs for the Paradise, hastens to good deeds, and he, who is afraid of the Fire, diverts from lusts, and he, who expects death diverts from pleasures, and he, who is abstinent in this life, calamities become easy to him, and he, to whom a door of goodness is opened, let him avail himself of it, for he does not know when it shall be closed before him.”[2]

12. This life is of crookedness

The Prophet said,

“O people, this life is an abode of crookedness and not an abode of straightness, and a house of sorrow and not a house of joy. Whoever knows it, shall not rejoice at ease, and shall not be grieved for a distress. Allah the Almighty has created this life as an abode of trials and the afterlife as an abode of reward; therefore, He has made the trial of this life as a cause for the reward of the afterlife, and the reward of the afterlife as a recompense for the trial of the life. He takes to give and He tries to reward. It (this life) shall soon go away and is about to turn


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1.
[2] Kashf al-Khafa’, vol. 2 p. 305, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 46.

(353)

over, so beware of its sweet suckling because of its bitter weaning, and desert its delicious transient pleasures for its offensive remaining end. Do not strive in building a house that its destruction has been predetermined, and do not keep in contact with it while He has wanted you to avoid it so that you may be liable to His wrath, and deserving of His punishment.”[1]

13. The love of this life

The Prophet said,

“The love of this life does not dwell in the heart of a servant except that he is afflicted with three things; business that its troubles shall not come to an end, poverty that its wealth shall not be obtained, and hope that its end shall not be reached. The life and the afterlife are seekers and sought; the seeker of the afterlife is sought by the life until he enjoys his sustenance to the full, and the seeker of the life is sought by the afterlife until death shall take his neck. Surely, the really happy one is he who prefers a lasting abode whose bliss shall last forever to a transient one whose torment shall not end, and prepares (spends) from what is now in his hands for what he shall go to rather than to leave it for another one who shall be happy by spending it whereas he himself has been tired in collecting and keeping it.”[2]

14. Consolement and preachment

When one of Mu’ath’s children died, the Prophet wrote to him consoling and preaching,

“From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Mu’ath bin Jabal,


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 52.
[2] Muhadharat al-Abrar (lectures of the pious), vol. 2 p. 273, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p.54.

(354)

peace be on you. I praise Allah Whom there is no god but Him. I have been informed of your sorrow for your son whom Allah has determined that on. Surely your son was from the pleasant gifts of Allah and from His loans that has been entrusted to you. Allah has made you enjoy him until a certain term and He took him for a certain term, so we are to Allah and to Him we shall return. Let your impatience not frustrate your reward, and if you come to the reward of your calamity, you shall know that this calamity is too little before the great reward that Allah has prepared for the people of submission and patience. Know well that impatience shall not get back a dead one or repel a fate. Therefore, be fair in comfort and accept the promised thing. Let you not be sorry for what is inevitable to you and to the whole creation that comes down due to its fate. And peace, Allah’s mercy, and blessings be on you.”[1]

15. Desertion of the life

The Prophet said,

“This life is leaving and the afterlife is about to come, and you are in a day of work with no judgment, and you are about to be in a day of judgment where there shall be no work. Surely Allah gives this life to whom He loves and to whom He hates, but He does not give the afterlife except to whom He loves. There are children to this life and children to the afterlife, so be from the children of the afterlife and do not be from the children of this life. That which I most fear for you from is the following of desires and the long hope; the following of desires takes your hearts away from the truth, and the long hope takes your determinations to this life, and after them there shall be for no one a goodness that he expects in this life or the afterlife.”[2]



Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 59.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 188.


(355)

16. With the angel of death

The Prophet said: “There is no house except that the Angel of Death stops at its door five times every day. If he finds that the end of that man has come and his eating has stopped, he throws on him death whose agonies shall attack him and whose distresses shall overcome him; and then from his family is that woman who spreads her hair, and that who slaps her face, and that who yells with her grief, and that who weeps with her sorrow. Then, the Angel of Death says: Woe unto you! What for is this impatience? And what for is this fear? By Allah, I do not take away a property from anyone of you, nor do I approach to him an end, nor do I come to him until I am ordered, nor do I take out his soul until I am given authority. Surely, I shall have a return to you, and then a return until I shall not leave anyone (alive) from you.”

Then the Prophet said,

“By Him in Whose hand my soul is, if they see his (the Angel of Death) place or hear his speech, they shall be distracted from their dead one, and shall weep for themselves; until when the dead is carried on his coffin and his soul waving over the coffin calling: O my family and children, let this life not play with you as it has played with me. I have collected it (wealth) lawfully and unlawfully and left it to other than me who shall enjoy it whereas its sin and burden shall be on me. So beware of like what has come down!”[1]


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77, p. 188-189.


# From the Prophet’s sermons

In Mecca, the Prophet made speeches in which he invited the people of Quraysh to believe in and embrace Islam, and in Medina, too, he made speeches to declare the principles and values of Islam. Here, we mention some of those speeches that besides their religious values, they are excellent examples in the Arabic literature and eloquence.

1. His speech in Mecca

When the Revelation came down to the Prophet ordering him to warn his near relatives and announce to them his prophethood, he invited them to have a meal in his house, and after the meal, he made a speech before them saying, after thanking and praising Allah,

“A pioneer does never tell his family lies. By Allah, if I tell lies to all people, I will not tell you lies, and if I cheat all people, I will not cheat you. By Allah, Whom there is no god but Him, I am the messenger of Allah to you especially and to the whole people generally.

By Allah, you surely shall die as you sleep, shall be resurrected as you wake up, shall be called to account for what you do; shall be rewarded with good for good (doing) and with bad for bad (doing), and it shall be the Paradise forever or the Hell forever.”[1]

2. His speech in Medina

It was the first speech the Prophet made in Medina. After praising Allah the Almighty, he said,

“As then, O people, advance for yourselves (do good in your life)! You know, by Allah, that one of you shall be thunderstruck, and then he shall leave his sheep with no


Notes:

[1] As-Seera al-Halabiyyah, vol. 1 p. 272, al-Kamil fee at-Tareekh, vol. 2 p. 27.


(358)

shepherd, and then his Lord will say to him, where there shall be no translator or a doorkeeper to prevent him from Him: has My messenger not come to you and informed you, and have I not given you wealth and bestowed on you My favors? So what have you advanced for yourself? He shall look right and left and he shall see nothing, and then he shall look before him, and he shall not see except the Hell. Whoever of you can save his face from Fire even if with a half of a date, let him do, and whoever cannot find, then with a good word (that he may say to others), for by which a good deed is rewarded with ten likes until seven hundred doubles. And peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be on you and on the messenger of Allah.”[1]

3. The Friday Sermon in Medina

In the first Friday Prayer in Medina, the Prophet made this speech before Muslims saying,

“Praise be to Allah! I praise Him, seek His assistance, seek His forgiveness, seek His guidance, believe and do not disbelieve in Him, and show enmity to whoever disbelieves in Him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner to Him, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger whom He had sent with guidance, light, and admonition after a cessation of messengers, littleness of knowledge, deviation of people, shortage of time, approaching to the Hour (the Day of Judgment), and nearness to the term (death); so he, who obeys Allah and His messenger, shall be successful, and he, who disobeys them, shall go astray, lose, and deviate in far deviation. I recommend you of the fear of Allah, because it is the best of that which a Muslim may recommend a


Notes:

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 300, Jamharat Khutab al-Arab, vol. 1 p. 55.

(359)

Muslim of; to advise him towards the afterlife and order him to fear Allah.

Beware of what Allah has warned you against Himself, and there is no advice better than this and no remembrance better than this. Surely the fear of Allah to him who acts with scare and fear from his Lord is true assistance to what you intends from the affairs of the afterlife. Whoever repairs what there is between him and Allah from his affairs in secrecy and openness intending nothing except the Face of Allah, it shall be a (good) mention to him in his life and a supply to him after death when man shall be in need of what he has advanced, and whatever else than that, he wishes that if there would be between him and it a very far distance, and Allah warns you against Himself and Allah is Kind to the servants. (I swear) by Him Who has proved His saying and fulfilled His promise, there shall be no changing to that, for Allah the Almighty says, (My word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants).[1]

Fear Allah in the immediate and the delayed affairs (this life and the afterlife) of yours in secrecy and openness, because whoever fears Allah, Allah expiates his bad deeds and gives him a great reward, and whoever fears Allah shall win a great success. Surely, the fear of Allah keeps (one) safe from His detestation, safe from His punishment, and safe from His wrath. The fear of Allah honors faces, pleases the Lord, and elevates degrees. Do your best and not waste in your duty to Allah. Allah has taught you His book and clarified to you His way that He may know those who are truthful and know the liars; so do good as Allah has done good to you, show enmity to His enemies, and strive hard in the way of Allah, such a striving as is due to Him. He has chosen you and named you Muslims


Notes:

[1] Quran, 50:29.

(360)

that he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof, and there is no power save in Allah. Remember Allah too much and work for what is after today, for whoever repairs what is between him and Allah, Allah suffices him against what is between him and people that is because Allah judges on people and they do not judge on Him, and He has power on people and they do not have power on Him. Allah is great, and there is no power save in Allah the Great.”[1]

4. His speech in al-Khayf

The Prophet made a speech at al-Khayf in Mina saying,

“May Allah make bloom a servant who listens to my saying and understands it, then he takes it to one who is more aware than him. There are three things that are not affected in the heart of a faithful; the sincerity in acting for Allah the Almighty, the loyalty to the men of authority, and the keeping to congregation (of Muslims)…he, whose interest is the afterlife, Allah will reunite to him his affairs and make his richness in his heart, and the (bounties of) life will come to him unwillingly, and he, whose interest is this life , Allah will scatter his affairs and make his poverty between his eyes, and nothing from this life shall come to him except what has been predetermined for him.”[2]

5. His speech on warning against this life

The Prophet warned against the deceiving by this life and the following of desires. He said,

“Surely, this life is pleasurful and sweet, and Allah has entrusted it to you and He sees how you act (in it); so beware of this life


Notes:

[1] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol. 2 p. 115.
[2] I’jaz al-Quran, vol. 5 p. 255.


(361)

and beware of women. Let the fear of people not prevent one from saying the truth if he knows it.”

The Prophet kept on making his speech until nothing remained from the sunlight except some redness on the fronds of palm-trees. Then, he said,

“It has not remained from this life as to what had elapsed, except like what has remained from this day as to what had elapsed (from it).”[1]

6. His speech in the Farwell Hajj

The Farwell Hajj was the last hajj that the Prophet had performed before his departure to his Lord. He made a very eloquent speech in the Kaaba in Mecca where he announced the bases that would keep his nation safe from deviation and from going astray. He said,

“Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His assistance, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him. We seek Allah’s protection from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. And whom Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray, and whom Allah makes to go astray, there is none to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner to Him and bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

O servants of Allah, I recommend you of the fear of Allah, invite you to act due to His obedience, and I ask Allah to show me what is best.

As then O people, listen to me and I will clarify to you. I do not know; I may not meet you after this year in this situation. O people, your bloods and properties are inviolable to you until you meet your Lord, like the inviolability of this day in this



Notes:

[1]I’jaz al-Quran, vol. 5, p. 113.


(362)

(inviolable) country. Have I informed? O Allah, bear witness. Whoever has a trust, let him give it back to one who has entrusted him with. Every usury in the pre-Islamic era is invalidated, and the first usury that I begin with is the usury of al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, and every blood (that was shed) in the pre-Islamic era is void, and the first blood that I begin with is the blood of Rabee’ah bin al-Harith bin Abdul Muttalib. The habits of the pre-Islamic era are invalidated except the custodianship (of the Kaaba) and the giving of water (to the hajjis)…

O people, Satan has despaired of being worshipped in your land, but is pleased with being obeyed in other than that as to what you scorn of your deeds.

O people, (postponement (of the sacred month) is only an excess in disbelief whereby those who disbelieve are misled; they allow it one year and forbid it (another) year, that they may make up the number of the months which Allah hath hallowed…)[1] Time has turned as the day when Allah had created the heavens and the earth, and (surely the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah's ordinance since the day when He created the heavens and the earth, of these four being sacred),[2] three successive and one single; Thul Qa’dah, Thul Hajjah, Muharram, and Rajab, between Jumada and Sha’ban. Have I informed? O Allah, bear witness.

O people, your women have rights on you and you have rights on them. Your rights on them are that they should not betray you with anyone in your beds, and not permit anyone into your houses except with your knowledge and permission, and not to commit sin. If they commit something of that, then Allah has


Notes:

[1] Quran, 9:37.
[2] Quran, 9:36.

(363)

permitted you that you prevent them from marrying, not to sleep with them, and that you beat them but not violently. If they abstain and obey you, then their sustenance and clothing must be on you (to be supplied to them by you). Women are as prisoners near you that they cannot help themselves, and you have taken them by the covenant of Allah and married them by the word of Allah, so fear Allah as to women and be kind to them. Have I informed? O Allah, bear witness.

O people, the believers are but brothers; it is not permissible to a man the property of his brother except by his satisfaction. Have I informed? O Allah, bear witness.

Do not return unbelievers that one kills another, for I have left among you that which if you follow, you shall not go astray; the Book of Allah and my progeny my family. Have I informed? O Allah, bear witness.

O people, your Lord is one (the same) and your father is one. All of you are from Adam and Adam is from earth; (the most honorable of you to Allah is the best of you in his duty to Allah). There is no any preference for an Arab to a foreigner except by piety. Have I informed?

The masses of Muslims cried out, “Yes, you have.” Then, the Prophet said,

“Let the present inform the absent. O people, Allah has divided for every heir his share in the inheritance, and no will should be permitted for an heir (by the bequeather) in more than a third (of the inheritance). A child is to the bed and the prostitute should be stoned.[1] Whoever claims other than his real father and whoever


Notes:

[1] An illegitimate child should be ascribed to the husband on whose bed adultery was committed (with his wife) and the adulteress (wife) should be stoned.

(364)

claims other than his own children, the curse of Allah, of the angels, and of the whole people shall be on him, and Allah will accept from him neither expiation nor ransom, and peace and mercy of Allah be on you.”[1]

7. His speech in the Ghadeer of Khum

When the Prophet performed his last hajj, he (with the Muslims) began his journey back to Medina. When he (and the Muslims) arrived in Ghadeer Khum, Gabriel came down to him carrying with him a very important message from the Heaven. It was to appoint Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib a caliph over the Muslims (after the Prophet) and a general leader over the nation, and to announce that openly and with no moment of delay. The message of the Heaven was revealed in this verse, (O Messenger! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people).[2]

The Prophet determined to fulfill the will of Allah. He stopped at the desert and ordered the caravans of the hajjis to do the same. It was a very hot summer day that men put the ends of their abas under their legs to guard against hot. When Muslims, who were about one hundred thousands or more as historians say, gathered together, the Prophet began making a speech before them. He said,

“Praise be to Allah; we seek His assistance, believe in Him, rely on Him, and seek Allah’s protection from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is none that


Notes:

[1] Al-Bayan wet-Tabyeen, vol. 2 p. 15, Tareekh at-Tabari, vol. 3 p. 168, al-Kamil fee at-Tareekh, vol. 2 p. 146.
[2] Quran, 5:67. Al-Wahidi in Asbab an-Nuzool, p. 10, ar-Razi in his Tafsir, vol. 3 p. 636, and other historians mention that this verse has been revealed on the occasion of al-Ghadeer.


(365)

can lead him astray, and whom Allah makes to go astray, there is none to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner to Him and bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

As then O people, kind, wise Gabriel has told me that no prophet lived except as the half of the life of the prophet that was before him, and I am about to be called and I will respond (to be made die). I am answerable and you are answerable too. What shall you say?”

They all cried out, “We bear witness that you have informed, been loyal in advising, and tried your best. May Allah reward you with good.”

The Prophet said, “Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger, and that His Paradise is right, His Fire is right, death is right, the Hour (Day of Judgment) is coming with no doubt, and that Allah will resurrect those in graves…?”

They all cried out, “Yes, we bear witness of that.”

The Prophet, looking at the heaven, said, “O Allah, bear witness…”

Then he added, “I will precede you to the pond (in Paradise), and you will come to me at the pond whose wide is as between Sana’a and Busra,[1] and it has silver cups as much as the number of stars. See how you will be loyal to me in dealing with the two weighty things!”

Someone asked, “O messenger of Allah, what are the two weighty things?”


Notes:

[1] Sana’a is the capital of Yemen and Busra is a town in Syria.


(366)

The Prophet said, “The major weighty thing is the Book of Allah; one side (of it) is in the hand of Allah and the other side is in your hands, so keep to it and you shall not go astray, and the other minor (weighty) thing is my family. The kind, the wise (Gabriel) has told me that they (the Quran and my family) will not separate until they will come to me at the pond (in Paradise), and I have asked my Lord to grant that for them. Do not precede them lest you perish and do not lag behind them lest you perish …”

Then he took Imam Ali’s hand and said, “O people, who is the worthiest (of people) of the believers than themselves?...”

They said, “Allah and His messenger are more aware.”

The Prophet said, “Allah is my Guardian and I am the guardian of the believers, and I am worthier of the believers than themselves. So, whoever I am his guardian, Ali is to be his guardian.” He repeated that three times.

Then, he added, “O Allah, favor whoever follows him, be an enemy to whoever opposes him, love whoever loves him, hate whoever hates him, support whoever supports him, let down whoever betrays him, and turn the truth with him wherever he turns. Let the present inform the absent…”

8. His speech on receiving the month of Ramadan

On the last Friday of Sha’ban, the Prophet made this speech about receiving the month of Ramadan where he invited the Muslims to piety, benevolence, charity, and good deeds. Here is the speech as narrated by Imam Ali,

“O people, the month of Allah is coming to you with blessing, mercy, and forgiveness; a month that is the best of months near Allah, its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, and its hours are the best of hours. It is a month in which you are invited to the hospitality of Allah and in which


(367)

you are made from the people of Allah’s generosity; your breaths in it are as glorifying (of Allah), your sleeping is as worship, your deeds are accepted, and your supplication is responded to; therefore, ask your Lord with true intentions and pure hearts so that Allah may help you to fast it (the month of Ramadan) and recite His Book, because a wretched one is he who is deprived of the forgiveness of Allah in this great month. Remember, by your hunger and thirst in it, the hunger and the thirst of the Day of Judgment, pay charity to your poor and needy people, revere your old ones and be merciful to your young ones, maintain kinship with your relatives, withhold your tongues, keep your sights away from what is not permissible for you to look at, and your hearings from what is not permissible for you to listen to, be kind to the orphans of people and your orphans shall be shown kindness, repent to Allah the Almighty of your sins, and raise your hands
towards Him in supplication at the times of your prayers, because they are the best hours where Allah the Almighty looks during them with mercy at His servants; He answers them if they invoke Him, complies if they call on Him, and responds to them if they invite Him.

O people, your souls are bind by your deeds, so release them by your seeking of forgiveness, and your backs are burdened with your sins, so relieve them by your long prostration, and know that Allah the Almighty has sworn by His glory that He will not punish the praying and the prostrating ones, and will not call them to the fire on the day when people shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.

O people, whoever of you gives food (at the meal of Iftar) to a fasting believer in this month, he shall have near Allah the Almighty for that (a reward) as (the reward of) a setting free of a slave, and forgiveness to his afore committed sins.”


(368)

He added, “Keep yourselves safe from the Fire even if by a half of a date (to be given to a needy fasting one), keep yourselves safe from the Fire even if by a drink of water. O people, whoever of you betters his morals in this month it shall be to him a permit to pass across the Sirat[1] on the day when feet shall slip, and whoever sets free in this month from what his hand possesses (of slaves) Allah will make light his judgment (on the Day of Judgment), and whoever withholds his evil in it (this month) Allah will withhold His wrath from him on the day when he shall meet Him, and whoever is generous to an orphan in it Allah will be generous to him on the day when he shall meet Him, and whoever cuts his relationship with his kin in it Allah will cut from him His mercy on the day when he shall meet Him, and whoever offers willingly a prayer in it Allah will record to him an acquittance from the Fire, and whoever performs an obligation in it, shall have
the reward of seventy obligations performed in other (months) than it, and whoever much prays Allah to send blessings on me his scales shall be heavy on the day when scales shall be light, and whoever recites in it a verse from the Quran shall have the reward of the reciting of the whole Quran in other months.

O people, the doors of the Paradise are open in this month; therefore, ask your Lord not to close them before you, and the doors of the Fire are closed, so ask your Lord not to open them before you, and the devils are tied, so ask your Lord not to release them against you.”

Imam Ali asked him, “O messenger of Allah, what are the best deeds in this month?”

The Prophet said, “O Abul Hasan, the best of deeds in this months is the abstaining from what Allah has prohibited.”


Notes:

[1] As-Sirat is the bridge that dominates the Hell.


(369)

Then the Prophet began weeping, and when Imam Ali asked him why, he said, “O Ali, I weep for what shall afflict you in this month. As if I see that, while you shall be offering prayer for your Lord, the most wretched one of the first, the brother of the killer of Thamud’s she-camel, shall strike you on your head that shall blood your beard…”

Imam Ali asked faithfully and confidently, “Shall that be while I am on my sound faith?”

The Prophet said, “Yes, on your sound faith. O Ali, whoever kills you kills me, whoever hates you hates me, and whoever reviles you reviles me, because you are to me like my self; your soul is from my soul and your clay (of creation) is from my clay. Allah the Blessed, the High, has created me and you and chosen me and you; he has chosen me for prophethood, and chosen you for imamate, and whoever denies your imamate denies my prophethood.

O Ali, you are my guardian, the father of my two sons, the husband of my daughter, and my successor over my nation in my life and after my death; your commandment is my commandment and your prohibition is my prohibition. I swear by Him Who has sent me with the prophethood and made me the best of people, you are the authority of Allah over His people, His trustee with His secrets, and His deputy over His servants.”[1]

9. His speech in his last illness

At his last illness, the Prophet made a speech before his companions who had come to visit him. Here is a short passage from that speech:


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 93 p. 218-219, Uyoon al-Akhbar, vol. 1 p. 295-297, Amali as-Saduq, p. 57-58.


(370)

The Prophet said, “O people, I am about to be made die soon and be taken away. I have spoken to you to be excused before you; I leave among you the Book of Allah and my progeny, my household…”

Then, he took Imam Ali’s hand and said, “This is Ali. He is with the Quran, and the Quran is with Ali; they will not separate until they will come to me at the pond (in the Paradise).”[1]


Notes:

[1] The Life of the Principal of Women Fatima az-Zahra’, p. 284, quoted from as-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah.


# Wonderful maxims and teachings

The Prophet established wonderful methods of education, morals, and good manners. The Prophet’s maxims were a perfect method that could raise man to an exalted position and take his life high in the world of virtues, so that he really would be the deputy of Allah in the earth.

The Prophet’s maxims are an important part from the Islamic heritage that deals with all man’s issues and gives answers to all of his suffering in the different fields of life. Here are some examples of them:

Good morals
The Prophet very actively undertook the invitation to the good morals which was the most important task that he cared too much for. He said, “I have been sent but to complete the nobilities of character.” The following are some of the Prophet’s traditions concerning high morals:

1. He said, “The best of people in faith are the best of them in morals, and the best of you in morals is the kindest of you to his family (wife), and I am the kindest of you to my wife.”[1]

2. He said, “The most of that which takes people to the Paradise is the fear of Allah and good morals.”[2]

3. He said to his companions, “Shall I tell you about the most beloved of you to me and the nearest of you to me in seating on the Day of resurrection? They are the best of you in morals who is intimate and is intimated.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 1 p. 50.
[2] Ibid.
[3] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 172, Adab ad-Dunya wed-Deen (morals of life and religion), p. 237.


(372)

4. He said, “You shall not include people by your wealth, so include them by your morals.”[1]

5. He said, “Good morals are the half of religion.”[2]

6. He said, “The first thing that shall be put in the Scales (on the Day of Judgment) is the good morals.”[3]

7. He said, “There is no ancestry like good morals.”[4]

8. He said, “Good morals take their owner high to the degree of a fasting worshipper.” It is said to the Prophet, “What is the best of that which is given to a servant?” He said, “Good morals.”[5]

9. He said, “Good morals fix love (among people).”[6]

10. He said, “The most perfect one of the believers in faith is the best of them in morals.”[7]

And about bad morals, the Prophet said, “Bad morals are evil omen.”[8]

Gaiety

From the aspects that the Prophet invited to, was gaiety and smiling at every one when meeting. He said, “From the morals of the prophets and the truthful is the gaiety when they


Notes:

[1] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 6, Ayn al-Adab wes-Siyasah (the eye of literature and politics), p. 134, Siraj al-Mulook (the lamp of kings), p. 249.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 5141, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 174.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 7, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 174.
[4] Al-Jami’ as-Sagheer (little collection), vol. 2 p. 203.
[5] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 45.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., p. 44.

(373)

visit each other and the shaking of hands when they meet.”[1] He also said, “Happy miens take grudge away.”[2]

Reason

The Prophet said, “Allah has not given to people anything better than reason; the sleeping of a reasonable person is better than the staying awake (at night) of an ignorant one, and the staying of a reasonable person in his country is better than the journey of an ignorant one (on a task). Allah did not sent a prophet or a messenger except after he had had perfect reason and that his reason would be better than the whole reasons of his nation. What a prophet hides inside himself is better than fatwas of mujtahids. A servant has not to perform the obligations of Allah until he would have sound reason. All worshippers do not reach with the virtue of their worshipping what a reasonable one can reach. The reasonable are the very men of understanding about whom Allah has said, (But none remember except men of understanding).[3]”[4]

The Prophet said, “Reason is a gift (from Allah).”[5]

He said, “The friend of every man is his reason and his enemy is his ignorance.”[6]

He said, “Allah has divided reason into three parts that whoever has had them his reason is perfect, and whoever has not had them has no reason; (they are) the well knowing of Allah, good


Notes:

[1] Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 289.
[2] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 45.
[3] Quran, 2:269.
[4] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1 p. 60.
[5] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 174.
[6] Ibid.

(374)

obedience to Allah, and good patience with the decree of fate of Allah.”[1]

He said, “If you are informed about some man that he is good, then notice his good reason, because man is rewarded due to his reason.”[2]

He said, “If you see some man of much praying and fasting, do not be pride of him until you see how his reason is.”[3]

He said, “At the beginning when Allah created reason, He said to it: Come! And it came. Then He said to it: Go! And it went. Allah said: by My glory and honor, I have not created a creature more honored to me than you; by you I take, and by you I give, by you I reward and by you I punish.”[4]

He said, “A man does not obtain (anything) like a sound reason that guides him to guidance and holds him back from perishment. A servant’s faith is not completed and his religion is not straight until his reason is completed.”[5]

Aa’isha narrated, “I said to the messenger of Allah, ‘With what are people preferred to each other in this life?’ He said, ‘With reason.’ I said, ‘And in the afterlife?’ He said, ‘With reason.’ I said, ‘Shall they not be rewarded due to their deeds?’ He said, ‘O Aa’isha, do they work except inasmuch as the reason that Allah the Almighty has given to them? Therefore, as much as the


Notes:

[1] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 158, Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 23, al-Khisal, p. 102.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1 p. 59.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, p. 74.
[4] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 230, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 230.
[5] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 14, Ihya’ al-Uloom, vol. 1 p. 100.


(375)

reason they have been given their deeds are, and as much as their deeds they shall be rewarded.’”[1]

Foolishness

Foolishness is one of the worst qualities. The Prophet said, “A fool may ravage by his foolishness much more than the error of a disobedient.”[2]

Knowledge
Knowledge is the most important pillar on which the civilization of a nation is based, and it is the main basis of its development in all fields of life. It is impossible for any nation to have an important position under the sun while it is burdened with the ties of ignorance.

Islam insistingly invites its followers to seek knowledge, and it has made that obligatory on every Muslim man and every Muslim woman. The Prophet said, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim man and every Muslim woman. Surely Allah loves the seekers of knowledge.”[3]

The reward of scholars

Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq narrated that his grandfather the messenger of Allah said, “Whoever walks in a way seeking in it knowledge, Allah will put him in a way towards the Paradise. The angels shall lower their wings for a seeker of knowledge as pleased with him. Whoever in the heaven and in the earth and even whales in the sea pray Allah to forgive the seekers of knowledge. The preference of a scholar to a worshipper is like the preference of the moon to the rest of


Notes:

[1] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 231, Ihya’ al-Uloom, vol. 1 p. 100.
[2] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 14, Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 3 p. 137.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1 p. 79.


(376)

stars in the night when the moon is full. Scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets did not bequeath a dirham or a dinar, but they bequeathed knowledge, so whoever took from it (knowledge), took full fortune.”[1]

The punishment of scholars who quit their knowledge

Imam Ali narrated that the Prophet said, “Scholars are two men; one works due to his knowledge and he shall be saved, and the other one gives up his knowledge and he shall perish. The people of the Fire shall be disgusted with the smell of the scholar who has quitted his knowledge. The most one among the people of the Fire in regret and remorse is a man that invites someone to Allah, glory be to Him, and he responds and accepts from him, and so Allah takes him to the Paradise, while the inviter himself is taken to the Fire because he quits his knowledge, follows his desire, and keeps to long hope. As for the following of desire, it keeps one away from the truth, and as for long hope, it makes one forget the afterlife.”[2]

The nation’s rightness is by its scholars and leaders

The Prophet said, “There are two kinds of people that if they are right all other people become right, and if they are corrupted, all other people become corrupted; scholars and leaders.”[3]

Jurisprudents are trustees of the messengers

Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq narrated that his grandfather the messenger of Allah said, “Jurisprudents are the trustees of the messengers as long as they do not involve in this life.” It was said, “O messenger of Allah, what is their


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 84.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1 p. 94.
[3] Jami’ Bayan al-Ilm, vol. 1 p. 184.

(377)

involvement in this life?” He said, “Following the rulers; if they do that, then you have to beware of them as to your religion.”[1]

Learning knowledge

The Prophet said, “Learn knowledge, because learning it is a good deed, the studying of it (with others) is tasbih (glorification of Allah), searching for it is jihad, teaching it to those who do not know it is charity, and affording it to its people is as approaching to Allah, because it is the manifestation of halal (lawful things) and haram (unlawful things). It (knowledge) puts its seeker in the paths of the paradise. It is entertainment in loneliness, a friend in emigration, a guide to prosperity, a weapon against enemies, and beauty of companions. Allah the Almighty raises by it peoples and makes them imams in goodness to be imitated that their deeds are regarded, and their works are acquired, and the angels wish for their company, because knowledge is the life of hearts, the light of sights against blindness, and the strength of bodies against weakness, and that Allah puts its carrier (the people of knowledge) in the positions of lovers,
and grants them the meeting with the pious in this life and the afterlife.

By knowledge Allah is obeyed and worshipped, and by knowledge Allah is known and professed as One and Only, and by it kinship is maintained and lawful and unlawful things are known. Knowledge is the leader of mind.”[2]

The death of a scholar

The Prophet said, “Knowledge does not die by pulling it out of people, but the knowledgeable die, until when there is no one of them, people take ignorant leaders who are asked and


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 1 p. 97.
[2] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 28.

(378)

who give fatwas without knowledge, and so they go astray and make people go astray.”[1]

Surely, it is a great loss when a society is afflicted by the death of scholars whose place is occupied by ignorant persons who undertake people’s affairs with no knowledge.

Knowledge is a treasure

The Prophet said, “Knowledge is treasuries whose keys are questions. Therefore, ask, may Allah have mercy on you, because there are four persons who are rewarded; the asker, the speaker (answerer), the listener, and one who loves them.”[2]

He also said, “Often ask the knowledgeable, speak with the wise, and associate with the poor.”[3]

The fatwa with no knowledge

The Prophet warned against giving fatwas with no knowledge. He said, “Whoever gives a fatwa to people with no knowledge the angels of the heavens and the earth shall curse him.”[4]

The giving of a fatwa with no knowledge may make a lawful thing unlawful or an unlawful thing lawful, and thus it throws people into sins; therefore, Islam has prohibited the giving of fatwas with no knowledge.

Knowledge for pride

The Prophet said, “Let him, who learns knowledge to vie in glory with the fools or pride before scholars or attract the notables towards him to honor him, take his seat in the Fire,


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 37.
[2] Ibid, p.41.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.


(379)

because authority is not fit except to Allah and to its deserving people. Whoever put himself in a position other than the position in which Allah has put him, Allah will hate him, and whoever calls for himself and says: ‘I am your leader’ while he is not so, Allah will not look at him until he shall refrain from what he says and repent of what he claims.”[1]

Teaching kindly

The Prophet said, “Teach and do not chide, because a knowledgeable teacher is better than a chiding one.”[2]

Dispraising of ignorance

The Prophet said, “…and the description of an ignorant is: that he wrongs those who associate with him, trespasses those who are lower than him, and is impudent to those who are higher than him. His speaking is without thinking; if he speaks, he errs, and if he keeps silent, he becomes inadvertent. If a sedition faces him, he hastens to it, and it makes him perish, and if he sees a virtue, he stays behind. He does not fear for his old sins, nor does he refrain from sins in what remains of his life. He lingers and delays before charity heedlessly to what he has missed or lost from that. These are (ten) features of an ignorant person who has been deprived of reason.”[3]

Thinking deeply on affairs

The Prophet often advised Muslims to think deeply on matters before trying to do them. One day, some man came to the Prophet and said to him, “Offer recommendations to me, O messenger of Allah!”


Notes:

[1] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 43-44.
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77 p. 175.
[3] Tuhaf al-Uqool, p. 29.


(380)

The Prophet said to him, “Will you follow my recommendations?” He repeated that three times.

The man said, “Yes I will, O messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet said, “I recommend you that when you intend to do something, you are to think deeply on its result; if it is good, you can do it, and if it is bad, you are to give it up.”[1]

Kinship and pardon

The Prophet said, “Maintain relationship with one who cuts his with you, give to one who deprives you, and pardon one who wrongs you.”[2]

Praising of benevolence

The Prophet said, “Allah the Almighty has made for benevolence some of His creatures that He has endeared to them benevolence and endeared to them its deeds, and He has guided to them the seekers (who are in need) of benevolence and made the giving of it easy to them as He has made easy the falling of rains to the barren land to enliven it and enliven its people. Allah the Almighty, as well, has made to benevolence enemies from among His creatures that He has made benevolence hateful to them and made its deeds hateful to them, and He has prevented the seekers of benevolence from asking them and prevented them (the enemies of benevolence) from giving it as He prevents rains from falling down on the barren land to destroy it and destroy its people with it, but what Allah pardons is much more. The doing of benevolence protects


Notes:

[1] Rawdhat al-Kafi, p. 150.
[2] Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 46.

(381)

one from bad death.[1] The people of benevolence in this life are people of benevolence in the afterlife. The first people to enter into the Paradise shall be the people of benevolence. The charity in secret puts out the wrath of the Lord, and the maintaining of kinship increases one’s age.”[2]

Virtues

The Prophet said, “There is no property more profitable than reason. There is no loneliness lonelier than self-conceit. There is no reason like thinking deeply, no determination like piety, no companion like good morals, no scales like good manners, no benefit like successfulness, no trade like good deeds, no profit like the reward of Allah, no god-fearing like abstaining at ambiguity, no abstinence like the abstinence from unlawful things, no knowledge like pondering, no worship like performing the obligations, no faith like modesty and patience, no ancestry like humbleness, no honor like knowledge, and no assistance like consultation. So keep the head and what it contains, and the abdomen and what it includes, and remember death and long trials.”[3]

Generosity

The Prophet said, “Allah the Almighty has chosen this religion for Himself, and it is not fit for your religion except generosity and good manners; therefore, adorn your religion with them.”[4]


Notes:

[1] Bad death is the state of total misery, bitter pains, or serious diseases that man suffers at dying which makes him ungrateful to the blessings of Allah and makes him neglect the remembrance of Allah.
[2] Al-Jami’ as-Sagheer, vol. 1 p. 69, The Letters of ibn Abi ad-Dunya, p. 74.
[3] Nathr ad-Durr (scattering of pearls), vol. 1 p. 171, Proverbs of al-Mawardi, p. 55, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 357.
[4] Siraj al-Mulook, p. 247.

(382)

Generosity and open-handedness are from nobilities and perfection, and they are high qualities that every man is honored by them. The Prophet used to prefer the generous to others in giving. Once, a delegation from the Arabs came to him. He gave them (from the treasury) and preferred to them some man from among them. The Prophet was asked about that and he said, “All the people (of that tribe) are dependants on him.”[1]

Doing good

The Prophet said, “Do good throughout your life and be liable to the donations of Allah’s mercy, because Allah has donations from His mercy which He grants to whomever He likes from His servants; and ask Allah to cover your private parts (honors) and calm down your fears.”[2]

Surely the doing of good is one of the main concepts that Islam has emphasized on. Allah says, (therefore hasten to (do) good deeds).[3]

The Prophet said, “A word of goodness that a believer listens to, works due to it, and teaches it (to others) is better than the worship of a year.”[4]

Charity

The Prophet said, “Hearts have been created with the nature of loving whoever does good to them and hating whoever does wrong to them.”[5]


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 2 p. 286.
[2] Ash-Shihab, p. 12.
[3] Quran, 2:148.
[4] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 53.
[5] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 2 p. 254, Proverbs (Amthal) of al-Mawardi, p. 56, Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 648.s


(383)

Bad and prohibited features
The Prophet warned strongly against bad qualities that would take man to woe, destruction, and the wrath of Allah, such as:

Hypocrisy

The Prophet said, “That which I fear most for my nation from is every hypocrite of cunning tongue.”[1]

Treason

The Prophet said, “A banner shall be installed for a traitor on the Day of Resurrection and it shall be said: this is the treason of so-and-so the son of so-and-so.”[2]

Betrayal of trust

The Prophet said, “A man, who has been entrusted with a trust, shall be brought on the Day of Judgment and it shall be said to him: Pay back your trust. He shall say: O my Lord, the worldly life has gone. It shall be said: take him to the Hell. He shall fall into it (Hell) until he shall reach to its bottom and he shall find it (the trust) there as it was. He shall carry it on his shoulder and come up with it. When he shall see that he shall have come out, it (the trust) shall slip and fall down, and he shall fall down after it (and so on) forever.”[3]

False testimony

The Prophet said, “On the day of Resurrection, birds shall beat with their beaks, eject what there shall be in their craws,


Notes:

[1] Kashf al-Khafa’, vol. 1 p. 70, al-Jami’ as-Sagheer, vol. 1 p. 14.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 517.
[3] Al-Jami' as-Sagheer, vol. 2 p. 85, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 9.


(384)

and shake their tails because of the great terror of the Day of Resurrection, and (on that day) a giver of false testimony shall not be talked to, and his feet shall not fix on the ground until he shall be thrown into the Fire.”[1]

Oppression

The Prophet said, “The promptest thing in being punished for is oppression.”[2]

He also said, “There is no sin nearer to punishment that Allah hastens for its committer in this life, besides what shall be saved for him in the afterlife, than oppression and cutting off kinship.”[3]

Rejoicing at others’ distress

The Prophet said, “Do not show rejoicing at your brother’s distress that Allah may deliver him (from it) and afflict you.”[4]

Surely rejoicing at others’ distresses is a feature of villains whereas Islam has built its society on high morals, nobilities, the love of others, and honesty.

Haughtiness

The Prophet said, “Whoever draws his garment as a kind of arrogance Allah will not look at him.”[5]

He also said, “He, who has in his heart inasmuch as the weight of a grain of mustard seed of arrogance, shall not enter the Paradise.”[6]


Notes:

[1] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 4 p. 200.
[2] Al-Mustadhraf, vol. 6 p. 208, Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 823.
[3] Bahjat al-Majalis (joy of meetings), vol. 1 p. 406.
[4] Al-Jami' as-Sagheer, vol. 2 p. 201, Kashf al-Khafa’, vol. 2 p. 479, Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 2 p. 501.
[5] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 370.
[6] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 1 p. 98, the Collection of Warram, vol. 1 p. 203.


(385)

He said, “He, who glorifies himself and struts in his walking, shall meet Allah while angry at him.”[1]

Talebearing

The Prophet said, “Cursed is a triad!” He was asked, “What is a triad, O messenger of Allah?” He said, “It is he who betrays his friend near his ruler, and thus he destroys himself, his friend, and his ruler.”[2]

He also said, “Let him, who believes in Allah and the Last Day, not convey to us a defect of his believing brother.”[3]

Envy

The Prophet said, “Envy eats good deeds as fire eats firewood.”[4]

Envy causes calamities and disasters to people and throws them into great evils. As a result of envy, the Prophet’s immaculate progeny were kept away from their right in the caliphate when some companions, after the Prophet’s death, announced: “The prophethood and the caliphate should not gather in one family!” Therefore, the caliphate was seized from its actual people who were kept away from the political life, and consequently the nation suffered and is still suffering the bitterest kinds of disasters.

Evil plotting

The Prophet said, “Beware of evil plotting, because Allah has determined that (the evil plotting shall not beset any except the authors of it).”[5]


Notes:

[1] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 1 p. 98.
[2] Siraj al-Mulook, p. 267, Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 3 p. 644.
[3] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 289.
[4] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 461, Adab ad-Dunya wed-Deen, p. 264, al-Mustadhraf, vol. 1 p. 214.
[5] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 644.

(386)

Lying

The Prophet said, “Beware of lying, because it leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to the Fire. Speak truthfully, because truthfulness leads to piety, and piety leads to the Paradise.”[1]

Stinginess

The Prophet said, “No two wolves that are sent to a flock of sheep and they ravage it worse than man’s stinginess of wealth.”[2]

He said, “The son of Adam gets old and two things grow with him; stinginess of wealth and stinginess of life.”[3]

Pride

There are many traditions transmitted from the Prophet on dispraising pride. Here are some of them:

He said, “I am the master of the children of Adam but with no pride.”[4]

He said, “People are from Adam and Eve like the contents of a vessel that shall not be filled (they shall not reach perfection). Allah does not ask about your ancestries. He does not ask except about your deeds. Surely the most honored of you to Allah is the most pious of you.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 1 p. 93, Rabee’ al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 639, Ghurar al-Khasa’is, p. 52.
[2] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 10 p. 250.
[3] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 376.
[4] Majma' az-Zawa'id, vol. 1 p. 376, Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 2 p. 312.
[5] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 4 p. 145.

(387)

He said, “Your prophet is the same and your father is the same. There is no preference for the black to the red, nor for an Arab to a foreigner except by piety.”[1]

He said, “Allah has removed from you the defect of the pre-Islamic age and its pride and He replaced it by self-esteem. People are children of Adam, and Adam is from earth; (they are either) a pious believer or a cursed disobedient. Let some peoples stop priding on their men; they are but coals from the coals of the Hell, or they shall be meaner to Allah than dung beetles which push their dung with their noses. Allah the Almighty has said, (O Noah! he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct).[2]”[3]

Injustice

The Prophet said, “When it is the Day of Resurrection, a caller shall call out: where are the unjust, the assistants of the unjust, and the likes of the unjust even him who has sharpened to them a pen or prepared to them an inkpot. They shall gather in an iron coffin and then they shall be thrown into the Hell.”[4]

He also said, “May Allah have mercy on a servant that has had an act of injustice in honor or property against his brother, and he comes to him to absolve him from it before the Day of Resurrection shall come where there shall be neither a dinar nor a dirham with him.”[5]


Notes:

[1] A passage from the Farewell Hajj Sermon of the Prophet.
[2] Quran, 11:46.
[3] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 2 p. 624, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 2 p. 361.
[4] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 834.
[5] Ibid., p. 815.


(388)

He said, “There are two men from my nation whom my intercession shall not include; an unjust, oppressive ruler, and an excessive one in religion and astray from it.”[1]

Impudence

The Prophet said, “The worst of people in position on the Day of Resurrection is he whom people has left alone to be safe from his impudence.” And He said, “From the worst of people are those who are honored (by others) just to be safe from their tongues.”[2]

Double-faced

The Prophet said, “Certainly a double-faced one is not trusted near Allah.”[3]

He said, “He, who has two faces in this life, shall have two tongues of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”[4]

He said, “A double-faced one should not be notable.”[5]

Uncertainty

The Prophet said, “I do not fear for my nation except from uncertainty.”[6]

Supporting of falsehood

The Prophet said, “He, who supports falsehood to refute by his falsehood a truth, shall be away from the protection of Allah and the protection of His messenger.”[7]


Notes:

[1] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2, p. 497.
[2] Ibid., p. 48.
[3] As-Sunan al-Kubra, vol. 1 p. 246.
[4] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 2 p. 45.
[5] Ash-Shifa’, by the Judge Ayyadh, vol. 1 p. 78.
[6] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 64.
[7] Majma' az-Zawa'id, vol. 4 p. 205, vol. 5 p. 211.


(389)

He said, “He, who goes with an unjust one to support him while knowing that he is unjust, shall be out of Islam.”[1]

Praising the disobedient

The Prophet prohibited the Muslims to praise a disobedient one because that would deaden justice and be disobedience to Allah the Almighty.

The Prophet said, “When a disobedient person is praised, the Throne shall shake for that and the Lord will be angry for it.”[2]

He said, “Allah is angry when a disobedient one is praised.”[3]

Terrifying a Muslim

Islam has prohibited the terrifying of a Muslim. The Prophet said, “It is enough evil for one to terrify his Muslim brother.”[4]

Praiseworthy attributes
Five qualities

The Prophet said, “A servant does not obtain full faith until he has five qualities; relying on Allah, entrusting (all his affairs) to Allah, believing in all Allah’s orders, being satisfied with Allah’s decree of fate, and being patient with Allah’s trials. He, who loves for the sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah, and holds back for the sake of Allah, shall be with full faith.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Majma' az-Zawa'id, vol. 4 p. 205.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 1 p. 418, al-Jami' as-Sagheer, vol. 1 p. 35.
[3] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 51.
[4] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 492, al-Mustadhraf, vol. 1 p. 155.
[5] Al-La’ali’ al-Masnu’ah, vol. 1 p. 302. (But the author considers it as fabricated.)

(390)

Four qualities

The Prophet said, “There are four things that whoever is given is given the goodness of this life and the afterlife; a grateful heart, a mentioning tongue, a body patient with affliction, a wife who betrays neither him nor his properties.”[1]

Satisfaction

The Prophet said, “He, who is submissive (to Allah), is made successful, granted (sustenance) sufficiently, and Allah will make him satisfied with what He has given to him.”[2]

He also said, “Satisfaction is a treasure that does not run out.”[3]

Economics

The Prophet said, “He, who is economical, shall not be needy.”[4]

Obedience of Allah

The Prophet said, “Whomever Allah has moved from the meanness of disobediences to the honor of piety He has enriched him with no wealth, honored him with no tribe, and entertained him with no entertainer. Whoever fears Allah, Allah will make everything fear him.”[5]

Seeking forgiveness

The Prophet said, “A servant may commit a sin that takes him to the Paradise.” He was asked, “O messenger of Allah, how can it take him to the Paradise.”


Notes:

[1] at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 44.
[2] Ibid., 3 p. 211.
[3] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 247, al-Mustadhraf, vol. 3 p. 347.
[4] Al-Jami' as-Sagheer, vol. 2 p. 146, Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 347.
[5] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 48.

(391)

The Prophet said, “He may be repentant of it (that sin) and be asking for forgiveness until he shall enter into the Paradise.”[1]

He also said, “Whoever often seeks forgiveness Allah will make to him a deliverance and release him from every distress, and grant him sustenance from where he does not expect.”[2]

The inviolability of a believer

Once, the Prophet looked at the Kaaba and said, “Welcome to the House! How great you are and how great your sanctity is! By Allah, a believer is more inviolable near Allah than you, because Allah has prohibited one thing concerning you, but three things concerning a believer; (the shedding of) his blood, (the plundering of) his money, and to be mistrusted.”[3]

Pardoning

The Prophet said, “Pardon the slips of the notables except the penalties.”[4]

He said, “He, whose brother apologizes to him but he does not accept, shall not come to me at the pond (in the Paradise).”[5]

Hating the sinners

The Prophet said, “Approach to Allah by hating the sinners, and seek His pleasure by avoiding them.” His companions asked, “With whom shall we associate?” He said, “Those, the seeing of whom reminds you of Allah, and whose


Notes:

[1] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 1 p. 408.
[2] At-Targheeb wet-Tarheeb, p. 151.
[3] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 799.
[4] Bahjat al-Majalis, vol. 1 p. 370.
[5] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 3 p. 258.


(392)

logic increase your understanding, and whose deeds make you wish for the afterlife.”[1]

The most beloved people to the Prophet

The Prophet said, “The happiest one of people to me is a simple believer of good prayers and whose sustenance is least and he is patient with it until he shall meet Allah, and who worships Allah well and obeys Him in secret, and is unknown among people; whose death is hastened, whose inheritance is little, and the weepers for him are few.”[2]

Wisdom

The Prophet said, “Wisdom is the long-sought goal of believers.”[3]

Reciting the Quran

The Prophet said to Anass, “My son, do not forget the reciting of the Quran in the evening, because the Quran enlivens the dead heart, and forbids indecency and vice.”[4]

Leniency

Once, a group of Jews came to the Prophet and said to him, “As-Sam alayk.”[5] The Prophet replied, “and on you.” Aa’isha, the Prophet’s wife, became angry and said to them, “but, death and curse be on you.” The Prophet said to her, “O Aa’isha, Allah loves leniency in all affairs.” She said to him,


Notes:

[1] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 5 p. 245.
[2] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 5 p. 52, the Collection of Warram, vol. 1 p. 182, al-Jami' as-Sagheer, vol. 1 p. 88.
[3] Kashf al-Ghita’, vol. 1 p. 435, Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, p. 191.
[4] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 54.
[5] The greeting of Islam in Arabic is ‘as-Salam alayk or alaykum; peace be on you (singular) or you (plural)’, whereas ‘sam’ here means ‘death’.


(393)

“Have you not heard what they said?” The Prophet said to her, “And I said (to them): and on you.”[1]

The Prophet also said, “Whoever is lenient to my nation Allah will be lenient to him, and whoever is severe to my nation Allah will be severe to him.”[2]

The advantage of fasting

The Prophet said, “Fasting is the zakat of one’s body.”[3]

He said, “A faster shall have two joys; one is at breaking his fasting and the other is at meeting his Lord.”[4]

Prayer

The prayer is the main pillar of the religion and the sacrifice of the pious. Because of its importance, the Prophet, whenever distressed, he resorted to offering prayer.[5]

Comfort in food

The Prophet said, “He, who is eating some food while there is a two-eyed creature looking at him but he does not give to him\it, shall be afflicted with an incurable disease.”[6]

Economic in food

The Prophet often advised Muslims to be economical in food and not to be excessive or wasteful, because excessiveness in having food would cause many illnesses.


Notes:

[1] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 45.
[2] Ibid., p. 45.
[3] Ibid., p. 116.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., p. 97.
[6] Ibid., p. 679.

(394)

The Prophet said, “Allah has not adorned man with an adornment better than the abstinence of his abdomen.”[1]

He also said, “He, whose eating is little, his abdomen shall be sound and his heart shall be clear, and he, whose eating is much, his abdomen shall be ill and his heart shall be severe.”[2]

He said, “The son of Adam does not fill a vessel worse than the stomach. It suffices man from his food what can sustains him, but if the son of Adam denies, let him make a third for food, a third for drinks, and a third for breath.”[3]

Honoring old people

The Prophet said, “From the glorifying of Allah is the honoring of aged Muslims.”[4]

Trust of meetings

From the Islamic morals is that one should not reveal a speech taking place between him and another one, for that may cause a harm. The Prophet said, “Meetings are a trust.”[5]

Once, Abdul Melik bin Marwan, the Umayyad caliph, parted with his guards in his way. He saw a nomad and asked him, “Do you know Abdul Melik?” The nomad said, “He is oppressive, aggressive.” Abdul Melik said to the man, “Woe unto you! I am Abdul Melik.” The man kept on abusing and criticizing the caliph.” When the guards arrived, the man said to the caliph, “O Ameerul Mo'minin, keep what has happened secret, because meetings are a trust.”


Notes:

[1] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 674.
[2] Ibid., p. 676.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Muhadharat ar-Raghib, vol. 2 p. 323.
[5] Rabee' al-Abrar, vol. 2 p. 323.

(395)

Consultation

The Prophet said, “He, who seeks what is best near Allah, shall not be disappointed, and he, who consults (with others), shall not regret, and he, who is economical, shall not be needy.”[1]

Imam as-Sadiq said, “He, who consults (with others), shall not miss, at doing right, a praiser, and at doing mistake, an excuser.”

The Prophet often consulted with his companions on different matters. In the battle of Badr, the Prophet (and his army) stopped at the nearest well to the place of the battle. Al-Hubab bin Munthir said to him, “O messenger of Allah, has Allah the Almighty ordered you to stop at this place that you should neither exceed nor stay behind?” The Prophet said, “No, but it is my thought.” Al-Hubab said, “O messenger of Allah, this is not a suitable place. March with the people until we reach the nearest well to the people (the opponents) to stop there. Then, we build a pool around it and fill it with water. Then, we begin fighting them, and so we will have water to drink, but they won’t.” The Prophet said, “You have suggested the right suggestion.” The Prophet did as his companion suggested.[2]

Unity

The Prophet said, “Unity is mercy and separation is torment.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Majma' az-Zawa'id, vol. 2 p. 280, Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 6 p. 69, al-Mustadhraf, vol. 1 p. 73.
[2] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 6 p. 72-73.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 7 p. 558.


(396)

He said, “He, who keeps away from unity (of Muslims), shall die the death of the pre-Islamic age (as unbeliever).”[1]

He said, “Whoever parts with the unity a span of the hand, Allah will take the noose of Islam off his neck.”[2]

The jihad for the sake of Allah

The Prophet said, “The nearest of deeds to Allah is the jihad in the way of Allah and nothing equals it.”[3]

He said, “The best deed of a believer is the jihad in the way of Allah.”[4]

He said, “Struggle against polytheists with your wealth, souls, and tongues.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 8 p. 87.
[2] Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 2 p. 426.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 4 p. 285.
[4] Ibid., vol. 13 p. 307.
[5] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 3 p. 124, Usool al-Kafi, vol. 4 p. 297, Sunan of Abi Dawud, vol. 1 p. 562.


# Short maxims

A good collection of short maxims has been transmitted from the Prophet that are of wonderful eloquence, literature, and wisdom. Though brief, they show the top of eloquence and expressiveness, and they include the high Islamic morals and manners. The following are some of them:

1. “The farthest of you in being like to me (not like me) is the stingy, the obscene, the indecent.”

2. “The most hateful of men to Allah is a quarrelsome hostile.”

3. “Be kind to the weak, because you are endowed with sustenance and are supported for your weak.”

4. Do you like to be good hearted and to obtain what you want? Be kind to the orphan, pat their heads, and feed them from your food, and you shall obtain what you want.”

5. “Fear Allah and treat all your children fairly as you like them to be dutiful to you.”

6. “Beware of the believer’s insight because he sees by the light of Allah, glory be to Him.”

7. “Avoid anger.”

8. “Avoid wine because it is the key to every evil.”

9. “Avoid every intoxicant.”

10. “The most beloved deed to Allah is the most continuous one of them.”

11. “The most beloved deeds to Allah are the feeding of a hungry person, the paying of some(needy)one’s debt, or the relieving of someone’s distress.”

12. “The most beloved deed to Allah is the keeping (withholding) of one’s tongue.”



(398)

13. “The most beloved speech to me is the most truthful.”

14. “The most beloved food to me is that which hands are many at it (more people participate in eating it).”

15. “The most beloved one of your houses to Allah is the house that an orphan is treated kindly in.”

16. “The most beloved one of Allah’s servants to Allah is the most helpful one of them to His servants and the best of them in fulfilling His rights, who endears to them benevolence and the doing of it.”

17. “Beware of mistrusting people.”

18. “Throw earth on the praisers’ faces.”

19. “The most determined one of people is the best of them in suppressing his anger.”

20. “Be good neighbors to the blessings of Allah and do not make them run away, because it is seldom that they (blessings) leave a people and come back to them again.”

21. “Keep your tongue.”

22. “Pay the trust back to him who has entrusted you with it, and do not betray whoever has betrayed you.”

23. “Repel penalties by (avoiding) ambiguities (when hesitating whether lawful or unlawful), and pardon the slips of the notables except the penalties of Allah.”

24. “Invoke Allah while you are certain of His response, and know that Allah does not respond to an invocation from a neglectful, inadvertent heart.”

25. “If Allah gives you wealth, let the result of Allah’s blessing and honor to you appear on you.”


(399)

26. “If Allah wants goodness for a servant, He makes people be in need of him.”

27. “If Allah wants goodness for a servant, He makes him aware of the religion, abstinent in this life, and makes him see his defects.”

28. “If Allah wants goodness for a household, he endows them with leniency.”

29. “If Allah wants growth for a people, He endows them with generosity and chastity, and if He wants perishment for a people, He opens to them the door of betrayal.”

30. “When a ruler becomes enraged, Satan prevails.”

31. “When Allah gives one of you goodness, let him begin with himself and his family.”

32. “If you see an evil omen, let you keep on (action), if you guess, let you not judge, and if you envy, let you not be oppressive.”

33. “If you judge, be just, and if you speak, speak of goodness, because Allah is Beneficent and He loves the beneficent.”

34. “If you find that a man is careless of what he says or what is said about him, then he is either an adulterer or a devil.”

35. “When you see unsound people, pray Allah for good health.”

36. “When the worst of people prevails over them, and the meanest of people is the leader over them, and the sinful are honored, then let disasters be waited for.”

37. “If one of you does something, let him perfect it.”

38. “If you are powerful over your enemy, then make pardon as the gratefulness for the powerfulness over him.”


(400)

39. “If someone of you comes from a travel, let him bring with him a present, even if he puts in his bag a stone.”

40. “If two persons are talking with each other, let you not interfere between them.”

41. “If your leaders are the best of you, your wealthy people are the most generous of you, and your affairs are decided after consultation between you, then the surface of the earth is better to you than its interior (to live better than to die). But, if your leaders are the worst of you, your wealthy people are the stingiest of you, your affairs are decided by your women, then the interior of the earth is better to you than its surface.”

42. “If you have what suffices you, then do not ask for what may make you haughty.”

43. “When there shall be the Day of Resurrection, a servant’s legs shall not slip until he shall be asked about four things; his age how he has spent it, his youth how he has worn it out, his gains wherefrom he has gained and on what he has spent them, and about the love to us, we the Ahlul Bayt.”

44. “If man dies, his deeds stop except three; a continuous charity, knowledge that is benefited by, and a good child that prays Allah for him.”

45. “Remember Allah, because He is a supporter to you in what you seek.”

46. “The lowest of people is he who insults people.”

47. “There are four things that are from the signs of misery; inactivity of the eye (not cry), severity of the heart, far greed for the pleasures of this life, and the insisting on sins.”

48. “There are four things that whoever has had he shall be in the greatest light of Allah; he that the protection of his affairs is the witness that ‘there is no god but Allah and that I am the



(401)

messenger of Allah’, he that when an affliction afflicts him, says ‘we are Allah’s and to Him we shall return’, he that when obtains good, says: ‘praise be to Allah’, and he that when commits a sin, says: ‘I pray Allah to forgive me and I repent to Him’.”


49. “There are four things that are required by every one of reason and intelligence from my nation; listening to knowledge, memorizing, spreading, and acting according to it.”

50. “There are four things whose littleness is much; poverty, pain, enmity, and fire.”

51. “Be merciful to a notable that becomes low, a wealthy one that becomes poor, and a knowledgeable one that is lost among ignorant people.”

52. “Be abstinent in this life and Allah will love you, and be abstinent to what there is in people’s hands, and people will love you.”

53. “Resort to secrecy in (many of) your affairs, because every owner of a blessing is envied.”

54. “Allah’s wrath is so great on adulterers.”

55. “From the most tortured people on the Day of Resurrection is one who shows people that he is good while there is no good in him.”

56. “From the most tortured people on the Day of Resurrection is a knowledgeable one whose knowledge does not benefit him (in the life).”

57. “The strongest of you is he who controls himself at anger, and the most forbearing one of you is he who pardons after having prevalence.”



(402)

58. “The most wretched one of the wretched is he on whom the poverty of this life and the torment of the afterlife gather together.”

59. “The most righteous one of people is the best of them to people.”

60. “Seek good health for others, and you shall be granted it for yourself.”

61. “Seek favor near the merciful ones of my nation that you shall live under their protection, and do not seek it near the hard-hearted ones.”

62. “Regard a friend due to his friend.”

63. “The most just one of people is he who accepts for people what he accepts for himself, and dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself.”

64. “The bitterest of your enemies is your soul that is inside you.”

65. “Give to a beggar even if he comes to you on a good horse, and give the employee his fee before his sweat shall dry.”

66. “The most important one of people in this life is he who regards no importance of this life to him.”

67. “The most reasonable one of people is the most of them in humoring people.”

68. “Deeds are (regarded) but by intentions and results.”

69. “Deeds are (regarded) by intention.”

70. “The taking of a present by a leader is ill-gotten, and the accepting of a bribe by a judge is disbelief.”


(403)

71. “The most inattentive one of people is he who does not take a lesson from the change of this life from a condition into another.”

72. “The wealthiest of people is he who is not a captive of greed.”

73. “Spread greeting, offer food, maintain kinship, and pray in the night while people are sleeping, and thus you shall enter the Paradise.”

74. “The best of friends is he who when you remember supports you and when you forget reminds you.”

75. “The best of deeds is the gaining in lawful ways.”

76. “The best of deeds is to cause delight for your believing brother, or pay his debt (instead of him).”

77. “The best of faith is patience and generosity.”

78. “The best of jihad is that when one does not intend to wrong anyone.”

79. “The best of good deeds is the honoring of companions.”

80. “The best of charity is reconciliation.”

81. “The best of charity is that a Muslim person learns knowledge and then he teaches it to his Muslim brother.”

82. “The best of charity is the keeping of the tongue (not to offend others).”

83. “The best of deeds is a truthful intention.”

84. “The best of virtues is to maintain relationship with one who has cut his relationship with you, to give one who has deprived you, and to pardon one who has done you wrong.”


(404)

85. “The best of people is he who is humble though he is lofty, is abstinent though he is wealthy, is fair though he is powerful, and is meek though prevalent.”

86. “The best of my nation’s jihad is the waiting for deliverance.”

87. “The best of you in faith are the best of you in morals.”

88. “The plague of speaking is lying.”

89. “Accept honoring (gift), and the best of honoring is perfume; the lightest in being carried, and the best in scent.”

90. “The nearest of you to me tomorrow in the Standing (before Allah), is the most truthful of you in speaking, the best of you in giving back trusts, the most loyal of you to covenants, the best of you in morals, and the nearest of you to people.”

91. “The least comfortable people are the stingy.”

92. “The least delighted people are the envious.”

93. “The least things available at the end of time are a trustworthy brother or a well-gotten dirham.”

94. “Pardon the slips of the people of mistakes.”

95. “The greatest of major sins is the mistrusting of Allah.”

96. “The greatest of major sins are the association (of others) with Allah, the killing of a human being, the undutifulness to parents, and false testimony.”

97. “The most satiate people in this life are the hungriest of them on the Day of Resurrection.”

98. “The most appreciated people are the most knowledgeable.”

99. “The most honorable people are the most pious.”

100. “Honor your children and educate them well.”



(405)

101. “Honor the knowledgeable because they are the heirs of the prophets. Whoever honors them honors Allah and His messenger.”

102. “Accept from me six things and I will assure to you the paradise; if one of you speaks, let him not tell lies, if he promises, let him not break his promise, and if he is entrusted, let him not betray. Lower your sights (do not look at what is unlawful to look at), hold back your hands (from harming others or obtaining what is unlawful), and keep your honors (private parts).”

103. “Eating in the markets is lowness.”

104. “Shall I guide you to the best morals of this life and the afterlife? Maintain relationship with one who has cut relations with you, give to one who has deprived you, and pardon one who has wronged you.”

105. “There may be a lust of a moment that causes a long sorrow.”

106. “Let no man be alone with a woman, for Satan shall be the third of them.”

107. “Put on new clothes and live as honorable.”

108. “Seek the neighbor before buying a house, and the companion (of travel) before the way.”

109. “Fidelity brings sustenance, and betrayal brings poverty.”

110. “I have been ordered to humor people as I have been to carry out the mission.”

111. “Hope is but a mercy from Allah to my nation. Without hope a mother shall not suckle a child, nor shall a planter plant a tree.”



(406)

112. “The most beloved servant to Allah is he to whom Allah has endeared benevolence and to whom He has endeared the doings of it.”

113. “The thing that I most fear for my nation from is every cunning hypocrite.”

114. “The most regretful one on the Day of Resurrection is a man that has sold his afterlife for the life of other than himself.”

115. “The most sinful one on the Day of Resurrection is the most involved one in falsehood.”

116. “The greatest sin to Allah is that when a man neglects those whom he is responsible of maintaining.”

117. “The things that mostly take people to the Fire are the two hollow things; the mouth and the private parts.

118. “Happiness and all happiness is in one’s long life that is spent in the obedience of Allah.”

119. “A reasonable one is he who believes in the oneness of Allah and obeys Him.”

120. “When a servant commits a sin, it shall be made in his heart as a black spot. If he gives up, repents, and seeks forgiveness, his heart shall be cleared, but if he returns to commit the sin, it (the black spot) shall be increased until it shall overcome his heart, and this is the rust that Allah has mentioned in this verse, (Nay! But, what they used to do has become like rust upon their hearts). Quran, 83:14

121. “Allah is not obeyed by force, nor is He disobeyed out of defeat, and He does not neglect the people in the kingdom, but He is powerful over what He has made them powerful over, and He is the possessor of what He has made them posses, then if the people follow the obedience of Allah, there shall be no


(407)

preventer or repeller, and if they disobeys Him, and He wills to prevent them from it (disobedience), He will do…

122. “Allah, glory be to Him, likes lying in (making) righteousness, and hates truthfulness in (making) corruption.”

123. “Allah has revealed to me: be humble lest anyone should pride on another or anyone should oppress another.”

124. “Allah has natured the hearts of His people to love whoever does good to them, and to hate whoever does bad to them.”

125. “Allah the Almighty does not expose the honor of a servant who has inasmuch as the weight of an atom of goodness.”

126. “Allah repels by charity seventy bad deaths.”

127. “Allah, the Exalted, takes pride in a worshipping young man before the angels and says: look at My servant; he gave up his lust for the sake of Me.”

128. “Allah the Almighty hates the obscene, the indecent.”

129. “Allah the Almighty loves the assisting of the terribly needy.”

130. “Allah the Almighty loves leniency in all affairs.”

131. “Allah the Almighty loves from His people the jealous.”

132. “Allah the Almighty recommends you to be kind to women, because they are your mothers, daughters, and aunts.”

133. “Allah hates the adulterate old men, the oppressive wealthy, the proud poor, the importunate beggars, and He frustrates the reward of a reminding giver, and He hates the indecent, daring liars.”

134. “Allah loves when He endows His servant with a blessing that the sign of His blessing should be seen on him, and He hates misery and the pretending of misery.”


(408)

135. “Those, who love each other for the sake of Allah, shall be in the shade of the Throne.”

136. “A believer follows the manners of Allah; if Allah gives him much, he includes it, and if He stops giving him, he shall be abstinent.”

137. “Know that success is with patience, deliverance is with distress, and ease is with hardship.”

138. “We, the prophets, have been ordered to talk to people according to their own reasons.”

139. “The firmest ties of Islam is that you love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah.”

140. “Deliberateness is from Allah and hastiness is from Satan.”

141. “You and your properties are to your father.”

142. “Keeping to one’s promise is from faith.”

143. “The best servants of Allah are the loyal, the good.”

144. “In the paradise there are a house called the House of Joy that no one shall enter into it except those who have delighted the believers’ orphans.”

145. “In wealth there is a due other than the zakat.”

146. “You can not include people by your properties, so include them by your morals.”

147. “These hearts become rusty as iron becomes rusty.” He was asked, “Then, how are they clarified?” He said, “By remembering death and reciting the Quran.”

148. “Allah has servants that He has created for (the carrying out of) the needs of people.”



(409)

149. “Allah has servants that He has chosen for the needs of people. People resort to them at need; they are the safe from the torment of Allah.”

150. “I but fear for my nation from three: obeyed stinginess, followed desires, and a deviant leader.”

151. “What has remained from this life is affliction and temptation.”

152. “Surely all goodness is obtained by reason. There is no religion for one who has no reason.”

153. “There is in poetry wisdom, and in eloquence charm.”

154. “From the rights of a child on his father is to name him with a good name, teach him writing and reading, and marry him when he is adult.”

155. “From the causes of forgiveness are the offering of greetings and the well speaking.”

156. “The firmest weapon of Iblis is women.”

157. “My Lord has recommended me with nine things; loyalty in secrecy and openness, justice at satisfaction and anger, moderation in poverty and wealth, to pardon one who has wronged me, give to one who has deprived me, maintain relationship with one who has cut his relation with me, and that my silence should be thinking, my logic remembering, and my looking (taking of) lessons.”

158. “I recommend you to feel shy of Allah as you feel shy of a good man from your people.”

159. “I recommend you of (being kind to your) neighbors.”

160. “The first thing that shall be weighed in the Scales (on the Day of Judgment) is good morals.”



(410)

161. “The people of oppression and their assistants shall be in the Fire.”

162. “Beware of greed, because it is the present poverty.”

163. “Beware of excessiveness in the religion, because those before you had perished because of the excessiveness in religion.”

164. “Beware of false reverence, that is when the body is seen as reverent whereas the heart is not.”

165. “Beware of the plant of dunghills.” He was asked what the plant of dunghills was and he said, “A beautiful woman in a bad origin (family).”

166. “Beware of two features; boredom and laziness. If you are bored, you shall be not patient with a right, and if you are lazy, you shall not carry out a right.”

167. “Beware of a bad companion, because you are known through him.”

168. “Beware of any thing which is apologized for.”

169. “Hands are three; begging, spending, and withholding (stingy). The best of hands is the spending one.”

170. “Whatever guardian that is not merciful to his subjects, Allah will deny the Paradise to him.”

171. “The believing in the fate removes grief and sorrow.”

172. “Faith is two halves; a half in patience, and a half in gratefulness.”

173. “O people, what has been transmitted to you from me that agrees with the Book of Allah, then surely I have said it, and what has come to you that disagrees with the Book of Allah, then surely I have not said it.”



(411)

174. “Pay charity in the early morning, because affliction does not exceed the charity.”

175. “The dutifulness to parents prolongs one’s life. Telling lies decreases one’s sustenance. Invocation repels the decree of fate.”

176. “Satiety hardens the heart.”

177. “Between the servant and disbelief is the giving up of prayer.”

178. “Before the Hour (the Day of Resurrection) there shall be seditions like parts of night (dark and ambiguous).”

179. “A merchant waits for sustenance and a monopolist waits for curse.”

180. “Talking about the blessings of Allah is gratefulness, and neglecting it (the talking) is disbelief. He, who is not grateful to the little, shall not be grateful to the much. He, who does not thank people, does not thank Allah. Unity is goodness and separation is torment.”

181. “The prize of a believer is death.”

182. “Giving up evil is a charity.”

183. “Shake hands with each other, and hatred shall disappear from your hearts!”

184. “Pay charities, because charity is your release from the Fire!”

185. “Learn knowledge, and learn calmness and gravity for knowledge. Be humble to those from whom you learn.”

186. “Be free from the griefs of this life as possible as you can, because whoever the (pleasures of) life is his greatest interest Allah will frustrate his skill and make his poverty between his two eyes, and whoever the afterlife is his greatest interest, Allah


(412)

will manage to him his affairs and make his richness in his heart.”

187. “Think deeply about the signs of Allah and do not think about Allah (Himself).’

188. “Think deeply about the creation of Allah and do not think about Allah lest you perish.”

189. “Be humble to whom you learn from, and be humble to whom you teach, and do not be tyrant scholars.”

190. “Offer presents to each other that you shall be more beloved (to each other), emigrate (for the sake of Allah) that you shall bequeath glory to your children, and pardon the notables their slips.”

191. “There are three things that are from piety; generosity, good speaking, and the patience with harms.”

192. “There are three ones that the associating with them deadens the heart; the association with villains, the (often) talking with women, and the association with the wealthy.”

193. “There are three fatal things and three rescuing things; as for the fatal things, they are: obeyed stinginess, followed desires, and self-deceit, and as for the rescuing things, they are: the fear of Allah secretly and openly, the moderation in wealth and in poverty, and justice at anger and satisfaction.”

194. “Struggle against your desires and you shall possess yourselves.”

195. “The companions of Allah tomorrow shall be the people of piety and abstinence in this life.”

196. “Unity is mercy and separation is torment.”

197. “The beauty of a man is in the eloquence of his tongue.”

198. “The beauty of a man is in the tongue.”


(413)

199. “Beauty is in the tongue.”

200. “The love of (receiving) praise from people makes one blind and deaf.”

201. “Your love to some thing blinds and deafens (you).”

202. “War is trick.”

203. “The inviolabilities that every believer should regard and be loyal to are the inviolability of the religion, the inviolability of good manners, and the inviolability of food.”

204. “Allah has prohibited wine, and every intoxicant is unlawful.”

205. “Happy miens remove spite.”

206. “Good morals take their owner high to the degree of a fasting worshipper.” It was said to the Prophet, “What is the best of that which is given to a servant?” He said, “Good morals.”

207. “Trusting is from the good worshipping.”

208. “Being loyal to covenant is from faith.”

209. “A good question is the half of knowing, and leniency is the half of living.”

210. “Better your clothes, and repair your saddles (mounts), until you become as a mole among people (noticeable).”

211. “Guard your monies by zakat, cure your patients by charity, and prepare invocation for affliction.”

212. “A lawful thing is what Allah has made lawful in His Book, and an unlawful thing is what Allah has prohibited in His Book, and what He has said nothing about is from what has been left optional.”



(414)

213. “The praise (of Allah) for a blessing is a safety from its disappearance.’

214. “Modesty is two; the modesty of reason and the modesty of foolishness. The modesty of reason is knowledge, and the modesty of foolishness is ignorance.”

215. “Modesty, all of it, is good.”

216. “Modesty is from faith.”

217. “Modesty is the whole religion.”

218. “Your service to your wife is charity.”

219. “The fear of Allah is the head of every wisdom, and piety is the master of deeds.”

220. “There are two features that do not exist in a believer; stinginess and bad morals.”

221. “There are two features that nothing of piety may be above them: the faith in Allah and to benefit the people of Allah.”

222. “There are two things that many people are deceived by; good health and leisure.”

223. “All the creatures are the household of Allah, and the most beloved of them to Allah is the most useful of them to His household.”

224. “The best of the believers is the satisfied one, and the worst of them is the greedy one.”

225. “The best of you is he the seeing of whom reminds you of Allah, whose logic increases your knowledge, and whose deeds make you wish for the afterlife.’

226. “Betrayal brings poverty.”

227. “The best door of piety is charity.”

228. “The best of affairs is the moderate one of them.”



(415)

229. “The goodness of this life and the afterlife is with knowledge, and the evil of this life and the afterlife is with ignorance.’

230. “The best of remembrance is that which is secret, and the best of sustenance is that which suffices (the need).”

231. “The best of charity is that which keeps richness, the upper (giving) hand is better than the lower (begging) hand, and you begin (in charity) with those whom you maintain.”

232. “The best of deeds is that you leave this life while your tongue is wet with the remembrance of Allah.”

233. “The best of gaining is the gaining of the worker’s hand when he is sincere.”

234. “The best of meetings is the biggest of them.”

235. “The best of people is the most useful one to people.”

236. “The best of people is he whose life is long and his deeds are good, and the worst of people is he whose life is long and his deeds are bad.’

237. “The best thing of religion is piety.”

238. “The best of your youths is he who imitates old men, and the worst of your old men is he who imitates your youths.”

239. “Goodness is too much, but those who do it are few.”

240. “The best of you is he who is best to his family (wife), and I am the best of you to my family. No one honors women except that he is generous, and no one insults them except that he is mean.”

241. “The best of you is the best to his wives and daughters.”

242. “The best of you is he whom Allah assists against his own soul and then he possesses it.”


(416)

243. “The best of you is he who learns the Quran and then teaches it.”

244. “The best things that man leaves after him are three; a good child that prays Allah for him, a charity that is continuous and whose reward reaches him, and knowledge that is benefited by after him.”

245. “The best mosques for women are the bottoms (insides) of their houses.”

246. “That who is better than goodness is its giver, and that who is worse than evil is its doer.”

247. “The best of them (women) is the least of them in dowry.”

248. “Leave aside tittle-tattle, importunity, and the wasting of wealth.”

249. “Leave what you doubt about to what you do not doubt about, because you shall not feel the loss of a thing that you have left for the sake of Allah.”

250. “The guide to goodness is as its doer.”

251. “This life changes (from a state to another), so what is for you (has been predetermined) shall come to you even if you are weak, and what is against you, you shall not be able to repel it even if you are powerful.”

252. “This world is as a prison for a believer and as a paradise for a disbeliever.”

253. “This life is a provision, and the best of its provision is a righteous woman.”

254. “Religion is the (sincere) advice.”

255. “The remembrance of Allah is a cure for hearts.”

256. “The head of religion is the piety.”


(417)

257. “The head of reason after the faith in Allah is the endearment to people, and the doing of benevolence to every pious and impious one.”

258. “The head of reason after the faith in Allah is modesty and good morals.”

259. “There may be a carrier of jurisprudence that he is not a jurisprudent. He, whose knowledge does not benefit him, his ignorance shall harm him.”

260. “There may be a lust of a moment that causes a long sorrow.”

261. “There may be a worshipper that is ignorant, and there may be a knowledgeable one that is deviant. Therefore, beware of ignorant worshippers, and deviant knowledgeable ones.”

262. “May Allah have mercy on one who holds back the nonsense of his speech, and spends the extra of his wealth.”

263. “May Allah have mercy on a parent who assists his child to be dutiful to him.”

264. “May Allah have mercy on a servant who speaks good and so he gains (good), or abstains from speaking bad and so he becomes safe.”

265. “May Allah have mercy on an eye that weeps for the fear of Allah, and have mercy on an eye that remains sleepless for the sake of Allah.”

266. “The satisfaction of the Lord is in the satisfaction of the parent, and the anger of the Lord is in the anger of the parent.”

267. “The satisfaction of the Lord is in the satisfaction of the parents, and His anger is in their anger.”

268. “Suckling changes the natures.”



(418)

269. “It has been pardoned for my nation the (unknowingly) mistaking, forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do.”

270. “Refresh the hearts from time to time!”

271. “Visit the graves because they remind you of the afterlife.”

272. “The abstinence in this life relieves the heart and the body, and the wishing for it (this life) tires the heart and the body.”

273. “The abstinence in this life is not by prohibiting a lawful thing or wasting the wealth, but the abstinence in this life is that you should not be more trusting in what there is in your hands than what there is in Allah’s hand, and that you should wish for the reward of an affliction that if you are afflicted by more than your wishing for keeping it away from you.”

274. “The adultery of eyes is the (unlawful) looking.”

275. “Ask the knowledgeable, talk with wise men, and associate with the poor.”

276. “A reviler of the dead is as if he is near to perishment.”

277. “The carer for a widow or a poor is like a struggler in the way of Allah, or a worshipper worshipping all the night and fasting in the day.”

278. “You shall be greedy of authority, then it shall be regret and grief to you; and then, how good a suckler and how bad a weaner shall be!”

279. “It is absurdity in man to make his guest serve him.”

280. “Walking fast takes away the gravity of a believer.”

281. “A just ruler is the shadow of Allah in the earth. If anyone of you enters a country that has no just ruler, let him not reside in it.”



(419)

282. “A just ruler is the shadow of Allah in the earth that whoever honors him Allah will honor him, and whoever insults him Allah will insult him.”

283. “A just ruler is the shadow of Allah in the earth; to whom the weak resort and from whom the oppressed seek support.”

284. “Pray Allah for pardon and good health, for no one has been given, after certainty, anything better than good health.”

285. “Ask Allah for useful knowledge, and seek Allah’s protection against knowledge that is not useful.”

286. “Generosity is prosperity, and difficulty is evil omen.”

287. “Bad morals are evil omen.”

288. “The master of a people is to be as their servant, and the giver of water to them is to be the last one to drink.”

289. “A generous young man with good morals is more beloved to Allah than a stingy, worshipping old man with bad morals.”

290. “Youth is a branch of madness.”

291. “The worst of affairs are the heresies, the worst of blindness is the blindness of the heart, the worst of apology is when death comes, the worst of regret is on the Day of Resurrection, the worst of eating is the eating of the orphan’s property, and the worst of gaining is the gain of usury.”

292. “The worst of people is he who oppresses his family.”

293. “The worst of people is he who hates people and people hates him.”

294. “A wretched one is he who is wretched when in his mother’s abdomen.”

295. “An old man is young in the love of tow things: a long life and abundant money.”


(420)

296. “A fasting person is in a state of worshipping even if he is sleeping in his bed as long as he does not backbite a Muslim.”

297. “Truthfulness is tranquility and lying is uncertainty.”

298. “Charity puts out the wrath of the Lord and repels bad death.”

299. “Charity closes seventy doors of evil.”

300. “Maintain relationship with whoever has cut his relations with you, do good to whoever has done you wrong, and say the truth even if it is against yourself.”

301. “Maintain relationship with one who has cut his relations with you, give to one who has deprived you, and pardon one who has wronged you.”

302. “Maintain kinship with your relatives even if by greeting.”

303. “Maintaining kinship prolongs one’s life, and the secret charity puts out the wrath of the Lord.”

304. “There are two kinds of people who if are good, people are good, and if are corrupted, people become corrupted; scholars and rulers.”

305. “There are two sounds that Allah hates; wailing at an affliction and playing music at a blessing.”

306. “Fasting is a protection from the torment of Allah.”

307. “A grateful eating person is like a patient faster.”

308. “The food of the generous is a cure, and the food of the stingy is a disease.”

309. “Greed takes wisdom away from the hearts of scholars.”

310. “Blessed is he whose life is long and his deeds are good, and so his end shall be good where his Lord will be pleased with him. And woe unto him whose life is long and his deeds are bad,


(421)

and so his end shall be bad where his Lord will be displeased with him.”

311. “Blessed is he who controls his tongue and weeps at his sin.”

312. “The unjust and their assistants shall be in the Fire.”

313. “Worship is seven parts the best of which is the seeking of lawful gain.”

314. “How great it is for a believer; Allah does not determine a fate for him except that is better to him whether it pleases or displeases him. If He afflicts him it shall be a penance for his sin, and if He gives and honors him, it shall be a gift to him.”

315. “Justice is good, but when it is in rulers it is better. Generosity is good, but when it is in the wealthy, it is better. Piety is good, but in the scholars is better. Patience is good, but in the poor is better. Repentance is good, but in the youth is better. Modesty is good, but in women is better.”

316. “Justice of an hour is better than the worship of a year.”

317. “Visit him who does not visit you, and give a present to him who does not give you a present.”

318. “The believer’s promise is as the taking (from him) with the hand (surely shall be fulfilled).”

319. “The promise is as a debt. Woe unto whoever promises and then breaks his promise! Woe unto whoever promises and then breaks his promise! Woe unto whoever promises and then breaks his promise!”

320. “The strictness of (or to) a boy in his childhood shall increase his reason at his adulthood.”



(422)

321. “Live whatever you like, for you shall die, and love whatever you love, for you shall part with it, and do whatever you do, for you shall be rewarded for it.”

322. “Chastity is the adornment of women.”

323. “The pardon of Allah is greater than your sins.”

324. “The sign of Allah’s satisfaction with His people is the cheapness of their (goods) prices and the justice of their ruler. And the sign of Allah’s wrath on His people is the oppression of their ruler and the expensiveness of their prices.”

325. “Knowledge and wealth cover every defect, and ignorance and poverty expose every defect.”

326. “Keep to lenience, and beware of cruelty and indecency.”

327. “Keep to the despair of what there is in the people’s hands, and beware of greed because it is the present (lasting) poverty.”

328. “Keep to truthfulness, because it is a door from the doors of the Paradise, and beware of lying, because it is a door from the doors of the Fire.”

329. “The blindness of the heart is the deviation after guidance.”

330. “Two odd words; a word of wisdom from a fool that you are to accept it, and a bad word from a wise man that you are to forgive it.’

331. “Spite and envy eat the good deeds as fire eats the firewood.”

332. “Backbiting is to mention your brother with what he hates.”

333. “The exposedness in this life is better than the exposedness in the afterlife.”



(423)

334. “A deep thinking of an hour is better than the worship of sixty years.”

335. “The Quran is real cure.”

336. “Say the truth even if it is bitter.”

337. “The heart of an old man is young in the love of two things; living and hope.”

338. “A little household is one of the two eases.”

339. “Satisfaction is a property that does not run out.”

340. “Guard by your monies your honors.”

341. “Say good and you shall gain (good), and abstain from an evil and you shall be safe.”

342. “Tie knowledge by the book (write it down lest it is lost).”

343. “A gainer by his hand is a friend of Allah.”

344. “Greatly hateful to Allah is the eating without hunger, the sleeping without drowsiness, and the laughing without a wonder (reason).”

345. “Laughing much deadens the heart.”

346. “Lying, all of it, is sin except that by which a Muslim may be benefited (lawfully as when reconciling with one another).”

347. “Generosity is piety, honor is (in) humbleness, and certainty is richness.”

348. “The honor of man is his religion, his generosity is his mind, and his ancestry is his morals.”

349. “The penance of a sin is regret. If you do not sin, Allah will bring people who shall sin so that He will forgive them.”

350. “Time is sufficient as a preacher, and death as a separator.”


(424)

351. “It is sufficient sin for a man that he neglects those whom he is to sustain.”

352. “It is sufficient knowledge for man that he fears Allah, and sufficient ignorance to him that he is self-conceited.”

353. “It is sufficient jurisprudence for man if he worships Allah, and it is sufficient ignorance to him when he admires his own opinion.”

354. “Death is a sufficient preacher, piety is sufficient wealth, worship is a sufficient business, the (Day of) Resurrection is a sufficient refuge, and Allah is a sufficient Rewarder!”

355. “A believer is natured with every aspect except betrayal and lying.”

356. “Allah may forgive every sin except that when one dies a polytheist or he kills a believer intendedly.”

357. “Every one of a blessing is envied except one of humbleness.”

358. “Every loan is charity.”

359. “Each one of you is a guardian, and he is responsible for his subjects.”

360. “Every favor is charity.”

361. “Every favor you do to a rich or a poor is charity.”

362. “Every harmful person shall be in the Fire.”

363. “A good word is charity.”

364. “How many those are who receive a (new) day, but they do not complete it (die before its end), and how many those are who expect a tomorrow, but they do not reach it.”


(425)

365. “A good one is he who criticizes himself and works for what is after death, and a feckless one is he who lets his soul follow its desires and wishes from Allah all wishes.”

366. “There is no faith for whoever has no fidelity, and no religion for whoever has no (loyalty to) covenant.”

367. “Do not envy each other, terrify each other, hate each other, or give up each other. Be brothers in worshipping Allah, and do not be censurers, praisers, or revilers.”

368. “Do not expose any cover of anyone.”

369. “Do not reject any beggar even by giving him a half of a date.”

370. “Do not revile the dead, because they have gone to what they have done before.”

371. “Do not revile the dead lest you hurt the live.”

372. “Do not show rejoicing at your brother’s distress, that Allah may deliver him and afflict you.”

373. “Do not put wisdom near other that its people that you wrong it, and do not prevent its people from it that you wrong them.”

374. “Do not do anything of goodness hypocritically, and do not give it up because of shyness.”

375. “Do not backbite the Muslims and do not look for their defects.”

376. “Do not be angry, because anger is corruption.”

377. “Do not increase your grief; what has been predetermined shall take place, and what has been predetermined as your sustenance shall come to you.”



(426)

378. “Do not dispute with your brother or make fun of him, and do not promise him and then you break your promise to him.”

379. “Do not wipe your hand by the garment of one whom you do not provide with clothes.”

380. “Mercy is not taken out except from a rascal.”

381. “There is no good for you in the companionship of one who does not like for you as what he likes for himself.”

382. “There is no religion for one who has no covenant (does not regard his covenant).”

383. “It is no charity (to be paid to others) while there is a needy relative.”

384. “No obedience should be paid to a creature in the disobedience of the Creator.”

385. “There is no reason like good management, no piety like abstinence, and no ancestry like good morals.”

386. “A servant shall not reach the degree of the pious until he leaves what is undoubtful for fear of what is doubtful (whether lawful or not).”

387. “One, whose property has been stolen from him, may remain in accusing one who is innocent of that until he himself becomes more sinful than the stealer.”

388. “A scholar does not become saturate with his knowledge until his end shall be to the Paradise.’

389. “A believer does not ravage.”

390. “A believer is not stung from a (same) hole twice.”

391. “Allah has cursed a briber, a bribed one, and the one who mediates between them.”



(427)

392. “Allah has cursed whoever separates (or stir discord between) a mother from her child or a brother from his brother.”

393. “Every sin has a repentance except bad morals.”

394. “Every thing has a pillar, and the pillar of this religion is jurisprudence.”

395. “A lazy one has three signs; he slackens until he wastes, wastes until he loses, and loses until he becomes sinful.”

396. “Allah is in the assistance of a servant as long as the servant is in the assistance of his brother.”

397. “He is not a liar who tries to reconcile a person with another (even by using lies).”

398. “If a mountain oppresses another mountain, Allah will tear down the oppressive one of them.”

399. “If you know what I know, you shall laugh a little and weep too much.”

400. “Offer presents to each other because the present takes hatred away. If I am invited to a trotter, I will respond, and if a trotter is offered to me as a present, I will accept.”

401. “Were it not for woman, man would enter the Paradise!”

402. “Were it not for that the past is the antecedent of the remaining, and the last would follow the first, we would be sorrowful for you, O Ibrahim.” Then his eyes shed tears and he said, “The eye sheds tears and the heart becomes sad, but we do no say except what pleases the Lord. Surely, we are sad for you, O Ibrahim.”[1]


Notes:

[1] Ibrahim was the Prophet’s son who died a child.


(428)

403. “Say: O Allah, I ask you for a certain soul that believes in Your meeting and is pleased with Your fate, and satisfied with Your giving.”

404. “A time shall come to people that one shall not care for wherefrom he takes money; whether from a lawful or unlawful way.”

405. “Someone of you may keep on begging until he meets Allah where there shall be no bit of flesh in his face.”

406. “If one of you takes his ropes to collect firewood on his back, it shall be easier to him than to come to a (wealthy) man, whom Allah has given from His favor, begging him that he either gives to him or not.”

407. “Wealth is not the abundance of properties, but it is the richness of the soul.”

408. “A believer is not the one who becomes saturate while his neighbor is hungry beside him.”

409. “Reconcile people even if you tell lies.”

410. “No one has a preference to another except by faith or a good deed.”

411. “It is not (considered as) backbiting against a deviant.”

412. “He is not from us who cheats, harms, or deceives a Muslim.”

413. “He, who does not regard the old, be merciful to the young, enjoin the good, and forbid the wrong, is not from us.”

414. “No servant loves a servant for the sake of Allah except that Allah will honor him.”

415. “Allah does not entrust a servant with subjects that he does not take care of them sincerely, except that Allah will deny the Paradise for him.”



(429)

416. “A servant does not conceal anything except that Allah will dress him with its garment; with good if it is good, and bad if it is bad.”

417. “Allah does never honor anyone with ignorance nor does He lower anyone with patience at all.”

418. “A gainer does not gain anything like virtuous knowledge that guides its owner to guidance or saves him from perdition, nor does his religion become right until his reason becomes right.”

419. “No young man honors an old man for his old age, except that Allah will prepare to him one who shall honor him at his old age.”

420. “No one has ever eaten food better than to eat from the labor of his own hand. Dawud (David) the Prophet of Allah used to eat from the labor of his own hands.”

421. “A Muslim man does not offer a present to his brother better than a word of wisdom by which Allah increases his guidance or preserves him from perdition.”

422. “Allah has not adorned people with an adornment better than abstinence in this life and chastity of their abdomen and private parts.”

423. “Allah does not afflict a people with rainlessness except because of their rebellion against Allah.”

424. “A meeting shall not be narrow for lovers.”

425. “Leniency does not exist in anything except that it adorns it, and stupidity does not exist in anything except that it makes it ugly.”

426. “A scholar, by whose knowledge it is benefited, is better than a thousand worshippers.”



(430)

427. “No one is better near Allah than an imam who when speaks is truthful and when judges is just.”

428. “There is no charity more beloved to Allah than the saying of the truth.”

429. “No deed is better than the satisfying of a hungry one.”

430. “No man, who knows his worth, perishes.”

431. “A believer is like a spike which the wind moves; it rises one time and falls down another, and a disbeliever is like a pine tree which remains erect until it is hollowed.”

432. “A mujahid is he who struggles against his soul in the obedience of Allah.”

433. “A dispraised beneficent person is mercified (by Allah).”

434. “To humor people is charity.”

435. “He, whom boredom overcomes, comfort leaves him.”

436. “Whoever Allah wants goodness to him, He endows him with a good companion.”

437. “Whoever commits a sin while laughing shall enter the Fire while crying.”

438. “Whoever humbles himself in the obedience of Allah is more honorable than one who is honored in the disobedience of Allah.”

439. “Whoever likes to be the wealthiest of people let him be more trusting in what there is in Allah’s hand than what there is in his own hand.”

440. “Whoever loves a people Allah will resurrect him with their group.”

441. “Whoever likes to be the strongest of people let him rely on Allah.”



(431)

442. “Whoever likes to be the most generous of people let him fear Allah.”

443. “Whoever prefers the love of Allah to the love of people Allah will suffice him against people.”

444. “Whoever does a favor to you, you are to reward him (with some gift), and if you can not, then you are to thank (praise) him because the praise is a reward.”

445. “Whoever fears Allah, Allah saves him from everything.”

446. “Let the goodness, which Allah gives to a person, be seen on him.”

447. “He, whose deed lingers him, his ancestry shall not hasten (exalt) him.”

448. “Let him, who is tried by judging among Muslims, not raise his voice at one of the two litigants except that he raises it at the other (in the same way).”

449. “Let him, who is tried by judging among Muslims, be just to them in his looking (at them), gesturing, and seating (them).”

450. “He is cursed who throws his tiredness on people.”

451. “He is cursed who reviles his father, he is cursed who reviles his mother.”

452. “The heart of religion is piety.”

453. “Cunning, deceiving, and betraying are in the Fire.’

454. “Our generosity, we the Ahlul Bayt, is the pardoning of whoever has wronged us, and the giving to whoever has deprived us.”

455. “Whoever from my nation that his intention is (to) other than Allah, he is not from Allah, and whoever does not care for the affairs of the believers is not from them, and whoever



(432)

acknowledged meanness willingly is not from us the Ahlul Bayt.”

456. “Whoever assists a dispute wrongfully remains under the wrath of Allah until he shall die.”

457. “Whoever assists an oppressive one Allah will cause him (the oppressor) to oppress him (the assistant).”

458. “Whoever seeks glory with the slaves Allah will degrade him.”

459. “He, who is given four things, shall not be deprived of four things; he, who is given the asking for forgiveness, shall not be deprived of being forgiven, he, who is given (the showing of) gratefulness, shall not be deprived of more giving, he, who is given repentance, shall not be deprived of the acceptance, and he, who is given invocation, shall not be deprived of the response.”

460. “From the greatest sins is a lying tongue.”

461. “Whoever approaches the doors of kings shall be tempted.”

462. “Whoever eats (all) what he likes, wears what he likes, and rides what he likes Allah will not look at him until he dies or he repents.”

463. “It is from piety that you maintain relations with your father’s friend.”

464. “It is from charity that you greet people with happy miens.”

465. “Whoever takes off the garment of modesty backbiting him is permissible.”

466. “Whoever begins with talking before greeting, do not answer him.”

467. “Whoever reaches a position with no right is from the aggressive.”



(433)

468. “Whoever is careful shall succeed or be about to, and whoever is hasty shall fail or be about to.”

469. “Whoever is careful shall obtain what he wishes.”

470. “Whoever imitates a people is from them.”

471. “Whoever gets used to eating and drinking much his heart shall be hard.”

472. “Whoever pretends poverty shall be poor.”

473. “From the full greeting is to shake hands.”

474. “Whoever argues in a dispute without knowledge remains under the wrath of Allah until he shall die.”

475. “Whoever is deprived of leniency is deprived of the whole goodness.”

476. “He, whom people fear his tongue, is from the people of the Fire.”

477. “He, who guides to goodness, shall have like the reward of its (goodness) doer.”

478. “Whoever defends his brother’s honor Allah will defend his face against the Fire.”

479. “Whoever is kind to my nation Allah will be kind to him.”

480. “He, who accuses a believer of disbelief, is as if he is his killer.”

481. “Whoever is abstinent in this life Allah teaches him without learning and makes him aware.”

482. “Whoever covers (the defect of) his brother Allah will cover him in the life and the afterlife.”

483. “From the happiness of a man is an abode, a good neighbor, and a comfortable mount.”



(434)

484. “Whoever strikes (someone) with a whip unjustly shall be punished for that on the Day of Resurrection.”

485. “Whoever joins an orphan to himself or to another until he will make him unneedful shall deserve to be in the Paradise.”

486. “Whoever seeks the pleasing of a creature by the displeasing of the Creator, Allah, glory be to him, will cause that creature overcome him (with oppression).”

487. “He, who comforts a distressed one, shall have like his reward.”

488. “Whoever pardons at powerfulness Allah will pardon him on the Day of Hardship.”

489. “Whoever combats with Allah, Allah will defeat him, and whoever deceives Allah, Allah will deceive him.”

490. “Let him, to whom a door of goodness is opened, make use of it, because he does not know when it shall be closed before him.”

491. “From the awareness of a man is to better his living, and it is not from the love of this life the seeking of what may better you.”

492. “He, who cuts kinship with a relative or takes a false oath, shall meet its evil results before he dies.”

493. “Whoever that his eating is little his body is healthy, and whoever that his eating is much his body becomes ill and his heart becomes hard.”

494. “Let him, who is to swear, not swear except by Allah.”

495. “Let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day fulfill his promise when he promises.”

496. “He, who conceals some knowledge from its people, shall be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”



(435)

497. “Whoever that his grief is much his body shall be sick. Whoever that his morals are bad…he tortures himself. Whoever reviles men his generosity and dignity shall be gone.”

498. “Let whoever fabricates lies against me intendedly take his seat in the Fire.”

499. “Whoever holds back his tongue from the honors of people Allah will pardon him his slips on the Day of Resurrection.”

500. “Whoever has no piety that prevents him from disobeying Allah when he is alone Allah will not care for anything of his deeds.”

501. “He, whose knowledge does not benefit him, his ignorance shall harm him.”

502. “He, who accompanies an oppressor, becomes sinful.”

503. “Whoever intends to do a sin and then he gives up it shall be a good deed to him.”

504. “If Allah wants goodness for someone, He makes him aware of the religion.”

505. “Whoever does wrong shall be rewarded for it in this life.”

506. “Whoever forgives (others) Allah forgives him, and whoever pardons Allah pardons him.”

507. “A believer is inviolable, all of him; his honor, property, and blood.”

508. “A believer is honorable and noble, and a disbeliever is treacherous and mean.”

509. “A believer is good, intelligent, careful.”

510. “A believer to another believer is like a compact structure that each tightens another.”



(436)

511. “A believer is the mirror of another believer and the brother of another believer; he guards him from behind him.”

512. “A true believer is he whom people feel safe from him for their souls, properties, and bloods.”

513. “A believer is advantage; if you accompany him, he benefits you, if you consult with him, he benefits you, and if you participate with him, he benefits you, and everything of his affairs is advantageous.”

514. “People are like their time.”

515. “People are minerals; like gold and silver.”

516. “Regret is repentance.”

517. “Cleanness is from faith.”

518. “A child’s looking at his parents lovingly is a worship.”

519. “How a good intercessor the Quran is for its friend (who keeps and acts according to it) on the Day of Resurrection!”

520. “How a good thing a present is at need!”

521. “How good assistance to the fear of Allah wealth is!”

522. “How good assistance to the fear of Allah a property is!”

523. “How good a lawful property for a righteous man is!”

524. “How a good gift a word from the words of wisdom is!”

525. “Sleeping with knowledge is better than offering prayer with ignorance.”

526. “Good intention takes its owner to the Paradise.”

527. “The love of Allah shall be certain to one who becomes angry and then patient.”

528. “Piety is the master of deeds.”



(437)

529. “The ink of scholars has been weighed by the blood of martyrs and it (the ink of scholars) outweighed.”

530. “A child is from the flowers of the Paradise.”

531. “Woe unto one who is insolent to a Muslim and violates his right.”

532. “Woe unto one who leaves his family with goodness and comes to his Lord with evil.”

533. “A present is a bounty from Allah, so whoever is offered something as a present let him accept it.”

534. “Worry is a half of senility.”

535. “A time shall come to people where people shall be (as) wolves; whoever shall not be a wolf shall be eaten by wolves.”

536. “A high hand (giving) is better than a low hand (taking), and begin (in giving) with those whom you (are responsible to) sustain.”

537. “Allah’s hand is with unity.”

538. “A false oath misspends goods and mars gaining.”



# The Prophet’s achievements in Medina

The Ansar [Medinans] were very happy with the coming of the messenger of Allah to their town and his taking it as the capital of his state. After the conditions had been orderly in Medina, the Prophet took very important steps such as:

Brotherhood among Muslims

The first step the Prophet took was that he made the Muhajireen brothers of the Ansar by a tie of true brotherhood that was confirmer than the tie of blood and kinship. From among the conditions of this brotherhood was that each one should participate his brother in every possession and every ease and hardship. The Prophet made himself a brother of Imam Ali. There is another thing worth of being mentioned is that the Prophet reconciled the Aws Tribe with the Khazraj Tribe after their long enmities and wars.

Building the Islamic civilization
When everything was orderly in Medina and the Prophet found protection and security among its people, he started the establishing of the Islamic civilization that would save man from all that might degrade him and would take him toward perfection. The Islamic civilization has made an integral method of life for man that he can find in it security, ease, and all that he wishes for in life. Islam deals with all fields of life and throughout all ages. The following are some of the articles of this method:

Liberation of woman
Woman, in the pre-Islamic age, was the weakest of Allah’s creatures and the most suffering and oppressed creature. From the abominable injustice against woman in that age was that whenever a female was born for a man, that man would be very angry and distressed. Allah has said in the Qur'an, (When if one of them receives tidings of the birth of a female, his face remains darkened, and he is wroth inwardly).[1] The worst of that was that they buried their daughters alive. Allah has said, (And when the female infant buried alive is asked: for what sin she was killed?).[2] This bad habit was widespread among some tribes like Rabee’ah, Kindeh, and Tamim. From the sayings famous among them was “the killings of girls is from noble deeds”. Islam has liberated woman and built her a honorable, exalted entity, for she is the renewer of life and the educator of generations.

Another form of the injustice against woman was that she was deprived of her right in inheritance. She had no right to inherit her father, mother, or husband. However, Islam has equaled her to man in this concern. She has the right to inherit and to bequeath.

As for one’s father’s widow in the pre-Islamic age, she was considered as a part of inheritance. She was possessed by the elder son of that dead father. He could get married to her if he


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 16:58.
[2] Qur'an, 81:9.


(201)

wanted, or otherwise, he married her to anyone and took her dowry to himself, or he would let her unmarried until she died.

As for the marriage of woman in general, it was controlled by the personal wishes of fathers, brothers, and other male relatives, whereas woman herself has no right to interfere in the affairs of her marriage. Males had full control on woman. They could, if they wanted, leave her unmarried until she died, or she would ransom herself.

Islam has liberated woman from all those ties and made no authority for anyone over her except her father (according to some jurisprudents) because he is more aware of men’s affairs than her, but on condition that he must realize her welfare; otherwise, he shall have no authority over her. This concerns a virgin, but as for a non-virgin, her father has no authority over her (as to her marriage).

Equality
From the high values that Islam has established is the equality among all human beings with all their different races, nations, and languages with no difference between a ruler and a subject, a wealthy one and a poor one. The Prophet has said, “All of you are from Adam and Adam is from earth.”

Jeeb says, “Islam is the only religion that still has the ability to be greatly successful in uniting the discordant human races and communities in one front based on equality. When the discords of the East and the West are put to be discussed, it must be resorted to Islam.”

Jawaharlal Nehru says, “The theory of the Islamic brotherhood and the equality that Muslims believed in and lived with it had had a deep influence in the Hindus’ mentalities. The wretched, whom the Indian society had deprived of equality and human rights, were the most in submitting to this influence.”


(202)

Thomas Carlyle says, “In Islam there is a characteristic that is one of the noblest and most beloved characteristics; it is the equality between people.”[1]

It is not meant by the equality that Islam has announced the natural equality among people in color, intelligence, morals, and natures, for this is something impossible, as the equality in (the level and ways of) life is impossible as well. The Prophet has said, “If you are equal (in everything), you shall perish.” Anyhow, here are some aspects of the equality in Islam:

1. Social equality

Allah has said, (O mankind! Surely We have created you from a male and a female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the best in conduct).[2] Ibn Abbas narrated a tradition about the cause of the revelation of this verse that a freed slave had proposed to a woman from the Bani Bayadhah. The messenger of Allah asked the woman’s family to marry her to the freed slave, but they said, “O messenger of Allah, would we marry our daughters to our freed slaves?”

Then, this verse was revealed to destroy this notion that sowed differences between social classes. The infallible imams of the Ahlul Bayt were the first to follow the orders of Allah. Imam Zaynol Aabidin set his bondmaid free and then he got married to her. Abdul Melik bin Marwan blamed him for that in a letter to him saying in it, “I have been informed of your marriage to your freed slave. You know well that there are competent ones to you in Quraysh by whom you shall have glory in affinity and noble offspring. You have neither regarded yourself nor your offspring. With greetings.”


Notes:

[1] The Political System in Islam, p. 205.
[2] Qur'an, 49:13.

(203)

Imam Zaynol Aabidin replied to him saying, “Your letter has come to me where you blame me for my getting married to my freed slave and claim that there are in Quraysh well-qualified women by whom I shall have glory in affinity and noble offspring. There is no above the messenger of Allah an eminence in glory nor a nobility. She just was my bondmaid. She got out of me (out of bondage to me) by the order of the will of Allah the Almighty that I sought His reward by it, and then I got her back according to His laws. Whoever is pure in his religion nothing of his affairs shall harm him. Surely Allah has exalted by (the faith in) Islam the mean, repaired defects, and removed the blame. There is no blame on a Muslim, but the blame (in that matter) is the blame of the pre-Islamic age…”[1]

This is the clear logic of Islam. It has annulled all differences and barriers among Muslims. The Prophet said, “All of you are from Adam and Adam is from earth. Let some men stop glorying on their fathers or they shall be to Allah lower than dung-beetles.” He also said, “Allah has removed from you the defect of the pre-Islamic age (of ignorance) and the glorying on fathers. People are two men (kinds); one is dutiful, pious, and honored to Allah, and the other is dissolute, wretched, and ignoble to Allah.”[2]

Islam has established the rules of equality on the base of the sound nature preferring no people to others except by piety. Imam Zaynol Aabidin said, “Allah the Almighty has created the Paradise for whoever obeys Him even if he is an Abyssinian slave, and created the Fire for whoever disobeys Him even if he is a Qurayshi master.”


Notes:

[1] The Life of Imam Musa bin Ja’far, vol. 1 p. 38-39.
[2] The Political System in Islam, p. 207.


(204)

The Prophet addressed his family saying, “O Bani Hashim, let you not come to me with your lineage saying: we are the progeny of Muhammad…when people come to me with their deeds.”

The Prophet resisted the vying in glory by ancestors that was widespread among the Arabs. One day, a black slave disputed with Abdurrahman bin Ouf (one of the chiefs of Quraysh) who was angry and said to the black man, “O son of the black woman!” When the Prophet heard that, he angrily said to Abdurrahman, “There is no preference for the son of a white woman to the son of a black woman except by the truth.”

2. Equality before the law

One of the clear manifestations in the Islamic politics is the equality of people before the law where there is no preference for the strong to the weak or the wealthy to the poor. Once, the Prophet was begged to pardon a thief because of her noble family, but he refused and said, “Surely, those who were before you had perished because if a weak person from among them committed a sin, they punished him/her, and if a noble one committed a sin, they left him free. By Allah, if Fatima daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut off her hand.”[1]

Imam Ali, during his caliphate, lost his armor and then he found it with some Jewish man who claimed it was his. Imam Ali brought the case before the judge who judged for the Jew. Imam Ali simply submitted to the judgment.

During the reign of Umar, some Jewish man disputed with Imam Ali. Umar said to the Imam Ali, “O Abul Hasan, get up to stand up with your litigant.”


Notes:

[1] Al-Kharaj by Abu Yousuf, p. 50.


(205)

Imam Ali changed color. After the trial, Umar said to Imam Ali, “O Abul Hasan, you might be angry that I asked you to stop with your Jewish opponent?”

Imam Ali said, “No, but I was angry because you called me by my surname (while it was not so with the Jew) and did not equal me to my opponent (did not regard the Jew equal to me). A Muslim and a Jew are equal before the truth.”

Islam has imposed on its followers to equalize the two opponents in courts. It is not right to prefer one to the other. It is worth mentioning to refer here to some wonderful pictures of equality in judgment.

1. Equalizing the litigants in greeting; a judge has no right to greet one of them and leave the other. If they both greeted him, he has to reply to them both.

2. Equalizing them in speaking; he is not to talk with one of them and give up the other.

3. Equalizing them in giving permission to come in to him; he is not to permit one of them and reject the other.

4. Equalizing them in regarding and respecting

5. Equalizing them in seating; it is not permissible to him to seat one of them in a good place and leave the other anywhere.

6. Equalizing them in cheerfulness

7. Listening to the speaking of both of them; he is not to listen to one of them carefully away from the other.

8. Equalizing them in justice and fairness.


(206)

9. A judge has no right to prefer one of the opponents to the other in anything.[1]

This equality that Islam has adopted has no any like in the modern and all other systems.[2]

3. equality in taxes

All Muslims are equal in paying the taxes that Islam has imposed like the zakat, the Khums, and others. They are not imposed on some people and some others are exempted from them.

4. equality in employment

Islam has equalized all citizens in employment and posts. Whoever is well-qualified to a certain post is worthier of occupying that post. No certain class of people is preferred to another concerning certain posts.

Individual responsibility
Man, in Islam, is responsible for his deeds, and no one other than him should be blamed in place of him for that. Allah says, (every man is responsible for what he shall have wrought),[3] and (That was a people that have passed away; they shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called upon to answer for what they did).[4]

This responsibility is one of the wonderful rules that Islam has fixed in its civilization that has announced the human rights.


Notes:

[1] Al-Lum’ah, the book of judgment, vol. 1 p. 366-367.
[2] The Political System in Islam.
[3] Qur'an, 52:21.
[4] Qur'an, 2:134.

(207)

Annulling the racial segregation
One of the high values in Islam is the annulling of the racial segregation among Muslims and among all human beings. A very poor black woman lived in the mosque. One day, the Prophet missed her. When he asked about her, it was said to him that she had died. He felt pain and said to his companions, “Would that you have told me of that!” He asked about the place of the woman’s tomb and he visited it.[1]

The Prophet said about Salman al-Farisi (the Persian), “Salman is from us the Ahlul Bayt. Charity to Salman is impermissible.”[2]

The Prophet said about Bilal al-Habashi (the Abyssinian) when some hypocrites criticized and mocked at him because he pronounced [s] as [sh], “The [s] of Bilal is [sh] to Allah. The [s] of Bilal is better than your [sh].”

There are many other examples showing that the Prophet cared too much for the equality among Muslims.

The Islamic brotherhood
The Islamic brotherhood was not just a slogan, but it was an eminent reality in the rulings of Islam. The Islamic brotherhood was not established on tribal, racial, or regional bases, but it was established as a part of the Islamic doctrine that every Muslim would be asked about and punished for. It supplies the society with the means of unity, mutual understanding, altruism, and cooperation, and it creates a unique example of social integrity and blocks the way before its enemies.


Notes:

[1] The Political System in Islam, p. 305.
[2] Only khums is to be given to the Prophet and his progeny.


(208)

As for the reality of the Islamic brotherhood, the Prophet said, “No one of you is a true believer until he wishes to his brother what he wishes to himself.”

The Prophet described the Muslim society as one body saying, “The example of believers in their mutual love and mercifulness is like the body when one of its organs suffers a pain, the rest of the body falls in fever and sleeplessness for it.”

Islam has considered the Islamic brotherhood as better and stronger than the tie of blood and kinship. The Prophet said, “A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim; he should not wrong, degrade,…him.”

The Islamic brotherhood is not just a mere passion, but it is a firm relationship extending to the deep of hearts and the inners of souls. It requires all Muslims to participate in joy and in sorrow. The Prophet had often declared that. Once, he sent some man to do something for him. The man was late. When he came back, the Prophet asked him why he was late and he said it was ‘clothlessness’.

The Prophet asked him, “Do you not have a neighbor who has two garments to lend you one?”

The man said, “Yes, O messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet was unpleased and said, “He is not a brother to you!”

Imam as-Sadiq said, “A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim; he is his eye, mirror, and guide. He should not betray, wrong, cheat, backbite, or tell him lies…”[1]

Imam al-Baqir said, “A believer is a brother to a believer; he should not abuse, anger, or mistrust him.”[2]


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 174.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 167.


(209)

Islam has recommended some acts that they encourage love and brotherhood among Muslims. The following are some of them:

1. Mercifulness and sympathy

Imam as-Sadiq said, “Fear Allah and be brothers loving each other for the sake of Allah, helping each other, and showing mercy to each other. Visit each other, meet, consider our matter (imamate), and liven it up.”[1]

He also said, “Muslims are required to strive for interconnection and cooperation in comforting and showing mercy to the needy until you shall be as Allah has ordered you to be (compassionate among themselves), showing mercy to each other, caring for what is unknown to you from their (other Muslims) affairs like the community of the Ansar was at the time of the messenger of Allah.”

2. The spread of greeting

One of the ties of the Muslim society is the greeting of each other. The Prophet, when he arrived in Yathrib, ordered Muslims of some things saying to them, “Spread greeting (among you), speak good, offer food (to the needy), retain kinship, and offer prayers in the night while people are asleep, then you shall enter the Paradise peacefully.”[2]

3. Mutual visiting

Islam encourages Muslims to visit each other because these mutual visits confirm the love and relation between them. Imam Ali said, “The meeting of brothers is a great gain even if they are few.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Ibid., p. 475.
[2] Rabee’ul Abrar, vol. 2 p. 313.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 140.

(210)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said to one of his companions, “Give my regards to our followers and recommend them of the fear of Allah and that their wealthy should help their poor, their powerful should help their weak, their alive should attend the funerals of their dead, and to meet in their houses. If they meet each other, it shall be a life to our matter (imamate). May Allah have mercy on whoever livens up our matter.”[1]

There are many other traditions transmitted from the infallible imams inviting Muslims to keep on visiting each other.

4. Satisfying the needs of people

Satisfying the needs of people causes more love and cordiality among people. The Prophet often and always encouraged that. He said, “Whoever moves to satisfy a need of his brother an hour in the night or in the day, whether he satisfies it or not, it shall be better to him than spending a month of worshiping in seclusion.”[2]

Safwan al-Jammal narrated, “Once, I was with Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq when a man from Mecca, called Maymun, came to him. He complained to him that he could not pay the rents. He (Imam as-Sadiq) said to me, ‘Go and help your brother!’ I went to satisfy the need of the Meccan man, and when I came back, Imam as-Sadiq asked me, ‘What did you do to the need of your brother?’ I said, ‘Allah has satisfied it, may my father and mother die for you.’ Imam as-Sadiq was delighted and said, ‘Surely if you help your Muslim brother it is more beloved to me than circumambulating the House (the Kaaba) for a week.’”[3]


Notes:

[1] The Political System in Islam, p. 22.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 195.
[3] Ibid. p. 158-159.

(211)

5. Helping a Muslim

The Prophet said, “Whoever relieves a Muslim from a distress from the distresses of this life, Allah will relieve him from a distress from the distresses of the Day of Judgment. Allah is in the assistance of a servant as long as that servant is in the assistance of his brother.”[1]

Imam al-Baqir said, “Let no one of you think that when he pleases a believer that he pleases him only, but, by Allah, he pleases us, and in fact, by Allah, he pleases the messenger of Allah.”[2]

These are some of the means that increase love and strengthen the relations among the members of the Muslim society, and consequently they lead to the unity and solidarity of Muslims.

Factors of separation
Islam has closed all the doors through which separation may come in and affect the Islamic brotherhood and split the unity of Muslims. Here are some factors that lead to that:

1. Mocking and insulting each other

Allah says, (O you who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turns not in repentance, such are the evil-doers).[3]


Notes:

[1] Al-Jami’ as-Sahih by at-Termithi, vol. 2 p. 189.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 151.
[3] Qur'an, 49:11.


(212)

2. Backbiting

Islam has prohibited backbiting. Allah says, (…nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning, Merciful).[1]

The Holy Qur'an has likened backbiting to the eating of one’s dead brother’s flesh. The Prophet often emphasized on the prohibition of backbiting. He said, “O folk of those who believed by their tongues and did not believe by their hearts! Do not backbite Muslims and do not look for their defects! Surely whoever looks for the defect of his brother Allah will look for his own defect until He will expose him in the heart of his house.”[2]

The Prophet also said, “Backbiting is faster in (destroying) a Muslim’s faith than a canker in his inners.”[3]

He also said, “No meeting is built by backbiting except that its religion is destroyed. Purify your hearings from the listening to backbiting, because the sayer and the listener to it (backbiting) are participants in sin.”[4]

3. Talebearing

The Prophet has prohibited talebearing, for it leads to grudge, enmity, and quarrels among Muslims.

The Prophet said, “The most hated ones of you to Allah are those who practice talebearing, separate between lovers, and ascribe defects to the innocent.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 49:12.
[2] Jami’ as-Sa’adaat, vol. 2 p. 298.
[3] The Political System in Islam, p. 199.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 274.


(213)

He also said to his companions, “Shall I inform you of the worst of you?” They said, “Yes, O messenger of Allah.” He said, “Those who practice talebearing, separate between lovers, and ascribe defects to the innocent.”[1]

Many other traditions have been transmitted from the infallible imams about talebearing. Muhammad bin Fudhayl said to Imam al-Kadhim, “May I be sacrificed for you! Something that I hate is informed to me about one of my brothers and when I asked him about it, he denies it, though those who inform about him are trustworthy.”

The imam said to him, “O Muhammad, do not believe your hearing and sight about your brother. If fifty witnesses bear witness (about him), and says to you something else, you should believe him and deny them. Do not spread about him something that defames him and destroys his status, and then you shall be from those about whom Allah has said, (Surely those who love that scandal should spread respecting those who believe, shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter).[2]”[3]

4. Irrelation

The Prophet based the Muslim society on interconnection and love and he prohibited the absence of relation. He said, “If any two Muslims desert each other and remain three days without making peace with each other, they shall be out of Islam and there shall be no guardianship between them. Whichever of them precedes in talking with his brother shall be precedent to the Paradise on the Day of Judgment.”[4]


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 274.
[2] Qur'an, 24:19.
[3] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 358.
[4] Ibid.

(214)

He also said, “It is not permissible for a Muslim to desert his brother more than three days.”[1]

5. Non-cooperation

Islam has built the Muslim society on cooperation and prohibited the violation of it. Imam al-Baqir said, “Whoever refrains from assisting his Muslim brother and satisfying his need, he shall be afflicted by assisting one whom he shall be punished and not rewarded for.”[2]

Imam as-Sadiq asked his companions, “Why do you belittle us?”

A man from Khurasan said to him, “Allah forbids that we belittle you or anything of your matter!”

The imam answered him while being angry, “You are one of those who have belittled us”

The man said, “Allah forbid!”

The imam said, “May Allah forgive you! Did you not hear so-and-so, when we were in Qarn al-Jahfah, saying: ‘carry me on the mount for a mile. By Allah, I have been tired.’? By Allah, you did not raise your head to him. You belittled us. Whoever belittles a believer from among us belittles and neglects the sanctity of Allah the Almighty.”[3]

6. Harming and insulting

Islam has prohibited the harming and the insulting of a Muslim. Many traditions were transmitted from the Prophet and the infallible imams about that.


Notes:

[1] Wasa’il ash-Shia, vol. 2 p. 344.
[2] The Political System in Islam, p. 23.
[3] Al-Wasa’il, the book of Hajj, vol. 8 p. 592.

(215)

The Prophet said, “A (true) Muslim is he whom Muslims are safe from his tongue and hand.”

He said, “It is not permissible for a Muslim to point to his brother with a look that may hurt him.”

He said, “Allah the Almighty has said, ‘He, who degrades my believing servant, resists Me.’”[1]

Imam as-Sadiq said, “Whoever abases and despises a believer for his neediness and poverty Allah will expose him (the despiser) before the creatures on the Day of Judgment.”[2]

He also said, “Whoever despises a poor or not poor believer Allah the Almighty will be despising and hating him until he shall renounce his despising to him (the believer).”[3]

7. Frightening and terrorizing

Islam has prohibited the terrifying and terrorizing of any Muslim. The messenger of Allah said, “Whoever looks at a believer with a look by which he intends to terrify him Allah will terrify him on the Day where there shall be no shelter except His.”[4]

Imam as-Sadiq said, “He, who terrifies a believer by a ruler that a harm from him (the ruler) may afflict him but it does not afflict him, shall be in Fire, and he, who terrifies a believer by a ruler that a harm from him may afflict him and it does afflict him, shall be in the Fire with the Pharaoh and the family of the Pharaoh.”[5]


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 262.
[2] Ibid., p. 263.
[3] Ibid., p. 262.
[4] Ibid., p. 273.
[5] Ibid., p. 275.


(216)

Islam has prohibited terrorism and promised terrorists to be in the fire of the Hell forever.”

8. Revilement

From the high values of the Islamic education is the prohibition of revilement even toward the opponents of the religion. Allah says, (And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance).[1]

The Prophet said, “Abusing a believer is apostasy, eating his flesh (backbiting) is disobedience, fighting him is disbelief, and the inviolability of his property is like the inviolability of his blood.”[2]

A man from Tamim asked the Prophet to recommend him of something. One of the Prophet’s recommendations to him was, “Do not revile people lest you earn enmity of them.”[3]

9. Watching of others’ slips and defects

Islam has surrounded the Muslim society by a strong fence to protect it from splitting and separating. From that which causes separation in the society is the watching of others’ slips and faults which Islam has insistently prohibited. Allah the Almighty says, (Surely those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, shall have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter).[4] The Prophet said, “O folk of those who have become Muslims by the tongue and not by the heart, do not watch the slips of Muslims,


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 6:108.
[2] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 268.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Qur'an, 24:19.


(217)

because whoever watches the slips of Muslims Allah watches his slips and Allah will expose whomever He watches his slips.”[1]

Imam Abu Ja’far (al-Baqir) said, “The soonest of good in being rewarded for is beneficence, and the soonest of evil in being punished for is oppression. It is an enough defect for a man to see in people what he overlooks in himself, and to blame people for what he himself can not give up, and to hurt his companion with what does not concern him.”[2]

Imam al-Baqir said, “From that which makes one nearer to disbelief is that he befriends someone in religion and he watches his slips to censure him for them someday.”[3]

10. Degrading a Muslim

It is not from Islam that a Muslim degrades and despises his Muslim brother. The Prophet said, “He, who spreads a vice, is as if he has committed it, and he, who censures a Muslim for something, shall not die until he shall be involved in it.”[4]

11. Priding on lineages

Islam has prohibited the priding on lineages for it leads the split of the Islamic brotherhood. People in Islam are equal as the dents of a comb; no one has preference to another except by piety and good deeds.

Once Uqbah bin Basheer al-Asadi had the honor of meeting Imam Abu Ja’far al-Baqir and began praising himself and his lineage. The imam said to him,


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2 p. 264.
[2] Ibid., p. 332-333.
[3] Ibid, p. 264.
[4] Ibid, p. 265.


(218)

“Do not pride on your lineage before us. Allah has exalted by faith that whom people used to call ‘mean’ if he was faithful, and lowered by disbelief that whom people used to call ‘noble’ if he was an unbeliever. There is no preference for one to another except by piety.”[1]

Instead of priding on one’s ancestors one should pride on good deeds and assistance to others.;

Lights from the Islamic civilization
The Prophet undertook the best and most appropriate systems that assured security and settlement to his nation. We have talked about some of them in the previous chapters and now we talk about some others.

Freedom
Islam has adopted full freedom for man because it is as the air to his lungs and without it a sound life cannot be realized. The freedoms that Islam has declared are the following:

1. The freedom of religion

The freedom of religion is a part from the Islamic mission. The Prophet’s plan was to inform of the principles and values of his mission to the society and they were free to believe in them if they wanted and to reject if they wanted. Allah has said addressing His prophet, (And say: The truth is from your Lord, so let him who pleases believe, and let him who pleases disbelieve),[2] and said, (Therefore, do remind, for you are only a reminder. You are not a warder over them),[3] and, (We know best what they say, and you are not one to compel them;


Notes:

[1] Usool al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 247.
[2] Qur'an, 18:29.
[3] Qur'an, 88:21-22.

(219)

; therefore remind him by means of the Qur’an who fears My threat).[1] There would be no harm to Islam if the Jews and the Christians insisted to remain on their religions. Allah also has said to His messenger, (will you then force men till they become believers?)[2]

Goldzieher says, “Islam, in order to be a universal power, followed an intelligent policy. In the first ages, embracing Islam was not obligatory. Those, who believed in monotheism and took their laws from Divine Books like the Jews, the Christians, and the Zoroastrians could, if they paid the certain tribute, enjoy the freedom of rites and the protection of the Islamic state. Islam had gone with this policy to far distances. In India, for example, the old rites were practiced in the temples under the Islamic rule.”[3]

Dozy mentions the importance of the Islamic leniency when talking about the conquest of Andalusia. He says, “The conditions of the Christians under the Islamic rule did not lead to complaint as to what they were before. Add to that that the Arabs had much leniency. They did not weary anyone in the affairs of religion…and the Christians did not neglect this favor of the Arabs, but they approved the Arabs’ leniency and justice and preferred their rule to the rule of the Germans and the French.”[4]

Islam has obliged all Muslims to regard the right of others in their beliefs. No one is permitted to force anyone to embrace Islam. Allah has said, (There is no compulsion in religion; truly


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 50:45.
[2] Qur'an, 10:99.
[3] Decisive Situations (Mawaqif Hasimah), p. 20.
[4] Ibid., p. 20-21.

(220)

the right way has become clearly distinct from error).[1] If a Muslim wants to argue with someone of another belief, he has to show him irrefutable evidences on Islam and show him through logic and clear proofs the defects of that someone’s belief. Either he submits to the truth or otherwise a Muslim has no right to use pressure and force to impose his own beliefs on him.

From the manifestations of the full freedom that Islam has given to the followers of the other religions is that it does not impose on them the application of the Islamic rulings especially in the personal law, but they can refer to the rulings of their religions.

However, history has never mentioned that Prophet Muhammad had killed, punished, or imprisoned a follower of another religion or prevented him from practicing his rites.

2. The freedom of thought

Islam has opened all horizons of thinking before the mind and invited it to set out in the universe and use all its activities to ponder on everything there and think deeply of all what Allah had created which would lead to the absolute faith in Allah the Almighty.

The freedom of thought, which Islam has invited to, calls for the intellectual development and the release from every superstitions and illusions that were widespread in the society of Mecca where idolatry was the most significant thing in that life of deviation. Allah has said, (And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 2:256.


(221)

they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are worse. These are the heedless ones).[1]

The Prophet invited the Meccan people to waken their minds and free their thinking from all their bad habits and thought and from imitating their fathers blindly. Allah has said, (And when it is said to them: Follow what Allah has revealed, they say: Nay! we follow what we found our fathers upon. What! And though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way?)[2]

Allah the Almighty ordered His prophet to address his people, who followed their idols in error, saying, (Say: Have you then considered that what you call upon besides Allah, would they, if Allah desire to afflict me with harm, be the removers of His harm, or (would they), if Allah desire to show me mercy, be the withholders of His mercy? Say: Allah is sufficient for me; on Him do the reliant rely).[3]

3. Civil freedom

It means the giving of the full freedom to the individual in the field of work on condition that his work should not be impermissible in Islam such as the making of instruments of amusement, wines, and the like.

From the other fields of the civil freedom is the freedom of abode that every individual has the right to choose for himself an abode to live in on condition that it should not be ill-gotten. He is also free to live in any country he likes except that when his emigration is to non-Muslim country and that it is feared for


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 7:179.
[2] Qur'an, 2:170.
[3] Qur'an, 39:38.


(222)

him that he may lose his faith and become deviant; therefore, this emigration is impermissible to him.

Governors and officials
When Islam had become strong and its state firm, the Prophet began sending governors and officials to the provinces and the villages that had embraced Islam.

The task of governors
The task of the governors whom the Prophet sent to the Muslim towns was as the following:

1. To teach the rulings of Islam, like the rulings of prayer, fasting, hajj, zakat, the enjoining of good and forbidding of wrong, the Holy Qur'an, spreading the good morals and manners, and virtues among people.

2. Collecting the Islamic taxes and spending them on the poor of that town, besides the other public interests.

3. Deciding the disputes among people and solving their problems according to the rulings of Islam.

4. Watching the market; the Prophet paid much attention to the economic life of people. Those, who sold foods without weights or measures, were whipped at the time of the Prophet, for the selling of foods must undergo certain measures and weights.[1] The Prophet employed Sa’eed bin al-Aas to watch the market of Mecca after the conquest[2] for fear of usurious dealings.


Notes:

[1] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 3 p. 1161.
[2] Al-Istee’ab (on the margins of al-Isabah), vol. 2 p. 8.

(223)

The Prophet’s covenant to governors
The Prophet had assigned to Amr bin Hazm, who was his governor on Yemen, this covenant in which he said,

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This a communiqué from Allah and His messenger. O you who believe be loyal to the covenant! This is a covenant from Prophet Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Amr bin Hazm when he sent him to Yemen. He ordered him of the fear of Allah in all his affairs for (surly Allah is with those who keep their duty unto Him and those who are doers of good). He ordered him to follow the truth as Allah had ordered him, and to bring good news about goodness, order them to do it (goodness), teach them the Qur'an and make them understand it, and forbid them that no man should touch the Qur'an except when he is pure, and to inform people of their rights and their duties, and to be lenient to them in the truth and severe to them in injustice (when one of them commits injustice) because Allah hates injustice and prohibits it. He says, (surely the curse of Allah is on the unjust).[1] And to bring people good news about the Paradise and its deeds and warn them against the Fire and its deeds, and befriend people until they fully understand the religion, and teach people the ruling of the hajj and its rites and obligation and what Allah has ordered, and the Major Hajj.”[2]

The Prophet’s covenant to Mu’ath
The Prophet made a covenant to his governor Mu’ath and ordered him to fulfill its terms. It has been narrated in two forms. Here is the first one:


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 11:18.
[2] The Political System in Islam, p. 169.

(224)

“O Mu’ath, I recommend you of the fear of Allah, the truthfulness in speaking, the fulfillment of covenants, giving deposits back (to their owners), avoiding betrayal, being merciful to the orphan, observance of neighbors, controlling of anger, being lenient, offering of greetings and soft speech, keeping to faith, understanding the Qur'an, the love of the afterlife, the fear of Judgment (of the afterlife), good deeds, and not relying on wishes, and beware of abusing a Muslim, disbelieving a truthful one, believing a liar, or disobeying a just ruler.

O Mu’ath, remember your Lord at every rock and tree, and make to every sin a repentance; secretly when secretly and openly when openly. Visit the sick, and hurry to satisfy the needs of widows and the weak. Sit with the poor and the wretched. Be fair to people against yourself, say the truth, and do not fear, in the way of Allah, a blame of any blamer.”[1]

The second narration:

“O Mu’ath, teach them the Book of Allah, and educate them with the good morals. Regard people according to their positions whether good or bad. Apply the order of Allah to them and do not flatter anyone as to His orders and wealth, because it is neither your authority nor is it your wealth. Give deposits back to their owners in all cases whether little or much. Keep on leniency and pardoning except in the leaving of the truth that an ignorant one may say: you have left the right of Allah. Apologize to the people of everything that you may commit a fault in it until they pardon you. Deaden the affairs of the pre-Islamic age except that which Islam has passed, and show all matters of Islam whether small or big. Let the prayer be most of your attention because it is the head of Islam after the


Notes:

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 42-43.


(225)

acknowledgment of the religion (faith). Remind the people of Allah and the Last Day and follow preachment for it is better to them in the doing of what Allah likes. Then, send among them educators, and worship Allah Whom you shall return to, and do not fear, in the way of Allah, a blame of any blamer.

And I recommend you of the fear of Allah, the truthfulness in speaking, the fulfillment of covenants, giving deposits back (to their owners), avoiding betrayal, (I recommend you of) soft speaking, offering of greetings, observance of neighbors, being merciful to the orphan, doing good deeds, not relying on wishes, the love of the afterlife, the fear of Judgment (of the afterlife), , keeping to faith, understanding the Qur'an, controlling of anger, and being lenient.

Beware of abusing a Muslim, obeying a sinner, disobeying a just ruler, disbelieving a truthful one, or believing a liar. Remember your Lord at every rock and tree, and make to every sin a repentance; secretly when secretly and openly when openly.”

Deposing of governors
The Prophet was too careful in watching the conducts of his governors. When he saw that the public complain at a governor for his bad administration or bad morals, he deposed him. Once, he deposed his governor on Bahrain, al-Ala’ bin al-Hadhrami, because the delegation of the bani Abdul Qays complained against him, and he appointed in place of him Aban bin Sa’eed and said to him, “Be kind to Abdul Qays and regard their notables.”[1]

The Prophet often called his governors and officials to account. Once, he appointed a man from al-Azd on charities.


Notes:

[1] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 4 p. 360.


(226)

The man said, “This if for you and this has been given to me as gift…”

The Prophet was angry at the man’s saying and he said to him, “What about one whom we employ in what Allah has entrusted us with and he says: this has been gifted to me? Would he not sit in his father and mother’s house and see whether it is gifted to him or not? By Whom in His hand my soul is, we do not employ a man in something of what Allah has entrusted us with except that he shall come on the Day of Judgment carrying it on his neck; if it is a camel, it shall grumble, and if it is a cow, it shall moo, and if it is a yew, it shall bleat.” Then the Prophet raised his hands toward the heaven and said two or three times, “O Allah, I have informed him.”[1]

When the Prophet’s attention to the honesty of governors and officials was spread among Muslims, they (governors and officials) refrained from accepting gifts. Historians mention that the Prophet sent Abdullah bin Rawahah every year to the Jews of Khaybar to estimate the fruit of their date-palms. Their villages were from the most important villages in Hijaz as to production. The Jews wanted to bribe him. They collected to him some of their women’s jewels and said to him, “This is to you, but you lessen (the estimation) to us and overlook in division.”

He angrily said, “O community of Jews, you are the most hated of Allah’s people to me, but this does not make wrong you. And as for the bribe you offer to me, it is ill-gotten that we do not eat.”


Notes:

[1] The Wise Ways in the Legal Policy, p. 48.

(227)

The Jews were astonished at his honesty and they said, “On this the heavens and the earth have been established.”[1]

The salaries of officials
Islam has cared much for the conditions of the state officials. It has paid much attention to make them in no need of what people possess. The Prophet appointed Etab bin Usayd a wali on Mecca and gave him one dirham a day where one dirham equaled the price of a sheep and a bottle of oil or honey. Etab declared his satisfaction saying, “…the messenger of Allah gives me one dirham a day, and now I am in need of no one.”[2]

The Prophet also assigned certain quantities of food instead of money for some of his governors. When he appointed Qays bin Malik al-Arhabi on Hamadan, he assigned to him two hundred sa’s[3] of the corn of Nasar, and two hundred sa’s of raisins of Khaywan (in Yemen) and to be paid for his children after him as well.[4]

The Prophet sent governors to all the towns and villages that had believed in Islam. For example, he sent al-Muhajir bin Umayyah a wali on Sana’a’, Ziyad bin Labeed on Hadhramaut, Adiy bin Hatim on Tay, Etab bin Usayd on Mecca, Sa’d bin Abdullah bin Rabee’ah on Ta’if,[5] Amr bin Hazm al-Ansari on Najran, Bathan, the deputy of Khosrau, on Yemen, and after his death, the Prophet appointed his son Shahr bin Bathan a wali on Sana’a.[6]


Notes:

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 3 p. 369.
[2] The Political System in Islam, p. 175.
[3] Sa’ is a measure of about three kilograms.
[4] Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 4 p. 224.
[5] The System of the Prophetic Government, vol. 1 p. 242.
[6] Al-Isabah, vol. 2 p. 168.

(228)

The Prophet’s deputies
At the beginning of establishing his state in Yathrib, the Prophet began sending deputies to kings and rulers inviting them to monotheism and to believe in Islam that Allah had determined as a perfect religion for all His people. The Prophet’s letters to those kings and rulers were the best form of media at that time. He warned Khosrau of Persia and Caesar of Rome who had possessed most of the world, and many prominent personalities of that time. He was certain that his religion would prevail over the whole globe and all the nations would enjoy its blessings.

The Prophet chose the deputies from among his companions and advised them saying, “Be loyal to Allah as to His people, for whoever is entrusted with any of people’s affairs, and then he is not loyal to them, Allah will keep him away from the Paradise. Set out and do not do as the messengers of Jesus son of Mary did.”

His companions asked, “O messenger of Allah, what they did?”

He said, “He (Jesus) asked them to do the same as I have asked you to do. As for those whom he sent to near places, they submitted and were pleased, but as for those whom he sent to far places, they hated the task and hesitated. Therefore, Jesus complained that to Allah.”[1]

Dr. Taha Husayn says, “Islam wants the caliphs and the governors to be loyal and be guards for people on their rights, properties, and interests to run them after consultation and agreement and to fulfil them neither haughtily, proudly, or selfishly, and to run them not as if they are masters preferred to


Notes:

[1] Sharh ash-Shafa, vol. 1 p. 641, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 5 p. 226, as-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 272.


(229)

the rest of people by any kind of preference, but as leaders whom people trust and see them reliable in running their affairs, and then they entrust them with these affairs optionally and satisfactorily but not forcedly and unwillingly. So whoever wants to refer to them in these affairs can refer to them, and if they find that they have erred, their duty requires them to go back to straightness, and if they find that they have deviated, their duty requires them to go back to the right path…in this way the Prophet acted until Allah chose him to his neighborhood.”[1]

The following are some of his letters to important personalities of that time.

1. To Khosrau
The Prophet sent Abdullah bin Huthafah as-Sahmi a deputy to Khosrau the king of Persia and give him this letter to deliver it to the king:

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Khosrau the great king of Persia. Peace be on whoever follows guidance and believes in Allah and His messenger. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no associate to Him, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. I invite you by the invitation of Allah that I am the messenger of Allah to the whole people to warn whosoever lives, and that the word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers. Be Muslim and you shall be safe, and if you refuse, the sin of the Magi shall be on you…”[2]

When the Prophet’s deputy came in to Khosrau, Khosrau ordered his men to take the letter from him, but he refused


Notes:

[1] Al-Azhar Magazine, vol. 8, 9, the year 1384 AH, Mars 1965 AD.
[2] Al-Bidayah wen-Nihayah, vol. 4 p. 269, Inimitability of the Qur'an, p. 110.


(230)

except that he himself would deliver the letter to the king. The king responded and received the letter from the deputy. The king ordered the letter to be recited to him. When he heard “From Muhammad to the great king of Persia”, pride occupied him because the Prophet had begun his letter by his name before the name of the king. King Khosrau took the letter and tore it before having known what there was in it. He ordered the deputy to get out of his palace. When he came back to Medina, the deputy told the Prophet about what had happened, and the Prophet prayed Allah against King Khosrau saying, “May Allah tear his authority.”[1]

Allah responded to the Prophet’s prayer and the authority of Khosrau was torn up by the Muslim armies after no long.

2. To Caesar
The Prophet sent Dihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi a deputy to the king of Rome and gave him this letter to him. The letter reads:

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad son of Abdullah to Hercules the great of Rome. Peace be on whoever follows guidance. Then, I invite you by the invitation of Islam; believe in Islam and you shall be safe and Allah will reward you twice, but if you refuse, the sin of your people shall be on you. (Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims).[2]”[3]


Notes:

[1] Al-Kamil fit-Tareekh, vol. 2 p. 80, Tareekh al-Ya’qubi, vol. 2 p. 61.
[2] Qur'an, 3:64.
[3] As-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 2 p. 275, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 2 p. 225, Subhul A’sha, vol. 6 p. 376, Mushkilul Aathaar by at-Tahawi, vol. 2 p. 397, al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 384, Ahkam al-Qur'an by al-Jassas, vol. 3 p. 241.


(231)

When the King of Rome read the letter, Dihyah said to him, “O Caesar, the one, who sent me, is better than you, and the One Who sent him is better than him and than you. Listen submissively and then respond, and thus you shall be loyal (to Allah). If you do not submit, you shall not understand, and if you are not loyal, you shall not be just.”

The king said, “Here I am!”

Dihyah said, “Do you know that Jesus offered prayer?”

The king said, “Yes, I know.”

Dihyah said, “So I invite you to the One Whom Jesus offered prayers for, and I invite you to the One Who has managed the creation of the heavens and the earth while Jesus was in his mother’s abdomen. And I invite you to this illiterate prophet whom Moses brought good news about and so did Jesus the son of Mary after him. Surely you have knowledge of that that does not need seeing or telling news. If you respond, you shall have this world and the afterworld; otherwise, you shall lose the afterworld and shall be participated in this world. Know well that you have a Lord Who destroys tyrants and change blessings.”[1]

The king asked the deputy, “Is there anyone from the people of this man who claims he is a prophet here?”

Abu Sufyan, who was not Muslim then, was among the attendants in the king’s meeting. The attendants referred to Abu Sufyan and said, “He is closer to the Prophet.”


Notes:

[1] Ar-Rawdh by as-Suhayli, vol. 2 p. 355.

(232)

Abu Sufyan came before the king who asked him (through his translator) the following questions:

“How is his ancestry among you?”

Abu Sufyan said, “He is of a high ancestry.”

The king asked, “Was anyone of his fathers a king?”

Abu Sufyan said, “No.”

The king asked, “Did you accuse him of lying?”

Abu Sufyan said, “No.”

The king asked, “Do the notables or the weak of people follow him?”

Abu Sufyan said, “The weak.”

The king asked, “Do they increase or decrease?”

Abu Sufyan said, “They increase.”

The king asked, “Do anyone apostatize after embracing his religion?”

Abu Sufyan said, “No.”

The king asked, “Did you fight him?”

Abu Sufyan said, “Yes.”

The King asked, “How was your fight against him?”

Abu Sufyan said, “The fight between us has its ups and downs; sometimes he wins and sometimes we win.”

The King asked, “Do he betray?”

Abu Sufyan said, “No?”

The king asked, “How about his reason and mentality?”

Abu Sufyan said, “We could not defeat him in reason or opinion.”


(233)

The king asked, “On what does he enjoin to you?”

Abu Sufyan said, “He enjoins on prayer, zakat, chastity, and to worship Allah alone with no partner, to be loyal to covenants, and to give trusts back to their owners.”

The talk went on between the King and Abu Sufyan who, at last, was angry and he said painfully, “Abu Kabsha[1] has become so important that the king of Rome began revering him.”

The king of Rome welcomed and regarded the Prophet’s deputy. He offered Islam to the Romans, but they refused to believe in it. Then, he wrote the Prophet a letter in which he declared his faith in Islam and the denial of the Romans. He said in his letter:

“To Ahmed the messenger of Allah whom Jesus had brought good news about, from Caesar the king of Rome. Your book has come to me with your messenger. I bear witness that you are the messenger of Allah. We find you in the Bible where Jesus the son of Mary has brought us good tidings about you. I invited the Romans to believe in you, but they refused, and if they obeyed me, it would be better for them. I wished I were near you to serve you and wash your feet.”[2]

The king of Rome announced his faith in Islam and that caused a deep influence in strengthening the morals of Muslims, besides that it found reverence to Islam in the Roman palace and in the church as well.


Notes:

[1] It means ‘the father of the ram’. They referred to the Prophet by this surname that was of a man from Khuza’ah who rejected the worshipping of idols and therefore they likened the Prophet to him, or it is said that Abu Kabsha was the Prophet’s maternal grandfather.
[2] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 5 p. 163, as-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, vol. 9 p. 122.


(234)

3. To al-Muqawqas
The Prophet sent Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah to al-Muqawqas the ruler of the Copts who was Christian. The letter to him reads in this way:

“From Muhammad the son of Abdullah to al-Muqawqas the great of the Copts. Peace be on whoever follows guidance. Then, I invite you by the invitation of Islam; believe in Islam and you shall be safe and Allah will reward you twice, but if you refuse, the sin of your people (the Copts) shall be on you. (Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims).[1]

The letter to the ruler of the Copts has been narrated in another way:

“From the messenger of Allah to the ruler of Egypt. Allah the Almighty has sent me as a messenger and revealed to me a Book, a clear Qur'an, and ordered me to give proofs and warning and to confront the unbelievers until they believe in my religion and until all people embrace it. I invite you to acknowledge the oneness of Allah. If you do, you shall be happy, and if you deny, you shall be wretched. With greeting.”[2]

When al-Muqawqas read the Prophet’s book, he said to Hatib, “What prevented him, if he was a prophet, from praying Allah against whoever opposed and exiled him from his country to another one?”


Notes:

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by al-Halabi, vol. 3 p. 249.
[2] Futooh ash-Sham by al-Waqidi, vol. 2 p. 23, Jamharatur-rasa’il, vol. 1 p. 38.


(235)

Hatib intelligently answered, “Do you not bear witness that Jesus the son of Mary is a messenger of Allah, so why did he, when his people took him and wanted to kill him, not pray against them that Allah might destroy them, until Allah raised him to Him?”




The ruler of the Copts was astonished at this argument and he said to Hatib, “You are a wise man (coming) from a wise man!”[1]

In ar-Rawdh, it has been mentioned that Hatib said to al-Muqawqas, “There was a man before claiming that he was the highest god (he meant the Pharaoh), but Allah destroyed him as the punishment of this life and the afterlife. Allah had avenged by him (on others) and then He avenged on him. So learn a lesson from others and do not let others learn a lesson from you.”

Al-Muqawqas said, “Here you are! Say what you want to say.”

Hatib said, “You have a religion that you should not give up except for what is better than it; it is Islam that Allah has made sufficient. This prophet invited people, but the severest of them against him were the people of Quraysh, and the most hostile to him were the Jews, and the nearest to him were the Christians. By my life, the good tidings of Moses about Jesus is not but like the good tidings of Jesus about Muhammad, and our call to you toward the Qur'an is not but like the call of the people of the Torah toward the Bible. Every prophet comes to a people from his nation, they have to obey him, and you are one of those who have attained this prophet, so you have to obey him…”[2]

Al-Muqawqas approved these words of Hatib that had a great influence on him. Al-Muqawqas sent to the Prophet some


Notes:

[1] Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 1 p. 362, as-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 250.
[2] Sharh al-Mawahib, vol. 3 p. 348, Zad al-Ma’ad, vol. 3 p. 691.

(236)

precious gifts among that was a bondmaid called Mariya whom the Prophet got married to and she bore him his son Abraham.[1] Among the gifts there was a physician to treat sick Muslims, but the Prophet asked him to go back to his country saying to him, “We are people that do not eat until we feel hungry and when we eat, we do not satiate (do not exceed in eating).”[2]

Al-Muqawqas sent the Prophet a letter saying in it,

“To Muhammad the son of Abdullah from al-Muqawqas the ruler of the Copts. Peace be on you. I have read your book and understood what you have mentioned in it and what you invited to. I have known that a prophet has remained. I thought he would appear in Sham. I was kind to your messenger…”[3]

Hatib went back to Medina with the gifts and the letter of al-Muqawqas. When the Prophet read the letter, he said, “He adhered to his rule, and his rule shall not last long.”

Al-Muqawqas with a delegation from Thaqif
A delegation from the tribe of Thaqif came to al-Muqawqas among whom was al-Mugheerah bin Shu’ba before being a Muslim. Al-Muqawqas asked them some questions about the Prophet Muhammad. He asked, “What did you do to what he had invited you to (Islam)?”

They said, “No man from us has followed him.”

He asked, “What about his people”


Notes:

[1] As-Seera al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 250, Kanzol Ummal, vol. 3 p. 321.
[2] Makateeb ar-Rasool (letters of the Prophet), p. 101.
[3] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 1 p. 26, as-Seera al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 281.

(237)

They said, “The youth followed him and his opponents confronted him on many occasions.”

He asked, “What does he invite to?”

They said, “That we should worship Allah alone and give up what our fathers worshipped. He also invites to prayer and zakat and he enjoins on the retaining of kinship and the loyalty to covenants and he prohibits adultery, usury, and wines.”

Al-Muqawqas admired these values and said, “This is a prophet sent to the whole peoples. If he met the Copts and the Romans, they would follow him, for Jesus had ordered them of that. These attributes that you have described him (Muhammad) with were the attributes of the prophets before him. He shall prevail that no one shall be able to contend with him, and his religion shall prevail everywhere.”

These words struck the delegation of Thaqif like a thunderbolt. They said, “If all people enter (with him), we will not enter with him (in this religion).”

Al-Muqawqas said, “You are in the play.”[1]

Al-Muqawqas did not believe in Islam until the Muslim armies invaded and occupied his country that submitted to the rule of Islam then.

4. To Negus
The Prophet sent his cousin Ja’far with a group of his companions to Negus inviting him to Islam. The Prophet said in his letter to Negus,

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to great Negus, the king of


Notes:

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 2 p. 174.


(238)

Abyssinia. Peace be on you. I praise Allah Whom there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace, the Faith, the Guardian over all, and I bear witness that Jesus the son of Mary is the spirit of Allah and His word which He has bestowed on good, chaste, Virgin Mary and she bore Jesus. So He created him from His spirit and inspired him as He created Adam by His hand and inspired him. I invite you to the worship of Allah alone with no partner and the keeping on His obedience, and to follow and believe in me and in what has been revealed to me for I am the messenger of Allah. I have sent to you my cousin Ja’far with a group of Muslims. When they come to you, you submit and give up haughtiness. I invite you and your soldiers to Allah the Almighty. I have informed and been loyal, so respond! Peace be on whoever follows guidance.”[1]

Negus welcomed and revered the delegation. He put the Prophet’s letter on his eyes and announced his faith in Islam. He put the letter in a box of ivory. He sent the Prophet some precious gifts and a letter in which he declared his embracement of Islam. When the delegation went back to Medina, the Prophet became so pleased for Negus’s behavior towards the Muslims and his faith in Islam, and the Muslims’ morale was so high and firm for that. Negus sent a letter to the Prophet as a reply saying in it,

“Peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be on you, O prophet of Allah. Peace be on you from Allah Whom there is no god but Him Who has guided me to Islam.

Your book has come to me, O messenger of Allah, concerning that which you have mentioned about Jesus. By the Lord of the heaven and the earth, Jesus is not different from what you have mentioned; he is as you have said. We have known what you


Notes:

[1] Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 1 p. 63, al-Bidayah wen-Nihayah, vol. 3 p. 83.


(239)

have sent to us. We did welcome your cousin (Ja’far bin Abi Talib) and his companions. I bear witness that you are the messenger of Allah; truthful and confirming (of Allah’s decrees). I have paid homage to you and to your cousin and his companions, and submitted (become Muslim) at his hands to the Lord of the worlds.

I have sent to you my son Arha bin al-Adhkham bin Abjar. I do not own but myself and if you like me to come to you, I shall do O messenger of Allah, for I bear witness that all what you say is true. Peace be on you O messenger of Allah…”[1]

5. To the King of Ghassan
The Prophet sent Shuja’ bin Wahab to the king of Ghassan, al-Harith bin Abi Shimr inviting him to Islam and saying in his letter to him,

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to al-Harith bin Abi Shimr. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance and believes in and accepts it. I invite you to believe in Allah alone with no partner to Him so that your authority may be preserved…”[2]

When the king of Ghassan read the Prophet’s letter, he became too angry and he said to the Prophet’s deputy, “Who can deprive me of my authority? I will march to him even if he is in Yemen.”

He ordered his armies to parade before the deputy and he said to him, “Tell your friend about the armies and the horsemen you are seeing and tell him that I will march to (fight) him.”


Notes:

[1] The Collection of the Political Documents at the time of the Prophet and the Caliphate, p. 27.
[2] Tareekh at-Tabari, vol. 2 p. 292, al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 50.

(240)

He wrote a letter to the king of Rome informing him that he had decided to fight the Prophet. It happened that the Prophet’s deputy Dihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi was with the king of Rome who when read the letter replied to him to give up his intention. When Caesar’s reply reached al-Muqawqas, he was terrified. He sent for the Prophet’s deputy and treated him kindly. He offered him some presents and monies.[1]

6. To the king of Yamama
The Prophet sent Saleet bin Amr to the king of Yamama Hawtha bin Ali inviting him to Islam. He wrote him a letter saying in it,

“In the Name, of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Hawtha bin Ali. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance. Know well that my religion shall prevail everywhere, so be Muslim that you shall be safe, and I will make you the ruler over what you have in your hands now…”[2]

The Prophet’s deputy advised him too saying, “O Hawtha, a master is he who is endowed with faith and then is supplied with piety. Let the people, who have been happy by your reason, not be wretched by it. I enjoin you on the best of all that is enjoined on, and prohibit you from a prohibited thing; I enjoin you on the worship of Allah and prohibit you from the worship of Satan. In the worship of Allah there shall be the Paradise, and in the worship of Satan there shall be the Fire. If you respond, you shall gain what you wish and be safe from what you fear,


Notes:

[1] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 1 p. 261.
[2] As-Seera al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 386, Subhul A’sha, vol. 1 p. 329.

(241)

but if you deny, there shall be between us and you terrible and horrible end.”[1]

The king of Yamama asked the deputy to give him some days to decide, and then he wrote a letter to the Prophet saying in it, “To the messenger of Allah; how good and fine is that which you invite to. I am the poet and orator of my people and all the Arabs revere my position, so grant to me some of the authority and I will follow you.”[2]

He thought that the Prophet wished for rule and authority. He did not know that the Prophet had been sent by Allah to spread the word of Islam and its high values.

When the deputy came back to Medina and informed the Prophet of what had happened, the Prophet said, “If he asked me for a bit from the earth, I would not give him. May he perish and perish all that in his hands.”[3] And it was really so. The Muslim armies occupied his kingdom and the banner of Islam was raised in it.

7. To the kings of Oman
In the eighth year of hijra, the Prophet sent Amr bin al-Aas to Ja’far and Abd the two kings of Oman inviting them to Islam and saying to them in his letter,

“In the Name, of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the son of the slave of Allah and His messenger to Ja’far and Abd the sons of al-Julandi. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance. I invite you by the call of Islam; be Muslims and you shall be safe, for I am the messenger of Allah to the whole people to warn whosoever is alive and that the


Notes:

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 2 p. 177.
[2] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 9 p. 262.
[3] Al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 440.


(242)

word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers. If you both acknowledge Islam, I will entrust you with (your very) authority, and if you refuse to acknowledge Islam, your authority shall be deprived of you and my horses (armies) shall cover your field and my prophethood shall prevail over your kingdom.”[1]

The task was successful and they both declared their faith in Islam willingly and satisfactorily and so the banner of Islam fluttered in Oman with no war or blood.[2]

8. To the people of Hajar
The Prophet sent a letter to the people of Hajar (Bahrain) saying in it:

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From the Prophet Muhammad the messenger of Allah to the people of Hajar; I praise Allah Whom there is no god but Him. I recommend you of Allah and of yourselves not to be deviate after you have been guided or to go astray after you have followed the right path. Your delegation has come and I did not receive them except with what pleased them. If I tried my right on you, I would drive you away from Hajar, but I pardoned your absents and preserved your presents, so remember the blessing of Allah on you.

It has been informed to me what you have done. Whoever of you does good shall not be blamed for the sin of a bad doer. When my emirs come to you, you should obey and support them in the matter of Allah and in His way. Whoever of you does a good deed shall not be deviant near Allah nor near me.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, vol. 3 p. 440.
[2] As-Seera al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 284, at-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 1 p. 262.
[3] Al-Kharaaj by Abu Yousuf, p. 75, Futooh al-Buldan, p. 80.


(243)

9. To al-Munthir bin al-Harith
The Prophet sent to al-Munthir bin al-Harith al-Ghassani the ruler of Damascus this letter saying in it,

“Peace be on whoever follows the guidance and believes in Allah. I invite you to believe in Allah alone with no partner to Him, and so your authority shall remain to you.”[1]

His letters to the notables
The Prophet’s invitation was not limited to the kings and rulers but it included famous chiefs and notables of the tribes. He sent his messengers to some famous chiefs in the Arabia.

Aktham bin Sayfi

Aktham bin Sayfi was one of the well-known wise men and chiefs of the Arabs. The Prophet sent him a messenger inviting him to Islam through this letter:

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Akhtham bin Sayfi; I praise Allah Who has ordered me to say: ‘there is no god but Allah’ and to enjoin people on it…and the whole matter is up to Allah; He created, made die, and will resurrect them and to Him is the return. He has educated you with the morals of the messengers, and you shall be asked about the great event; and certainly you shall come to know about it after a time.”

When he read the Prophet’s letter, he sent two men from the best men of his tribe to know well about the Prophet and his mission. When these two men arrived in Medina, they got the honor of meeting the Prophet who said to them, after


Notes:

[1] A’lam as-Sa’ilin, p. 102.

(244)

they had asked him who and what he was and what his mission was,

“I am Muhammad bin Abdullah and I am the slave of Allah and His messenger.” Then he recited this verse, (Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).[1]”

The two messengers went back to their master after they had believed the Prophet and believed in his mission. When they told Akhtham about what they saw and heard, he said to his people, “O people, I see that he enjoins on the nobilities of character and forbids indecencies. So be, in this matter, heads and not tails, and be in it first and not last!”[2]

Then, his people announced their faith and embraced the religion of Allah collectively.

Ziyad bin Jumhoor

The Prophet sent one of his companions to Ziyad bin Jumhoor who was one of the notable personalities of the Arabs. He said in his letter to him,

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Ziyad bin Jumhoor; I praise Allah Whom there is no god but Him. I remind you of Allah and the Last Day. Let every religion that people have embraced be given up except Islam.”[3]


Notes:

[1] Qur'an, 16:90.
[2] Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 1 p. 213.
[3] Ibid., p. 215.

(245)

The Prophet sent many delegations to Some Arab personalities inviting them to Islam and he was confident that the Word of Allah must raise in the earth and Islam prevail allover the world. Prof. Muhammad Abdullah Anan says about these deputies and delegations,

“The Prophet’s delegations and letters were a wonderful act of diplomacy. In fact, it was the first act that Islam had achieved in this field. Those delegations were clear as a proof that this Arab Prophet’s soul was full of faith and courage, though he was not saved yet from the persecution of his people, and he had no considerable authority yet or forces that might be feared. He dared confidently and courageously to invite Caesar the emperor of Rome, the great king of Persia, and other contemporaneous kings and rulers to embrace a mission that was still in its cradle then.

This intelligent diplomacy the Prophet undertook in addressing the kings of his time was not useless in all, and the Prophet undoubtedly did not expect that those powerful kings would respond to his mission while he was still struggling to spread it among his own people and tribe. However, those delegations were a complementary act to the prophetic mission where the old world that the Prophet turned to in his mission was based on very weak bases that were about to collapse in a time or another, besides that the old religions were loaded with corruption and weakness. Therefore, the Islamic mission, in its newness, simplicity, and powerfulness, was a phenomenon deserving to be studied and inquired into, and it was difficult for those of deep insight to perceive from behind this new mission powers that warned of explosion. And really that explosion was very soon that just a few years after those delegations Islam prevailed over the Arabia and the flow of the Islamic conquests moved to the heart of the Roman and the Persian empires, and the Arabs, the children of this new religion



(246)

and the carriers of the Muhammadan mission, began working so rapidly in establishing the great Islamic state.”[1]

The Prophet’s sending of deputies and delegations to the foreign countries and the local chiefs in the Arabia had a deep and active influence on the development of the Islamic state and it had a great influence in terrifying the great powers that were enemies to Islam. The meetings and clubs of Quraysh began talking about that and their fear of the Prophet and Muslims grew more and more.

The delegations to the Prophet
A delegation of seventy or eighty men from the bani Tamim including their chiefs, notables, poets, and orators came to vie in glory with the Prophet. When they were near the Prophet’s house, they cried out, “O Muhammad, come out! We have come to vie in glory with you. We have brought our poets and speechers.”

When the Prophet came out to them, al-Aqra’ bin Habis said harshly, “My praising is good and my blaming is bad.”

The Prophet said, “That is Allah the Almighty.” It means that whomever Allah praises it will be pride and honor to him, and whomever Allah dispraises it will be disgrace to him.

Anyhow, one of them cried out priding before the Prophet, “We are the noblest of the Arabs.”

The Prophet replied, “Joseph the son of Jacop is nobler than you.”

They asked the Prophet to permit their speecher Utarid bin Hajib to made a speech and the Prophet permitted him to do that. The speecher said,


Notes:

[1] Mawaqif Hasimah (decisive situations), p. 208.


(247)

“Praise be to Allah who has favor and grace on us and He is due of that. It is He Who has made kings and made us the most glorious of the people of the East, and granted to us abundant monies which we spend in good ways. There is none among people who is like us. Are we not the heads of people and the men of favor on them? Whoever vies in glory with us let him mention like what we have mentioned. If we want, we would say much more, but we feel shy to descant on what Allah has given and entrusted us with. I say this, and can you say better than our saying or show a matter better than our matter?”

Thabit bin Qays (who was a Muslim) replied to him saying, “Praise be to the Lord Whom the heavens and the earth are from His creation and Who has determined His decree on them, Whose Throne has held His knowledge, and Who has not decreed a thing except out of His favor and power. Then, it was from His power that He chose from His creatures a messenger who is the noblest of them in lineage, the most truthful in speaking, and the best of them in reason. Then, Allah the Almighty revealed to him a Book and entrusted him with His creatures, and so he was the choice of Allah from among all mankind. Then, the messenger of Allah called for faith and responded to him from his people and kin the Muhajirin who are the noblest of people in lineage, the kindest of them, and the best of them in deeds. Then, the first of the Arabs, who followed the messenger of Allah and responded to him, were we the people of the Ansar. We are the supporters of Allah and the ministers of the messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) fought people until they would say: there is no god but Allah; so whoever believed in Allah and His messenger his properties and blood would be inviolable to us, and whoever disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, we would fight him for the sake of Allah and this fight would be easy to us. I say this and I ask Allah to forgive the believing men and the believing women.”



(248)

Then, az-Zabriqan bin Badr recited a poem in which he glorified his tribe. After that, the Prophet asked his poet Hassan bin Thabit to reply to az-Zabriqan and he recited an eloquent poem where he praise Muslims and mentioned their virtues, courage, and mercy even to their enemies, and said it sufficed them that their leader was the Prophet who was the best one Allah had ever created. The argumentation between the poets of both sides kept on, and at last the delegation became Muslims and stayed with the Prophet learning the Qur'an and the teachings of the religion. The Prophet was very kind and liberal to them all that time.[1] It is worth mentioning that many delegations came to the Prophet and most of them turned Muslims at his hand.

Education
The Prophet paid too much attention to education. He cared much for the spread of knowledge and sciences and for the struggle against illiteracy. He made the seeking of knowledge an obligation on Muslims and ordered knowledge to be written down lest it would be forgotten.[2] He blamed those who did not learn saying, “What about some peoples who do not learn from their neighbors or acquire knowledge?!” He imposed punishment on those who did not try to know or learn.[3] He did not differentiate between men and women in education because no nation could develop under ignorance.

Among Muslims there were some famous teachers whom the Prophet ordered to teach Muslims writing, reading, the Qur'an,


Notes:

[1] Imta’ al-Asma’, vol. 1 p. 236, at-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 419-423.
[2] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 5 p. 22, al-Bayan wet-Tabyeen, vol. 1 p. 161, Kashf ad-Dhunoon, vol. 1 p. 26.
[3] Majma’ az-Zawa’id, vol. 1 p. 64.

(249)

and the teachings of Islam. Sa’eed bin al-Aas, who was a scribe of nice handwriting, taught the people of Medina by the Prophet’s order.[1] Ibadah bin as-Samit taught writing and taught the Qur'an to some people of as-Suffah.[2] Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah was also a teacher. Ibn Tha’laba narrated, “Once, I met the messenger of Allah and said to him, ‘O messenger of Allah, would you send me to a man of good teaching?’ He sent me to Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah and said to me, ‘I am sending you to a man who will teach you well.”[3]

The Prophet imposed a certain ransom on the prisoners of the battle of Badr, and whoever was unable to pay the ransom had to teach writing and reading to ten children from the children of Medina. A prisoner was not to be released except after teaching the children, and thus writing and reading were widespread in Medina.[4]

Education of women
The Islam’s situation toward education and literacy is clear and it does not concern men away from women. As an example, the Prophet ordered ash-Shifa’ the mother of Sulayman bin Abi Hatmah to teach Hafsah the Ant[5] Spell as she had taught her writing.[6]


Notes:

[1] Al-Istee’ab, p. 393 edition of India.
[2] Al-Istee’ab, printed on the margins of al-Isabah, vol. 2 p. 374. As-Suffa was a shed beside the mosque where homeless, destitute people lived.
[3] Kanzol Ummal, vol. 11 p. 237.
[4] The System of the Prophet’s Government, p. 131, quoted from al-Matali’ an-Nasriyyah fil-Usool al-Khattiyyah by Abul Wafa’ al-Hurini.
[5] Ant is the name of a certain disease.
[6] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 6 p. 372

(250)

As for the tradition “Do not teach them (women) writing, do not make them live in rooms, and teach them the Sura of an-Noor” is a fabricated tradition.[1]

Lady Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, taught the Muslim women the principles of Islam and the rulings of religion. Lady Zaynab, Imam Ali’s daughter, did not only teach women, but she also was an authority in fatwas that the companions and other Muslims came to her asking about the religious rulings and the laws of Islam, and when her brother Imam al-Husayn was martyred, she was the only authority as to the religious rulings.

Once, Asma’ bint Yazid al-Ansariyyah came to the Prophet and said to him, “I am a messenger of a group of Muslim women; they say as I say and have the same thought as mine. Surely Allah has sent you to men and women equally. We have believed in and followed you. We, the women, are confined to houses, are the place of men’s lusts, and the bearers of your children, and men are preferred to us in congregational prayers and escorting the dead. When they go for jihad, we keep their properties and bring up their children; so do we participate with them in the reward, O messenger of Allah?”

The Prophet admired her speech and he said to his companions, “Have you heard a woman asking about her religion better than this one?”

They said, “No, O messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet kindly said to the woman, “O Asma’, you may go and inform the women, who have sent you, that one’s good wifing to her husband, her seeking of his satisfaction, and doing


Notes:

[1] Refer to Tareekh Baghdad, vol. 14 p. 224, ad-Dhu’afa’ (the weak) by ibn Hayyan, vol. 2 p. 302, Shu’ab al-Eeman, vol. 2 p. 477.


(251)

according to his acceptance equal all that which you mentioned.”

The woman left while she was delighted by the Prophet’s saying.[1]

The house of hospitality
The Prophet built a house for guests called ad-Dar al-Kubra (the big house).[2] It was the first house in Medina to be taken for this concern. The delegations that came to the Prophet to announce their faith in Islam or for other things stayed in this house. Habib bin Amr narrated, “We were seven persons that once came to Medina. We met the Prophet, who was going to escort a dead person after being invited to that. We greeted him and he replied to our greeting. He asked who we were and we said, “We are from Salaman coming to pay homage to you as Muslims with all our tribe that we have left there.”

The Prophet asked his servant Thowban to take those men to the guest-house that Habib described as a big house with a garden of date-palms and that there were some Arab delegations in it.[3]

The Prophet also had assigned a house, which belonged to Makhramah bin Nawfal,[4] for the reciters of the Qur'an who came to Medina from other places.[5]


Notes:

[1] Al-Istee’ab, printed on the margins of al-Isabah, vol. 4 p. 237.
[2] Al-Wafa’, vol. 1 p. 555.
[3] The System of the Prophet’s Government, p. 466, quoted from al-Iktifa’ by Ibn ar-Rabee’ al-Kila’iy.
[4] Uyoon al-Athar by ibn Sayyid an-Nas, vol. 4 p. 250.
[5] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 4 p. 150.


(252)

The Islamic economy
Prophet Muhammad established for Muslims a developed economy that would be able to remove poverty and put an end to deprivation. The following are some of the Prophet’s means in his economy:

1. The encouraging of agriculture

In the first Islamic age and later, agriculture was the main pillar of the general economy of Muslims. The Prophet encouraged Muslims to practice agriculture and often asked them to plant date-palms. Once, the Prophet entered Umm Mubashshir al-Ansariyyah’s garden of date-palms and said, “No Muslim seeds a seed or plants a plant and a man or an animal eats from it, except that it shall be as charity for him.”[1]

Ibn Shihab narrated, “One day, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, when he was the caliph, sent for me and said, ‘Sa’d bin Khalid bin Amr bin Uthman came and said to me ‘O Ameerul Mo'minin, give me a bare piece of land for I was informed that the messenger of Allah said: ‘No man plants a plant except that Allah will give him reward as much as the plants (he has planted) and the fruits.’ Have you heard this?’ I said, ‘Yes.’”[2]

There are many traditions transmitted from the Prophet encouraging Muslims to practice agriculture. The Prophet said, “No man plants a plant except that Allah will record for him rewards as much as the fruit that comes out of that plant.”[3]

2. The encouraging of labor

The Prophet encouraged labor in all permissible fields and he invited people to it because it is the most important element


Notes:

[1] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 3 p. 1188.
[2] Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 6 p. 378.
[3] Sunan of ibn Majah, vol. 2 p. 727, Sahih of Muslim, vol. 3 p. 1228.

(253)

in production. Once, he took a worker’s hand and began kissing it before his companions saying, “This is a hand that Allah and His messenger love.”[1] The Prophet considered labor as honor and sacred struggle for the sake of Allah, and that Allah had not sent a prophet except that he was a laborer. Anyhow, Islam insistingly invites its followers to work and it dispraises unemployment and laziness.

3. The forbidding of usury

Islam is too strict in forbidding usury and in determining severe punishment for whoever practices it. It has been mentioned in some traditions that “a dirham out of usury that a man knowingly eats is worse, near Allah, than thirty-six commitments of adultery.”

Islam has prohibited usury to build its economy on sound scientific bases that have no kind of injustice. Surely, usury is one of the worst means of gaining wealth and accumulating it by a certain group of people with no exertion or effort.

4. The prohibition of cheating

Islam has prohibited cheating whether against the seller or the buyer. When cheating takes place in dealings, Islam gives the option to repeal the dealing and to give the cheated one his dues.

5. The prohibition of monopoly

Monopoly leads to the confusion of markets, excessive prices, and poverty. Therefore, Islam has prohibited it. Many traditions in this concern have been transmitted from the Prophet; here are some of them:


Notes:

[1] Work and the Rights of Workers in Islam, p. 305.

(254)

The Prophet said, “Whoever monopolizes the foods of Muslims Allah will afflict him with leprosy.”[1]

He said, “No one monopolizes except a wrongdoer.”[2]

He said, “How bad a monopolizer is! When Allah cheapens prices, he will be grieved and when Allah makes them high, he will be delighted.”[3]

He said, “The importer to our market is like a mujahid in the way of Allah, and the monopolizer in our market is like a disbeliever in the Book of Allah.”[4]

Islam has legislated to confiscate monopolized goods and to price them in a way that does not disadvantage citizens. Jurisprudents have mentioned the period of monopoly and the (monopolized) goods that should be confiscated.

6. The watch of the market

From the important actions in the Islamic economy is the watch of the market lest cheating happens or prices go high that may affect people.

7. Taxes

Islam has imposed taxes to be paid to the poor and the needy such as the zakat of fitr that must be paid after the end of Ramadan by every Muslim; young or old, male or female. It is about three kilos of food or their price.

8. The zakat of monies

This tax is obligatory on four kinds of food; wheat, barley, dates, and raisins when they reach a certain quantity (nisab; the


Notes:

[1] Sunan of ibn Majah, vol. 2 p. 728.
[2] Sahih of Muslim, vol. 3 p. 1228.
[3] Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 2 p. 12.
[4] Al-Mustadrak ala as-Sahihayn, vol. 2 p. 12.


(255)

definite minimum value) that is about eight hundred and fifty-five kilograms, and whatever exceeds that must be taxed. If the crops are irrigated by rainwater or flowing water, the amount of the tax is one tenth and if they are irrigated by a means, the amount of the tax is a half of the tenth. This tax is also obligatory on sheep, cows, and camels when they reach the nisab. It is also obligatory on (gold) dinars and dirhams. This tax is to be given to the poor of the same area and not to be taken abroad.

9. The Khums

There are many true traditions transmitted from the infallible imams of Ahlul Bayt on the khums (fifth) that is obligatory on minerals, the treasures taken out of seas, and the monies mixed with ill-gotten monies.

10. The government’s responsibility

The government is responsible for the struggle against poverty through some means like the preparation of jobs and equal opportunities for the citizens lest unemployment and neediness spread in the society, and the subsidy to those whose incomes do not cover their living, besides the payment of the debts of those who can not pay their debts. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq said, “Whoever dies while there is a debt on him and his heirs cannot pay it, we are responsible for paying his debt.”

The change of the qibla to the Kaaba
The Prophet used to offer his prayers towards Jerusalem, but on Tuesday the fifteenth of Sha’ban in the second year of Hijra the qibla was changed (by Allah’s order) to the Kaaba. The place where the Prophet offered prayers was called the mosque of the two qiblas.[1] The Prophet offered prayers


Notes:

[1] Al-Muntadham, vol. 3 p. 93.


(256)

towards Jerusalem for sixteen months.[1] And in the second year of hijra too, the Prophet was ordered to fast during the month of Ramadan and to pay the zakat of fitr a month after the change of the qibla.[2]

The Prophet consults with his companions
Though he was an infallible prophet sent by Allah, Prophet Muhammad consulted with his companions about most political and social affairs following the saying of Allah to him (and consult with them upon the matter).[3] Abu Hurayra narrated, “I have never seen anyone more consulting with his companions than the messenger of Allah.”[4]

Surely, the Prophet was in no need of anyone’s opinion, but he consulted with his companions to unite and spread love among them. Historians say, “He (the Prophet) consulted even with women and he regarded their opinions.”[5]

The Prophet’s scribes
The Prophet depended on some of his companions to record the Qur'an that was revealed to him and to write, by his dictation, the letters he sent to the kings and rulers, besides the documents of treaties and truces and other concerns. The following were the Prophet’s clerks:

1. Imam Ali: he recorded most of the revelation[6] and he wrote for the Prophet his agreements, truces, and other affairs.[7]


Notes:

[1] Al-Muntadham, vol. 3 p. 93.
[2] Ibid., p. 96.
[3] Qur'an, 3:159.
[4] Sunan al-Bayhaqi, vol. 7 p. 45.
[5] At-Tathkira al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 1 p. 312.
[6] Al-Istee’ab, vol. 3 p. 35.
[7] Al-Kamil fit-Tareekh by ibn al-Atheer, vol. 2 p. 103.

(257)

2. Ubay bin Ka’b al-Ansari: he was the first one who recorded for the Prophet after his emigration to Medina.[1]

3. Zayd bin Thabit al-Ansari: he recorded the revelation besides his writing letters to the kings. Some letters that came to the Prophet were in Syriac, and so the Prophet ordered Zayd to learn Syriac and he learned it, and then he began writing to the kings in Syriac.[2]

4. Abdullah bin Arqam: he wrote the letters to the kings and he wrote for ordinary people their contracts and dealings.[3]

5. Ala’ bin Uqbah: he sometimes wrote for the Prophet.[4]

6. Az-Zubayr bin al-Awwam: some historians mention that he was among the Prophet’s scribes.[5]

7. Mu’ayqeeb bin Abi Fatima: he recorded for the Prophet the spoils.[6]

8. Khalid bin Sa’eed: he scribed for the Prophet all affairs taking place before him. The Prophet sent him as an official on the charities of Yemen.[7]

9. Handhalah bin Rabee’: al-Ya’qubi mentioned him as one of the Prophet’s scribes.[8]


Notes:

[1] As-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 327.
[2] Tareekh al-Ya’qubi, vol. 2 p. 80, as-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 3 p. 327, al-Kamil fit-Tareekh, vol. 2 p. 176.
[3] Makateeb ar-Rasool (the Prophet’s letters), vol. 1 p. 21.
[4] Sunan al-Bayhaqi, vol. 10 p. 128.
[5] Makateeb ar-Rasool, p. 31.
[6] Al-Kamil fit-Tareekh, vol. 2 p. 199.
[7] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 4 p. 229.
[8] Tareekh al-Ya’qubi, vol. 2 p. 80.

(258)

It has been mentioned that the Prophet’s scribes were about forty-two ones. Al-Mugheerah bin Shu’bah, Mu’awiya bin Abi Sufiyan, and Khalid bin al-Waleed were mentioned among the Prophet’s scribes, but we do not trust or rely on that, for these persons had a black history full of vices and sins and the Prophet knew well what there was in their inners and souls that were full of hypocrisy. So was it possible that the Prophet neared them to him and entrusted to them the writing of his letters?

The Prophet’s seal
The Prophet took for himself a seal made of silver impressed on it ‘Muhammad the messenger of Allah’.[1] The reason behind that was that one of his companions said to him that those whom he sent letters to would not read them if they were not sealed with his seal, and thus he made a special seal for himself.[2]

The political document
When the Prophet settled in Yathrib and took it as his capital, he began writing down a political document that was very important and has been described by the orientalists as ‘the constitution of the people of Medina’. This document assigned private and public laws for the people of Medina and their brothers of the Muhajireen (who had come from Mecca to live in Medina). It also determined for the Jews who lived in Medina their courses and made them free in practicing their rites besides some obligatory conditions. Here is the text of the document:


Notes:

[1] Sunan al-Bayhaqi, vol. 1 p. 128.
[2] Makateeb ar-Rasool, vol. 1 p.


(259)

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1. This is a book from Muhammad the Prophet, the messenger of Allah, to the believers and Muslims from Quraysh and the people of Yathrib and whoever follow, joins, and struggles with them.

2. They are one nation among people.

3. The emigrants from Quraysh are as they are;[1] they pay among themselves (to each other) blood-monies and ransom their prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

4. And Banu (family or tribe of) Ouf are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

5. And Banu al-Harith from al-Khazraj are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

6. And Banu Sa’idah are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

7. And Banu Jusham are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

8. And Banu an-Najjar are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.


Notes:

[1] As they were in the state when Islam came.


(260)

9. And Banu Amr bin Ouf are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

10. And Banu an-Nabeet are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

11. And Banu al-Ous are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.

12. And the believers should not turn their backs to a needy, indebted one of a big family among them and they should give him in a good manner in ransom or blood-money, and that a believer should not ally with another believer’s ally.

13. And the pious believers should be together against anyone from them who oppresses, commits injustice, a sin, aggression, or corruption among the believers, and they all should be united against him even if he is the son of one of them.

14. And let a believer not kill another believer for an unbeliever, and let no an unbeliever be supported against a believer.

15. And the protection of Allah is one (the same); the farthest of them (the believers) is to be protected, and the believers are guardians to each other from among people.

16. And whoever from the Jews who follow us shall be supported and comforted, and shall not be wronged or aggressed by helping others against him.

17. And the peace of the believers is the same; no believer should make peace away from another believer in a fight for the sake of Allah except equally and justly among them.

18. And every troop that fights with us should be replaced by another.



(261)

19. And the believers are equal to each other as to their bloods in the way of Allah.

20. And the pious believers should be in the best and straightest guidance…and that no polytheist should protect a property or a person of Quraysh and he should not be protected against a believer.

21. And whoever kills a believer for no guilt and intendedly, shall be bind by him until he satisfies the killed one’s guardian by reason, and that the whole believers should be against him and it is not permissible for them except to rise against him.

22. And it is not permissible for a believer, who has acknowledged what there is in this document and believed in Allah and the Last Day, to support or give protection to a heretic, and whoever supports or protects him then the curse and wrath of Allah shall be on him on the Day of Resurrection and no compensation shall be accepted from him (shall not be pardoned).

23. And whatever you disagree on you should refer it to Allah the Almighty and to Muhammad.

24. And the Jews should spend with the believers as long as they are in fighting.

25. And the Jews of bani Ouf are a nation with the believers; the Jews have their religion and Muslims have their religion, adherents, and themselves except he who wrongs or commits a sin that he shall not harm except himself and his family.

26. And the Jews of Bani an-Najjar shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.

27. And the Jews of Bani al-Harith shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.


(262)

28. And the Jews of Bani Sa’idah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.

29. And the Jews of Bani Jusham shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.

30. And the Jews of Bani al-Ous shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.

31. And the Jews of Bani Tha’labah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have except he who wrongs or commits a sin that he shall not harm except himself and his family.

32. And that (bani) Jafnah are a sept from (the tribe of) Tha’labah and they are like them.

33. And Bani ash-Shutaybah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have and piety is not like sin.

34. And the adherents of Tha’labah are like them.

35. And the retinue of the Jews are like them.

36. And that no one should go away except by the permission of Muhammad, and a vengeance of a hurt is not to be prevented, and whoever ravages he shall ravages but himself and his family, except he who wrongs, and Allah shall be satisfied with that.

37. And the Jews should undertake their spendings, and they should support each other against who fights the people of this document…and they should be loyal and benevolent to each other avoiding sin, and no one should sin against his ally, and support should be for the wronged.

38. And Yathrib is inviolable for the people of this document.

39. And one’s neighbor is like oneself that he should not be harmed or sinned against.


(263)

40. And no woman should be given protection except by her family’s permission.

41. And whatever event or dispute taking place among the people of this document that it is feared to cause corruption should be referred to Allah the Almighty and to Muhammad the messenger of Allah.

42. And that neither Quraysh nor those who support it should be given protection.

43. And they (the people of the document) should support against whoever attacks Yathrib.

44. And if they are invited to peace, they should respond to it, and if they are invited to like that, then they should get it from the believers except those who fight the religion…every people should undertake their share that is before them.

45. And that the Jews of al-Ous, their adherents and themselves, have to undertake the same as that of the people of this document with piety from the people of this document, and piety only and no sin. No one commits except against himself and Allah shall be satisfied with what there is in this document.

46. And this book does not protect any unjust one or a sinner, and whoever goes away shall be safe, and whoever stays in Medina shall be safe except he who wrongs or sins, and Allah shall reward whoever is pious and fearing Allah, and (so shall) Muhammad the messenger of Allah.”[1]

This document organized the social relations between the Muhajireen and the Arab tribes living in Medina and the Jews and the other tribes. Wellhausen has analyzed this document


Notes:

[1] Tareekh ibn Katheer, vol. 3 p. 224-226, As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 2 p. 147-150, Musnad of Ahmed bin Hanbal, vol. 1 p. 271.


(264)

and said, “It has come down to us from the heaven.”[1] Prof. Lutfi Jum’ah, as well, has analyzed this document and discussed its contents and values.[2]


Notes:

[1] The Revolution of Islam and the Hero of the Prophets, p. 706.
[2] Ibid.


[Source: maaref-foundation.com]

----

http://www.maaref-foundation.com/english/library/pro_ahl/holy_prophet/the_life_of_muhammad/index.htm