Should it so happen that we come into contact with one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) we shall ask him about what is talked about taqdir (Divine Decree). Accidentally we came across Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque. My companion and I surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his right and the other stood on his left. I expected that my companion would authorize me to speak. I therefore said: Abu Abdur Rahman! There have appeared some people in our land who recite the Qur’an and pursue knowledge. And then after talking about their affairs, added: They (such people) claim that there is no such thing as Divine Decree and events are not predestined. He (Abdullah ibn Umar) said: When you happen to meet such people tell them that I have nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with me. And verily they are in no way responsible for my (belief). Abdullah ibn Umar swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): If any one of them (who does not believe in the Divine Decree) had with him gold equal to the bulk of (the mountain) Uhud and spent it (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it unless he affirmed his faith in Divine Decree. He further said: My father, Umar ibn al-Khattab, told me: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam implies that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said: Inform me about al-Ihsan (performance of good deeds). He (the Holy Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for though you don’t see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer) again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of magnificent buildings. He (the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while. He then, said to me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel (the angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of religion.
He who held belief in the unity of Allah, and then narrated what has been stated above.
My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no god but Allah, and I will bear testimony before Allah (of your being a believer), Abu Jahl and ‘Abdullah b. Abi Umayya addressing him said: Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of ‘Abdul-Muttalib? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) constantly requested him (to accept his offer), and (on the other hand) was repeated the same statement (of Abu Jahl and ‘Abdullah b. Abi Umayya) till Abu Talib gave his final decision and be stuck to the religion of ‘Abdul-Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no god but Allah. Upon this the Messenger of Allah remarked: By Allah, I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am forbidden to do so (by God), It was then that Allah, the Magnificent and the Glorious, revealed this verse: ” It is not meet for the Prophet and for those who believe that they should beg pardon for the polytheists, even though they were their kith and kin, after it had been made known to them that they were the denizens of Hell” (ix. 113) And it was said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): ” Verily thou canst not guide to the right path whom thou lovest. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will, and He knoweth best who are the guided” (xxviii, 56).
I have had a seminal emission but I found no water, and the rest of the hadith is the same but with this addition: ‘Amr said: 0 Commander of the Faithful, because of the right given to you by Allah over me, if you desire, I would not narrate this hadith to anyone.
‘Uthman b. ‘Affan (narrated the mosque after evening prayer and sat alone. I also sat alone with him, so he said: 0, son of my brother, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who observed the ‘Isha’ prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed up to midnight, and he who prayed the morning prayer in congregation, it was as if he prayed the whole night.
No one has ever narrated to me that he saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observing the forenoon prayer, except Umm Hani. She, however, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered her house on the day of the Conquest of Mecca and prayed eight rak’ahs (adding): I never saw a shorter prayer than it except that he performed the bowing and prostration completely. But (one of the narrators) Ibn Bashshar in his narration made no mention of the word:” Never”.
I asked ‘A’isha, the mother of the believers, (to tell me) the words with which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commenced the prayer when he got up at night. She said: When he got up at night he would commence his prayer with these words: O Allah, Lord of Gabriel, and Michael, and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who knowest the unseen and the seen; Thou decidest amongst Thy servants concerning their differences. Guide me with Thy permission in the divergent views (which the people) hold about Truth, for it is Thou Who guidest whom Thou wilt to the Straight Path.
I met Abu Mas’ud near the House (Ka’ba) and said to him: A hadith has been conveyed to me on your authority about the two (concluding verses of Surah al-Baqara. He said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (in fact) said: Anyone who recites the two verses at the end of Surah al-Baqara at night, they would suffice for him.
Bathing on Friday for every adult, using of Miswak and applying some perfume, that is available-these are essential. So far as the perfume is concerned, it may be that used by a lady.
During the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) I was shooting my arrows in Medina, when an eclipse of the sun took place. I, therefore, threw them away and said, I must see how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) acts in a solar eclipse today. When I came to him, he had been supplicating with his hands, raised, pronouncing Allah-o-Akbar, praising Him, acknowledging that He is One God till the eclipse was over, then he recited two surahs and prayed two rak’ahs.
During the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) I was shooting some of my arrows in Medina, when the sun eclipsed. I threw (the arrows) and said: By Allah, I must see how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) acts in solar eclipse. So I came to him and he was standing in prayer, raising his hands, glorifying Him, praising Him, acknowledging His Oneness, declaring His greatness, and supplicating Him, till the sun cleared. When the eclipse was over, he recited two surahs and prayed two rak’ahs.
I was shooting some of my arrows during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that the sun eclipsed. The rest of the hadith is the same.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited thus.
I heard Mu’awiya b. Abu Sufyan saying in an address that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: He to whom Allah intends to do good, He gives him insight into religion. And I am only the distributor while Allah is the Bestower.
When al-Ash’ath b. Qais entered the house of ‘Abdullah he was having his breakfast. He (‘Abdullah b. Umar) said: Abd Muhammad (al-Asha’th), come near to the breakfast. Thereupon he said: Is not today the day of ‘Ashura? He (‘Abd al-Rahman) said: Do you know what the day of ‘Ashura is? He said: What is it? He said: It is a day on which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to observe fast before the (fasting) in the month of Ramadan (became) obligatory. But when it became obligatory the (fasting of ‘Ashura) was abandoned (as compulsory). Abu Kuraib said: He (the Holy Prophet) abandoned it.
People of Medina, where are your scholars? I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on this very day: It is the day of ‘Ashura. Allah has not made fasting on This day obligatory for you but I am fasting. He who likes to observe fast among you should do so, and he who likes not to observe it may not observe it.
While we were with Talha b. Ubaidullah and were in the state of Ihram we were presented a (cooked) bird. Talha was sleeping. Some of us ate it and some of us refrained from (eating) it. When Talha awoke he agreed with him who ate it, and said: We ate it along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
I came to Ibrahim al-Nakha’I and Ibrahim Taimi and said: I intend to combine ‘Umra and Hajj this year, whereupon Ibrahim al-Nakha’i said: But your father did not make such intention. Ibrahim narrated on the authority of, his father that he passed by Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) at Rabdha, and made a mention of that, whereupon he said: It was a special concession for us and not for you.
He might be a Bedouin (not knowing correctly the rituals of Hajj and, therefore, pronouncing Talbia at this stage), whereupon Abdullah said: Hive the people forgotten (this Sunnah of the Holy Prophet) or have they gone astray? I heard him, upon whom Sibrah al-Baqara was revealed, pronouncing Talbiya at the very place.
We heard ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud saying to the gathering of people (at Muzdalifa) that he had heard Talbiya from him, upon whom Surah al-Baqara was revealed, at this very place. And so he (‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) pronounced Talbiya and we also pronounced it with him.
By him, besides Whom there is no other god, that is the place (of flinging stones) of one upon whom Surah al-Baqara was revealed (the Holy Prophet).
That is the place (of flinging pebbles of one) upon whom Surah al-Baqara was revealed.
It was said to ‘Abdullah (Allah be pleased with bird) that people threw pebbles at the Jamra from the upper side of ‘Aqaba, whereas he threw stones at it from the heart of the valley, whereupon he said: By Him besides Whom there is no god, it is at this very place that one upon whom was revealed Surah al-Baqara threw stones at it.
I used to weave garlands for the sacrificial animals of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) with these hands of mine, but he (Allah’s Apostle) neither avoided anything nor gave up anything (which a Muhrim should avoid or give up).
I have declared sacred what is between the two lava grounds of Medina just as Ibrahim (peace be upon him) declared Mecca as sacred. He (the narrator) then said: Abu Sa’id caught hold of (Abu Bakr, another narrator, used the word” found” ) a bird in his hand and then released it from his hand and set it free.
We went to him, and I was the youngest of all (of us), but he did not mention:” I lost no time in marrying.”
I have married a woman of the Ansar. He said: How much Mahr have you paid? I said: For a date-stone weight of gold. And in the hadith transmitted by Ishaq (it is): (nawat weight) of gold.
‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) said: There were three issues which were clarified in case of Barira: her owners had decided to sell her on the condition that the right of her inheritance would vest with them. She (‘A’isha) said: I made a mention of that to Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) and he said: Buy her and emancipate her, for verily the right of inheritance vests with one who emancipates. She said that she emancipated (her) and Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) gave her the option (either to retain her matrimonial alliance or break it after emancipation). She (taking advantage of the option) opted for herself (the severing of matrimonial alliance). ‘A’isha said: The people used to give her charity and she gave us that as gift. I made a mention of it to Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ), whereupon he said: That is charity for her but gift for you, so take that.
A person presented to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) a small water-skin of wine. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to him: Do you know that Allah has forbidden it? He said: No. He then whispered to another man. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) asked him what he had whispered. He said: I advised him to sell that, whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Verily He Who has forbidden its drinking has forbidden its sale also. He (the narrator) said: He opened the waterskin until what was contained in it was spilt.
Do not swear by idols, nor by your fathers.
Abd al-Rahman b. Samura, don’t ask for authority for if it is granted to you for asking for it, you would be commissioned for it (without having the support of Allah), but if you are granted it without your asking for it. You would be helped (by Allah) in it. And when you take an oath and find something else better than that, expiate for (breaking) your oath, and do that which is better. This hadith has also been transmitted on the authority of Ibn Farrukh. The above hadith is narratted through another chain of transmitters.
O people, impose the prescribed punishment upon your slaves, those who are married and those not married, for a slave-woman belonging to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had committed adultery, and he committed me to flog her. But she had recently given birth to a child and I was afraid that if I flogged her I might kill her. So I mentioned that to Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) and he said: You have done well.
My father dictated (and I wrote for him) to Ubaidullah b. Abu Bakra while he was the judge of Sijistan: Do not judge between two persons when you are angry, for I have heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: None of you should judge between two persons when he is angry.
While I was standing in the battle array on the Day of Badr, I looked towards my right and my left, and found myself between two boys from the Ansar quite young in age. I wished I were between stronger persons. One of them made a sign to me and. said: Uncle, do you recognise Abu Jahl? 1 said: Yes. What do you want to do with him, O my nephew? He said: I have been told that he abuses the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). By Allah, in Whose Hand is my life, if I see him (I will grapple with him) and will not leave him until one of us who is destined to die earlier is killed. The narrator said: I wondered at this. Then the other made a sign to me and said similar words. Soon after I saw Abu Jahl. He was moving about among men. I said to the two boys: Don’t you see? He is the man you were inquiring about. (As soon as they heard this), they dashed towards him, struck him with their swords until he was killed. Then they returned to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and informed him (to this effect). He asked: Which of you has killed him? Each one of them said: I have killed him. He said: Have you wiped your swords? They said: No. He examined their swords and said: Both of you have killed him. He then decided that the belongings of Abu Jahl he handed over to Mu’adh b. Amr b. al-Jamuh. And the two boys were Mu’adh b. Amr b. Jawth and Mu’adh b. Afra.
I entered the mosque when ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As was sitting in the shade of the Ka’ba and the people had gathered around him. I betook myself to them and sat near him. (Now) Abdullah said: I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. We halted at a place. Some of us began to set right their tents, others began to compete with one another in shooting, and others began to graze their beasts, when an announcer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) announced that the people should gather together for prayer, so we gathered around the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: It was the duty of every Prophet that has gone before me to guide his followers to what he knew was good for them and warn them against what he knew was bad for them; but this Umma of yours has its days of peace and (security) in the beginning of its career, and in the last phase of its existence it will be afflicted with trials and with things disagreeable to you. (In this phase of the Umma), there will be tremendous trials one after the other, each making the previous one dwindle into insignificance. When they would be afflicted with a trial, the believer would say: This is going to bring about my destruction. When at (the trial) is over, they would be afflicted with another trial, and the believer would say: This surely is going to be my end. Whoever wishes to be delivered from the fire and enter the garden should die with faith in Allah and the Last Day and should treat the people as he wishes to be treated by them. He who swears allegiance to a Caliph should give him the piedge of his hand and the sincerity of his heart (i. e. submit to him both outwardly as well as inwardly). He should obey him to the best of his capacity. It another man comes forward (as a claimant to Caliphate), disputing his authority, they (the Muslims) should behead the latter. The narrator says: I came close to him (‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As) and said to him: Can you say on oath that you heard it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? He pointed with his hands to his ears and his heart and said: My ears heard it and my mind retained it. I said to him: This cousin of yours, Mu’awiya, orders us to unjustly consume our wealth among ourselves and to kill one another, while Allah says:” O ye who believe, do not consume your wealth among yourselves unjustly, unless it be trade based on mutual agreement, and do not kill yourselves. Verily, God is Merciful to you” (iv. 29). The narrator says that (hearing this) Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-As kept quiet for a while and then said: Obey him in so far as he is obedient to God; and diqobey him in matters involving disobedience to God.
I was in the company of Maslama b. Mukhallad, and ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. ‘As was with him. ‘Abdullah said: The Hour shall some oniy when the worst type of people are left on the earth. They will be worse than the people of pre-Islamic days. They will get whatever they ask of Allah. While we were yet sitting when ‘Uqba b. ‘Amir came, and Maslama said to him: ‘Uqba, listen to what ‘Abdullah says. ‘Uqba said: He knows better; so far as I am concerned, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: A group of people from my Umma will continue to fight in obedience to the Command of Allah, remaining dominant over their enemies. Those who will oppose them shall not do them any harm. They will remain ill this condition until the Hour overtakes them. (At this) ‘Abdullah said: Yes. Then Allah will raise a wild which will be fragrant like musk and whose touch will be like the touch of silk; (but) it will cause the death of all (faithful) persons, not leaving behind a single person with an iota of faith in his heart. Then only the worst of men will remain to be overwhelmed by the Hour.
We were one hundred and thirty (persons) with Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ). Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) said: Does any one of You possess food? There was a person with (us) who had a sa’ of flour or something about that, and it was kneaded. Then a tall polytheist with dishevelled hair came driving his flock of sheep. Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) said: Would you like to sell it (any one of these goats) or offer it as a gift or a present? He said: No, (I am not prepared to offer as a gift), but I would sell it. He (the Holy Prophet) bought a sheep from him, and it was slaughtered and its meat was prepared, and Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) commanded that its liver should be roasted. He (the narrator) said: By Allah, none among one hundred and thirty persons was left whom Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had not given a part out of her liver; if anyone was present he gave it to him. but if he was absent it was set aside for him. And he (the Holy Prophet) filled two bowls (one with soup and the other with mutton) and we all ate out of them to our hearts’ content, but (still) some part was (left) in (those) two bowls, and I placed it on the camel- (or words to the same effect).
There came to our house some guests. It was a common practice with my father to (go) and talk to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) during the night. While going he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman, entertain the guests. When it was evening we served the food to them, but they refused saying: So long as the owner of the house does not come and join us, we would not take the meal. I said to them: He (‘Abd Bakr) is a stern person, and if you would not do that (if you do not take the food). I fear, I may be harmed by him, but they refused. As he (my father) came, the first thing he asked was: Have you served the guests? They (the peopleof the household) said: We have not served them sofar. He said: Did I not command ‘Abd al-Rahman (to do this)? He (‘Abd al-Rahman) said: I slunk away and kept myself away by that time. He again said: O stupid fellow, I ask you on oath that In case you hear my voice you come to me. I came and said: By Allah, there is no fault of mine. These are your guests; you may ask them. I provided them with food but they refused to eat until you came. He said to them: Why is it that you did not accept our food? By Allah, I shall not even take food tonight (as you have not taken). They said: By Allah, we would not take until you join us. Thereupon he Abu Bakr) said: I have never seen a more unfortunate night than this. Woe be to thee! that you do not accept from us food prepared for you. He again said: What I did first (that is the taking of vow for not eating the food) was prompted by the Satan. Bring the food. The food was brought, and he ate by reciting the name of Allah and they also ate, and when it was morning he came to Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) and said: Allah’s Messenger, their oath (that of the guests) came to be true, but mine was not true, and after that he informed him of the whole incident. He said: Your oath came to be the most true and you are the best of them. He (the narrator) said. I do not know whether he made an atonement for it.
He who drank in vessels of gold or silver he in fact drank down in his belly the fire of Hell.
O people of Medina, where are your scholars? I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) forbidding this and saying: That the people of Bani Isra’il were ruined at the time when their women wore such hair.
I asked ‘A’isha about incantation. She said: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had granted its sanction to the members of a family of the Ansar for incantation in curing every type of poison.
I adjure you by Allah if you had not heard Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) saying: Hassin, give a reply on behalf of the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, help him with Ruh-ul-Qudus. Abu Huraira said: Yes, it is so.
I heard that a person asked ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. ‘As and heard him saying: Are we not amongst the destitute of the emigrants? Abdullah said to him: Have you a spouse with whom you live? He said: Yes. Abdullah asked: Do you not have a home in which you reside? The man replied “Yes.” Abdullah said: Then you are amongst the rich. He said: I have a servant also. Thereupon he (Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. ‘As) said: Then you are amongst the kings. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman reported that three persons came to ‘Abdullah b. Amr b. ‘As while I was sitting with him and they said: By Allah, we have nothing with us either in the form of provision, riding animals or wealth. Thereupon he said to them: I am prepared to do whatever you like. If you come to us, we would give you what Allah would make available for you. and if you like I would make a mention of your case to the ruler, and if you like you can show patience also. for I have heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The destitute amongst the emigrants would precede the rich emigrants by forty years in getting into Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. Thereupon they said: We then, show patience and do not ask for anything.
Woe be to thee, you have broken the neck of your friend, you have broken the neck of your friend-he said this twice. If one of you has to praise his friend at all, he should say: I think (him to be) so and Allah knows it well and I do not know the secret of the heart and Allah knows the destined end, and I cannot testify his purity against Allah but (he appears) to be so and so.
Allah’s Messenger, no person is more excellent than he after Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) said: Woe be to thee, you have broken the neck of your friend, and he said this twice. Then Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: If anyone has to praise his brother at all, he should say: I think him to be so and so, and even on this he should say: I do not consider anyone purer than Allah (considers).