Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions
كتاب المناقب
Chapter 1: The Statement of Allah Ta'ala: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and female."
Regarding the Verse: 'And (We) made you into Shu'ub and Qabail-- (49.13) that Shu'uib means the big Qabail (i.e. nations) while the Qabail (i.e. tribes) means the branch tribes.
Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was asked, "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He said, "The most righteous (i.e. Allah-fearing) amongst you." They said, "We do not ask you about this." He said, "Then Joseph, the prophet of Allah."
I asked Zainab bint Abi Salama (i.e. daughter of the wife of the Prophet, "Tell me about the Prophet (ﷺ) . Did he belong to the tribe of Mudar?" She replied, "Yes, he belonged to the tribe of Mudar and was from the offspring of An-Nadr bin Kinana."
I was told by the Rabiba (i.e. daughter of the wife of the Prophet) who, I think, was Zainab, that the Prophet (forbade the utensils (of wine called) Ad-Dubba, Al-Hantam, Al-Muqaiyar and Al-Muzaffat. I said to her, 'Tell me as to which tribe the Prophet (ﷺ) belonged; was he from the tribe of Mudar?'' She replied, "He belonged to the tribe of Mudar and was from the offspring of An-Nadr bin Kinana. "
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "You see that the people are of different natures. Those who were the best in the pre-lslamic period, are also the best in Islam if they comprehend religious knowledge. You see that the best amongst the people in this respect (i.e. ambition of ruling) are those who hate it most. And you see that the worst among people is the double faced (person) who appears to these with one face and to the others with another face (i.e a hypocrite).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The tribe of Quraish has precedence over the people in this connection (i.e the right of ruling). The Muslims follow the Muslims amongst them, and the infidels follow the infidels amongst them. People are of different natures: The best amongst them in the pre-lslamic period are the best in Islam provided they comprehend the religious knowledge. You will find that the best amongst the people in this respect (i.e. of ruling) is he who hates it (i.e. the idea of ruling) most, till he is given the pledge of allegiance."
Chapter 2: Virtues of Quraish
Ibn `Abbas recited the Qur'anic Verse:--'Except to be kind to me for my kin-ship to you--" (42.23) Sa`id bin Jubair said, "(The Verse implies) the kinship of Muhammad." Ibn `Abbas said, "There was not a single house (i.e. sub-tribe) of Quraish but had a kinship to the Prophet (ﷺ) and so the above Verse was revealed in this connection, and its interpretation is: 'O Quraish! You should keep good relation between me (i.e. Muhammad) and you."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "From this side from the east, afflictions will appear. Rudeness and lack of mercy are characteristics of the rural bedouins who are busy with their camels and cows (and pay no attention to religion). Such are the tribes of Rabi`a and Mudar."
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "Pride and arrogance are characteristics of the rural bedouins while calmness is found among the owners of sheep. Belief is Yemenite, and wisdom is also Yemenite i.e. the Yemenites are well-known for their true belief and wisdom)." Abu `Abdullah (Al-Bukhari) said, "Yemen was called so because it is situated to the right of the Ka`ba, and Sham was called so because it is situated to the left of the Ka`ba."
That while he was with a delegation from Quraish to Muawiya, the latter heard the news that `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As said that there would be a king from the tribe of Qahtan. On that Muawiya became angry, got up and then praised Allah as He deserved, and said, "Now then, I have heard that some men amongst you narrate things which are neither in the Holy Book, nor have been told by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Those men are the ignorant amongst you. Beware of such hopes as make the people go astray, for I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, 'Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, and whoever bears hostility to them, Allah will destroy him as long as they abide by the laws of the religion.' "
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, even if only two of them remained."
`Uthman bin `Affan went (to the Prophet) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! You gave property to Bani Al-Muttalib and did not give us, although we and they are of the same degree of relationship to you." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Only Bani Hashim and Bani Al Muttalib are one thing (as regards family status).
`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair went with some women of the tribe of Bani Zuhra to `Aisha who used to treat them nicely because of their relation to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The tribe of Quraish, the Ansar, the (people of the tribe of) Julhaina, Muzaina, Aslam, Ashja', and Ghifar are my disciples and have no protectors except Allah and His Apostle."
`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair was the most beloved person to `Aisha excluding the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr, and he in his turn, was the most devoted to her, `Aisha used not to withhold the money given to her by Allah, but she used to spend it in charity. (`Abdullah) bin AzZubair said, " `Aisha should be stopped from doing so." (When `Aisha heard this), she said protestingly, "Shall I be stopped from doing so? I vow that I will never talk to `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair." On that, Ibn Az-Zubair asked some people from Quraish and particularly the two uncles of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to intercede with her, but she refused (to talk to him). Az-Zuhriyun, the uncles of the Prophet, including `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin `Abd Yaghuth and Al-Miswar bin Makhrama said to him, "When we ask for the permission to visit her, enter her house along with us (without taking her leave)." He did accordingly (and she accepted their intercession). He sent her ten slaves whom she manumitted as an expiation for (not keeping) her vow. `Aisha manumitted more slaves for the same purpose till she manumitted forty slaves. She said, "I wish I had specified what I would have done in case of not fulfilling my vow when I made the vow, so that I might have done it easily."
Chapter 3: The Qur'an was revealed in the language of Quraish
`Uthman called Zaid bin Thabit, `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Sa`id bin Al-`As and `AbdurRahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham, and then they wrote the manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an in the form of book in several copies. `Uthman said to the three Quraishi persons. " If you differ with Zaid bin Thabit on any point of the Qur'an, then write it in the language of Quraish, as the Qur'an was revealed in their language." So they acted accordingly. (Sa`id bin Thabit was an Ansari and not from Quraish ).
Chapter 4: The descent of Yemenites from Isma'il (Ishmael)
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) passed by some people from the tribe of Aslam practicing archery. He said, "O children of Ishmael! Throw (arrows), for your father was an archer. I am on the side of Bani so-andso," meaning one of the two teams. The other team stopped throwing, whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "What has happened to them?" They replied, "How shall we throw while you are with Bani so-andso?" He said, "Throw for I am with all of you."
Chapter 5: Chapter
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If somebody claims to be the son of any other than his real father knowingly, he but disbelieves in Allah, and if somebody claims to belong to some folk to whom he does not belong, let such a person take his place in the (Hell) Fire."
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Verily, one of the worst lies is to claim falsely to be the son of someone other than one's real father, or to claim to have had a dream one has not had, or to attribute to me what I have not said."