The Book of the Sunnah

"When the Prophet walked, his Companions would walk in front of him, and he would leave his back for the angels."

"We used to come across groups of Quraish who would be talking, but they would stop talking (when we approached). We mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah and he said: 'What is the matter with people who talk, then when they see a man from my family they stop talking? By Allah, faith will not enter a person's heart until he loves them for the sake of Allah and because of their closeness to me.'"

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah has taken me as a close friend (Khalil) as He took Ibrahim as a close friend. So my house and the house of Ibrahim will be opposite to one another on the Day of Resurrection, and 'Abbas will be in between us, a believer between two close friends.'" (Maudu')

The Messenger of Allah said: "People will come to you seeking knowledge. When you see them say to them, 'Welcome, welcome,' in obedience to the injunctions of the Messenger of Allah and instruct them in knowledge."(One of the narrators said) "I said to Al-Hakam: 'What is 'Iqnuhum?' He said: 'Instruct them.'"

"We entered upon Hasan to inquire after him until we filled the house. He tucked up his legs, the he (hasan) said: 'We entered upon Abu Hurairah to inquire after him until we filled the house. He (Abu Hurairah) tucked up his legs and said: "We entered upon the Messenger of Allah until we filled the house. He was lying on his side, but when he saw us he tucked up his legs then he said: 'After I am gone, there will come to you people seeking knowledge. Welcome them, greet them and teach them.'" (Maudu')A narrator said: By Allah! We came across some people who did not welcome us, greet us, nor teach us unil we used to go to them, then they treated us rudely.

"When we came to Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri, he would say: 'Welcome, in accordance with the injunction of the Messenger of Allah, for the Messenger of Allah said to us: "The people will follow you; they will come to you from all parts of the earth seeking to understand the religion. So when they come to you, take care of them."

The Prophet said to Hasan: "O Allah, I love him, so love him and love those who love him." He said: "And he hugged him to his chest."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever loves Hasan and Husain, loves me; and whoever hates them, hates me.'"

They had gone out with the Prophet to a meal to which they had been invited, and Husain was there playing in the street. The Prophet came in front of the people and stretched out his hands, and the child started to run here and there. The Prophet made him laugh until he caught him, then he put one hand under his chin and the other on his head and kissed him, and said, "Husain is part of me and I am part of him. May Allah love those who love Husain. Husain is a tribe among tribes." (Hasan)(Another chain with similar meaning)

"The Messenger of Allah said to 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husain: 'I am peace for those with whom you make peace, and I am war for those with whom you make war.'"

"One of the supplications that the Prophet used to say was: 'Allahumma, inni a'udhu bika min 'ilmin la yanfa'u, wa mindu'a'in la yusma'u, wa min qalbin la yakhsha'u, wa min nafsin la tashba'u [O Allah, I seek refuge with You from knowledge that is of no benefit, from a supplication that is not heard, from a heart that does not fear (You) and from a soul that is not satisfied].'"

"The Messenger of Allah used to say: 'Allahummanfa'ni bima 'allamtani, wa 'allimnima yanfa'uni, wa zidni 'ilman. Wal-hamdu Lillahi 'ala kulli hal. [O Allah, benefit me by that which You have taught me, and teach me that which will benefit me, and increase my knowledge. Praise is to Allah in all circumstances].'"

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever acquires knowledge by which the pleasure of Allah is sought, but he only acquires it for the purpose of worldly gain, will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.'" (Hasan)Another chain with similar wording.

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever seeks knowledge in order to argue with the foolish, or to show off before the scholars, or to attract people's attention, will be in Hell."

The Prophet said: "Do not seek knowledge in order to show off in front of the scholars, or to argue with the foolish, and do not choose the best seat in a gathering, due to it (i.e. the knowledge which you have learned) for whoever does that, the Fire, the Fire (awaits him)."

The Prophet said: "There will be some people among my Ummah (nation) who will gain knowledge of the religion, and they will recite Qur'an, and will say: 'We come to the rulers so that we may have some share of their worldly wealth, and we will make sure that our religious commitment is not affected,' but that will not be the case. Just as nothing can be harvested from the Qatad except thorns, so nothing can be gained from being close to them except (sins).'" (Da'if)(One of the narrators) Muhammed bin As-Sabbah said: "It is as if he meant, 'except sins'."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Seek refuge with Allah from the pit of grief.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is the pit of grief?' He said: 'A valley in Hell from which Hell itself seeks refuge four hundred times each day.' It was said: 'O Messenger of Allah, who will enter it?' He said: 'It has been prepared for reciters of the Qur'an who want to show off their deeds. The most hateful of reciters of the Qur'an to Allah are those who visit the rulers.'" (Da'if)Other chains of narrators.

"If the people of knowledge had taken care of it and presented it only to those who cared for it, they would have become the leaders of their age by virtue of that. But they squandered it on the people of wealth and status in this world in order to gain some worldly benefit, so the people of wealth and status began to look down on them. I heard your Prophet say: 'Whoever focuses all his concerns on one issue, the concerns of the Hereafter, Allah will suffice him and spare him the worries of this world. But whoever wanders off in concern over different worldly issues, Allah will not care in which of these valleys he is destroyed.'" (Da'if)Another chain with similar wording.

The Prophet said: "Whoever seeks knowledge for a reason other than the sake of Allah, or intends it for a purpose other than for the sake of Allah, let him take his place in hell."

"I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Do not acquire knowledge in order to show off before the scholars, or to argue with the foolish, or to attract people's attention, for whoever does that will be in Hell.'"