The Book of the Sunnah

كتاب المقدمة

Chapter 12: The Virtue of Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra)

It was narrated from 'Awn bin Abi Juhaifah that his father said

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Abu Bakr and 'Umar are the leaders of the mature people of Paradise, the first and the last, except for the Prophets and the Messengers.'"

Chapter 13: The Virtue of 'Umar (ra)

It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbas said

"When 'Umar became Muslim, Jibril came down and said: 'O Muhammed! The people of heaven are rejoicing because of 'Umar's Islam.'"

It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin Salimah said

"I heard 'Ali say: 'The best of people after the Messenger of Allah is Abu Bakr, and the best of people after Abu Bakr is 'Umar.'"

Chapter 14: The Virtues of 'Uthman (ra)

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that

The Prophet met 'Uthman at the door of the mosque and said: "O 'Uthman! Jibril has told me that Allah married you to Umm Kulthum for a dowry like that of Ruqayyah, provided that you treat her as you treated Ruqayyah."

It was narrated that Ka'b bin 'Ujrah said

"The Messenger of Allah mentioned a Fitnah (tribulation) that had drawn nigh. Then a man passed by with his head covered. The Messenger of Allah said: 'On that day, this man will be following right guidance.' I leapt up and took hold of 'Uthman's arms, then I turned to face the Messenger of Allah and said: 'This man?' He said: 'This man.'"

Chapter 17: The Virtues of Talha ibn Ubaidillah (ra)

It was narrated that Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan said

"The Prophet looked at Talhah and said: 'This is one of those who fulfilled their covenant.'"

It was narrated that Musa bin Talhah said

We were with Mu'awiyah and he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Talhah is one of those who fulfilled their covenant.'"

Chapter 18: The Virtue of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas (ra)

It was narrated that Qais said

"I heard Sa'd bin Abu Waqqas say: 'I am the first of the Arabs to shoot an arrow in the cause of Allah.'"

Chapter 20: The Virtue of Abu `Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah (ra)

It was narrated from Hudhaifah that

The Messenger of Allah said to the people of Najran: "I will send you a trustworthy man with you, who is indeed trustworthy." The people craned their necks to see, and he sent Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah.

It was narrated from 'Abdullah that

The Messenger of Allah said to Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarrah: "This is the trustworthy man of this Ummah."

Chapter 22: The Virtue of `Abbas ibn `Abdul Muttalib (ra)

It was narrated that 'Abbas bin 'Abdul-Muttalib said

"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.'"

Chapter 24: The Virtue of `Ammar ibn Yasir (ra)

It was narrated that 'Ali bin Abu Talib said

"I was sitting with the Prophet, and 'Ammar bin Yasir asked permission to enter. The Prophet said: 'Let him in, welcome to the good and the purified.'"

It was narrated that 'Aishah said

'The Messenger of Allah said: ''Ammar- no two things were shown to him but he chose the better of the two.''

Chapter 29: The Virtue of Sa`d ibn Mu`adh

It was narrated that Bara' bin 'Azib said

"The Messenger of Allah was given a gift of a length of silk fabric. The people started passing it around to one another. The Messenger of Allah said: 'Are you admiring this?' They said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! The handkerchief of Sa'd bin Mu'adh in Paradise is better than this.'"

Chapter 30: The Virtue of Jarir ibn `Abdillah al-Bajali

It was narrated that Jarir bin 'Abdullah Al-Bajali said

"The Messenger of Allah never refused to see me from the time I became Muslim, and whenever he saw me he would smile at me. I complained to him that I could not sit firmly on a horse, so he struck me on the chest with his hand and said: 'O Allah, make him firm and cause him to guide others and be rightly-guided.'"

Chapter 32: The Virtue of the Ansar

It was narrated from 'Abdul-Muhaimin bin 'Abbas bin Sahl bin Sa'd from his father, from his grandfather, that

The Messenger of Allah said: "The Ansar are an inner garment and the people are an outer garment. If the people were to head towards one valley or a narrow mountain pass and the Ansar towards another, I would travel to the valley of the Ansar, and were it not for the Hijrah, I would have been a man from among the Ansar."

Kathir bin 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'Awf narrated from his father

That his grandfather said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'May Allah have mercy on the Ansar, and the children of the Ansar, and the grandchildren of the Ansar.'"

Chapter 34: Mention of the Khawarij

It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'At the end of time there will appear a people with new teeth (i.e., young in age), with foolish minds. They will speak the best words ever uttered by mankind and they will recite the Qur'an, but it will not go any deeper than their collarbones. They will pass through Islam like an arrow passes through its target. Whoever meets them, let him kill them, for killing them will bring a reward from Allah for those who kill them."

It was narrated that Abu Salamah said

"I said to Abu Sa'eed Khudri: 'Did you hear the Messenger of Allah mention anything about the Haruriyyah (a sect of Khawarij)?' He said: 'I heard him mention a people who would appear to be devoted worshippers: "Such that anyone of you would regard his own prayer and fasting as insignificant when compared to theirs. But they will pass through Islam like an arrow passing through its target, then he (the archer) picks up his arrow and looks at its iron head but does not see anything, then he looks at the shaft and does not see anything, then he looks at the band: that which is wrapped around the iron head where it is connected to the shaft, then he looks at the feather and is not sure whether he sees anything or not."

It was narrated that Ibn Awfa said

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'The Khawarij are the dogs of Hell.'"