The Book of the Sunnah

كتاب المقدمة

Chapter 9: Regarding Faith

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother" or he said "for his neighbor, what he loves for himself."

It was narrated that Abu Darda' said

"Faith increases and decreases."

Chapter 10: Regarding the Divine Decree (Qadr)

It was narrated that Ibn Dailami said

"I was confused about this Divine Decree (Qadar), and I was afraid lest that adversely affect my religion and my affairs. So I went to Ubayy bin Ka'b and said: 'O Abu Mundhir! I am confused about the Divine Decree, and I fear for my religion and my affairs, so tell me something about that through which Allah may benefit me.' He said: 'If Allah were to punish the inhabitants of His heavens and of his earth, He would do so and He would not be unjust towards them. And if He were to have mercy on them, His mercy would be better for them than their own deeds. If you had the equivalent of Mount Uhud which you spent in the cause of Allah, that would not be accepted from you until you believed in the Divine Decree and you know that whatever has befallen you, could not have passed you by; and whatever has passed you by, could not have befallen you; and that if you were to die believing anything other than this, you would enter Hell. And it will not harm you to go to my brother, 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, and ask him (about this).' So I went to 'Abdullah and asked him , and he said something similar to what Ubayy had said, and he told me: 'It will not harm you to go to Hudhaifah.' So I went to Hudhaifah and asked him, and he said something similar to what they had said. And he told me: 'Go to Zaid bin Thabit and ask him.' So I went to Zaid bun Thabit and asked him, and he said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: "If Allah were to punish the inhabitants of His heavens and of His earth, he would do so and He would not be unjust towards them. And if He were to have mercy on them, His mercy would be better for them than their own deeds. If you had the equivalent of Mount Uhud which you spent in the cause of Allah, that would not be accepted from you until you believed in the Divine Decree and you know that whatever has befallen you, could not have passed you by; and whatever has passed you by, could not have befallen you; and that if you were to die believing anything other than this, you would enter Hell"

It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said

Note: The majority of scholars interpret this to mean that these things in and of themselves do not transmit or cause harm through supernatural or hidden means but that Allah is ultimately in control and any fearful superstition around these is false.

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

It was narrated that Hudhaifah bin Yaman said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'I do not know how long I will stay among you, so follow the example of these two after I am gone,' and he pointed to Abu Bakr and `Umar."

It was narrated that Ibn Abi Mulaikah said

"I heard Ibn 'Abbas say: 'When 'Umar was placed on his bed (i.e., his bier), the people around him gathered around him, praying and invoking blessings upon him,' or he said, 'praising him and invoking blessings upon him before (the bier) was lifted up, and I was among them. No one alarmed me except a man who crowded against me and seized me by the shoulder. I turned and saw that it was 'Ali bin Abu Talib. He prayed for mercy for 'Umar, then he said: "You have not left behind anyone who it is more beloved to me to meet Allah with the like of his deeds than yourself. By Allah, I think that Allah will most certainly unite you with your two companions, and that is because I often heard the Messenger of Allah saying: 'Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I went; Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I came in; Abu Bakr, 'Umar and I went out.' So I think that Allah will most certainly join you to your two companions."

Chapter 0

Chapter 1: Following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws)

Abu Ja'far said

"Whenever Ibn 'Umar heard a Hadith from the Messanger of Allah (ﷺ), he would not do more than it said, and he would not do less."

Abu 'Inabah Al-Khawlani said that

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Allah will continue to plant new people in this religion and use them in His obedience."

Chapter 2: Venerating the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and dealing harshly with those who Oppose It

It was narrated from Ubaidullah bin Abu Rafi from his father, that

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "I do not want to find anyone of you reclining on his pillow, and when bad news comes to him of something that I have commanded or forbidden, he says, 'I do not know, whatever we find in the Book of Allah, we will follow."

It was narrated from Ishaq bin Qabisah from his father that

Ubadah bin Samit Al-Ansari, head of the army unit, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), went on a military campaign with Mu'awiyah in the land of the Byzantines. He saw people trading pieces of gold for Dinar and pieces of silver for Dirham. He said: "O people, you are consuming Riba (usury)! For I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Do not sell gold for gold unless it is like for like; there should be no increase and no delay (between the two transactions).'" Mu'awiyah said to him: "O Abu Walid, I do not think there is any Riba involved in this , except in cases where there is a delay." 'Ubadah said to him: "I tell you a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and you tell me your opinion! If Allah brings me back safely I will never live in a land in which you have authority over me." When he returned, he stayed in Al-Madinah, and 'Umar bin Khattab said to him: "What brought you here, O Abu Walid?" So he told him the story, and what he had said about not living in the same land as Mu'awiyah. 'Umar said: "Go back to your land, O Abu Walid, for what a bad land is the land from where you and people like you are absent." Then he wrote to Mu'awiyah and said: "You have no authority over him; make the people follow what he says , for he is right."

Abdullah bin Mas'ud said

"When I tell you of a Hadith from the Messenger of Alllah (ﷺ), then think of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as being the best, the utmost rightly guided and the one with the utmost Taqwa (piety, righteousness)."

Chapter 3: Caution in narrating from the Messenger of Allah (saws)

Amr bin Maimun said

"I used to visit Ibn Mas'ud every Thursday afternoon but he never uttered the words: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said.' Then one evening, he said: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,' then he let his head hang down." He said: "I looked at him and saw his shirt was unfastened; his eyes were filled with tears, and his veins were bulging out (with fear). He said:' Or more than that, or less than that, or close to that or something similar.'"

It was narrated from Ibn Tawus that his father said

"I heard Ibn 'Abbas saying: 'We used to memorize Ahadith, and Ahadith were memorized from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). But if you go to the extremes of either exaggeration or negligence (in narrating Ahadith), there is no way we can trust your Ahadith.'"

It was narrated that Sa'ib bin Yazid said

"I accompanied Sa'd bin Malik from Al-Madinah to Makkah and I did not hear him narrate a single Hadith from the Prophet (ﷺ)."

Chapter 4: Severe condemnation of deliberately telling lies against the Messenger of Allah (saws)

It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever tells lies about me deliberately, let him take his place in Hell."

Chapter 7: Avoiding Bid'ah (innovation) and dispute

It was narrated from Abdullah bin Mas'ud that

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Verily there are two things - words and guidance. The best words are the words of Allah, and the best guidance in the guidance of Muhammad. Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation (Bid'ah) and every innovation is a going-stray. Do not let the desire for a long life causes your hearts to grow hard. That which is bound to happen is close to you, and the only thing that is far away is that which is not going to happen. The one who is doomed to Hell is doomed from his mother's womb, and the one who is destined for Paradise is the one who learns from the lessons of others. Killing a believer constitutes disbelief (Kufr) and verbally abusing him is immorality (Fusuq). It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days. Beware of lying, for lying is never good, whether it is done seriously or in jest. A man should not make a promise to a child that he will not keep. Lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hell. Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. It will be said of the truthful person: 'He spoke the truth and was righteous', and it will be said of the liar, 'He told lies and was immoral.' "For a person continues to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a liar."

It was narrated that Hudhaifah said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Allah will not accept any fasting, prayer, charity, Hajj, 'Umrah, Jihad, or any other obligatory or voluntary action from a person who follows innovation (Bid'ah). He comes out of Islam like a hair pulled out of dough."

It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Allah refuses to accept the good deeds of one who follows innovation until he gives up that innovation.'"

It was narrated that Ans bin Malik said

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever gives up telling lies in support of a false claim, a palace will be built for him in the outskirts of Paradise. Whoever gives up argument when he is in the right, a palace will be built from him in the middle (of Paradise). And whoever had good behavior, a palace will be built for him in the highest reaches (of Paradise).'"