The Book of Miscellany

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him not harm his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent".[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be kind to his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him either speak good or remain silent".[Muslim].

I said, "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I have two neighbours, to which of them should I send a present?" He (ﷺ) replied, "To the one whose door is nearer to you".[Al-Bukhari]

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The best of companions with Allah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neighbours to Allah is the one who is the best of them to his neighbour".[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) , "Which of the deeds is loved most by Allah?" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Salat at its proper time." I asked, ''What next?" He (ﷺ) replied, ''Kindness to parents." I asked, ''What next?" He replied, ''Jihad in the way of Allah."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "No son can repay (the kindness shown by his father) unless he finds him a slave and buys him and emancipates him".[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be hospitable to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him maintain good the ties of blood relationship; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, must speak good or remain silent".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah created all the creatures and when He finished the task of His creation, Ar-Rahm (ties of relationship) said: '(O Allah) at this place I seek refuge with You against severing my ties.' Allah said: 'That I treat with kindness those who treat you with kindness and sever ties with those who sever ties with you.' It said: 'I am satisfied.' Allah said: 'Then this is yours". Then Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Recite this Ayah if you like: 'Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship? Such are they whom Allah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight". (47:22,23).[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].The words in Al-Bukhari are: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah (SWT) says: 'He who maintains good ties with you, I maintain good ties with him; and he who severs your ties, I sever ties with him".

A person came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked, "Who among people is most deserving of my fine treatment?" He (ﷺ) said, "Your mother". He again asked, ''Who next?" "Your mother", the Prophet (ﷺ) replied again. He asked, "Who next?" He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said again, "Your mother." He again asked, "Then who?" Thereupon he (ﷺ) said," Then your father."In another narration: "O Messenger of Allah! Who is most deserving of my fine treatment?" He (ﷺ) said, "Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then your nearest, then nearest".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced, whose parents, one or both, attain old age during his life time, and he does not enter Jannah (by rendering being dutiful to them)".[Muslim].

A man said to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "I have relatives with whom I try to keep the ties of relationship but they sever relations with me; and whom I treat kindly but they treat me badly, I am gentle with them but they are rough to me." He (ﷺ) replied, "If you are as you say, it is as if you are feeding them hot ashes, and you will be with a supporter against them from Allah as long as you continue to do so".[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who desires ample provisions and his life be prolonged, should maintain good ties with his blood relations". [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Talhah (May Allah be pleased with him) was the richest among the Ansar of Al-Madinah and possessed the largest property; and among his possessions what he loved most was his garden known as Bairuha' which was opposite the mosque, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) often visited it and drank from its fresh water. When this ayah was revealed: "By no means shall you attain Al-Birr (piety, righteousness - here it means Allah's reward, i.e., Jannah), unless you spend (in Allah's Cause) of that which you love," (3:92). Abu Talhah came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and said: "Allah says in His Book: 'By no means shall you attain Al-Birr, unless you spend (in Allah's Cause) of that which you love,' and the dearest of my property is Bairuha' so I have given it as Sadaqah (charity) for Allah's sake, and I anticipate its reward with Him; so spend it, O Messenger of Allah, as Allah guides you". Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Well-done! That is profitable property. I have heard what you have said, but I think you should spend it on your nearest relatives." So Abu Talhah distributed it among his nearest relatives and cousins.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah and said, "I swear allegiance to you for emigration and Jihad, seeking reward from Allah." He (ﷺ) said, "Is any of your parents alive?" He said, "Yes, both of them are alive." He (ﷺ) then asked, "Do you want to seek reward from Allah?" He replied in the affirmative. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Go back to your parents and keep good company with them".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].In another narration it is reported that a person came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and sought his permission to participate in Jihad. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, "Are your parents alive?" He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet a(ﷺ) said, "(You should) consider their service as Jihad."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The person who perfectly maintains the ties of kinship is not the one who does it because he gets recompensed by his relatives (for being kind and good to them), but the one who truly maintains the bonds of kinship is the one who persists in doing so even though the latter has severed the ties of kinship with him".[Al-Bukhari].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The bond of relationship is suspending from the Throne, and says: 'He who keeps good relations with me, Allah will keep connection with him, but whosoever severs relations with me, Allah will sever connection with him".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

It has been narrated that Maimuna bint Al-Harith (May Allah be pleased with her) had set free a slave-girl without the Prophet's permission. When her turn came (the Prophet (ﷺ) used to visit his wives in turns), she made mention of that to him saying, "Did you know I have set slave-girl free?" He said, "Have you, indeed?" She replied, "Yes". He (ﷺ) then remarked, "Had you given her to your maternal uncles, you would have your reward increased".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

My mother came to me while she was still a polytheist, so I asked Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "My mother, who is ill-disposed to Islam, has come to visit me. Shall I maintain relations with her?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Yes, maintain relations with your mother".[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told the women that they should give Sadaqah (charity), even if it should be some of their jewellery, I returned to 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud and said, "You are a man who does not possess much, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has commanded us to give Sadaqah. So go and ask him if giving to you will serve the purpose; otherwise, I shall give it to someone else." He asked me that I should better go myself. I went and found a woman of the Ansar at the door of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), waiting to ask a similar question as mine. The Prophet (ﷺ) was endowed with dignity, and so we could not go in. When Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) came out to us, we said to him: "Go to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and tell him that there are two women at the door who have come to ask him whether it will serve them to give Sadaqah to their husbands and to orphans who are in their charge, but do not tell him who we are. Bilal (May Allah be pleased with him) went in and asked him, and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him who the women were. When he told him that they were a woman of the Ansar and Zainab, he asked him which Zainab it was, and when he was told it was the wife of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, he (ﷺ) said, "They will have a double reward, one for maintaining the ties of kinship and another for Sadaqah".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Heraclius asked me, "What does this Prophet (ﷺ) teach you?" I said, "He orders us to worship Allah Alone and not to associate a thing with Him in worship, to discard what our ancestors said, to perform the Salat (prayer), speak the truth, and maintain the ties of kinship".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].