The Book of Miscellany

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "While Ayyub (ﷺ) the Prophet was taking a bath, naked, a large number of gold locusts fell on him. He tried to collect them in a piece of cloth, when he heard his Rubb (Allah) calling him: 'O Ayyub ! Have I not sufficed you to care for what you see (the worldly possessions)?' Ayyub (ﷺ) said: 'Indeed by Your Power, but I can never do away with Your Blessings."'[Al- Bukhari].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Envy is permitted only in two cases: A man whom Allah gives wealth, and he disposes of it rightfully, and a man to whom Allah gives knowledge which he applies and teaches it."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Envy is justified in regard to two types of persons only: a man whom Allah has given knowledge of the Qur'an, and so he recites it during the night and during the day; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and so he spends from it during the night and during the day."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Some of the poor Emigrants came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said to him, "The wealthy have obtained all high ranks and everlasting bliss." He asked, "How is that?" They replied: "They offer Salaah as we do, and observe Saum (fasting) as we do, but they give in Sadaqah (charity) and we do not, and they emancipate slaves and we cannot." He (ﷺ) said, "Shall I not teach you something whereby you will catch up with those who have preceded you and will get ahead of those who follow you, and no one will surpass you unless he does the same as you do?" They said, "Surely, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Say: Subhan Allah, and Allahu Akbar, and praise Him (by saying Al-hamdu lillah) thirty-three times at the end of every Salaah." They returned to him and said: "Our brothers, the possessors of wealth, having heard what we are doing, have started doing the same." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "This is Grace of Allah which He gives to whom He wishes."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulders and said, "Be in the world like a stranger or a wayfarer." Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) used to say: When you survive till the evening do not expect to live until the morning; and when you survive till the morning do not expect to live until the evening. While in good health (do good deeds) before you fall sick; and while you are alive (do good deeds) before death strikes.[Al- Bukhari].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is the duty of a Muslim who has something which is to be given as a bequest not to have it for two nights without executing a written will."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].In the narration of Muslim it is narrated as 'three nights'. Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: Since I heard the Messenger of Allah say this, I have never spent a night without having my will with me.

The Prophet (ﷺ) drew a few lines and said, "One of them represents man and another indicates death; and a man continues like this until the nearest line (i.e., death) overtakes him."[Al-Bukhari].

The Prophet (ﷺ) drew up a square and in the middle of it he drew a line, the end of which jutted out beyond the square. Further across the middle line, he drew a number of smaller lines. Then he (ﷺ) said, "The figure represents man and the encircling square is the death which is encompassing him. The middle line represents his desires and the smaller lines are vicissitudes of life. If one of those misses him, another distresses him, and if that one misses him, he falls victim to another."[Al-Bukhari].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Hasten to do good deeds before you are overtaken by one of the seven afflictions." Then (giving a warning) he said, "Are you waiting for poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion, or prosperity which will make you corrupt, or a disease which will disable you, or senility which will make you mentally unstable, or sudden death which will take you all of a sudden, or Ad-Dajjal who is the worst expected, or the Hour; and the Hour will be most grievous and most bitter."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Remember more often the destroyer of pleasures - death."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

When one- third of the night would pass, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would get up and call out, "O people, remember Allah. The Rajifah (i.e., the first Blowing of the Trumpet which will shake the whole universe and thus cause all life to cease) has come, followed by Ar-Radifah (i.e., the second Blowing of the Trumpet which will restore life and thus mark the Resurrection Day). Death has approached with all that it comprises. Death has approached with all that it comprises." I said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I frequently invoke Allah to elevate your rank. How much of my supplications should I devote to you?" He said, "You may devote as much as you wish." When I suggested a quarter, he said, "Do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase it." I suggested half, and he said, "Do whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase." I suggested two- thirds, and he said, "Do whatever you wish but it will be better for you if you increase it." I said, "Shall I devote all my supplications invoking Allah to elevate your rank?" He said, "Then you will be freed from your worries and your sins will be forgiven."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

In another narration Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whoever wants to visit a graveyard, let him do so, because it reminds us of the Hereafter."

[Muslim].

reported Whenever it was her turn to spend with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he used to go to the Baqi' (graveyard in Al-Madinah) at the last part of night and say, "May you be safe, O abode of the believing people. What you have been promised has come to you. You are tarried till tomorrow and certainly we shall follow you if Allah wills. O Allah, forgive the inmates of the Baqi'-al-Gharqad."[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to teach them (i.e., the Companions) whenever they came out to visit the graveyard to say: "As-salamu 'alaikum ahlad-diyyari minal- Mu'minina wal-Muslimina, wa inna in sha' Allahu bikum lahiqun. As 'alul-laha lana wa-lakumul- 'afiyyah (May you be safe, O inmates of the abodes of the believers and the Muslims, and if Allah pleases, we shall follow you, we pray to Allah for well-being for ourselves and for you)."[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by the graves at Al-Madinah. He turned his face towards them and said, "May you be granted safety, O inmates of the graves. May Allah forgive us and you. You have preceded us, and we are to follow."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

[Al-Bukhari].

In Muslim, Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported : Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Let none of you wish for death, nor he ask for it before it comes to him, because when he dies, his actions will be terminated; certainly the age of a (true) believer does not add but good."

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Let none of you wish for death on account of an affliction that befalls him. If he has no alternative, let him pray: 'Allahumma ahyine ma kanatil-hayatu khairan li, wa tawaffani idha kanatil-wafatu khairan li (O Allah! Give my life so long as the life is good for me, and take away my life if death is good for me)'."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

I went to visit Khabbab bin Aratt (May Allah be pleased with him) during his illness. He had been cauterized in seven places. He said: "Our companions who have died have left (this world) without having enjoyed the pleasures of the world (in order to get a great full reward in the Hereafter) while we have amassed wealth exceeding our needs for which there is no place to keep except in the earth. Had Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) not prohibited us from longing for death, I would have prayed for it." Then we visited him again and he was building a wall. He said: "There is a reward in store for a Muslim in respect of everything on which he spends except for something he places in the earth (i.e., something exceeding our needs or essentials)."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not know. So he who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and his honour blameless. But he who falls into doubtful things falls into that which is unlawful, just as a shepherd who grazes his cattle in the vicinity of a pasture declared prohibited (by the king); he is likely to stray into the pasture. Mind you, every king has a protected pasture and Allah's involved limits is that which He has declared unlawful. Verily, there is a piece of flesh in the body, if it is healthy, the whole body is healthy, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Verily, it is the heart."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) found a dry date-fruit lying in the way and said, "Had it not been for fear of being from charity I would have eaten it."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].