The Book of Miscellany
كتاب المقدمات
Chapter 12: Numerous ways of doing Good
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah will be pleased with His slave who praises Him (i.e., says Al-hamdu lillah) when he eats and praises Him when he drinks".[Muslim].
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Giving in charity is an obligation upon every Muslim". It was said (to him): "What about one who does not find (the means) to do so?" He (ﷺ) said, "Let him work with his hands, thus doing benefit to himself and give in charity." It was said to him: "What if he does not have (the means) to do so?" He (ﷺ) said, "Then let him assist the needy, the aggrieved." It was said: "What about if he cannot even do this?" He (ﷺ) said, "Then he should enjoin good." He was asked: "What if he cannot do that?" He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, "He should then abstain from evil, for verily, that is a charity from him".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Chapter 13: Moderation in Worship
The Prophet (ﷺ) came in when a woman was sitting beside me. He asked me, "Who is she?" I said: "She is the one whose performance of Salat (prayer) has become the talk of the town." Addressing her, he (ﷺ) said, "(What is this!) You are required to take upon yourselves only what you can carry out easily. By Allah, Allah does not withhold His Mercy and forgiveness of you until you neglect and give up (good works). Allah likes the deeds best which a worshipper can carry out constantly".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) to inquire about the worship of the Prophet (ﷺ). When they were informed, they considered their worship insignificant and said: "Where are we in comparison with the Prophet (ﷺ) while Allah has forgiven his past sins and future sins". One of them said: "As for me, I shall offer Salat all night long." Another said: "I shall observe Saum (fasting) continuously and shall not break it". Another said: "I shall abstain from women and shall never marry". The Prophet (ﷺ) came to them and said, "Are you the people who said such and such things? By Allah, I fear Allah more than you do, and I am most obedient and dutiful among you to Him, but still I observe fast and break it; perform Salat and sleep at night and take wives. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah does not belong to me".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Ruined are those who insist on hardship in matters of the Faith." He repeated this three times.[Muslim]
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The religion (of Islam) is easy, and whoever makes the religion a rigour, it will overpower him. So, follow a middle course (in worship); if you can't do this, do something near to it and give glad tidings and seek help (of Allah) at morn and at dusk and some part of night".[Al-Bukhari].
The Prophet (ﷺ) came into the mosque and noticed a rope stretched between two poles. He enquired, "What is this rope for?" He was told: "This is Zainab's rope. When during her voluntary prayer, she begins to feel tired, she grasps it for support". The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Untie it. You should perform prayers so long as you feel active. When you feel tired, you should go to sleep".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When one of you feels drowsy during prayer, let him lie down till drowsiness goes away from him, because when one of you performs prayers while feeling sleepy, he does not know whether he seeks forgiveness or abuses himself".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
I used to perform prayer with the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Salat was of a moderate length and his Khutbah too was moderate in length.[Muslim].
The Prophet (ﷺ) made a bond of brotherhood between Salman and Abud-Darda'. Salman paid a visit to Abud-Darda' and found Umm Darda' (his wife) dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She replied: "Your brother Abud-Darda' is not interested in (the luxuries of) this world. In the meantime Abud-Darda' came in and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman requested Abud-Darda' to eat (with him) but Abud-Darda' said: "I am fasting." Salman said: "I am not going to eat unless you eat." So, Abud-Darda' ate (with Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night passed), Abud-Darda' got up (to offer the night prayer) but Salman asked him to sleep and Abud-Darda' slept. After some time Abud-Darda' again got up but Salman asked him to sleep. When it was the last hours of the night, Salman asked him to get up and both of them offered (Tahajjud) prayer. Then Salman told Abud-Darda': "You owe a duty to your Rubb, you owe a duty to your body; you owe a duty to your family; so you should give to every one his due. Abud-Darda' came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and reported the whole story. Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Salman is right".[Al- Bukhari].
The Prophet (ﷺ) was informed that I said that I would perform prayers the whole night and observe fasting every day as long as I live. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Is it you who said this?" I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! I ransom you with my parents, it is I who said that." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will not be able to do that. Observe fast and break it; sleep and get up for prayer, and observe fast for three days during the month; for every good is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to fasting the whole year." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I can do more than that." He said, "Observe fast one day and leave off the next two days." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have strength to do more than that." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Observe fast every other day, and that is the fasting of Dawud (ﷺ) and that is the most moderate fasting".According to another narration: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "That is the best fasting." I said, "But I am capable of doing more than this". Thereupon, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There is nothing better than this." 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with them) said (when he grew old): "Had I accepted the three days (fasting during every month) as the Messenger of Allah had said, it would have been dearer to me than my family and my property".In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "O 'Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you observe fast during the day and offer prayer all the night." I replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Don't do that. Observe fast for few days and then leave off for few days, perform prayers and also sleep at night, as your body has a right upon you, and your eyes have a right upon you; and your wife has a right upon you; your visitors have a right upon you. It is sufficient for you to observe fast three days in a month, as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times, so it will be like fasting the whole year." I insisted (on fasting) and so I was given a hard instruction. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have strength." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Observe fast like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (ﷺ); and do not fast more than that." I said: "How was the fasting of Prophet Dawud?" He (ﷺ) said, "Half of the year (i.e., he used to fast on every alternate day)."Afterwards when 'Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) grew old, he used to say: "Would that I had availed myself of the concession granted to me by Messenger of Allah."In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I have been informed that you observe fast continuously and recite (the whole of the Qur'an) every night." I said, "Messenger of Allah! It is right, but I covet thereby nothing but good," whereupon he (ﷺ) said, "Then observe fasts like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (ﷺ) as he was the most ardent worshipper of Allah; recite the Qur'an once every month." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of doing more than that." He said, "Then recite it (the complete Qur'an) in every twenty days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every ten days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every seven days, but not recite more than that." The Prophet of Allah also said to me, "You do not know, you may have a longer life". When I grew old I wished I had availed myself of the concession (granted to me by) the Prophet of Allah.In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The best fasting with Allah is that of (Prophet) Dawud, and the best prayer with Allah is that of Dawud (ﷺ) for he would sleep half of the night and stand for prayer for the third of it and (then) would sleep sixth part of it; he observed fast one day and leave off the other. He would not flee on meeting the enemy".In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: My father helped me marry a noble woman and he used to inquire of his daughter-in-law regarding her husband. She would say: "He is, indeed, a fine man. Since I have come to him, he has neither stepped on my bed nor he has had sexual intercourse with me". When this state of affairs lasted for some time, my father mentioned the matter to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who directed my father saying, "Send him to me". I went to him accordingly. He asked me, "How often do you observe fast?" I replied; "Daily". He asked me, "How long do you take in reading the Noble Qur'an completely." I said, "Once every night". Then he narrated the whole story. He (in his old age) would recite one seventh of his nightly recitation to some members of his family during the day to lighten his task at night. Whenever he wished to have a relief from his fast on alternate days, he would give up fasting for a few days and make up deficiency later by observing the number of fasts he had missed. He would not give up the number of fasts altogether because he did not like to abandon what he had settled with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
I met Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) he said: "How are you O Hanzalah?" I said, "Hanzalah has become a hypocrite". He said, "Far removed is Allah from every imperfection, what are you saying?" I said, "When we are in the company of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he reminds us of Hell-fire and Jannah, we feel as if we are seeing them with our very eyes, and when we are away from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we attend to our wives, our children, our business, most of these things (pertaining to life hereafter) slip out of our minds." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah, I also experience the same thing". So Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) and I went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Hanzalah has turned hypocrite." Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "What has happened to you?" I said, "O Messenger of Allah, when we are in your company, and are reminded of Hell-fire and Jannah, we feel as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but when we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, much of these things go out of our minds." Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand is my life if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your roads; but Hanzalah, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time should be devoted (to prayer)". He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said this thrice.[Muslim].
While the Prophet (ﷺ) was delivering Khutbah (religious talk), he noticed a man who was standing, so he asked about him and was told that he was Abu Israel who had taken a vow to remain standing and not sit, or go into the shade, or speak while observing fasting. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Tell him to speak, to go into the shade, to sit and to complete his fast".[Al- Bukhari].
Chapter 14: Righteous Conduct on a Regular Basis
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Should anyone fall asleep at night and fail to recite his portion of the Qur'an, or a part of it, if he recites it between the Fajr prayer and the Zuhr prayer, it will be recorded for him as though he had recited it during the night".[Muslim].
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "O Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so. He used to get up at night for optional prayer but abandoned it later."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) missed the optional night Salat (Tahajjud) due to pain or any other reason, he would perform twelve Rak'ah during the day time.[Muslim].
Chapter 15: Observing the Sunnah and the manners of its obedience
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not ask me unnecessarily about the details of the things which I do not mention to you. Verily, the people before you were doomed because they were used to putting many questions to their Prophets and had differences about their Prophets. Refrain from what I forbid you and do what I command you to the best of your ability and capacity".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
One day Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivered us a very eloquent Khutbah on account of which eyes shed tears and hearts were full of tears. A man said: "O Prophet of Allah, this is as if it were a parting advice. So advise us". He (ﷺ) said, "I admonish you to fear Allah, to listen and obey even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed as your leader. Because whosoever among you shall live after me, will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the examples of the Rightly- Guided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold to it fast. Beware of new things (in Deen) because every Bid'ah is a misguidance".[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi, who categorized it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Everyone of my Ummah will enter Jannah except those who refuse". He was asked: "Who will refuse?" He (ﷺ) said, "Whoever obeys me, shall enter Jannah, and whosoever disobeys me, refuses to (enter Jannah)".[Al- Bukhari].
My father said that a person ate in the presence of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with his left hand. He (ﷺ) said, "Eat with your right hand". He said, "I cannot do that." Thereupon he (the Prophet) said, "May you never do that." It was pride that prevented him from doing it. And he could not raise it (the right hand) up to his mouth afterwards.[Muslim].