The Book of the Prohibited actions

We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in a journey when he drew apart (to relieve nature). In his absence, we saw a red bird which had two young ones with it. We caught them and the red mother bird came, beating the earth with its wings. In the meantime the Prophet (ﷺ) returned and said, "Who has put this bird to distress on account of its young? Return them to her." He (ﷺ) also noticed a mound of ants which we had burnt up. He asked, "Who has set fire to this?" We replied: "We have done so." He (ﷺ) said, "None can chastise with fire except the Rubb of the fire."[Abu Dawud].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "It is an act of oppression on the part of a person to procrastinate in fulfilling his obligation; if the repayment of a debt due to any of you is undertaken by a rich person, you should agree to the substitution."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who gives something (to someone) as a gift and then gets it back (from him or her) is like a dog which eats its own vomit."Another narration is: "He who gets back his charity is like a dog which vomits and then returns to that and eats it."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

I donated a horse in the way of Allah. Its new possessor did not treat it properly. I made my mind to buy it because I thought that he would sell it at a cheap price (now that it became weak and emaciated). I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about it, whereupon he said, "Do not buy it and do not get back your charity, for one who gets back the charity is like a dog that eats its own vomit."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Keep away from the seven fatalities." It was asked: "What are they, O Messenger of Allah?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Associating anything with Allah in worship (i.e., committing an act of Shirk), sorcery, killing of one whom Allah has declared inviolable without a just cause, devouring the property of an orphan, the eating of usury (Riba), fleeing from the battlefield and accusing chaste believing women, who never even think of anything touching their chastity."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

[Muslim].

The narration in At-Tirmidhi adds: And the one who records it, and the two persons who stand witness to it.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Almighty Allah says, 'I am the One Who is most free from want of partners. He who does a thing for the sake of someone else beside Me, I discard him and his polytheism.."[Muslim].

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The first to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who had died as a martyr. He will be brought forward. Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them. Then He will ask him: 'What did you do to express gratitude for it?' The man will reply: 'I fought for Your Cause till I was martyred.' Allah will say: 'You have lied. You fought so that people might call you courageous; and they have done so.' Command will then be issued about him and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. Next a man who had acquired and imparted knowledge and read the Qur'an will be brought forward, Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them. Then He will ask him: 'What did you do to express gratitude for it?' The man will reply: 'I acquired knowledge and taught it, and read the Qur'an for Your sake.' Allah will say to him: 'You have lied. You acquired knowledge so that people might call you a learned (man), and you read the Qur'an so that they might call you a reciter, and they have done so.' Command will then be issued about him, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. Next a man whom Allah had made affluent and to whom Allah had given plenty of wealth, will be brought forward, Allah will remind him of the favours He had bestowed upon him and the man will acknowledge them. He will ask him: 'What did you do to express gratitude for it?' The man will reply: 'I did not neglect any of the ways You liked wealth to be spent liberally for Your sake'. Allah will say to him: 'You have lied. You did it so that people might call you generous, and they have done so.' Command will then be issued about him and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell."[Muslim].

`Abdullah bin `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) replied: "In the era of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we considered this to be an act of hypocrisy."

[Al-Bukhari].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who so acts to show off, Allah will disgrace him on the Day of Resurrection, and he who does good deeds so that people (may hold him in high esteem), Allah will expose his hidden evil intentions before the people on the Day of Resurrection."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A person who acquires (religious) knowledge, which is (normally) acquired to gain the Pleasure of Allah, (for the sole reason) to secure worldly comforts will not even smell the fragrance of Jannah on the Day of Resurrection (i.e., will not enter Jannah)."[Abu Dawud].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked: "Tell us about a person who does some good deed and people praise him, will this be considered as showing off?" He replied, "This is the glad tidings which a believer receives (in this life)."[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has written the very portion of Zina which a man will indulge in. There will be no escape from it. The Zina of the eye is the (lustful) look, the Zina of the ears is the listening (to voluptuous songs or talk), the Zina of the tongue is (the licentious) speech, the Zina of the hand is the (lustful) grip, the Zina of the feet is the walking (to the place where he intends to commit Zina), the heart yearns and desires and the private parts approve all that or disapprove it."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].This is the wording in Muslim; Al-Bukhari wording is a bit short.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Avoid sitting on roadsides." His Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), there is no other alternative but to sit there to talk." Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If you have to sit at all, then fulfill the rights of the road." They asked: "What are their rights?" Thereupon he said, "Lowering the gaze (so that you may not stare at unlawful things); refraining from doing some harm to others, responding to greeting (i.e., saying 'Wa'alaikumus- salam' to one another) and commanding the good and forbidding the evil."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

We were sitting and talking on a platform in front of our house when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stopped by us and said, "Why do you sit on roads? Avoid sitting in them." We replied: "We sit there intending no harm. We only sit and discuss (religious) knowledge and talk." He said, "If you have to sit, you should fulfill the rights of the road: Lower your gaze, respond to greetings and talk in a good manner."[Muslim].

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about (the Islamic ruling on) accidental glance (i.e., at a woman one is not Islamically allowed to look at) and he ordered me to turn my eyes away.[Muslim].

I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) along with Maimunah (May Allah be pleased with her) when Ibn Umm Maktum (May Allah be pleased with him) (who was blind) came to visit him. (This incident took place after the order of Hijab). The Prophet (ﷺ) told us to hide ourselves from him (i.e., observe Hijab). We said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he is blind and is unable to see us, nor does he know us." He replied; "Are you also blind and unable to see him?"[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A man must not look at a man's private parts nor must a woman look at a woman's private parts; neither should two men lie naked under one cover, nor should two women lie naked under the same cover."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Avoid (entering a place) in which are women (uncovered or simply to mix with them in seclusion)." A man from the Ansar said, "Tell me about the brother of a woman's husband." He replied, "The brother of a woman's husband is death."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "No one of you should meet a woman in privacy unless she is accompanied by a Mahram (i.e., a relative within the prohibited degrees)."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].