“I was with the
Messenger
of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. One morning I drew close to
him when we
were on the move and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, tell
me of an action
that will gain me admittance to Paradise and keep me
far away from
Hell.’ He said: ‘You have asked for something
great, but it is easy
for the one for whom Allah makes it easy.
Worship Allah and do not
associate anything in worship with Him,
establish prayer, pay charity,
fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the
House.’ Then he said: ‘Shall I
not tell you of the means of
goodness? Fasting is a shield, and
charity extinguishes sin as water
extinguishes fire, and a man’s
prayer in the middle of the night.’
Then he recited: “Their sides
forsake their beds” until he
reached: “As a reward for what they used
to do.”[32:16-17] Then
he said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the head of
the matter, and its
pillar and pinnacle? (It is) Jihad.’ Then he said:
‘Shall I not
tell you of the basis of all that?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He
took hold
of his tongue then said: ‘Restrain this.’ I said: ‘O Prophet
of
Allah, will we be brought to account for what we say?’ He said:
‘May your mother not found you, O Mu’adh! Are people thrown onto
their
faces in Hell for anything other than the harvest of their
tongues?’”
Chapter 12: Restraining one's tongue during times of tribulation - كتاب الفتن
It was narrated that Abu Sha’tha said:
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِي، يَعْلَى عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ أَبِي الشَّعْثَاءِ، قَالَ قِيلَ لاِبْنِ عُمَرَ إِنَّا نَدْخُلُ عَلَى أُمَرَائِنَا فَنَقُولُ الْقَوْلَ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا قُلْنَا غَيْرَهُ . قَالَ كُنَّا نَعُدُّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ النِّفَاقَ .
“It was said to Ibn ‘Umar:
‘We
enter upon our rulers and say one thing, and when we leave we
say
something else.’ He said: ‘At the time of the Messenger of
Allah
(ﷺ), we used to regard that as hypocrisy.’”
“The
best lifestyle is that of a man who holds onto the reins of his horse
for the sake of Allah, riding on its back. Every time he hears a
commotion he rushes towards it, seeking death wherever he thinks he
can find it; and a man who tends sheep at the top of one of these
peaks, or in the bottom of one of these valleys, establishing the
prayer, paying the charity, and worshipping his Lord until the
inevitable (death) comes to him and there is nothing between him and
the people except good.”
“Which of the people is best?” He said:
“A man
who strives in Jihad in the cause of Allah with himself and
his
wealth.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “A man in a
mountain pass who
worships Allah and leaves the people from his
evil.”
“There will be callers at the gates of Hell; whoever
responds to them they throw them into it.” I said: “O Messenger
of
Allah, describe them to us.” He said: “They will be from our
people,
speaking our language.” I said: “What do you command me
to do, if I
live to see that?” He said: “Adhere tothe main body
of the Muslims and
their leader. If there is no such body and no
leader, then withdraw
from all their groups, even if you bite onto
the trunk of a tree until
death finds you in that state.”
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that the Messenger of
Allah
(ﷺ) said:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيَّ، يَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ
" يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرَ مَالِ الْمُسْلِمِ غَنَمٌ يَتْبَعُ بِهَا شَعَفَ الْجِبَالِ وَمَوَاقِعَ الْقَطْرِ يَفِرُّ بِدِينِهِ مِنَ الْفِتَنِ " .
“Soon the best wealth of a Muslim will be sheep
which he
follows in the mountain peaks and places where rainfall is
to be
found, fleeing for the sake of his religion from tribulations.”
“There will be tribulations at the gates of which will
be
callers (calling people) to Hell. Dying when you are biting onto
the
stump of a tree will be better for you than following anyone of
them.”
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
say:
‘That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is
plain,
and between them are matters that are not clear, about which
not many
people know. Thus he who guards against the unclear matters,
he clears
himself with regard to his religion and his honor. But he
who falls
into the unclear matters, he falls into that which is
unlawful. Like
the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but
grazing therein.
Every king has a sanctuary. And beware! Allah’s
sanctuary is His
prohibitions. Beware! In the body there is a piece
of flesh which, if
it is sound, the whole body will be sound, and if
it is corrupt, the
whole body will be corrupt. It is the heart.’”
Chapter 15: Islam began as something strange - كتاب الفتن
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
said:
حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ وَكِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ غِيَاثٍ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ
" إِنَّ الإِسْلاَمَ بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ " . قَالَ قِيلَ وَمَنِ الْغُرَبَاءُ قَالَ النُّزَّاعُ مِنَ الْقَبَائِلِ .
“Islam began as something strange and will go back to being
strange, so glad tidings to the strangers.” It was said: “Who are
the
strangers?’ He said: “Strangers who have left their families
and
tribes.”
Chapter 16: One who hopes for protection from tribulation - كتاب الفتن
It was narrated from ‘Umar bin Khattab that he went out one day to
the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he found Mu’adh bin
Jabal sitting by the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ), weeping. He said:
حَدَّثَنَا حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي ابْنُ لَهِيعَةَ، عَنْ عِيسَى بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ يَوْمًا إِلَى مَسْجِدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَوَجَدَ مُعَاذَ بْنَ جَبَلٍ قَاعِدًا عِنْدَ قَبْرِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَبْكِي فَقَالَ مَا يُبْكِيكَ قَالَ يُبْكِينِي شَىْءٌ سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ
" إِنَّ يَسِيرَ الرِّيَاءِ شِرْكٌ وَإِنَّ مَنْ عَادَى لِلَّهِ وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ بَارَزَ اللَّهَ بِالْمُحَارَبَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الأَبْرَارَ الأَتْقِيَاءَ الأَخْفِيَاءَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا غَابُوا لَمْ يُفْتَقَدُوا وَإِنْ حَضَرُوا لَمْ يُدْعَوْا وَلَمْ يُعْرَفُوا قُلُوبُهُمْ مَصَابِيحُ الْهُدَى يَخْرُجُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ غَبْرَاءَ مُظْلِمَةٍ " .
“Why are you weeping?” He said: “I am weeping because of
something
that I heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I heard the
Messenger
of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘A little showing off is polytheism
and whoever
shows enmity towards a friend of Allah has declared war
on Allah.
Allah loves those who se righteousness and piety are
hidden, those
who, if they are absent, are not missed, and if they
are present, they
are not invited or acknowledged. Their hearts are
lamps of guidance
and they get out of every trial and difficulty.’”
“The Jews split into
seventy-one sects, one of which will be in
Paradise and seventy in
Hell. The Christians split into seventy-two
sects, seventy-one of
which will be in Hell and one in Paradise. I
swear by the One Whose
Hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will
split into seventy-three
sects, one of which will be in Paradise and
seventy-two in Hell.”
It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are
they?” He said: “The
main body.”
It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
said:
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَمْرٍو، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ
" إِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ افْتَرَقَتْ عَلَى إِحْدَى وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً وَإِنَّ أُمَّتِي سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلَى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً كُلُّهَا فِي النَّارِ إِلاَّ وَاحِدَةً وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ " .
‘The Children of Israel split into seventy-one sects, and my
nation will split into seventy-two, all of which will be in Hell
apart
from one, which is the main body.”
“You will most certainly follow the ways of those who came
before you, arm’s length by arm’s length, forearm’s length by
forearm’s length, hand span by hand span, until even if they
entered a
hole of a mastigure (lizard) you will enter it too.” They
said: “O
Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the
Christians?” He
said: “Who else?”
Chapter 18: The tribulation of wealth - كتاب الفتن
Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri said:
حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ حَمَّادٍ الْمِصْرِيُّ، أَنْبَأَنَا اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ عِيَاضِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيَّ، يَقُولُ قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَخَطَبَ فَقَالَ " لاَ وَاللَّهِ مَا أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِلاَّ مَا يُخْرِجُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِنْ زَهْرَةِ الدُّنْيَا " . فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيَأْتِي الْخَيْرُ بِالشَّرِّ فَصَمَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ سَاعَةً ثُمَّ قَالَ " كَيْفَ قُلْتَ " . قَالَ قُلْتُ وَهَلْ يَأْتِي الْخَيْرُ بِالشَّرِّ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّ الْخَيْرَ لاَ يَأْتِي إِلاَّ بِخَيْرٍ أَوَخَيْرٌ هُوَ إِنَّ كُلَّ مَا يُنْبِتُ الرَّبِيعُ يَقْتُلُ حَبَطًا أَوْ يُلِمُّ إِلاَّ آكِلَةَ الْخَضِرِ أَكَلَتْ حَتَّى إِذَا امْتَلأَتْ خَاصِرَتَاهَا اسْتَقْبَلَتِ الشَّمْسَ فَثَلَطَتْ وَبَالَتْ ثُمَّ اجْتَرَّتْ فَعَادَتْ فَأَكَلَتْ فَمَنْ يَأْخُذُ مَالاً بِحَقِّهِ يُبَارَكُ لَهُ وَمَنْ يَأْخُذُ مَالاً بِغَيْرِ حَقِّهِ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي يَأْكُلُ وَلاَ يَشْبَعُ " .
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up
and
addressed the people saying: ‘No, by Allah, I do not fear for
you, O
people, but I fear the attractions of this world that Allah
brings
forth for you.’ A man said to him: ‘O Messenger of
Allah(ﷺ), does
good bring forth evil?’ The Messenger of Allah
(ﷺ) remained silent
for a while, then he said: ‘What did you
say?’ He said: ‘I said, does
good bring forth evil?’ The
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Good does
not bring forth anything
but good, but is it really good? Everything
that grows on the banks
of a stream may either kill if overeaten or
(at least) make the
animals sick, except if an animal eats its fill of
Khadir* and then
faces the sun, and then defecates and urinates,
chews the cud and
then returns to graze again. Whoever takes wealth in
a lawful manner,
it will be blessed for him, but whoever takes it in
an unlawful
manner, his likeness is that of one who eats and it never
satisfied.’”
Chapter 18: The tribulation of wealth - كتاب الفتن
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘As that the
Messenger of
Allah (ﷺ) said:
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ سَوَّادٍ الْمِصْرِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، أَنَّ بَكْرَ بْنَ سَوَادَةَ، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ يَزِيدَ بْنَ رَبَاحٍ حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " إِذَا فُتِحَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ خَزَائِنُ فَارِسَ وَالرُّومِ أَىُّ قَوْمٍ أَنْتُمْ " . قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ نَقُولُ كَمَا أَمَرَنَا اللَّهُ . قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " أَوْ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ تَتَنَافَسُونَ ثُمَّ تَتَحَاسَدُونَ ثُمَّ تَتَدَابَرُونَ ثُمَّ تَتَبَاغَضُونَ أَوْ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ تَنْطَلِقُونَ فِي مَسَاكِينِ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ فَتَجْعَلُونَ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى رِقَابِ بَعْضٍ " .
“When the treasures of Persia and
Rome are opened
for you, what kind of people will you be?”
‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf
said: “We will say what Allah has
commanded us to say.” The Messenger
of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Or
something other than that. You will compete
with one another, then
you will envy one another, then you will turn
your backs on one
another, then you will hate one another, or
something like that. Then
you will go to the poor among the Muhajirun
and appoint some of them
as leaders of others.”
Chapter 18: The tribulation of wealth - كتاب الفتن
It was narrated from ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, who was an ally of Banu ‘Amir
bin
Lu’ai and was present at (the battle of) Badr with the
Messenger of
Allah (ﷺ), that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent
‘Ubaidah bin
Jarrah to Bahrain to collect the Jizyah, and the
Prophet (ﷺ) had
made a treaty with the people of Bahrain, and he
appointed as their
governor ‘Ala’ bin Hadrami. Abu ‘Ubaidan
came with the wealth from
Bahrain and the Ansar heard that Abu
‘Ubaidah had come, so they
attended the Fajr prayer with the
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When the
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had
prayed, he went away, so they intercepted
him. The Messenger of Allah
(ﷺ) smiled when he saw them, then he
said:
حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الأَعْلَى الْمِصْرِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، . أَنَّ الْمِسْوَرَ بْنَ مَخْرَمَةَ، أَخْبَرَهُ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ، - وَهُوَ حَلِيفُ بَنِي عَامِرِ بْنِ لُؤَىٍّ وَكَانَ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ - أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بَعَثَ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ بْنَ الْجَرَّاحِ إِلَى الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَأْتِي بِجِزْيَتِهَا وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ هُوَ صَالَحَ أَهْلَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ وَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْعَلاَءَ بْنَ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ فَقَدِمَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بِمَالٍ مِنَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ فَسَمِعَتِ الأَنْصَارُ بِقُدُومِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ فَوَافَوْا صَلاَةَ الْفَجْرِ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَلَمَّا صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ انْصَرَفَ فَتَعَرَّضُوا لَهُ فَتَبَسَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ حِينَ رَآهُمْ ثُمَّ قَالَ " أَظُنُّكُمْ سَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ قَدِمَ بِشَىْءٍ مِنَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ " . قَالُوا أَجَلْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ " أَبْشِرُوا وَأَمِّلُوا مَا يَسُرُّكُمْ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا الْفَقْرَ أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَكِنِّي أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تُبْسَطَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا بُسِطَتْ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ فَتَنَافَسُوهَا كَمَا تَنَافَسُوهَا فَتُهْلِكَكُمْ كَمَا أَهْلَكَتْهُمْ " .
‘I think you have
heard that Abu ‘Ubaidah has brought something
from Bahrain?’ They
said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘Be of
good cheer
and hope for that which will make you happy. By Allah, I do
not fear
poverty for you, rather I fear that you will enjoy ease and
plenty
like those who came before you, and that you will compete with
one
another as they did, and you will be destroyed as they were.’”