Category: Muslim

This hadith is narrated to us on the authority of Muhammad b. ‘Abdullah b. Numair, on the authority of Muhammad b. Bishr, on the authority of Abd Hayyan al-Taymi with the exception that in this narration (instead of the words (Iza Waladat al’amah rabbaha), the words are (Iza Waladat al’amah Ba’laha), i, e, when slave-girl gives birth to her master.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Ask me (about religious matters), but they (the Companions) were in awe of asking him. Then came
a man, and sat near his knees and said: O Messenger of Allah, what is al-Islam? So he (the Holy Prophet) replied: [That] you do not associate anything with Allah, and establish the prayer, pay the alms (Zakat) and fast Ramadan. He said: You (have) told the truth. He said: Messenger of Allah, what is al-Iman (Faith)? He said: That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting, His Apostles, and that you believe in Resurrection and that you believe in Qadr (Divine Decree) in all its entirety. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He said: Messenger of Allah, what is al-Ihsan? Upon this he said: that you fear Allah as if you are seeing Him, and though you see Him not, verily He is seeing you. He (the inquirer) said: You (have) told the truth. He (the inquirer) said: When will the Hour (of Doom) occur? He said: The one who is being asked about it is no better informed than the inquirer and I will narrate some of its signs to you. When you see a [slave] woman giving birth to her master – then that is [one] of its signs. And when you see barefooted, naked, deaf and dumb (ignorant and foolish persons) as the rulers of the earth – then that is [one] of its signs. And when you see the shepherds of black (camels) exult in buildings – then that is [one] of its signs. The (Hour) is one of the five things of the unseen. No one knows them except Allah. Then (the Holy Prophet) recited (the folowing verse):” Verily Allah! with Him alone is the knowledge of the Hour and He it is Who sends down the rain and knows that which is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it shall earn on the morrow and a soul knows not in what land it shall die. Verily Allah is Knowing, Aware.” He (Abu Huraira) said: Then the person stood up (and made his way). Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Bring him back to me. He was searched for, but they could not find him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) thereupon said: He was Gabriel and he wanted to teach you when you did not ask.

It is reported on the authority of Talha b. ‘Ubaidullah that a person with dishevelled hair, one of the people of Nejd, came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). We heard the humming of his voice but could not fully discern what he had been saying, till he came nigh to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). It was then (disclosed to us) that he was asking questions pertaining to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Five prayers during the day and the night. (Upon this he said: Am I obliged to say any other (prayer) besides these? He (the Holy Prophet, ) said: No, but whatever you observe voluntarily, out of your own free will, and the fasts of Ramadan. The inquirer said: Am I obliged to do anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but whatever you do out of your own free will. And the Messenger of Allah told him about the Zakat (poor-rate). The inquirer said: Am I obliged to pay anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but whatever you pay voluntarily out of your own free will. The man turned back and was saying: I would neither make any addition to this, nor will decrease anything out of it. The Prophet remarked: He is successful, if he is true to what he affirms.

Another hadith, the like of which has been narrated by Malik (b. Anas) (and mentioned above) is also reported by Talha b. ‘Ubaidullah, with the only variation that the Prophet remarked: By his father, he shall succeed if he were true (to what he professed), or: By his father, he would enter heaven if he were true (to what he professed).

It is reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik that he said: We were forbidden that we should ask anything (without the genuine need) from the Holy Prophet. It, therefore, pleased us that an intelligent person from the dwellers of the desert should come and asked him (the Holy Prophet) and we should listen to it. A man from the dwellers of the desert came (to the Holy Prophet) and said: Muhammad, your messenger came to us and told us your assertion that verily Allah had sent you (as a prophet). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He told the truth. He (the bedouin) said: Who created the heaven? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah. He (the bedouin again) said: Who created the earth? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah. He (the bedouin again) said: Who raised these mountains and who created in them whatever is created there? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah. Upon this he (the bedouin) remarked: By Him Who created the heaven and created the earth and raised mountains thereupon, has Allah (in fact) sent you? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger also told us that five prayers (had been made) obligatory for us during the day and the night. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He told you the truth. He (the bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you, is it Allah Who ordered you about this (i. e. prayers)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger told us that Zakat had been made obligatory in our riches. He (the Holy Prophet) said. He has told the truth. He (the bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you (as a prophet), is it Allah Who ordered you about it (Zakat)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger told us that it had been made obligatory for us to fast every year during the month of Ramadan. He (the Holy Prophet) said: He has told the truth. He (the bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you (as a prophet), is it Allah Who ordered you about it (the fasts of Ramadan)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger also told us that pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (of Ka’bah) had been made obligatory for him who is able to undertake the journey to it. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. The narrator said that he (the bedouin) set off (at the conclusion of this answer, but at the time of his departure) remarked: ‘By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I would neither make any addition to them nor would I diminish anything out of them. Upon this the Prophet remarked: If he were true (to what he said) he must enter Paradise.

It is narrated on the authority of Thabit that Anas said: We were forbidden in the Holy Qur’an that we should ask about anything from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and then Anas reported the hadith in similar words.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Ayyub Ansari that once during the journey of the Prophet (may peace of Allah be upon him) a bedouin appeared before him and caught hold of the nosestring of his she-camel and then said, Messenger of Allah (or Muhammad), inform me about that which takes me near to Paradise and draws me away from the Fire (of Hell). He (the narrator) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) stopped for a while and cast a glance upon his companions and then said: He was afforded a good opportunity (or he had been guided well). He (the Holy Prophet) addressing the bedouin said: (Repeat) whatever you have uttered. He (the bedouin) repeated that. Upon this the Apostle (ﷺ) remarked: The deed which can draw you near to Paradise and take you away from Hell is, that you worship Allah and associate none with Him, and you establish prayer and pay Zakat, and do good to your kin. After having uttered these words, the Prophet asked the bedouin to release the nosestring of his she-camel.

This hadith is transmitted by Muhammad b. Hatim on the authority of Abu Ayyub Ansari.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Ayyub that a man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: Direct me to a deed which draws me near to Paradise and takes me away from the Fire (of Hell). Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: You worship Allah and never associate anything with Him, establish prayer, and pay Zakat, and do good to your kin. When he turned his back, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked: If he adheres to what he has been ordered to do, he would enter Paradise.

It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that a bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, direct me to a deed by which I may be entitled to enter Paradise. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: You worship Allah and never associate anything with Him, establish the obligatory prayer, and pay the Zakat which is incumbent upon you, and observe the fast of Ramadan. He (the bedouin) said: By Him in Whose hand is my life, I will never add anything to it, nor will I diminish anything from it. When he (the bedouin) turned his back, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who is pleased to see a man from the dwellers of Paradise should catch a glimpse of him.