Belief in the Messengers

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) likened Islam to a well-built structure based on five pillars that carry it and the rest of its characteristics complement the structure. First pillar: The two testimonies of faith; testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. These two testimonies constitute one pillar as they are both inseparable. The slave utters the two testimonies of faith acknowledging the oneness of Allah and His exclusive worthiness of worship apart from others, acting upon their requirements, believing in the message of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and following him. Second pillar: Establishing the prayer, which refers to the five obligatory prayers that are to be observed every day and night and they are: Fajr (morning), Zhuhr (noon), ‘Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and ‘Ishā’ (night), along with observing their conditions, pillars, and obligatory acts. Third pillar: Giving the obligatory Zakah, which is an obligatory financial act of worship due on every type of property that has reached the limit prescribed by Shariah and it is to be given to those entitled to it. Fourth pillar: Performing Hajj, which is travelling to Makkah to perform the rituals as a means of worshipping Allah Almighty. Fifth pillar: Fasting Ramadān, which is abstaining from food, drink, and other invalidators from the break of dawn until sunset with the intention of worshipping Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) clarified to us that when he forbade us from something, we should avoid it without exception, and when he enjoined us to do something, we should do as much of it as we can. Then, he warned us not to become like some of the past nations, who burdened their prophets with excessive questioning and disagreed with them, and so Allah punished them with various kinds of destruction and ruin. Therefore, we should not be like them lest we be ruined as they were ruined.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swears by Allah that none of this nation, be he Jewish or Christian or otherwise, who hears of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and of his message then dies without believing in him except that he will be among the dwellers of Hellfire who will reside therein forever.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that the Shariah rulings fall into three categories: what is left unaddressed, prohibitions, and commands. As for the first: It is what the Shariah has left unaddressed, as there is no ruling, and things, in principle, are not obligatory. During the Prophet's lifetime, it was a must not to ask about something that had not occurred for fear that it might become obligatory or forbidden through revelation, as Allah has left it unaddressed out of mercy towards His slaves. After the Prophet's death, on the other hand, if the question is posed by way of seeking legal opinion or learning about what one needs of the religion, then it is not only permissible but also commanded. However, if the question is posed by way of obstinacy and affectation, then this kind of question should be avoided, and this is what the Hadīth refers to, as it could lead to what happened to the Children of Israel when they were commanded to slaughter a cow. It was sufficient for them to obey the command by slaughtering any cow; however, when they acted obstinately, things were made hard for them. Second: The prohibitions: It is whatever one is rewarded for abandoning and is punished for doing. So, all prohibitions must be avoided. Third: The commands: It is whatever one is rewarded for doing and punished for abandoning. The commands must be carried out to the best of one's ability.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that all his Ummah will enter Paradise except those who refuse! Thereupon, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: And who would refuse, O Messenger of Allah?! In reply to them, he explained that he who obeys and follows the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will enter Paradise. In contrast, he who disobeys and does not comply with the Shariah has refused to enter Paradise on account of his bad deeds.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) likened Islam to a well-built structure based on five pillars that carry it and the rest of its characteristics complement the structure. First pillar: The two testimonies of faith; testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. These two testimonies constitute one pillar as they are both inseparable. The slave utters the two testimonies of faith acknowledging the oneness of Allah and His exclusive worthiness of worship apart from others, acting upon their requirements, believing in the message of Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and following him. Second pillar: Establishing the prayer, which refers to the five obligatory prayers that are to be observed every day and night and they are: Fajr (morning), Zhuhr (noon), ‘Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and ‘Ishā’ (night), along with observing their conditions, pillars, and obligatory acts. Third pillar: Giving the obligatory Zakah, which is an obligatory financial act of worship due on every type of property that has reached the limit prescribed by Shariah and it is to be given to those entitled to it. Fourth pillar: Performing Hajj, which is travelling to Makkah to perform the rituals as a means of worshipping Allah Almighty. Fifth pillar: Fasting Ramadān, which is abstaining from food, drink, and other invalidators from the break of dawn until sunset with the intention of worshipping Allah.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reports that there will soon come a time in which some type of people will be sitting, with one of them reclining on his couch, and when a Hadīth from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reaches him, he will say: What decides the matters between you and us is the noble Qur’an. It is sufficient for us. What we find therein as lawful, we act upon it, and what we find therein as unlawful, we avoid it. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that anything he prohibited or forbade in his Sunnah is the same as what Allah prohibited in His Book, for he only conveys from his Lord.

A group of people came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and on reaching him, they said - praising him - some words that he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) disliked. They said: "You are our master." But the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "The Master is Allah," Who possesses full sovereignty over His creation and they are His slaves. They also said: You are "the best of us in superiority" and the highest among us in rank, honor, and in merit. And you are "the greatest among us in bounteousness" and the most giving, the loftiest, and the most prestigious among us. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then advised them to say what they would typically say without affectation and not to be dragged by the devil to exaggeration and flattery that lead to committing what is prohibited of Shirk (polytheism) and its means.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will come on the Day of Resurrection and prostrate to Allah and supplicate to Him. Then Allah will allow him to make the major intercession. His Lord will say to him: "Ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be fulfilled." i.e. your request is accepted and your intercession is accepted.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Allah granted him five privileges that none of the prophets before him had been granted. First: I was made victorious through terror that was cast into my enemies' hearts, although a distance of one month's journey separated us. Second: The earth has been made for us a place of worship where we can pray wherever we are, and it has been made for us a means of purification through dust when water is not an option. Third: The spoils of war, which Muslims take during their war against the disbelievers, have been made lawful for us. Fourth: I have been granted the major intercession to relieve people of the horror of the Day of Judgment. Fifth: "I have been sent to all creation": mankind and jinn, unlike the prophets before him who were sent to their people only.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that the best day upon which the sun has risen is Friday. Some of the characteristics of this day are: that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) on that day, He admitted him to Paradise on that day and He drove him out therefrom and sent him down to earth on that day, besides the fact that the Hour will not take place except on Friday.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) informs in this Hadīth that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) died when her house was void of any edible thing except for a small quantity of barley she had on a shelf and from which she kept eating for a long time. Then when she measured what was left of it, it soon finished, which points to the Prophet's continued blessing in that small amount of food so long as it was not measured, a sign of reliance on Allah. Weighing things in buying and selling is required for the rights of people involved. But it is not recommended to measure your things as you spend or use them.

The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked out from a high fort from the forts of Madīnah and said to his Companions: Do you see what I see? I see the trials and tribulations that occur in the midst of your houses as plenty and heavy as the raindrops. This is an indication to the wars and trials that were to occur in Madīnah after the Prophet’s death, such as the killing of ‘Uthmān, the battle of Al-Harrah, etc.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swears to the imminence of the descent of Jesus, son of Mary, (peace be upon him) to judge between people with justice in compliance with Muhammad's Shariah. He will break the cross that is glorified by the Christians. Jesus (peace be upon him) will also kill the pig. He (peace be upon him) will abolish Jizyah and urge all people to embrace Islam. Moreover, wealth will overflow and no one will accept it given its abundance and the fact that everyone will find sufficiency in what he already has, in addition to the descent of blessings and the succession of good things.

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: As the Companions were sitting with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque, a man riding a camel entered, and he made the camel kneel and tied it. Then, he asked them: Who amongst you is Muhammad? Meanwhile, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was reclining among the people. So, we replied: This white man who is reclining. The man said to him: O son of ‘Abdul-Muttalib! The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: I have heard you; ask, and I will answer you. The man said to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): I will ask you about something and will be hard in questioning. So do not get upset with me. In other words, do not get angry at me or feel annoyed. He replied: Ask whatever you want. He said: I ask you by your Lord and the Lord of those who came before you. Has Allah sent you as a messenger to mankind? He replied: "By Allah, yes," affirming his truthfulness. The man further said: I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you that we must offer the five prayers in a day and night? They are the obligatory prayers. He replied: By Allah, yes. The man further said: I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to observe fasts during this month of the year? That's the month of Ramadan. He replied: By Allah, yes. The man said: I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to take this charity from our rich people and distribute it amongst our poor people?" This is Zakah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: By Allah, yes. Thereupon, Dimām embraced Islam and informed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that he would call his people to Islam, and he introduced himself as Dimām ibn Tha‘labah, from Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that revelation was sent down to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his prophetic mission began at the age of forty, and he stayed in Makkah for 13 years after the revelation. Thereafter, he was commanded to immigrate to Madīnah, where he stayed for 10 years. Then, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) passed away at the age of sixty-three.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I used to write down everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in order to memorize it by writing, but men from the Quraysh forbade me from doing so, saying: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is a human being who speaks in pleasure and anger and so he is likely to err. Therefore, I stopped writing. I told the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about what they said, and he pointed with his finger to his mouth and said: Write down, for the One in Whose Hand my soul is, nothing comes out of it except the truth, in all conditions and in pleasure and anger. And Allah Almighty says about His Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): {Nor does he speak out of his own desire*. It is but a revelation sent down [to him].} [Surat an-Najm: 3-4]

The Hadīth explains that the most honorable among people in terms of ancestry, lineage, and origins are the best during the pre-Islamic era, provided that they attain religious knowledge. For example, it is known that Banu Hāshim are the best of Quraysh in Islam, provided that they understand Allah's religion and learn its rulings. However, failing to attain understanding in religion, noble lineage will be of no avail. If one is of a high lineage and from the most noble of Arab ancestry, this will not make such a person from the most honorable of creation in the sight of Allah. Based on this, a person is honored by his lineage, on condition that he possesses understanding of the religion.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw in a dream that he was using a tooth-stick and two men came to him, one older than the other. He wanted to give it to the younger one, but it was said to him "give the older one first!". So he gave it to the older one.

When Allah created Adam, He ordered him to go to a group of angels and greet them with peace and then listen to their response to his greeting because that would be the prescribed greeting for him and his offspring after him who follow the religion of the messengers. So he said: As-Salāmu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you), and they replied: As-Salāmu ‘alayk wa rahmatullāh (peace and mercy of Allah be upon you), adding 'rahmatullāh' (mercy of Allah). This has, thus, become the prescribed wording when greeting and returning the greeting. Other Hadīths had the addition: "wa rahmatullāh wa barakātuh (...and mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you!)"

Our prophet related a story about another prophet, saying that his people struck him and as he wiped blood off his face invoking Allah for their forgiveness. This consists in the furthest extent of patience and leniency. Not only did he pray for them but he also found an excuse for them out of sympathy for them due to their ignorance of the facts.

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that they were at the battle of Hunayn, which is the battle of At-Tā’if that took place after the Conquest of Makkah. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) fought them, and gained from them a large amount of booty i.e, camels, sheep, dirhams, and dinars. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went to Al-Ji‘rānah, which is a place located at the farthest end of the Sacred Precincts of Makkah to the direction of At-Tā’if, and divided the booty between those who participated in this battle. He gave Al-Aqra‘ ibn Hābis 100 camels, and gave ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn 100 camels. He also gave to some of the nobles among the Arabs in order to attract their hearts towards Islam, because if those people embrace Islam due to the gifts and wealth they received, their followers would embrace Islam, and this would give more strength and might to Islam. As for those who were strong in faith, he left them, trusting the faith that they had. After seeing the attitude of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in dividing the booty among the heads of tribes and nobles, and leaving some others (without giving them), a man said: "By Allah! This is a distribution in which justice is not observed, and it is not intended for pleasing Allah." When Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this statement, he rushed towards the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and swore before that if he heard something like that, he would inform him. When Ibn Mas‘ūd informed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of the man's statement, his anger intensified and his face changed in color until it was like a pure red dye. Then he said: "Who will observe justice if Allah and His Messenger do not?"; disapproving of the man's statement. Then he said: "May Allah have mercy upon Mūsa; he was hurt more than this but he remained patient.'' When Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet's condition (i.e. his anger), he said: "If I hear any kind of improper statement from those people, I will not inform the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of it, because of what I saw of his intense anger, as long as it does not cause any harm to Islam or the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)."

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us in this Hadīth that Prophet Zakariyya (peace be upon him) worked as a carpenter, and he used to earn his sustenance from carpentry.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to kill geckos, saying that they used to blow the fire on Ibrahīm to make it more intense. This implies that geckos are totally hostile towards devout monotheists.

Jibrīl presented two cups to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on the Night of Isrā' and Mi’rāj refers to his night journey to the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and his ascent to heaven, one filled with wine and the other with milk. “He looked at them,” meaning: as if he was asked to choose between them. “He took the milk,” meaning: he received inspiration to choose the milk. Jibrīl said: “Praise be to Allah, Who guided you to the Fitrah,” meaning: you chose the sign of Islam and uprightness. Milk was made a sign of that because it is pleasant, pure, palatable, and of no evil consequences. (And then he said:) “Had you taken the wine, your nation would have gone astray."

Abu Umāmah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned in this Hadīth that a man went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him whether Adam was a prophet. The Prophet answered in the affirmative. The man then asked about the time gap between Adam and Nūh (peace be upon them). The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that it was ten centuries. The man further asked about the time gap between Nūh and Ibrahīm. The Prophet gave the same answer: ten centuries. The man finally asked about the number of messengers, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that they were three hundred and fifteen.

This Hadīth says that Allah, the Exalted, selected Kinānah and gave him eminence over the children of Isma‘īl from among the Arabs. Then Allah chose Quraysh and gave them precedence over the tribe of Kinānah. Then Allah chose the children of Hāshim and gave them merit over the rest of the tribe of Quraysh. Then Allah selected Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and gave him eminence over the children of Hāshim. So the Prophet is the master of the children of Adam, the best of them in virtue and in this capacity of him, and he is not arrogantly proud. He is just conveying the divine revelation in this respect. Also, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will be the first one to be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection, the first one to intercede, and the first one whose intercession will be accepted.

This Hadīth shows that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has five names: Muhammad; Ahmad; Al-Māhi, whereby Allah effaces unbelief and the unbelievers; Al-Hāshir, who will be gathered before all people on the Day of Judgment and Al-‘Āqib, after whom there is no prophet, with him being the last and the seal of Allah's Prophets. This does not mean that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) has only five names. He has other names which have been proved by authentic traditions, such as Al-Muqaffi (the last Prophet to be sent), the Prophet of mercy), the Prophet of repentance, etc.

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) called himself with several names. Abu Mūsa retained in his memory some of these names, including: Muhammad, Ahmad, Al-Muqaffi (the last and seal of prophets), Al-Hāshir (the first to be resurrected on the Day of Judgment), the Prophet of Mercy for he carries compassion and mercy to mankind in general, through the legislation he came with, and to the believers in particular through the special merits they are granted. He is also the Prophet of Repentance, which means that he is the one whose legislation states that Allah accepts repentance by intention (of the heart) and words (of the tongue), as opposed to the legislation of some past nations whose repentance required killing themselves. It could also mean that he is the one in whose Ummah repentance is common and frequent, because his followers outnumbers all other nations, which entails that the repentant among them outnumbers those of other nations. The Prophet is also called Nabyy al-Malhamah (the Prophet of War) because he was keen on making Jihad to make the word of Allah superior.

Children are poked in their sides by the devil when they are born, so they scream immediately after birth. Only Maryam and ‘Īsa (peace be upon both of them) did not experience that. Allah protected them at birth, for Maryam's mother prayed: {And I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and her offspring from Satan, the outcast} [Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān: 36]. Allah answered her supplication and protected Maryam and her son ‘Īsa from the devil's poke. Maryam had no children other than ‘Īsa. The devil's poke is a real thing. It does not mean that the devil seeks to lead humans astray, as some Mu‘tazilites said. It is obligatory to believe in this Hadīth in its literal sense, as it is the chosen opinion of Ahl As-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) says that Al-Khidr got this name because once he sat on a barren piece of land that had no plantation, and it turned into a greenery. Al-Khidr is mentioned in the story of Mūsa in Sūrat al-Kahf. Scholars differed whether he was a prophet or a righteous ally of Allah. The sound opinion is that he is a prophet.

The honorable one is the one who combined honorable manners with the high rank of prophet-hood and being the son of three successive prophets. Along with these merits, he also was conferred the honor of dream interpretation and in authority he managed the affairs of people in a praiseworthy and a beautiful manner. This person was the Prophet, Yūsuf, the son of Ya‘qūb, the son of Is'hāq, the son of Ibrahīm (peace be upon all of them).

The Mother of the Believers ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) informs that the Prophet (ﷺ), when commanding people to perform deeds, would instruct them to do only what was easy for them and not burdensome—out of concern that they might be unable to maintain it consistently. He himself acted upon what he commanded of moderation and ease. However, they requested to be tasked with more difficult acts, believing that they needed to exert greater effort in worship to attain higher ranks and perhaps reach a status close to his. They would say: Our situation is not like yours, O Messenger of Allah, for Allah has forgiven all your past and future sins. He would then become angry—so much so that the anger could be seen on his face—and he would say: I am the most God-fearing and the most knowledgeable among you about Allah. So, do as I command you.

The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that all the prophets were supported by Allah and were given miraculous signs that served as proof of their prophethood and led those who witnessed them to believe in their truthfulness. These miracles were beyond human ability to challenge or resist, though some people might still deny them out of stubbornness and arrogance. As for the Prophet (ﷺ), his sign and miracle is the Qur’an that Allah revealed to him, for it contains a clear and everlasting miracle due to its immense benefit and universal guidance. It includes the call to truth, decisive proof, and knowledge of what is yet to come. Thus, its benefit extends to those present and absent, to those who have existed and those who will exist. Then he said: I hope to be the one among them with the greatest number of followers on the Day of Judgment.

The Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him), informed that if you heard me narrating from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), I neither use figurative language, nor allusions, nor ambiguous statements; rather, I speak clearly. If I fall from the sky, it would be easier and lighter than to narrate from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while attributing lies to him. However, if I spoke about matters between myself and the people, then war is deception, and I may use figurative language, allusions, or double-meaning statements. Indeed, I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: At the end of time, there will come youth, young in age and weak in intellect. They will quote words from the Qur’an and recite them frequently, but they will leave Islam and transgress its bounds just as an arrow passes through its target. Their faith will not go beyond their throats. Wherever you encounter them, kill them, for killing them will bring a reward for those who kill them on the Day of Judgment.

The story of ‘Āsim ibn Thābit al-Ansāri and his companions (may Allah be pleased with all of them) shows a clear miracle that was granted to a group of the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet dispatched ten of his Companions to spy on the enemy and report their news to him. As they approached Makkah, some of the Hudhayl tribe came to know about them, so they sent a hundred master archers to deal with them. They tracked them down until they were able to surround them. They pledged not to kill them if they surrendered, but ‘Āsim swore that he would never believe the pledge of a disbeliever, because the disbelievers betrayed Allah, the Exalted, and anyone who betrayed Allah could also betray Allah's servants. They shot at them with their arrows, leaving ‘Āsim and six others dead. The remaining three companions agreed to surrender. The raiders captured them and tied their hands up. Upon seeing this, one of the Companions said that this was the start of them breaking their pledge and swore that he would never go with the raiders; so they killed him. They sold Khubayb and his comrade as slaves in Makkah. A family, whose leader had been killed by Khubayb in the battle of Badr, bought Khubayb believing that this was their opportunity to avenge their leader's death and they kept him as a prisoner. One day, one of the children from the family came up to Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him. Khubayb felt compassion towards the child, so he lifted him up onto his knee, because the mother was busy with something else. He had previously borrowed a razor from the family to shave his pubic hair, so when the mother saw her child with Khubayb, she was afraid that he would kill him. However, he (may Allah be pleased with him) sensed her fear and assured her that he would never harm him. That mother used to say that she swore by Allah that she had never seen a prisoner better than Khubayb. She said that she saw him eating a bunch of grapes one day, at a time when Makkah had no grapes. She knew this was a blessing granted by Allah to Khubayb while he was a prisoner in Makkah. Nonetheless, the family whose leader had been killed by Khubayb decided to kill him, but out of respect to Makkah, they decided to kill him outside the Sacred Precincts. He asked them to let him pray two Rak‘ahs. After he had finished praying, he told them he that he had wanted to pray more but only prayed two Rak‘ahs because he did not want them to think he was prolonging the prayer because he was afraid of death. He then made the following supplication against them: "O Allah, remove them altogether; slay them one by one, and spare none of them." Allah accepted his supplication and they all died within a year. He recited the following poetic verses: "I do not care how I will be killed as long as I will die in the cause of Allah, as a Muslim. This is for Allah's sake, and if He so wills, He may bless torn and amputated limbs." As for ‘Āsim ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) who had been killed; a family from the Quraysh whose leader had been killed by ‘Āsim heard about his death. They sent some people to bring a identifiable part of his body [to ensure that he was dead], but Allah, Exalted and Glorified, sent a swarm of bees to hover over his body like a cloud to protect him from them; so they couldn't get close to him and their attempt was vain. This was another miracle that Allah, the Exalted, granted to ‘Āsim (may Allah be pleased with him). Allah, the Exalted, protected his body after his death from the enemies who wanted to mutilate his corpse.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) tells that the ‘Asr (Afternoon) prayer became due while the Companions were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in Madīnah. Those whose homes were nearby went there to make ablution. Those with distant homes stayed. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a stone pot with some water in it. The pot, however, was so small to accommodate the Prophet's hand. Nevertheless, the Companions, who were eighty or more, were able to make ablution therefrom.

While Prophet Ayyūb (peace be upon him) was taking a bath naked, numerous pieces of gold, in the form of locusts, fell on him. Ayyūb (peace be upon him) kept collecting them and putting them in his clothes. Thereupon, his Lord, Glorified and Exalted, called him, saying: Have I not made you rich enough not to be in need of this? He replied: Yes, by Your glory. Yet, I have not taken this out of avarice or greed for this worldly life; but because they are a blessing from You.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that our Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “None spoke in the cradle, except three…”they were: 1. ‘Īsa, the son of Maryam (peace be upon him) and this was one of the signs of Allah, the Exalted, as he spoke while he was in the cradle. 2. The companion of Jurayj. Jurayj was a man of worship and Allah exonerated him of the accusation that the people wished to attach to him. He revealed this sign as a miracle for Jurayj, when the child spoke declaring his innocence. 3. A child who was suckling from his mother, when a fine looking man passed by on an agile horse. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) demonstrated the child’s suckling by putting his forefinger in his mouth and sucking it, actualizing the situation (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). The child said: "O Allah, do not make me like him." Then some people came by with a slave girl. The woman was being beaten and accused of fornication and theft, but she was saying: "Sufficient is Allah for me, and the best of Guardians is He." So the mother of the child, while she was breastfeeding him, said: "O Allah, do not make my child like her." So he stopped suckling and looked at the slave girl and said: "O Allah, make me like her." So he began speaking with his mother - the infant sat up and talked to her. She said: "I passed by - or this handsome man passed by - and I said: 'O Allah, make my child like him,' then you said: 'O Allah, do not make me like him.’" He said: "Yes, this man was a stubborn tyrant, so I asked Allah not to make me like him. Regarding the woman; they were accusing her of fornication and theft, but she was saying: 'Sufficient is Allah for me, and the best of Guardians is He', so I said: 'O Allah, make me like her – make me pure of fornication and theft, entrusting my affairs to Allah, as indicated by her statement: 'Sufficient is Allah for me, and the best of Guardians He is.''"

Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr said that he informed Ibn ‘Abbās that a man named Nawf al-Bakāli claimed that the Mūsa who was with Al-Khidr is not the same Mūsa that was sent to the Children of Israel, and it was another Mūsa. So Ibn ‘Abbās said: "The enemy of Allah has lied." This statement came as a rebuke and warning, not to defame Nawf, as Ibn ‘Abbās had said it in a moment of anger, and statements made in anger are usually inaccurate. Furthermore, his words were due to Al-Bakāli saying something that was not true; this does not mean that it was intentional. He then proved that Nawf had lied by relating the report of Ubay ibn Ka‘b from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in which Mūsa stood to give a speech to the Children of Israel and someone asked him: "Who is the most learned person among the people?" Mūsa said: "I am the most knowledgeable of the people." And Mūsa, peace be upon him, said this according to his belief. So Allah, Exalted and Glorified, rebuked him as he had not ascribed the knowledge he had to Allah by saying: "And Allah knows best." So Allah, the Exalted, revealed to him that at the junction of the two seas there is one of His servants called Al-Khidr, who is more knowledgeable than him. Mūsa said: "My Lord, how can I find him?" Allah said to him: "Carry a fish in a wicker basket and when you lose the fish, you will find Al-Khidr there." So Mūsa took off with a young servant of his named Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn, and they took a fish in a wicker basket as Allah had ordered them. And when they reached a rock on the sea shore, they put their heads down on the ground and slept. The fish snuck out of the basket and set off into the sea. Allah held the water back from the fish until it became like an arch over it. Mūsa and his servant were astonished at the fish's coming back to life and also about the water being held back from the fish until it became like a tunnel. They carried on for the rest of their night and day, and when morning came, Mūsa said to his servant: "Bring us our meal, indeed we have become tired on our journey." Mūsa (peace be upon him) had not felt tired until they had passed the place they had been told to look for and then he was overcome by exhaustion and hunger. His servant said to him: "While we were at the rock, I lost the fish." Mūsa said: "This is what we were seeking, because that was the sign of Al-Khidr's presence." So they retraced their steps back to where the fish was lost. When they came to the rock, they found a man shrouded by his robe. Mūsa greeted him with the greeting of peace and Al-Khidr said: "Is there (such a greeting of) peace in your land?" meaning: is there any peace in your land? And it was an inquiry of improbability, indicating that the people of that land were not Muslims. Mūsa said to Al-Khidr: "I am Mūsa." Al-Khidr said to him: "Are you the Mūsa who was sent to the Children of Israel?" Mūsa said: 'Yes.' This indicates that the prophets and those of lesser status do not possess knowledge of the unseen, except for what Allah, the Exalted, taught them, because, had Al-Khidr known all matters of the unseen, he would have recognized Mūsa before asking him. It was for this statement in particular that Ibn ‘Abbās mentioned this Hadīth. Then Mūsa said to him: "May I follow you so you can teach me something of the guidance that you have been taught?" It is noteworthy that learning a non-essential religious matter from someone else does not negate him being a prophet or the possessor of divine legislation, because a Messenger must be more knowledgeable than those to whom he is sent in terms of the foundations and branches of the religion, and not in an absolute sense. Al-Khidr replied: "You will not be able to have patience with me", meaning: as I do things that appear evil on the outside, but you will not comprehend the intrinsic nature of what I do. Then he said to him: "O Mūsa, I have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon me that you do not know, and you too, have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon you that I do not know." Mūsa said to him: "If Allah wills, you will find me patient with you without rejecting or disobeying you in anything." Later, they set off walking along the seashore, as they did not have a boat. A boat passed by them and they asked the crew to let them on board. As they recognized Al-Khidr, they let them come on board free of charge. A bird came and perched on the edge of the boat and pecked in sea once or twice. Al-Khidr said: "O Mūsa, my knowledge and your knowledge compared to that of Allah are like the pecking of this bird in the sea." Then Al-Khidr broke one of the boat's panels and pulled it out with an axe, making a hole in it to drown the crew. Mūsa (peace be upon him) said to him: "These people have let us on board free of charge and you have broken their boat and made a hole in it so they will drown!" Al-Khidr reminded him of what he said before by saying: "Did I not say that you will not be able to have patience with me?" Mūsa said: "Do not hold me to account for my forgetfulness, and do not be harsh on me, as that makes it difficult for me to follow you." So Mūsa’s first mistake was due to his forgetfulness. They continued on after disembarking from the boat, until they came upon a boy playing with some other boys. Al-Khidr took the boy's head and ripped it off with his hands. Mūsa said to Al-Khidr (peace be upon him): "Did you kill a soul pure of sin? We have not seen him commit any mistake that warrant killing him, or did he kill someone and should be killed in retribution for it?" Al-Khidr said to Mūsa (peace be upon both of them): "Did I not say to you that you will not be able to have patience with me?" This time, it was with the addition of "to you," which is more rebuking; and that is why Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah, one of the narrators of the Hadīth, said: "And this is more assertive," proving it by the addition of "to you.” They continued on until they passed by a town, and they asked the people for some food, but the people refused to entertain them and they found neither lodging nor shelter in that town. They did however, find a wall there that was about to fall down and collapse, so Al-Khidr made a signal with his hand and straightened it up. Mūsa said to Al-Khidr: "If you wished, you could have gotten paid for that to support us on our journey." Al-Khidr then said to Mūsa (peace be upon him): "This third objection is the cause for the split between you and me." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on Mūsa! If only he had had more patience, so we could have gained more of the knowledge and wisdom exchanged between them.”

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Ibrahīm (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) brought the mother of Isma‘īl,— Hajar, the Copt, whom the King of Egypt had gifted to his wife Sarah — and her son Isma‘īl - who was then being breastfed - to the vicinity of the Ka‘bah. He left them near a big tree over Zamzam, on a high place upon which the Sacred Mosque would later be built. At that time there were no people there nor was there any water. He left them a leather container of dates and a waterskin. Then Ibrahīm departed to the Levant. The mother of Isma‘īl followed him and wondered where he was going and leaving them in a valley with no people or anything to eat and drink. She asked that many times, but Ibrahīm did not turn to her and instead continued on. Then she asked if Allah had asked him to do this and Ibrahīm said: 'Yes.' She said that Allah would not let them down and returned to her son, while Ibrahīm moved on. When he reached the Thaniyyah near Al-Hajūn, where they could not see him, he stood in the direction of the Ka‘bah and supplicated, raising his hands, saying that he had left his offspring behind in a valley in Makkah with no vegetation, so they would be devoted to worshipping Allah at the Sacred House (where it is forbidden to hunt, cut trees, and fight) and do their prayers. He supplicated to Allah to make people’s hearts quick to love them and to provide them with fruit, so they might thank Allah for His blessings. Allah answered the prayers of Ibrahīm. Hajar breastfed Isma‘īl, drank the water, and ate the dates that she had until there were no more water or dates. She and her son became thirsty then, so she looked at her son writhing in pain, hitting the ground, and rolling around on it. Hajar left as she could not look at him in such a state. She found Safa, the closest mountain to her, and stood on it. Then she looked towards Makkah trying to find people. When she reached the low valley, she did not want to look at her son, so she hastened like an exhausted person, arriving on Marwah. She went seven times between Safa and Marwah in the hope that she would find someone, but she did not. This is the origin of the Sa‘i ritual that people perform during Hajj and ‘Umrah. When she stood on Marwah, she heard a voice and told herself to listen. As she stayed silent, she heard something again. So, she knew that she had really heard it and needed relief. It was the Archangel Jibrīl in the Zamzam area. He dug with his heel or with his wing until water emerged. So Hajar made something like a basin and scooped water into her waterskin and the water gushed forth as she was scooping. Ibn ‘Abbās reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “May Allah bestow Mercy on Isma‘īl's mother! Had she not scooped that water, Zamzam would just have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth.” By this the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) meant that the water would have been a stream. Hajar drank and let her child drink. The angel told her: “Do not be afraid of being neglected; this is the House of Allah, which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.'' The place for the House was elevated like a hillock. Torrents would come down from both sides, but would not submerge it. Later, some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed by Hajar and Isma‘īl. They were coming by the Way of Kadā' and stopped in the low area of Makkah. They saw a bird hovering over a place and concluded that the bird was hovering over water, although they had never seen water in that valley before. They sent one or two messengers to check it out. Those who were sent came back with the news of there being water. So the people went to the place and Isma‘īl’s mother was sitting by the water, so they asked her permission to camp in her area. She allowed them to do so, on condition that they would have no right to the water; meaning that she had full rights to the water and that she could give or withhold it if she wished. They agreed. Isma‘īl’s mother was comfortable with them being there, as she hated staying alone. So the Jurhum sent for their families to come and stay there too. They all lived together and increased in numbers. Isma‘īl grew up and learned Arabic from them and their liking for him grew. When he attained puberty, they married him to a woman from their tribe. Isma‘īl’s mother later died. Ibrahīm came to visit his son after he had married, but did not find him. So he asked his wife where he was and she told him that he had gone out to hunt for them. He asked her about their livelihood and condition, and she told him that they were living in a terrible condition. Finding her complaining and dissatisfied with what Allah was testing them with, Ibrahīm feared that his son would develop the same feelings, so he told him to divorce her by saying to the woman: “When your husband returns, convey my greetings to him and tell him to change the threshold of the door (of his house).” This is a metaphor for divorce, as a woman is to her husband like a threshold to a door. When Isma‘īl came back from hunting, he felt as if something had happened at his home. So he asked his wife if someone had visited them. She told him that a man had been. She described him and said that he asked her about their condition and that she had told him that they were in distress. Isma‘īl asked her if the man had given her any advice. She said that the man had sent him his greetings and asked him to change the threshold of his door. Isma‘īl recognized the man to be his father and realized that he had told him to divorce his wife. So he asked the woman to rejoin her family; meaning that she was divorced. He married another woman from the Jurhum tribe. After a while, Ibrahīm came to visit Isma‘īl but did not find him. His wife said that he had gone out to seek provisions. Another report says that she invited Ibrahīm to come and have some food and water. He asked her about their condition and she said that they were doing well and thanked Allah. He asked her what kind of food they ate and she said meat and the water of Zamzam and rain water was what they drank. So Ibrahīm prayed that Allah would bless their meat and water. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that if they also had grain at that time, Ibrahīm would have invoked divine blessings on it too. Ibn ‘Abbās said that if anyone outside Makkah only eats meat and water, they would suffer from stomachaches and a bad temperament. Then Ibrahīm asked the woman to convey his greetings to Isma‘īl and told him to keep the threshold of his door. When Isma‘īl returned from hunting, he felt as if something had happened. Another narration says that he perceived the scent of his father. He asked his wife what had happened, so she told him, speaking in good terms of an old man and reporting his questions about their livelihood. She also told him that the old man had greeted Isma‘īl and asked him to keep the threshold of his door. Upon this, Isma‘īl said that that man had been his father who had told him to keep his wife. After a while, Ibrahīm came again while Isma‘īl was under a tree close to Zamzam repairing his arrow before attaching the arrowhead to it. When he saw him, he stood up and welcomed him. They did as a son and a father would do; shaking hands and embracing. Ibrahīm told Isma‘īl that Allah had given him an order to build a house on an elevated place; on the hillock. Ibrahīm raised the foundations of the House there and built on them. Isma‘īl brought the stones and Ibrahīm would descend from the Maqām to take the stones from him and climb up to put them where appropriate. When the building was very tall, he brought the Maqām stone. When he reached the corner, he put it in its place, thus making the Maqām connected to the House. While he was building and Isma‘īl was handing him the stones, they were both praying that Allah would accept their building of the House, as Allah heard their prayers and knew their work. The statement that Isma‘īl learned Arabic is strong proof that the Arabic language is an ancient language and that it existed even before Ibrahīm. However, Isma‘īl was the first to have pronounced clear Arabic. A Hadīth says: “The first (person) whose tongue spoke clear Arabic was Isma‘īl when he was a fourteen-year old boy.'' [Ash-Shirāzi; classified as Sahīh by Al-Albāni]

When Adam (peace be upon him) died, the angels washed his body with water an odd number of times, which could be one, three, or five times, and dug a hole in the side of the grave and buried him therein. Then they said: "This is the tradition for Adam's children." In other words, the children of Adam should go through the same procedure of washing and burial that their father went through. Indeed, only the guided among Adam's children will abide by this tradition.

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that Labīd ibn al-A‘sam, a Jew from the tribe of Banu Zurayq, cast a spell on the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he imagined that he had done something that he had not. One day, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was in ‘Ā'ishah's house, but he was paying her no attention as he was totally engrossed in supplicating repeatedly to Allah, the Almighty, to reveal to him the reality behind this issue. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told her that Allah, the Almighty, had answered his supplication and sent two angels to him; one of them sat by his head and the other by his feet. One of them said to the other: “What is wrong with this man?” referring to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). The other said: “He is under a magic spell.” He asked: “Who has bewitched him?” The other said: “Labīd ibn al-A’sam.” He asked: “With what?” meaning: what was used to create this magic spell? The other said: “With a comb and the hair stuck in it, and the skin of a male date palm pollen.” He asked: “Where is it?” The other said: “In the well of Dharwān.” This was a well-known well in Madīnah. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) went there with some of his Companions and took it out. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came back and told ‘Ā'ishah that the water of the well was red like a Henna leaf infusion (either because the water of that well itself was bad or due to what had been thrown into it), and the date palms were as hideous and ugly as the heads of devils. ‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: "Should you take it out?" meaning: should you take those things out of the pollen skin and show them to the people so they know what had happened? The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No. Allah has healed me and I was afraid that I would spread evil among the people," meaning: Allah has healed me, and I feared that spreading this among the people might bring evil upon them, as it would attract the hypocrites’ attention to the harm that magic can cause, and may encourage them to learn it to harm the believers. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) gave up this benefit due to fear of its evil consequences. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the well should be filled with earth, and it was. Some people have denied the story of magic being done to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) claiming that it casts doubt upon his infallibility. They argued that, accepting the story means that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) might have imagined that he was seeing Jibrīl when he was not there, and that something had been revealed to him when nothing had been revealed. However, all of this is to be rejected, because the evidence that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was infallible in what he conveyed from Allah, the Almighty, and that he was infallible in his manner of conveying it is well established. The harm that afflicted him due to the magic did not include any deficiency regarding conveying the Message. Rather, it was the sort of illness and troubles that normally afflict human beings. The effect of the magic that was performed on the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was explained in other narration, which stated that he (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) imagined that he had had sexual intercourse with his wives, when he had not done so.

In this Hadīth, Abu Jumu‘ah al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that ten people, including himself and Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal, were accompanying the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and they asked him if there were other Muslims who would acquire greater rewards than theirs (meaning: the Prophet's Companions), arguing that they believed in the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) decisively and followed him firmly. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told them that believing and following him was easier for them because he lived among them and brought them the revelation from heaven. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added that there would be people who would get a greater reward, as they would come after the Companions to find just a book between two covers (the Qur’an), yet they would believe in it and implement its commandments. The meaning is that such Muslims will acquire a reward that is greater than the reward of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) only in this regard, even if the Companions surpassed them in other aspects, such as hard work and dedication in serving Allah and struggling for His cause. Thus, this Hadīth cannot be taken as proof that a Muslim who exists after the time of the Companions is better than the honorable Companions, as earning greater reward for some acts does not ensure absolute superiority. Ahl As-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah believe that Companionship of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is an unparalleled status, and that every Companion is better than any Muslim who comes after the Companions.

Hanzhalah ibn Hidhyam ibn Hanīfah narrates that his grandfather Hanīfah ordered his son Hidhyam to gather his children for him because he wanted to leave a testament before his death. The children gathered, and he told them that the orphan who was in his custody should be given one hundred camels. Before Islam, these camels were called the Mutayyabah, meaning: good camels that people liked for being from among the best camels. Hidhyam told his father that he heard his siblings say that they would approve of their father's will but that they would recant it on his death and would not give the orphan anything. So Hanīfah said that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would judge between them. Hidhyam said that they were fine with the prospective judgment of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings upon him. So Hidhyam; Hanīfah; and Hanzhalah, the son of Hidhyam — escorting his father — went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him. He asked Hanīfah (the father of Hidhyam) what had made him come over to him. Hanīfah pointed to Hidhyam, remarking that he feared that he would die before leaving a testament. He added that the first point of the bequest was that the orphan who was in his custody should be given one hundred camels, which were called, before Islam, the good and favorable ones. On that account, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) became so angry that they discerned that in his face. He changed his sitting position and knelt down. He said that a charity should consist of five camels, or else ten, or else fifteen, or else twenty, or else twenty-five, or else thirty, or else thirty-five, or a maximum of forty. He meant that charity is allowed if it does not exceed the third of one's wealth. They left him, and the orphan had a stick with him wherewith he drove a camel. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remarked that such a stick was too big for an orphan. By this, he meant that the orphan was a man of a big stature, and it was an exaggeration to call him an orphan, for he was not that young. Hanzhalah said that his grandfather drew him closer to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said that he had old bearded sons and younger children, and the youngest of them was Hanzhalah, so he asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to pray for him. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) wiped his head and invoked Allah's blessings on him. Dhayyāl, a narrator of this Hadīth, said that he later saw Hanzhalah being brought a man with a swollen face or a beast with sore udders, so he would spit on his hand; say: Bismillāh" (in the name of Allah); put his hand on his head where the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had put his hand; and then wipe the affected part of the man or beast, and the tumor would disappear.

Prophet Mūsa (Moses)(peace be upon him) was a man of abundant bashfulness. He always loved to cover himself so that his skin would not be seen out of bashfulness. The Children of Israel verbally abused him. They said that he covered himself as such because he had a skin defect like leprosy or scrotal hernia (i.e. a bulging groin), or some other defect or disease. So, Allah wanted to prove to them that Mūsa was not suffering any of that. One day, he was alone, so he put his clothes on a stone and bathed. After the bath, he went to take his clothes but the stone ran with the clothes on it. Mūsa took his staff and ran naked after the stone, asking it to give him his clothes back. While running, he passed by a group of the Children of Israel who saw him naked and saw that he had perfect skin. They knew then that he had no skin defects. Mūsa caught up with the stone and took his clothes and put them on. He then hit the stone with his staff, leaving on it three, four, or five marks. Allah, the Exalted, referred to this incident in the Qur'an, in the following verse: {O you who have believed, be not like those who abused Moses; then Allah cleared him of what they said. And he, in the sight of Allah, was distinguished} [Sūrat al-Ahzāb: 69]. It warns the believers not to abuse Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as the Children of Israel abused Mūsa, who had an honorable status with Allah, the Almighty, and so Allah cleared him of what they had falsely attributed to him.

‘Īsa the Son Maryam (peace be upon him) saw a man stealing. He asked the man if he had stolen. The man swore by Allah that he had not. So ‘Īsa said that he believed in Allah and disbelieved in his own eyes. This means that he believed the man, for he swore by Allah, and ruled out that he ostensibly stole. The man could have taken something that belonged to him, or with its owner's permission, or not meaning to seize it unlawfully, or merely to look into it, etc. This illustrates how much the prophets glorify Allah, the Most High.

It is not permissible for anyone to say that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is better than Yūnus ibn Matta (peace be upon him). Matta was the father, not the mother of Yūnus, who was a noble Prophet. Allah sent him with guidance and light to bring people out from the darkness. Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said this out of modesty, because it is known that he was the best of the children of Adam. He probably said this before knowing that he was the best of all humans. He singled out Yūnus (peace be upon him) because he feared that those who heard his story would discredit him, so he highlighted his merits in order to block such thoughts. His story was narrated by As-Suddi from Ibn Mas‘ūd and others. Allah sent Yūnus to the people of Nineveh in the lands of Mosul. They accused him of lying, so he promised them that a punishment would descend upon them at a certain time and left them in anger. When they saw the consequences of this, they submitted to Allah and believed in Him. So Allah removed the punishment from them. Yūnus set off and boarded a boat. The boat started to sink, so lots were cast and he was taken off the boat and thrown into the water where a whale swallowed him. He called out from within the darknesses: “There is no true deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” Allah responded to him, and ordered the whale to cast him onto the shore, where He grew a gourd vine over him to shade him.

The sun has never been stopped from running in its orbit for any human being except for Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn (the servant of Moses, who traveled with him to Al-Khidr), when he marched to Jerusalem. He feared that the sun would set before he could enter the city on Friday. If the sun had set, he would enter on Saturday, on which fighting was forbidden. So, he said to the sun: ''You are commanded, and so am I. O Allah, hold it (from setting).'' So the sun stopped for him until he entered Jerusalem.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that Dawūd (peace be upon him) used to eat only from the earnings of his labor. He was a craftsman who was good at making shields and other fighting tools. Since the prophets (peace be upon them) used to work and eat from the earnings of their labor, whether that consisted of craftsmanship, agriculture, sheep herding, etc. This is altogether the reason why those who are of a lesser rank are more required to earn through their own labor and avoid the embarrassment of having to ask people for money.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the best group of people living in the same era are the generation of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. Then come those who follow them of the believers who met the Companions but did not meet the Messenger of Allah. Then those who follow them, the followers of the Tābi‘is. The Companion hesitated in mentioning whether the fourth generation was also included. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: After them will come a people who betray and people will not trust them, who testify before being asked to give testimony, who make vows but do not fulfill them, and who indulge excessively in food and drink until obesity becomes widespread among them.