‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “Pass on information from me, even if it is only a verse of the Qur’an; and relate traditions from the Bani Isra'il, for there is no restriction; but let him who deliberately lies against me come to his abode in hell.”
Bukhari transmitted it.
Samura b. Jundub and al-Mughira b. Shu'ba reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone relates a tradition from me thinking that
it is false, he is one of the liars.” Muslim transmitted it.
Mu'awiya reported God’s messenger as saying, “When God wishes
good for anyone He instructs him in the religion. I am only a distributor; God gives.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)
Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, “Men are of
different origins just as gold and silver are; the best among them in
the pre-Islamic period are the best among them in Islam when they are
versed in the religion.” Muslim transmitted it.
Narrated Ibn Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “Two people only
may be envied:
a man to whom God has given property, empowering
him to dispose of it on what is right; and a man to whom God has given
wisdom who acts according to it and teaches it.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
Narrated Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “When a man
dies no further reward is recorded for his actions, with three exceptions:
sadaqa which continues to be supplied, or knowledge from which benefit
continues to be reaped, or the prayers of a good son for his dead father.”
Muslim transmitted it.
He also reported God’s messenger as saying, “ If anyone removes
one of the anxieties of this world from a believer, God will remove one
of the anxieties of the day of resurrection from him; if one smooths
the way for one who is destitute, God will smooth the way for him in
this world and the next; and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim,
God will conceal his faults, in this world and the next. God helps a
man as long as he helps his brother. If anyone pursues a path in
search of knowledge, God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise. No company will gather in a mosque to recite God’s Book and
study it together without calmness descending on them, mercy covering
them, the angels surrounding them, and God mentioning them among
those who are with Him. But he who is made slow by his actions will
not be speeded by his genealogy.” Muslim transmitted it.
He also reported God’s messenger as saying, “The first person to
be judged on the day of resurrection will be a man who died as a martyr.
He will be brought forward, and after God has reminded him of the
favour He showed him and the man acknowledges it, He will ask,
‘What did you do to show gratitude for it?’ The man will reply, ‘I
fought for Thy cause till I was martyred.’ God will say, ‘You lie. You
fought 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 has acquired and taught
knowledge and read the Qur’an will be brought forward, and after God
has reminded him of the favour He showed him and the man acknowledges
it, He will ask, ‘What did you do to show gratitude for it?’ The man
will reply, ‘I acquired and taught knowledge and read the Qur’an for
Thy sake.’ God will say, 'You lie. You acquired knowledge that people
might call you learned, and you read the Qur’an that they might call
you a reader, 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 God has made affluent and whom He has given all kinds
of property will be brought forward, and after God has reminded him
of the favour He showed him and the man acknowledges it, He will ask,
‘What did you do to show gratitude for it?’ The man will reply, ‘I
have not neglected to give liberally for Thy sake to all the causes
approved by Thee for this purpose.’ God will say, ‘You lie. You did
it 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 transmitted it.
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “God does
not take away knowledge by removing it from men, but takes it away
by taking away the learned, so that when He leaves no learned man, men
will take ignorant men as leaders. Causes will be presented to them
and they will pass judgement without knowledge, erring and leading
others into error.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)
Shaqiq said that ‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud used to exhort the people
every Thursday. A man said, “ I wish, Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahman , that you
would give us a daily exhortation.” He replied, “My dislike of wearying you prevents me from that, so I am considerate in my exhortations
to you as God’s messenger was to us for fear of causing us aversion.”
(Bukhari and Muslim.)
Anas said that when the Prophet made a statement he repeated it
three times so that it would be understood, and that when he met a company and gave them a salutation he did it three times. Bukhari
transmitted it.
Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari told of a man who came to the Prophet and
said, “My camel has become jaded, so give me a mount.” On his replying that he had none, a man said, “Messenger of God, I can guide him
to one who will give him a mount.” God’s messenger then said, “He
who guides to what is good will have a reward equivalent to that of him
who does it.” Muslim transmitted it.
One early morning when they were with God’s messenger some people came to him who were scantily clad, wearing striped
woollen garments,* with swords over their shoulders; most, nay all of
them, belonging to Mudar. God’s messenger showed signs of anger on
his face because of the poverty-stricken state in which he saw them,
and went in. After a little he came out and gave orders to Bilal who
uttered the call to prayer and announced that the time to begin prayer
had come. When the Prophet had prayed, he delivered an address in
which he said, “ ‘Fear your Lord, people, who created you from one
soul . . . God watches over you.’ ‘Fear God, and let a soul look to
what it has sent forward for the morrow. Let a man give sadaqa
from his dinars and dirhams, his clothing, his sa‘ of wheat and sa‘ of
dates, even if it is only half a date.” Jarir said: One of the Ansar
brought a purse which was almost too big for his hand to hold, indeed
it was too big. Then people came one after the other till I saw two
mounds of food and clothing, with the result that I saw the face of God’s
messenger glowing as if it were golden. He then said, “If anyone establishes a good sunna in Islam he will have a reward for it and the
equivalent of the rewards of those who act upon it after him, without
theirs being diminished in any respect; but he who establishes a bad
sunna in Islam will bear the responsibility of it and the responsibility
of those who act upon it after him, without theirs being diminished in
any respect.” Muslim transmitted it.
*[The text has an-nimar au al-'aba, thus giving an alternative word. This is not indicated in
the translation above.]
Ibn Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “No life is taken
unjustly without a portion of its blood being laid at the door of Adam’s
first son, because he was the first to introduce murder.” (Bukhari and
Muslim). We shall mention the tradition from Mu'awiya, “A section of
my people will continue .. .”* in the chapter on the reward of this
people, if God will.
*Book XXV, Chap. xli. The wording is slightly different.
Kathir b. Qais told how, when he was sitting with Abu Darda' in
the mosque of Damascus, a man came to him and said, “Abu Darda',
I have come to you from the town of the Messenger for a tradition I have
heard that you relate from God's messenger. I have come for no other
purpose.” He replied that he had heard God’s messenger say, “ If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge God will cause him to
travel on one of the roads of paradise, the angels will lower their wings
from good pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, and the inhabitants
of the heavens and the earth and the fish in the depth of the water will
ask forgiveness for him. The superiority of the learned man over the
devout man is like that of the moon on the night when it is full over the
rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the prophets who leave
neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who accepts it
accepts an abundant portion.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah
and Darimi transmitted it, Tirmidhi calling Him Qais b. Kathir.
Two men, one learned and the
other devout, were mentioned to God’s messenger, who then said, “The
superiority of the learned man over the devout man is like mine over
the most contemptible among you,” adding, “God, His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole and even
the fish invoke blessings on him who teaches men what is good.”
Tirmidhi transmitted it.
Darimi transmitted it from Makhul in mursal
form, but did not mention the two men. He said, “The superiority of
the learned man over the devout man is like mine over the most contemptible among you.” Then he recited this verse, “Only those of His
servants who are learned fear God," (35:28) 1 then went on with the tradition to
the end.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported God’s messenger as saying, “ People
will follow you, and men will come to you from all regions of the earth
seeking understanding about the religion; so when they come to you,
give them good counsel.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.
Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, “A word which
contains wisdom is the stray beast* of the wise man, so wherever he finds
it he is most entitled to it.” Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it,
Tirmidhi saying that this is a gharib tradition and that Ibrahim b. al-Fadl the transmitter is declared to be weak in tradition.
*i.e. something to be sought.
Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s messenger as saying, “One faqih has
more power over the devil than a thousand devout men.” Tirmidhi and
Ibn Majah transmitted it.
Anas reported God’s messenger as saying, “The search for knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim, but he who commits it to
those who are unworthy of it is like one who puts necklaces of jewels,
pearls and gold on swine.” Ibn Majah transmitted it. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman up to the word “Muslim”, saying that this
is a tradition whose text is well known but whose isnad is weak, it being
transmitted by many ways all of which are weak.
