Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are definite verses, which are the foundation of the Book, while others are ambiguous. Those with deviant hearts follow the ambiguous verses, seeking discord and seeking their [false] interpretation. But no one knows their [true] interpretation except Allah. And those who are well-grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it. It is all from our Lord." None will take heed except people of understanding} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 7]. Then, he said: "If you see those who follow the ambiguous verses, they are those whom Allah has named; so, beware of them."

Abu Najīh al-‘Irbād ibn Sāriyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave us an exhortation at which hearts trembled and eyes shed tears. So we said: O Messenger of Allah, it is as though this is the exhortation of one bidding farewell; so advise us. He said: "I advise you to fear Allah, and to listen and obey even if a slave is appointed as your leader. Whosoever among you shall live after me will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and cling to them firmly. Beware of new things (in religion) because every religious innovation is a misguidance."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ruined are the extremists." He said it thrice.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever calls to guidance shall receive a reward similar to the rewards obtained by those who followed him without diminishing anything from their rewards. And whoever calls to misguidance shall incur a sin similar to the sins incurred by those who followed him without diminishing anything from their sins."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I saw, in a dream tonight, a cloud from which butter and honey were dribbling; and I saw people collecting from these with their hands, some getting much and some little. And there was a rope extending from the earth to the sky, and I saw that you (the Prophet) held it and went up, and then another man held it and went up, and then another held it and went up. Thereafter, another man held it, but it was cut and then got connected again. Abu Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, I ransom you with my father, I ask you by Allah to let me interpret this dream." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, 'Interpret it.' Abu Bakr said: "The cloud is Islam. The butter and honey dribbling from it are the Qur’an. Its sweetness dribbles, and people take much or little from it. The rope which extends from the sky to the earth is the truth which you (the Prophet) are upon. You follow it and Allah raises you high, and then another man follows it and rises up because of it, and another person follows it, and then another man follows it but [the rope] is cut, and then it is connected for him and he rises up with it. O Messenger of Allah, I ransom you with my father, am I right or wrong?' The Prophet replied: "You are right about some of it and wrong about some." Abu Bakr said: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, tell me about what I was wrong." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not swear."

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them." ‘Imrān said: I do not know whether the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned two or three generations. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Verily, after you, there will come people who will betray and will not be trustworthy, testify without being called to give testimony, make vows but not fulfill them, and obesity will be widespread among them."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not revile my Companions, for if anyone of you spends gold equal to Mount ’Uhud (in Allah's cause), it will not be equal to a Mudd or even half a Mudd spent by one of them."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be please with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not proper for a servant of Allah to say: “I am better than Yūnus ibn Matta." And he linked him to his father.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be please with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not proper for a servant of Allah to say: “I am better than Yūnus ibn Matta." And he linked him to his father.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Faith has over seventy branches - or over sixty branches - the most excellent of which is the declaration that 'lā ilāha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah)', and the lowest of which is the removal of what is harmful from the way; and modesty is a branch of faith."

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: "What stands between a man and polytheism and disbelief is the abandonment of the prayers."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most perfect believer in terms of his faith is the one who has the most excellent manners, and the best of you are those who are best to their womenfolk."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are four things; whoever has them is a hypocrite, and if one has a trait of them, he has a trait of hypocrisy until he gives it up: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; when he quarrels, he acts immorally; and when he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous."

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One day, we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and had very black hair. No traces of travel were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He came in and sat down opposite the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), rested his knees against his, and placed the palms of his hands on his (the Prophet's) thighs. He said: "O Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to pay Zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way thereto." He said: "You have spoken the truth." We wondered how he asked him and affirmed his truthfulness. Then, he said: "Tell me about Imān (faith)." He said: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and believe in the divine decree, the pleasant and unpleasant aspects thereof." Then, he said: "You have spoken the truth." Then, he said: "Tell me about ihsān." He said: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you." He said: "Tell me about the Hour." He said: "The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner." He said: "Then, tell me about its signs." He said: "The slave girl will give birth to her mistress, and you will see the barefoot, naked, and destitute herdsmen competing in constructing lofty buildings." Then, he departed. I stayed for a while, and then he said to me: "O 'Umar, do you know who the questioner was?" I said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "He was Jibrīl (Gabriel). He came to teach you your religion."