Zuhd and Softening of Hearts

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The dead person is followed by three: His family, his wealth and his deeds. Then two of them return: His family and his wealth, and there remain only his deeds."

‘Amr ibn ‘Awf al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāh to Bahrain to collect the Jizyah (yearly tax), and he returned from Bahrain with money. The Ansār heard the news of Abu ‘Ubaydah's return and they gathered for the Fajr prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). After he had prayed and left, the Ansār presented themselves before him. When he saw them, he smiled and said: "I believe you heard that Abu ‘Ubaydah has returned from Bahrain with something." They replied: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Rejoice, and hope for that which will please you. By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you. What I fear for you is that the world expands (with lots of wealth) for you just as it did for the people before you. Then you will compete as they competed, then it will destroy you just as it destroyed them."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: ''There were three (men) from the Children of Israel: a leper, a bald-headed, and a blind. Allah wanted to test them, so He sent to them an angel. The angel went to the leper and said: 'Which thing do you like most?' He said: 'A good color, fine skin, and to get rid of what makes me disgusting in the eyes of people.' He wiped over his body, so his illness went away and he was given a good color and fine skin. He (the angel) said: 'Which wealth do you like most?' He said: 'Camels, or cows (the sub-narrator Is'hāq was in doubt).' So he was given a she-camel in an advanced stage of pregnancy, and he (the angel) said: 'May Allah bless it for you.' Then he went to the bald-headed man and said: 'Which thing do you like most?' He said: 'Good hair, and to get rid of what makes me disgusting in the eyes of people.' He wiped over his head, so his condition went away and he was given good hair. Then the angel said: 'Which wealth do you like most?' He said: 'Cows or camels.' So, he was given a pregnant cow and the angel said: 'May Allah bless it for you.' Then he went to the blind man and said: 'Which thing do you like most?' He said: 'That Allah restores to me my eyesight so that I can see people.' He wiped over his eyes, so Allah restored to him his eyesight. Then the angel said: 'Which wealth do you like most?' He said: 'Sheep.' So he was given a pregnant ewe. The three then had offspring from the ones given to them: one had a valley of camels, the second a valley of cows, and the third a valley of sheep. Later, the angel went to the leper in his (past) appearance and said: 'I am a poor person, and I am running out of provision in my journey, so I cannot reach my destination except with the help of Allah and then your favor. I ask you by the One Who gave you good color, fine skin and wealth to give me one camel to carry me in my journey.' He said: 'I have many rights to fulfill.' Thereupon, he (the angel) said: 'It seems to me that I know you. Were you not a leper whom people found disgusting, and a poor man then Allah gave you wealth?' He said: 'I have inherited this wealth from my forefathers.' Thereupon, the angel said: 'If you are lying, may Allah change you to your past condition.' He then went in his (past) appearance to the bald-headed man and said to him the same as what he had said to the leper, and he replied to him in the same way the leper did. So, the angel said: 'If you are lying, may Allah change you to your past condition.' Then he went in his (past) appearance to the blind man and said: 'I am a poor man and a wayfarer. My provisions have run short in my journey, and today there is no way to reach my destination except with the help of Allah and then with your help. So, I ask you by the One Who restored to you your eyesight to give me one sheep by which I should be able to make provisions for the journey.' The man said: 'I was blind and Allah restored to me my eyesight. You may take whatever you like and leave whatever you like. By Allah, I shall not stand in your way today for what you take in the name of Allah.' Thereupon, the angel said: 'Keep your property. The fact is that the three of you were put to test. Now, Allah is pleased with you and is displeased with your two companions.'"

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), reported: The family of Muhammad (ﷺ) never ate their fill of wheat bread for three consecutive nights from the time he arrived in Madīnah until he passed away.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: We passed with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) by Al-Hijr, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "Do not enter the dwellings of those who have wronged themselves, unless you are weeping, lest what befell them should befall you." Then he urged and hastened, leaving it behind.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who looks after a widow or a needy person is like one who performs Jihad in the cause of Allah, or one who regularly observes voluntary prayer at night and fasting during the day."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One may utter a word thoughtlessly and, as a result of this, he will fall down into Hellfire for a distance greater than the distance between the east and the west."

Osāmah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that it was said to him: "Why do you not visit ‘Uthmān and talk to him?" He replied: "Do you think that I do not talk to him except that I make you hear? By Allah, I talked to him privately, without beginning something I do not like to be the first to begin; and I do not say to my ruler "You are the best among people" after I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown into Hellfire, and his intestines will slip out and he will go around by them like a donkey goes around a millstone. The dwellers of Hellfire will gather around him and say: 'So-and-so, what is the matter with you? Did you not use to command us to do right and forbid us from doing wrong?' He will reply: 'Yes, I used to command what is right, but I would not do it myself, and I used to forbid doing what is wrong, but I fall into it myself''"

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "All of my Ummah may be forgiven except those who commit sin openly. One kind of committing sin openly is when one commits something during the night, then the morning comes and Allah has screened it, but he says: 'O So-and-so, last night, I did such-and-such.' Though he spent the night screened by his Lord (none knowing about his sin), in the morning he removes Allah's screen from himself."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yawning inside the prayer is from the devil, so if anyone of you yawns, let him suppress it as much as he can."

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man praising another and exaggerating in his praise, whereupon he said: ‘You have ruined - or cut - the man's back.

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 tells a lie about me intentionally, let him take his seat in Hellfire."