The Book of the Sunnah

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave me as I leave you. Verily, what destroyed those before you was their asking questions and their disagreement with their prophets. So, if I forbid you from something, avoid it; and if I command you with something, do as much of it as you can."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys me has disobeyed Allah; and whoever obeys the leader has obeyed me, and whoever disobeys the leader has disobeyed me."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not write down anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should erase it. But, narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong in doing so. Whoever attributes any falsehood to me - Hammām said: I think he also said 'deliberately' - let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.”

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."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not write down anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should erase it. But, narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong in doing so. Whoever attributes any falsehood to me - Hammām said: I think he also said 'deliberately' - let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.”

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."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not write down anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should erase it. But, narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong in doing so. Whoever attributes any falsehood to me - Hammām said: I think he also said 'deliberately' - let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.”

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not write down anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should erase it. But, narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong in doing so. Whoever attributes any falsehood to me - Hammām said: I think he also said 'deliberately' - let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.”

Al-‘Irbād ibn Sāriyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: One day, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave us an eloquent admonition that caused hearts to become afraid and eyes to shed tears. Someone then said: O Messenger of Allah, this is the admonition of someone who will soon part; so, advise us. He said: "I advise you to fear Allah and to hear and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave. You will see after me great discord. So, hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Caliphs. Bite onto it with the molar teeth. Beware of newly invented matters (in religion), for every newly invented matter is misguidance."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: There was a man who looked after the family and the belongings of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him); he was called Karkara. The man died and the Prophet said: "He is in Hellfire." The people then went to look at him and found in his place a cloak which he had stolen from the war booty.

‘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."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people; rather, He takes away knowledge with the death of the scholars until, when He leaves no scholar behind, the people turn to the ignorant as their leaders. They are asked, so they give religious judgments without knowledge; thus they are led astray and lead others astray.”

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."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man preaching to his brother about modesty; he said: "Modesty is part of faith."

Jundub ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) while we were young men close to maturity. We learned Imān (faith) before we learned the Qur’an; then we learned the Qur’an, and it increased us in faith.

‘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."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "None of you truly believes until I become dearer to him than his father, his children, and all people."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I guide you to something which, if you do, you will love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves."

Sa‘īd ibn Zayd reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed in defense of his wealth is a martyr. Whoever is killed in defense of his family, himself, or his religion is a martyr."

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and pay Zakah; if they do so, they protect their blood and properties from me, except through the right of Islam; and their reckoning is with Allah."

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and pay Zakah; if they do so, they protect their blood and properties from me, except through the right of Islam; and their reckoning is with Allah."

Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmān ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) related to us, and he is the truthful and the trusted one; he said: "The creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days. Then, he becomes a clinging clot for a similar period, then a lump (of flesh) for a similar period. Then, the angel is sent to him, who breathes life into him and is commanded to write down four things: his provision, lifespan, deeds, and whether miserable or happy. By the One other than Whom there is no god, one of you would do the deeds of the people of Paradise until he is only an arm's length away from it, but the predestination overtakes him, causing him to do the deed of the people of Hellfire, and he enters it; and one of you would do the deeds of the people of Hellfire until he is only an arm's length away from it, but the predestination overtakes him, causing him to do the deed of the people of Paradise, and he enters it."

Ibn Ad-Daylami reported: 'I went to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b and said: "There is something in my heart about predestination, so tell me something in the hope that Allah will remove it from my heart." He said: "If you spend the like of Uhud in gold, Allah will not accept it from you until you believe in predestination, and know that what has befallen you would not have missed you and what has missed you would not have befallen you. If you die on other than this, you will be among the people of Hellfire." He added: "Then, I went to ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, and Zayd ibn Thābit, and each of them told me the same thing on the authority of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).''

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Adam and Mūsa debated with each other. Mūsa said to Adam: 'O Adam, you are our father. You did us harm and caused us to get out of Paradise.' Adam said to him: 'O Mūsa, Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for an action which Allah had decreed on me forty years before He created me?' So Adam confuted Mūsa, Adam confuted Mūsa."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar: "These two are the masters of the elderly people of Paradise, from the first ones and the last ones, except the prophets and the messengers."