Yahya bin Ayyub al-Misri from Ubaydullah bin Zahr from Ali bin Yazid from al-Qasim from Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him)

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was with Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and a slave-girl of hers, or a freed slave-woman, came to her with some tharid and said: Eat this, my lady; its fragrance pleased me greatly. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Take it away from me. Then she adjured her by an oath, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said again: Take it away from me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you make her break her oath, its sin will be upon you."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever passes his hand over the head of an orphan, doing so only for the sake of Allah, will have good deeds for every hair his hand passes over. And whoever treats well an orphan in his care, he and I will be in Paradise (as close) as these two (fingers)." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) joined his two fingers together to show it.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood in the mosque in the forenoon (duha), said the takbir three times, and then said: "O Allah, give us rain" (three times), "O Allah, grant us (an abundance of) ghee, milk, fat and meat." At that time no cloud was to be seen in the sky. Then a wind and dust rose up, then clouds gathered, then the sky poured with rain. The people of the markets cried out and ran to the shelters of the mosque and to their homes, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained standing. The roads flowed with water, and we saw that rain on the ends of the hair of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and on his (peace and blessings be upon him) shoulders and upper arms, like pearls. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back, and I too went back, walking in the manner of his (peace and blessings be upon him) walking, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: This is what I tell you about my Lord. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have never seen a year in which ghee, milk, fat and meat were so plentiful that they lay in the roads and hardly anyone could be found to buy them.
Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards the men, forbade them (from prohibited things) and admonished them. Then he turned towards the women, admonished them and warned them sternly about wearing silk and gold. A man from Banu Amir came and said: O Messenger of Allah, it has reached us that you have been stern about wearing silk and gold. By the One who sent you with the truth, I love beauty so much that I wish to have the stitching of this whip of mine made from leopard skin. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is only to reject the truth and to look down on people."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three things are from sorcery: ruqyah (impermissible incantation), tiwalah (a superstitious practice to induce love), and amulets."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): The strap of the sandal of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) broke, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (We belong to Allah and to Him we return)." The people asked: Is this a calamity, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "Whatever causes the believer distress is indeed a calamity."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No man raises his voice in singing except that Allah sends two devils upon him who sit on his two shoulders and keep striking his chest with their heels until he falls silent, whenever he falls silent."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Is any of you fasting today?" They all remained silent, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am, O Messenger of Allah. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Has any of you visited a sick person today?" They all remained silent, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have, O Messenger of Allah. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Has any of you given charity today?" They all remained silent, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have, O Messenger of Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed so much that his laughter became visible, and then he said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, none but a believer gathers all these in a single day, and he will certainly enter Paradise because of them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Four kinds of people have been cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and the angels have said Amin (to it): a man whom Allah made male but who made himself female and imitated women; a woman whom Allah made female but who made herself male and imitated men; the one who leads a blind person astray from the road; and a man who (as a show of false piety, without reason) keeps away from marriage. And Allah did not make anyone (by nature) one who keeps away from marriage except Yahya bin Zakariyya (peace be upon them both)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Mu'adh, a grateful heart, a tongue that remembers (Allah), and a righteous wife who helps you in the affairs of your world and your religion: this is the best of what people can acquire."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most enviable of people in my sight is a believer of light circumstances, who has a good share of prayer, who worships his Lord well and obeys Him in secret, who is obscure among the people, not pointed at with fingers, content and patient with just enough provision." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) snapped his fingers and said: "His death comes quickly, those who weep over him are few, and his inheritance is little."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware of being alone with (unrelated) women. By the One in whose hand is my soul, whenever a man is alone with a woman, Satan comes between them. And for a man to jostle against a pig smeared with mud or filth is better for him than to have his shoulder press against the shoulder of a woman who is not lawful for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Four kinds of people continue to receive their reward after death: one who dies guarding the frontier in the path of Allah; one who taught some knowledge, whose reward continues for as long as it is acted upon; one who gave some charity, whose reward continues for as long as its benefit continues; and a man who leaves behind a righteous child who supplicates for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will pledge allegiance?" Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: On what shall we pledge allegiance? Have we not already pledged allegiance to you once, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "That you will not ask anyone for anything." Sayyiduna Thawban said: What will he get in return for it, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "Paradise." So Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) pledged allegiance. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw him in Makkah amid the crowds of people, riding, when his whip would fall, and sometimes it would land on a man's shoulder. That man would pick it up and hold it out to him, but he would not take it; rather, he would dismount himself and pick it up.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him. Then I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks, and his heart with which he understands. Then, when he calls upon Me, I answer him; when he asks of Me, I give him; and when he seeks My help, I help him. And the most beloved worship with which My servant worships Me is sincerity towards Me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Charity given to a relative has its reward doubled."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "My Lord offered to turn the valley of Makkah into gold for me, but I said: No, O my Lord. Rather, let me be full one day and hungry three days; when I am hungry I will humble myself before You and remember You, and when I am full I will praise You and thank You."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I and the woman with cheeks darkened (by the sun), who is kind to her child, obeys her Lord, and guards her chastity, will be in Paradise (as close) as these two (fingers)." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) joined his two fingers together.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When Iblis was sent down to the earth, he said: O Lord, You have sent me down to the earth and made me accursed" or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) described it "so appoint a house for me. He said: The bathhouses. He said: Appoint a gathering place for me. He said: The markets and the places where roads meet. He said: Appoint some food for me. He said: That over which the name of Allah is not mentioned. He said: Appoint some drink for me. He said: Every intoxicant. He said: Appoint a mu'adhdhin (caller) for me. He said: Musical pipes. He said: Appoint for me something to stand in place of the Qur'an. He said: Poetry. He said: Appoint a writing for me. He said: Tattooing (drawing marks on the body). He said: Appoint speech for me. He said: Lying. He said: Appoint some snares for me. He said: Women."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was among the most smiling of people and the best-natured of them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you goes to his wife, let him not forget to say: 'Bismillah (In the name of Allah); O Allah, keep me and what You have granted me away from the accursed Satan.' Then, if it is decreed that a child is born to them, Satan will never harm it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will surely lower your gazes, and guard your private parts, and keep your faces upright, or else your faces will be darkened."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you goes to his wife, let him not fail to say: 'In the name of Allah. O Allah, keep me and what You have granted me away from Satan the accursed.' Then, if it is decreed that a child be born to the two of them, Satan will never harm it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No Muslim casts an involuntary first glance at a woman and then lowers his gaze, except that Allah creates for him an act of worship whose sweetness he will feel."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man from the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) were with him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: So-and-so sowed a crop and its yield doubled, or words to that effect. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is that? Two light rak'ahs are better for you than all of that, than the world and all that is on it. And if you did what you have been commanded, you would eat without tilling crops and without toiling."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting and a woman was with him (peace and blessings be upon him), when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "I think that you women tell what your husbands do with you (in marital relations)." She said: Yes, by Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah, we even take pride in it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Never do that, for Allah is intensely angry with the one who does it."
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "I think that when the husband of one of you comes to her, the two of them throw off the quilt and each looks at the other's private parts as though they were two donkeys." She said: Yes, by Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, we do that. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do that, for Allah is intensely angry at it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three stones purify the believer, and water too is a purifier."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The tooth-stick (miswak) purifies the mouth and is pleasing to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whenever Jibril came to me, he always commanded me to use the tooth-stick (miswak), until I feared that I would wear away the front of my mouth."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with her), and she offered him (peace and blessings be upon him) meat on the bone and placed it before him (peace and blessings be upon him), then she offered another piece and placed it before him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ate. Then the mu'adhdhin came and said: Ablution, ablution! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ablution is required of us only because of what comes out (of the body), not because of what goes in (to the body)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you enters the toilet, let him not fail to say: 'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the filth, the impurity, the wicked and the corrupting one, Satan the accursed.'"

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was the people's practice that when a man entered the mosque and found them praying, he would ask the one beside him, who would tell him how much of the prayer he had missed so that he could make it up; then he would stand and pray with them. Then one day Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and the people signalled to him that he had missed such and such of the prayer, but he refused to pray (it first himself); he prayed (with the imam), and then afterwards he prayed what he had missed. When this was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Mu'adh has done well, so you too do as he did."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A slave girl of Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) was grazing goats, and one of the goats was on the point of death, so she broke off a stone of marwah (flint) and slaughtered it with it. Then she brought it to Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him, and he said to her: Take it, just as it is, to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Did you cut the jugular veins?" She said: Yes. He said: "Whatever cuts the veins (suffices for slaughter), except biting with a tooth or tearing with a nail."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been sent as a mercy and guidance to all the worlds, to wipe out idols, musical instruments, flutes and the affairs of the Jahiliyyah."
Then he said: "Whoever drinks wine in this world, Allah will give him to drink from the boiling water of Hell, whether He punishes him or forgives him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever intercedes for his brother in some matter, and is then given a gift for it and accepts it, has stepped into one of the great doors of usury (riba)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who visits the sick wades in mercy," and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hands on his knees, then said: "When he sits with him, mercy covers him. Part of the complete visiting of the sick is that one of you places his hand on his face or on his hand and asks him how he is, and the completion of your love for one another is shaking hands."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not lawful to buy or sell singing slave girls, nor to trade in them, and their price is unlawful," and he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "And among the people is he who buys idle talk to lead (people) astray from the path of Allah without knowledge" [Surah Luqman: 6].

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Four (kinds of people) will be given their reward twice: the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), whoever of the People of the Book accepts Islam, a man who had a slave woman who pleased him, so he freed her and then married her, and a slave who fulfils the right of Allah and the right of his masters."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man began to pray alone, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Will no man give charity to this one?" So a man stood up and joined him in the prayer, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "These two are a congregation."