Musnad of Abdullah bin Mas'ud

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he (peace and blessings be upon him) went to relieve himself, and he said: "Find three stones for me." I found only two stones and a piece of dung. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the two stones but returned the piece of dung and said: "This is filth."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say the takbir at every lowering and rising and at every standing and sitting (in the prayer), and he would give the salam to his right and his left, saying 'As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah' (Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah), until the whiteness of his blessed cheek could be seen; and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) also used to do the same."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Abdullah bin Ma'qil (may Allah have mercy on him) came to him together with his father, and his father asked: "Did you hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, 'Remorse is repentance'?" He replied: "Yes."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) which sin is the greatest in the sight of Allah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That you set up a rival and partner to Allah, while it is He who created you." I said: Surely that is a very great sin. Then I asked: Which after that? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That you kill your child for fear that he will eat with you." I said: Then which sin after that? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That you commit adultery with your neighbour's wife."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that some people said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Will we also be held accountable for the deeds we did in the time of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever among you shows righteousness and good conduct after accepting Islam will not be held accountable for what he did in the time of Ignorance; and whoever does evil (even after accepting Islam) will be called to account for his deeds of both periods, Ignorance and Islam."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you are three, let two not converse privately, leaving out the third, until you mingle with other people, because that grieves him. And let no woman have (bare) bodily contact with another woman and then describe her to her husband as though he were looking at her."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that at the Battle of Hunayn the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave some people preference over others in the distribution of the spoils (to win their hearts). He (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Sayyiduna Aqra' bin Habis (may Allah be pleased with him) a hundred camels, and likewise gave Sayyiduna Uyaynah (may Allah be pleased with him) the same number, and he also favoured some other nobles of the Arabs and gave them precedence in that distribution. At this a man said: "By Allah! This is a distribution in which justice has not been observed, nor has the pleasure of Allah been sought in it." Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said (to myself): "By Allah! I will certainly inform the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of this." So I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him (peace and blessings be upon him) what the man had said. On hearing this, the colour of his blessed face changed until it became like deep red dye. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If the Messenger of Allah does not act justly, then who will act justly?" And he further said: "May Allah have mercy on Musa (peace be upon him); he was harmed with more than this, yet he was patient." Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: (Seeing this situation) I said: "Certainly, after this incident I will never convey any such thing to him (peace and blessings be upon him) again."

It is narrated from Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Today a man came to me and asked me about a matter such that I did not know what reply to give him. He said: What do you say about a man who fulfils his duties and goes out on military expeditions, energetic and strong, and then (the commanders) impose on us things which we see no way to avoid? Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said to him: By Allah! I do not know what to say to you, except that 'we used to be with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and often he (peace and blessings be upon him) would command us to do something only once and we would (promptly) carry it out.' And any one of you will remain in goodness as long as he keeps the fear of Allah; and when he has a doubt in himself about something, he should ask someone (of knowledge) who will satisfy him (with a sound answer); and the time is near when you will not find such a (guiding) man. By the One besides whom there is no god worthy of worship! What has passed of this world seems to me only like a pool whose clear, pure water has been drunk and only its murky dregs remain."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When praying behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to say: Peace be upon so-and-so. Then one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: 'Indeed, Allah Himself is al-Salam (Peace). So when any one of you sits in the prayer (in the sitting position), let him say: 'At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibatu, as-salamu 'alayka ayyuhan-nabiyyu wa rahmatullah, salamun 'alayna wa 'ala 'ibadillahis-salihin' (All verbal, physical and financial acts of worship are for Allah alone. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah. Peace be upon us and upon all the righteous servants of Allah), (he (peace and blessings be upon him) said that when the servant says these words, they reach every righteous servant of Allah in the heavens and the earth), (then let him say) 'Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh' (I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger). After that he may choose to make whatever supplication he wishes according to his need.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How evil it is for any of you to say: I have forgotten such-and-such a verse; rather, the truth is that he has been made to forget it (because of negligence). So keep revising and repeating the Noble Qur'an, for it escapes from people's breasts faster than camels tied with their ropes break loose and run away."

It is narrated from Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to admonish and exhort people every Thursday. A man said to him: "O Abu Abd al-Rahman! Would that you exhorted us every day!" He said: "In fact, what keeps me from that is the fear that I might weary you. I take care of your conditions and times in giving admonition, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to take care of our times in giving admonition, for fear of boredom coming upon us."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise; and a man keeps speaking the truth until he is written with Allah as a siddiq (very truthful). And indeed, lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire (of Hell); and a man keeps lying until he is written with Allah as a kadhdhab (great liar)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I certainly know the person who will be the last to come out of Hell and the last to enter Paradise. He will be a man who comes out of Hell crawling on his knees and hands. Allah Almighty will say to him: 'Go and enter Paradise.' He will come to Paradise and will imagine that it is full (of people). Allah Almighty will say again: 'Go, enter Paradise, for you have (blessings) equal to ten times the world.' The man will say (in astonishment): 'Are You mocking me, or he said: are You laughing at me, while You are the (true) King?'" (Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) Then I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laugh (while describing that man's state) so much that his molar teeth became visible. And it used to be said: "He will be the lowest in rank among the people of Paradise."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked who are the best of people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The people of my generation are the best, then those who come after them, then those who come after them. After that there will come people, the testimony of one of whom will precede his oath, and his oath will outstrip his testimony." Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "When we were small children, our elders used to forbid us from making covenants and giving testimonies."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "May Allah curse the women who tattoo and those who have themselves tattooed, those who remove hair from the face or eyebrows, and those who make artificial gaps between their teeth for beauty; they all alter the creation of Allah." The narrator says that this reached a woman of Banu Asad called Umm Ya'qub, who was a reciter of the Qur'an. She came to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: I have been told that you have cursed the women who tattoo, those who have themselves tattooed, those who pluck their eyebrows, and those who make gaps between their teeth for beauty, who change the form created by Allah? He replied: "Why should I not curse the one whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed, while this ruling is also in the Book of Allah?" The woman said: I have read the whole Qur'an, yet I did not find this anywhere in it. At this Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If you had read it (carefully), you would certainly have found this ruling. Have you not read this verse: 'And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it'?" The woman said: I think that some traces of these (forbidden things) are present in your own wife. He said: "Go and see for yourself." So she went to his wife but saw no such thing there. When she came back and said that she had seen nothing there, Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Listen! Had she been like that, she would not have remained with us (in marriage)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once led a prayer (Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I do not remember whether (Sayyiduna Abdullah said that) there was an addition in the prayer or a shortfall). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) had given the salam, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Has something new occurred in the rulings of the prayer?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "No, but what is the matter?" The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: "You have prayed such-and-such." On hearing this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) folded his blessed feet, turned towards the qiblah, and performed two prostrations (of forgetfulness), and then gave the salam. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) had given the salam, he turned towards us and said: "Had any new ruling been revealed concerning the prayer, I would certainly have informed you of it. But the truth is that I too am only a human being like you; I forget just as you forget, so when I forget, remind me. And when any one of you has a doubt in his prayer (about the number of rak'ahs and the like), let him aim for what is correct and complete his prayer on that basis, then give the salam, and after that perform two prostrations."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is not one of you but a companion (qarin) from among the jinn has been assigned to him." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Is it so with you as well? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, with me as well, but Allah Almighty helped me against him and he submitted, so now he advises me only to do good."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O assembly of women! Give charity, even if it be from your jewellery, for you make up the majority of the people of Hell." At this a woman, who was not from the noble class of women, said: O Messenger of Allah, why are we the majority of the people of Hell? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Because you curse a great deal and are ungrateful to your husbands."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the people turning away (from the truth) and turning their backs, he (peace and blessings be upon him) invoked against them: 'Allahumma sab'un ka-sab'i Yusuf' (O Allah, afflict them with seven years like the seven years (of famine in the time) of Yusuf (peace be upon him)). So they were seized by such a severe famine that it wiped out everything, until the people began eating the flesh of dead animals, hides and carcasses, and the severity of the hunger was such that whenever one of them looked towards the sky he would see something like smoke. Then Abu Sufyan came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! You command obedience to Allah and the upholding of family ties, while your people are perishing (from starvation), so pray to Allah for them." Then Allah Almighty revealed these verses: "Then wait for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke," up to the words of Allah Almighty: "Indeed, We will take retribution."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who consumes usury (riba) and the one who gives it to be consumed." Mughirah (may Allah have mercy on him) relates that when Shibak (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this to Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), he said that we had asked Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) about it, and he narrated this report to us on the authority of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). At this I (Ibrahim, may Allah have mercy on him) asked: Does it also mention the two witnesses to the usury and its scribe (the one who writes it)? He replied: "We only narrate what we have heard (from our teachers)."

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) relates that Hunayy al-Dabbi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We met Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) at a time when Ziyad had mutilated a man (cut off his limbs) and crucified him. Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) asked us: "Why have these people gathered?" I said: Ziyad has mutilated a man. At this he said that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as far as I think, that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the matter of killing, the most restrained of people and those furthest from excess are the people of faith."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The child belongs to the one on whose bed it was born, and for the fornicator there is deprivation."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I were to take anyone from the people of the earth as my khalil (intimate friend), I would have taken Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafah as my khalil; but this companion of yours (meaning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself) is the khalil of Allah. And indeed the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf (modes); each of its verses has an outer meaning and an inner meaning, and every limit (of the Shari'ah) has a point of access (a place of awareness and understanding)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Recite (the Qur'an) to me." I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Shall I recite it to you when it is from you that I learned it? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, I love to hear it from someone other than myself." So I began reciting Surah al-Nisa' before him (peace and blessings be upon him) until, when I reached this blessed verse: "So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness, and We bring you as a witness over these people?", tears began to flow from his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed eyes.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked ten habits: wearing a gold ring; letting the lower garment hang (below the ankles); using yellow, meaning khaluq (a saffron perfume); changing grey hair (according to the narrator Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him), this means plucking out white hairs); performing ruqyah (incantation) by any means other than the Mu'awwidhatayn; tying on amulets; playing with dice (gaming pieces); displaying adornment and beautification in other than its proper place (before non-mahram men); diverting the semen from its place (that is, practising coitus interruptus, 'azl); and harming a child (by intercourse during the period of nursing), although he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not declare it absolutely forbidden."

It is narrated from Abu al-Kanud (may Allah have mercy on him) that he related: "On the Day of Mihran I overpowered a man from among the chiefs of the Persians. I handed over his spoils to the ruler of the time, but I kept a gold ring of his for myself, and it had already been seen on my hand. I said (to myself): When I go out to the lands of the non-Arabs and I am in need of something, this is something that will be current (and profitable) there. Then I came to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) while the ring was on my hand. He asked: "What is this ring?" So I told him the whole story. He took the ring from me, put it in his mouth and chewed it, then threw it back to me and said: "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the use of the gold ring.""

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Abdullah bin Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) heard him say: "Your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been given knowledge of everything (apart from five things), except for those five keys of the unseen mentioned in this verse: 'Indeed, with Allah alone is the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs; and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): We asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the pace of walking with a funeral, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The pace of a funeral should be somewhat less than a trot, for if he (the deceased) is righteous, you are hastening him towards good; and if he is other than that, then ruin and remoteness are for the people of the Fire. The funeral is to be followed, and he is not one of us who walks ahead of it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he related: "The first man among the Muslims whose hand was cut off was a man from the Ansar. He was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and it was said that he had stolen. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take this companion of yours away and cut off his hand." (After giving this order,) the colour of the blessed face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) changed from the intensity of grief and sorrow as though ashes had been thrown on it. One of those sitting with him (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Messenger of Allah, it seems that this matter has weighed heavily upon you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And you should not be helpers of Satan, or of Iblis. Indeed, it is not proper for any person in authority (a ruler) that a case of a hadd (prescribed punishment) is brought to him and he does not carry it out; and Allah Almighty Himself is Pardoning and loves pardon." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: 'And let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon after me there will be selfish preference (that is, depriving people of their rights and favouring one's own) and matters which you will disapprove of (for being contrary to the Shari'ah)." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What do you command whoever among us lives to see that time? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fulfil the right that is due from you, and ask Allah Almighty for your own right."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the truthful and the one confirmed as truthful (through divine revelation), said: "The creation of each one of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days (as a drop), then he remains a clinging clot for a like period, then he remains a lump of flesh for a like period. Then Allah Almighty sends an angel with the command to write four things: his provision, his deeds, his lifespan, and whether he is wretched or fortunate. By the One in whose Hand is my soul! One of you keeps doing the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is only an arm's length between him and Paradise; then the decree that was written for him beforehand overtakes him, so he begins doing the deeds of the people of Hell and enters it. And one of you keeps doing the deeds of the people of Hell until there is only an arm's length between him and Hell; then the prior writing overtakes him, and he begins doing the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a cave when Surah "By those sent forth in succession" (al-Mursalat) was revealed to him (peace and blessings be upon him). We began learning it directly from his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed mouth, and his blessed tongue was still moist with its recitation, when suddenly a snake appeared. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered: "Kill it." The narrator says: We rushed towards it to kill it, but it escaped before we could reach it. At this the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was protected from your harm, and you were protected from its harm."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that when this blessed verse was revealed: "Those who believe and do not mix their faith with injustice," it weighed very heavily upon the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they said: "Which of us has not mixed his faith with some injustice?" Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It does not mean what you think. Have you not heard the saying of Sayyiduna Luqman (peace be upon him): 'Indeed, associating partners (with Allah) is a tremendous injustice'?"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "A man from the People of the Book came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Indeed Allah Almighty holds the heavens on one finger, the earths on one finger, the mountains and the trees on one finger, the water and the moist soil on one finger, and all of creation on one finger; then He will say: 'I am the King.' Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled so broadly that his (peace and blessings be upon him) molar teeth became visible. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this noble verse: 'And they did not esteem Allah with the esteem that is His due, while on the Day of Resurrection the whole earth will be within His grip, and the heavens will be folded in His Right Hand.' The narrator says: I asked Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Did this incident take place in this world, or is it a mention of the Hereafter? He replied: It took place in this world."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): We were sitting in the mosque on the night of Friday when suddenly a man from the Ansar came in and said: "If a man finds another man with his wife, then if he speaks of it, you will flog him (for slander); if he kills him, you will kill him (in retaliation); and if he stays silent, he will stay silent in a state of intense rage. By Allah, I will certainly ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this." So when the next day came, he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "If a man finds a stranger with his wife, then if he opens his mouth, you will flog him; or if he kills, you will kill him; or he stays silent with rage?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said in supplication: 'Allahumma iftah' (O Allah, give a decision in this matter), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept on supplicating until these verses of li'an (mutual cursing) were revealed: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves," to the end of the verses. Then that man himself was put to this very trial before the people. So he and his wife came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the two of them invoked curses on each other (performed li'an). The man testified four times, swearing by Allah, that he was certainly among the truthful, then the fifth time he said that the curse of Allah be upon him if he was a liar. Then when the woman was about to perform li'an, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) warned her, saying: "Mah" (Stop, and fear the consequence). But she too performed li'an. When the two of them turned away, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps this woman will give birth to a black child with curly hair." And indeed she gave birth to just such a black, curly-haired child.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Whom do you count among you as 'raqub' (bereft)?" We said: "The one who has no children." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is not the raqub; rather the raqub is the one who has not sent ahead any of his children (in his lifetime)." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "And whom do you count among you as 'sura'ah' (a strong wrestler)?" We said: "The one whom men cannot throw down." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is not (the strong one); rather (the real strong one) is the one who controls himself at the time of anger."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Which of you is there to whom his own wealth is dearer than the wealth of his heir?" The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah, there is none among us but that his own wealth is dearer to him than the wealth of his heir. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Understand well what you are saying." They said: O Messenger of Allah, we know nothing other than that. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is it not that every one of you holds the wealth of his heir dearer than his own wealth?" The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah, how is that? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In reality, the wealth of each of you is only what he has sent ahead (for good deeds), and the wealth of his heir is what he leaves behind."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he related: I came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was restless from the severity of a fever. I touched his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed body with my hand and said: O Messenger of Allah, you have a very severe fever. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! I suffer from fever as much as two men among you." I said: Is that because you have a double reward? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, that is so." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) further said: "There is no Muslim who is afflicted by illness or any other hardship but that Allah Almighty causes his sins to fall away because of it, just as a tree sheds its leaves."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I prayed (a voluntary) prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) prolonged the standing so much that I resolved to do something bad." (Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) says:) I asked: What did you resolve to do? He replied: "I resolved to sit down and leave him (peace and blessings be upon him) (standing alone)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about a man who loves a people but has not caught up with their rank (in deeds and virtue)?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A person will be (on the Day of Resurrection) with the one he loves."