Hadith Beginning with the Letter Alif (أ)

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you stands to pray, if there is something in front of him equal to the back post of a camel's saddle, it serves as a sutrah (barrier) for him. But if there is nothing in front of him equal to the back post of the saddle, then a donkey, a woman and a black dog cut off his prayer. It was asked: What is special about the black dog, when red (or other coloured) dogs do not do this? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The black dog is a devil."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you stands to pray at night, he should use the miswak, for when one of you recites in his prayer, an angel places its mouth on his mouth, and whatever (letter of the Qur'an) comes out of his mouth enters directly into the angel's mouth."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the imam, after praying two rak'ahs, begins to stand up (forgetfully, instead of sitting), then if he remembers before standing fully upright, he should sit down; and if he has stood fully upright, he should not sit down, and he should perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdah al-sahw) (at the end of the prayer)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When a person gets up from his sitting place (for some task) and then returns to the same place, he has more right to it (the place)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When a person stands to perform ablution by night or by day, performs the ablution well and uses the miswak, then stands and prays, the angel circles around him and comes so close to him that it places its mouth on his mouth, so whatever he recites goes into its (the angel's) mouth. And if he does not use the miswak, the angel circles around him but does not place its mouth on his mouth."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the deceased is buried in the grave, two angels come to him, black in complexion and with blue eyes; one of them is called Munkar and the other Nakir. They both ask: What did you used to say about this man (that is, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him))? He says what he used to say (in the world): He is the servant of Allah and His Messenger; I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. The angels say: We knew that you would say this. Then his grave is widened for him, seventy cubits long and seventy cubits wide, then it is illuminated for him, and it is said to him: Sleep. He says: I want to go back to my family and give them this good news. The angels say: Sleep like the bride who is woken only by the one among her family who is most beloved to her, until Allah Almighty raises him from this resting place of his. And if he (the deceased) was a hypocrite, he says: I heard the people saying something, so I said the same; I (in reality) knew nothing. The angels say: We knew that you would say this. Then the earth is commanded: Close in upon him. So it becomes so tight upon him that his ribs interlock with one another, and he continues to suffer punishment in it until Allah Almighty raises him from this resting place of his."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you returns (from a journey) at night, he should not come to his family suddenly at night, so that the woman whose husband was away may remove her pubic hair and the woman with dishevelled hair may comb her hair."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the evening meal has been served and the time of prayer has come, eat before you pray the Maghrib prayer, and do not hurry in your meal."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the son of Adam recites a verse of prostration and prostrates, Satan withdraws weeping and says: Woe to me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, so Paradise is his; and I was commanded to prostrate and I disobeyed, so the Fire of Hell is mine."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the imam recites, remain silent."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you recite Alhamdu lillah, then also recite Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim, for it (Surah al-Fatihah) is Umm al-Qur'an, Umm al-Kitab and the seven oft-repeated verses (al-Sab' al-Mathani), and Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim is one of its verses."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When land has been divided and boundaries have been fixed, then no right of pre-emption (shuf'ah) remains in it."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you has performed his (obligatory) prayer in the mosque, he should also keep a portion of his prayers (the voluntary and sunnah prayers) for his home, for Allah Almighty will bring about good in his home through the blessing of his prayer."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you has completed his Hajj, he should hasten to return to his family, for this is a means of increasing his reward."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you has completed his prayer in the mosque and then returns to his home, he should pray two rak'ahs in his home and also set aside a portion of his prayers for his home, for Allah Almighty will bring about good in his home through the blessing of his prayer."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When Allah Almighty decrees a matter in the heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His word, making a sound as though a chain were being dragged over a smooth, clean rock. Then when fear is removed from their hearts, they ask one another: Madha qala Rabbukum (What did your Lord say?) The angels reply: Qalul-haqqa wa huwal-'aliyyul-kabir (He said the truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great). [Surah Saba: 23] Then the stealthy eavesdroppers (the devils) hear this word, and these stealthy eavesdroppers are layered one above another in this way. Sometimes the flame of fire (the shooting star) overtakes the one listening before he can pass the word on to his companion below him, and burns him to ashes; and sometimes the flame does not reach him until he has passed the word on to the one below him, until they convey it to the earth. Then the word is cast into the mouth of the sorcerer (or soothsayer), and he relates it mixed with a hundred lies. Then (when that one word turns out true) he is believed, and the people say: Did he not tell us on such-and-such a day that such-and-such would happen? And we found it true. And this is because of that one word which was heard from the heaven."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When Allah Almighty decrees for a servant that he will die in a particular land (or region), Allah Almighty creates for him some need (or task) in that place (so that he reaches it)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When a man sits between the four limbs (hands and feet) of the woman and the circumcised part touches the circumcised part (that is, the private parts meet), then ghusl becomes obligatory."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"On Friday, while the imam is delivering the sermon, if you so much as say to your companion, 'Be quiet,' then you too have engaged in idle talk."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand for prayer, perform ablution thoroughly and completely, then face the qiblah and say the takbir, then recite whatever of the Qur'an is easy for you, then bow until you are at rest in bowing, then rise until you stand upright, then prostrate until you are at rest in prostration, then rise until you stand upright, then do likewise throughout your whole prayer."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand for prayer, perform ablution thoroughly and completely, and make the water reach between the fingers of your hands and the toes of your feet (by running your fingers through them)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand for prayer, perform ablution as Allah has commanded you, then stand and face the qiblah, then say the takbir. If you know some of the Qur'an, recite it; and if you do not know any of the Qur'an, then praise Allah (say Alhamdu lillah), declare His oneness (say La ilaha illallah) and declare His greatness (say Allahu akbar). Then when you bow, bow with composure, then raise your head and stand upright, then prostrate with balance and stillness in your prostration, then raise your head and sit upright, until you complete your prayer. If you have done this, your prayer is complete; and if you have left out any of it, you have in fact diminished your own prayer."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand for prayer, say the takbir, then recite whatever of the Qur'an is easy for you, then bow until you are at rest in bowing, then rise until you stand upright, then prostrate until you are at rest in prostration, then rise until you are sitting at rest, then prostrate until you are at rest in prostration, then do likewise throughout your whole prayer."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand in your prayer, pray like one who is bidding farewell (that is, one praying the last prayer of his life), do not say anything for which you will (later) have to apologise, and give up all hope in what is in the hands of people (that is, place your hope in Allah alone)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When you stand in prayer, do not go ahead of your reciter (that is, the imam) in bowing and prostration; rather, he should do so before you."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When two people are conversing privately, do not come in between them (that is, do not interfere in their private conversation)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When the appointed time of death of one of you is set in a (particular) land, some need (or task) is created for him there; then when he reaches the last of his footsteps, Allah Almighty takes his soul, and on the Day of Resurrection that land will say: O my Lord, this is the trust that You entrusted to me."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is fasting, he should break his fast with dates; and if he does not find dates, then he should break it with water, for water is purifying."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is poor (or in need), he should begin (in charity and spending) with himself; then if anything is left over, on his dependants; then if anything is left over, on his relatives; and if something is still left over, then he should spend it here and there (that is, on other deserving people)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is sitting in the sun and the shade moves away from him, so that part of him is in the shade and part of him is in the sun, he should get up from there."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is in prayer, he should not raise his gaze to the sky, lest his sight be snatched away (that is, taken from him)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is in prayer and feels some movement in his back passage (anus) and is in doubt whether his ablution has been broken or not, then when the matter is unclear to him, he should not turn away (leaving the prayer) until he hears a sound or perceives a smell."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is in the mosque and senses wind (being passed) between his buttocks, he should not go out (of the mosque) until he hears a sound or perceives a smell."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is in prayer, he is conversing intimately with his Lord, so each one of you should consider what he is saying in his prayer; and do not raise your voices, lest you cause harm to the (other) believers."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is praying, he should not spit in front of his face, for when he prays, Allah Almighty is in front of his face."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him, and he should push him back as much as he can. If he refuses, then let him deal with him sternly, for he is nothing but a devil."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him, and he should push him back as much as he can. If he refuses, then let him deal with him sternly, for there is a devil (his qarin, companion) with him."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When one of you is praying, he should not raise his gaze to the sky, lest it be snatched away (that is, lest his sight be taken)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"If (my life) remains until next year, we will also fast on the ninth (of Muharram)."

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"When water amounts to two qullahs (a particular large measure), it does not become impure (najis)."