Riyad us-Saliheen

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who kills a chameleon at the first blow, such and such number of good deeds will be awarded to him; whoever kills it at the second blow, such and such number of merits will be recorded for him. And if he kills it at the third blow, he will get such and such merits."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone kills a chameleon with the first blow, a hundred good deeds will be recorded for him; less than that will be recorded for him if he kills it at the second blow, and still less rewards will be recorded for him if he kills it at the third blow."

Abu Huraira reported: Meat was one day brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and a foreleg was offered to him, a part which he liked. He sliced with his teeth a piece out of it and said: I shall be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know why? Allah would gather in one plain the earlier and the later (of the human race) on the Day of Resurrection. Then the voice of the proclaimer would be heard by all of them and the eyesight would penetrate through all of them and the sun would come near. People would then experience a degree of anguish, anxiety and agony which they shall not be able to bear and they shall not be able to stand. Some people would say to the others: Don you see in which trouble you are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken you? Why don't you find one who should intercede for you with your Lord? Some would say to the others: Go to Adam. And they would go to Adam and say: O Adam, thou art the father of mankind. Allah created thee by His own Hand and breathed in thee of His spirit and ordered the angels to prostrate before thee. Intercede for us with thy Lord Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Adam would say: Verily, my Lord is angry, to an extent to which He had never been angry before nor would He be angry afterward. Verily, He forbade me (to go near) that tree and I disobeyed Him. I am concerned with my own self. Go to someone else; go to Noah. They would come to Noah and would say: O Noah, thou art the first of the Messengers (sent) on the earth (after Adam), and Allah named thee as a" Grateful Servant," intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? He would say: Verily, my Lord is angry today as He had never been angry before, and would never be angry afterwards. There had emanated a curse from me with which I cursed my people. I am concerned with only myself, I am concerned only with myself; you better go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him). They would go to Ibrahim and say: Thou art the apostle of Allah and His Friend amongst the inhabitants of the earth; intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in which (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Ibrahim would say to them: Verily, my Lord is today angry as He had never been angry before and would never be angry afterwards. and (Ibrahim) would mention his lies (and then say): I am concerned only with myself, I am concerned only with myself. You better go to someone else: go to Moses. They would come to Moses (peace be upon him) and say: O Moses, thou art Allah's messenger, Allah blessed thee with His messengership and His conversation amongst people. Intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see in what (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? Moses (peace be upon him) would say to them: Verily. my Lord is angry as He had never been angry before and would never be angry afterwards. I, in fact, killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. I am concerned with myself, I am concerned with myself. You better go to Jesus (peace be upon him). They would come to Jesus and would say: O Jesus, thou art the messenger of Allah and thou conversed with people in the cradle, (thou art) His Word which I-Ie sent down upon Mary. and (thou art) the Spirit from Him; so intercede for us with thy Lord. Don't you see (the trouble) in which we are? Don't you see (the misfortune) that has overtaken us? Jesus (peace be upon him) would say: Verily, my Lord is angry today as He had never been angry before or would ever be angry afterwards. He mentioned no sin of his. (He simply said: ) I am concerned with myself, I am concerned with myself; you go to someone else: better go to Muhammad (ﷺ). They would come to me and say: O Mahammad, thou art the messenger of Allah and the last of the apostles. Allah has pardoned thee all thy previous and later sins. Intercede for us with thy Lord; don't you see in which (trouble) we are? Don't you see what (misfortune) has overtaken us? I shall then set off and come below the Throne and fall down prostrate before my Lord; then Allah would reveal to me and inspire me with some of His Praises and Glorifications which He had not revealed to anyone before me. He would then say: Muhammad, raise thy head; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted I would then raise my head and say: O my Lord, my people, my people. It would be said: O Muhammad, bring in by the right gate of Paradise those of your people who would have no account to render. They would share with the people some other door besides this door. The Prophet then said: By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, verify the distance between two door leaves of the Paradise is as great as between Mecca and Hajar, or as between Mecca and Busra.

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Ibrahim (ﷺ) brought his wife and her son Isma'il (ﷺ), while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka'bah under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. In those days, there was no human being in Makkah, nor was there any water. So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Isma'il's mother followed him saying: "O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him: "Has Allah commanded you to do so?" He said: "Yes." She said: "Then He will not neglect us." She returned while Ibrahim proceeded onwards. Having reached the Thaniya, where they could not see him, he faced Ka'bah, raised his both hands and supplicated: "O our Rubb! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka'bah at Makkah) in order, O our Rubb, that they may perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks." (14:37).Isma'il's mother went on suckling Isma'il and drinking from the water which she had. When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at Isma'il, tossing in agony. She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of As-Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from As-Safa, and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble till she crossed the valley and reached Al-Marwah mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between As-Safa and Al-Marwah) seven times." Ibn 'Abbas further related: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "This is the source of the tradition of the Sa'y - i.e., the going of people between the two mountains. When she reached Al-Marwah (for the last time), she heard a voice and she exclaimed: 'Shshs!' (Silencing herself) and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said: 'O (whoever you may be) You have made me hear your voice; have you any succour for me?' And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or with his wing), till water flowed out from that place. She started to make something like of a basin around it, using her hands in this way and began to fill her water- skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out until she had scooped some of it." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "May Allah bestow mercy on Isma'il's mother! Had she let the Zamzam flow without trying to control it (or had she not scooped in that water) while filling her water-skin, Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet (ﷺ) further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her: 'Do not be afraid of being neglected, for this is the site on which the House of Allah will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah will never let neglected His people.' The House of Allah (the Ka'bah) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She continued living in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed by her and her child. As they were coming from through the way of Kada', in the lower part of Makkah where they saw a bird that had a habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said: 'This bird must be flying over water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came towards the water." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Isma'il's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her: 'Do you allow us to stay with you?' She replied: 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "Isma'il's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them. The child (i.e., Isma'il) grew up and learnt Arabic from them (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty, they gave him one of their daughters in marriage. After Isma'il's mother had died, Ibrahim came after Isma'il's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Isma'il there. When he asked Isma'il's wife about him, she replied: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied complaining to him: 'We are living in hardship, misery and destitution.' He said: 'When your husband returns, convey my salutations to him and tell him to change the threshold of the door of his house.' When Isma'il came, he seemed to have perceived something unusual. He asked his wife: 'Did anyone visit you?' She replied: 'Yes, an old man of such and such description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and, I told him that we were living in hardship and poverty.' Thereupon Isma'il said: 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied: 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutations to you and to change the threshold of your door.' Isma'il said: 'That was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So Isma'il divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (Jurhum). Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them again but did not find Isma'il. So he came to Isma'il's wife and asked her about him. She said: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Ibrahim asked her about their sustenance and living: 'How are you getting on?' She replied: 'We are prosperous and well off.' Then she praised Allah, the Exalted. Ibrahim asked: 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said: 'Meat.' He said: 'What do you drink?' She said: 'Water.' He said, 'O Allah! Bless their meat and water!"' The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected because these things do not suit him unless he lives in Makkah." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then Ibrahim said to Isma'il's wife, 'When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his door.' When Isma'il came back, he asked his wife: 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied: 'Yes, a good looking old man came to me.' She praised him and added: 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in good condition.' Isma'il asked her: 'Did he give you a piece of advice?' She said: 'Yes, he told me to convey his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your door.' On that Isma'il said: 'He was my father and you are the threshold of the door. He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them afterwards. He saw Isma'il under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Ibrahim, he rose up to welcome him, and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father. Ibrahim said: 'O Isma'il! Allah has given me an order.' Isma'il said: 'Do what your Rubb has commanded you to do.' Ibrahim asked: 'Will you help me?' Isma'il said: 'I will help you.' Ibrahim said: 'Allah has ordered me to build a house here, pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it."' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e., Ka'bah). Isma'il brought the stones and Ibrahim was building (the house). When the walls became high, Isma'il brought stone and placed it for Ibrahim who stood over it and carried on building the House, while Isma'il was handing over the stones to him, both of them prayed: 'O our Rubb! Accept this service from us! Verily, You are the All- Hearer and the All-Knower."'.There are some more narrations about this incident, some adding details and some with minor variations in the wordings.

Sa'id bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Truffle (edible fungus) is a species of Al-Manna and their water cures eye diseases."

Al-Agharr Al-Muzani (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day."

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "I swear by Allah that I seek Allah's Pardon and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them."

Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who says: 'Astaghfir ullah-alladhi la ilaha illa Huwal-Haiyul-Qayyumu, wa atubu ilaihi (I seek the forgiveness of Allah, there is no true god except Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self- Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance),' his sins will be forgiven even if he should have run away from the battlefield (while he was engaged in fighting for the Cause of Allah)."

Shaddad bin Aus (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Syed-ul- Istighfar) is to say: 'Allahumma Anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa Anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, a'udhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u laka bini'matika 'alayya, wa abu'u bidhanbi faghfir li, fa innahu la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa Anta. (O Allah! You are my Rubb. There is no true god except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge the favours that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins. Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon).' He who supplicates in these terms during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day (before the evening), he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah; and if anyone supplicates in these terms during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah."

Thauban (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his Salat (prayer), he would beg forgiveness three times .

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Prior to his demise, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate frequently: Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi; Astaghfirullaha wa atubu ilaihi (Allah is free from imperfection, and I begin with praising Him. I beg forgiveness from Allah and I turn to Him in repentance."

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O women folk! You should give charity and be diligent in seeking Allah's forgiveness because I have seen (i.e., on the Night of the Ascension to the highest heavens) that dwellers of the Hell are women." A woman amongst them said: "Why is it that the majority of the dwellers of Hell are women?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. In spite of your lacking in wisdom and failing in religion, you are depriving the wisest of men of their intelligence." Upon this the woman asked: "What is the deficiency in our wisdom and in our religion?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Your lack of wisdom can be well judged from the fact that the evidence of two women is equal to that one man. You do not offer Salat (prayer) for some days and you do not fast (the whole of) Ramadan sometimes, it is a deficiency in religion."

Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The inhabitants of Jannah will eat and drink therein, but they will not have to pass excrement, to blow their noses or to urinate. Their food will be digested producing belch which will give out a smell like that of musk. They will be inspired to declare the freedom of Allah from imperfection and proclaim His Greatness as easily as you breathe."

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The first group (of people) to enter Jannah will be shining like the moon on a full-moon night. Then will come those who follow them who will be like the most shining planet in the sky. They will not stand in need of urinating or relieving of nature or of spitting or blowing their noses. Their combs will be of gold and their sweat will smell like musk; in their censers the aloes-wood will be used. Their wives will be large eyed maidens. All men will be alike in the form of their father 'Adam, sixty cubits tall."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Their utensils will be of gold, their perspiration will smell like musk; everyone of them will have two wives; the marrow of the bones of the wives' legs will be seen through the flesh out of excessive beauty. They (i.e., the people of Jannah) will neither have difference, nor enmity (hatred) amongst themselves; their hearts will be as if one heart, and they will be glorifying Allah in the morning and in the afternoon."

Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Musa (Moses) (ﷺ) asked his Rubb: 'Who amongst the inhabitants of Jannah will be the lowest in rank?' He said: 'It will be a person who will be admitted into Jannah last of all when all the dwellers of Jannah have entered Jannah. It will be said to him: Enter Jannah. But he will say: O my Rubb! How should I enter while the people have settled in their apartments and taken their shares? It will be said to him: Will you be satisfied and pleased if you have a kingdom like that of a monarch of the world? He will say: I will be content, my Rubb. Allah will say: For you is that, and like that and like that and like that and like that. He will say at the fifth time: I am well-pleased, my Rubb. Allah will say: It is for you and ten times more like it. You will have whatever your soul desires and whatever your eyes could delight in. He will say: I am well-pleased, my Rubb.' Musa (ﷺ) said: 'Who will be of the highest rank in Jannah.' Allah said: 'They are those whom I chose and I established their honour with My Own Hand. I attest with My Seal that they will be blessed with such bounties as no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human mind has perceived."'

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I know of the last of the inhabitants of the Hell to be taken out from there and the last one to enter Jannah. He is a man who will come out of the Fire, crawling on all fours. Allah, the Rubb of glory and honour will say to him: 'Go and enter Jannah.' He will go to it and think that it is full up. He will then come back and say: 'O my Rubb, it is full up.' Allah will say to him: 'Go and enter Jannah.' He will again go to it and think that it is full up. So he will turn back. Allah will again say: 'Go and enter Jannah. For you have what is equal to ten times the world.' He will say: 'Are You making fun of me while You are the King?" At this I (i.e., the narrator) saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laugh till his premolars were visible and he said, "Such man will be the last dweller of Jannah in its lowest rank."

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "In Jannah the believer will have a tent made of a single hollowed pearl of which the length will be sixty miles in the sky. The believer will have his wives with him and he will visit them and they will not be able to see one another."

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There is a tree in Jannah that is so huge that if a rider of a swift horse has to cover its distance from one end to another in one hundred years, he will not be able to do so."Another narration from Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A rider will not be able to cross its (the tree's) shade even after travelling for one hundred years."

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The dwellers of Jannah will look at those in the upper abodes above them as you look at a shining star which remains in the eastern or western horizon; such will be the difference in superiority which some of them have over others." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked: "Will those be the dwellings of the Prophets which no one else will be able to reach?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Yes, but by Him in Whose Hand my soul is! men who believed in Allah and acknowledged the truthfulness of the Messengers will reach them."

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A space in Jannah equal to the distance between the middle and the end of a bow will be better than all that upon which the sun rises and sets."