Book I: On Faith (Iman)

¹Omer-ibn-il-Khattab said: One day myself and several of the companions were near the Prophet, when, on a sudden, a man appeared to us, whose clothes were extremely white, and the hair of whose head was very black, on whom we could discover no marks of travelling, nor was he recognized by any one of us; at length he sat himself down near the Prophet, and advanced his knees close to the knees of the Prophet, and placed the palms of both his hands upon Muhammed's; and the unknown person said, "O Muhammed, instruct me in Islam." The Prophet said, "Islam is that thou bear witness that there is no God but God, and that Muhammed is his messenger; and be steadfast in prayer, and charitable; and fast during the month Ramdan; and make a pilgrimage to the Caaba, if thou have it in thy power to go there." The man replied, "Thou hast spoken true." On which we wondered at his questioning the Prophet and then telling him that he spoke the truth. Then the man said, "Instruct me in Iman." The Prophet said, "That thou believe in God and in his Angels and in his Books, and in his Prophets, and in the day of resurrection, and that every virtue and vice is by the will of God." The man said, "Thou hast spoken true." He then said, "Inform me of Ihsan." The Prophet said, "That thou worship God as if thou sawest him; for though thou dost not see him, know that he seeth thee." The man said, "Thou hast spoken true." He then said, "Instruct me concerning the resurrection." The Prophet said, "I am no wiser than the questioner." The man then said, "Tell me the signs that will appear at that time." Muhammed said, "When a female slave shall give birth to her master, and when ye shall see the naked of foot and body, beggars and shepherds, arrogantly possessing houses." Omer said, after this the man departed, and I remained sitting a long time; after which the Prophet said to me, "Didst thou know who that person was?" I replied, "God and his Prophet know best." Muhammed said, "Verily it was Gabriel; he came for the purpose of instructing you in your faith." This tradition is related by Muslim, as having descended from Omer.

²Abu-huraira has related the same tradition with the following variant: "When ye shall see the naked of body and foot, the deaf and dumb, the ignorant, become lords of the earth and of power: and the knowledge of the resurrection is contained in five things which are unknown to all but God." Then the Prophet read a revelation from the Koran, which says, "Verily the knowledge of the resurrection resteth with God, as also the fall of rain, and the contents of the pregnant womb; neither doth any one know, except God, what he will do on the morrow, nor in what land he will die." Bokhari and Muslim both agree in this tradition.

³Ibn-Omer has related that the Prophet of God said, "The edifice of Islam is constructed on five things: to bear witness that there is no God but God, and that Muhammed is his servant and messenger; to perform the prayers with strict propriety; to be charitable; to perform pilgrimage; and to observe the fast of the month Ramdan." Bokhari and Muslim also accord in this.

⁴Abu'huraira says that the Prophet of God said, "The branches of Iman are more than seventy, and the most excellent of them is to repeat there is no God but God, and the least of them is to remove any thing that may be inconvenient to man; a regard for character is the medium branch." Both Bokhari and Muslim are agreed in this.

⁵There is a tradition by Abdullah-Ibn-Omer which says that the Prophet of God said, "A perfect Musleman is he from the tongue and hands of whom mankind are safe, and a Muhajir is he who flies what God has forbidden." This is agreeable to Bokhari. And Muslim says that a man asked the Prophet of God which was the best kind of Musleman; he said, "He from the tongue and hands of whom mankind are safe."

⁶There is a tradition by Anas bin Malic that the Prophet of God said, "Not one of you can be a Musleman until I am more beloved by you than your fathers or sons or all mankind." The Prophet of God said, "There are three qualifications which, whoever shall possess, he will taste the sweetness of Iman: he who shall love God and his Prophet above all, and shall love a creature solely for the sake of God; and he who shall abhor a relapse into infidelity after having been redeemed therefrom by God, as he would the being cast into fire."

⁷Abbas-bin-Abdul-Mutalleb says that the Prophet of God said, "That person has tasted the sweets of Iman who is pleased with God as his cherisher, with Islam as his religion, and with Muhammed as the Prophet of God."

⁸Abu-huraira said that the Prophet of God said, "I swear by God that my soul is in his hand; whoever hath heard of my prophecy without believing in my religion, and hath died, will be of the companions of the fire, although he shall have been a Jew or a Christian."

⁹Abu Musa Ashaari: The Prophet of God said, "There are three persons that will meet with double rewards: one of them of the people of the book (i.e. the followers of the Bible and evangelists), the Jew who believes in Moses as his Prophet and the Christian in Jesus Christ, if he shall believe in Muhammed as a Prophet likewise; and the second, a slave who shall do his duty to God and his master; and the third, a man who, having had connection with his female slave, shall afterwards have instructed her in knowledge and good behaviour, and then emancipated her and married her."

¹⁰Ibn Omer said that the Prophet of God said, "I am ordered to make war on man, until he shall bear witness that there is but one God and Muhammed is his messenger, shall be steadfast in prayer, and give the legal alms; and when he shall perform these things, his blood and property will be secure for me excepting in conformity to the laws, and his account will be taken in futurity by God."

¹¹Anas: The Prophet of God said, "He who shall attend to my prayers, and shall turn his face towards my Kibla, and shall eat of my killing, that person is a Musleman who is under the protection of God and his Prophet; therefore molest him not."

¹²Abu-huraira said that an Arabi came and said to the Prophet, "Shew me the way, and inform me of a matter by the performance of which I may enter into paradise." The Prophet told him to worship God and not associate any thing with him, to attend to the prayers ordered, and the divine commands respecting charity, and to fast during the blessed month Ramdan. The Arabi said, "I will not exceed what thou hast ordered nor be deficient therein." When he had gone, the Prophet said, "Whoever is desirous of seeing an inhabitant of paradise, let him look at that Arabi."

¹³Sufi'an-bin Abdulla-al Sakfi: I said to the Prophet, "Inform me in the matter of Islam, so that I may have no occasion to ask others about it hereafter." He replied, "Say, O Sufi'an, I believe in God; after which obey the commandments, and abandon the things forbidden."

¹⁴Talha-bin Obaidullah said: a person from among the inhabitants of Najd came to the Prophet with dishevelled hair; we heard the sound of his voice, but could not distinguish what he said, until he approached the Prophet; when behold he asked about Islam, and the Prophet of God said, "Five divine prayers during the day and night." The man said, "Is any thing else incumbent on me besides these five prayers?" The Prophet said, "No, excepting such prayers as you may voluntarily undertake, and to fast during the month Ramdan." Then the man said, "Are there other fasts for me to observe?" The Prophet said, "No, unless you voluntarily keep them." Sufian said that the Prophet mentioned legal alms to him, and the man said, "Is there any thing besides it?" He said, "No, unless you give such charity as ye may voluntarily bestow." Talha-bin Obaidullah said that after this the man departed, and went along saying, "I swear by God that I will neither do more nor less than this." Then the Prophet of God said, "That man has found redemption if he be a teller of truth."

¹⁵Ibn Abbas said: When the ambassadors of Abdul Kais came before the Prophet, he said, "What sect is this?" They answered, "Of the tribe of Rabiah." The Prophet said, "Here is plenty of room for you, ye are welcome, at a time when ye will neither repent nor suffer slander." The tribe said, "O Prophet of God, we cannot come before thee unless in the Haram months, because between us and you the infidels of the tribe of Mudar are as a wall; therefore instruct us in the rules that are clear, in order that we may report them to those we have left behind; and that we may enter into paradise by the practice of them." Then the ambassadors asked the Prophet what was the proper vessel to drink out of. He ordered them four things, and forbid them four; and ordered them to believe in one God. The Prophet of God then asked them if they knew what it was to believe in God alone; they said, "God and his Prophet know best." He said, "It is to bear witness that God is God and of the mission of his Prophet, and to say prayers, to give the legal alms, and fast in Ramdan, and to give a fifth of all plunder." And he forbade them four things: to drink out of a Trulhtam, or a Dubba, or a Nakir, or Muzaffat. He enjoined them to remember these orders, and report them to those they had left behind.

¹⁶Ubadah-bin-Samit: The Prophet of God said, at a time when he was encompassed by many of his friends, "Promise ye to me that ye will not associate any thing with God, and that ye will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor murder your children, nor throw suspicion on others from your own invention, nor disobey the orders of the law. Whoever shall obey this order will meet with his reward in God; and that person who shall commit any one of these faults, and shall suffer punishment for it in the world, that will expunge it. But whoever shall be guilty of any part of these crimes, and God shall have covered him from detection, his business then is with God, who, if he pleaseth will pass it over; if not, will punish it." We then accepted from his highness the conditions as above set forth by him.

¹⁷Abu Said Khudri said that the Prophet of God came out, on the day of Fitr, towards the Idgah, and passed by a concourse of women, to whom he said, "O women, bestow something in the road of God, for verily many of you will go to hell." They said, "Wherefore, O Prophet of God?" He said, "Because ye are very abusive, and are ungrateful to your husbands; for in spite of your defective sense and want of religion, still there is not your equal in captivating men of the most perfect understandings." The women said, "In what consist our defective sense and faith?" The Prophet said, "Is not the evidence of a woman equal to half that of a man?" They said, "Yes." He said, "This then is the defect of your sense. And is it not the case when ye have your courses, that ye neither fast nor pray?" They said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "This then is your defect in religion."

¹⁸Abu Huraira: The Prophet of God said that the Almighty said, "The sons of Adam have belied me, which is not right for them to do; and they have blasphemed me, which is a crime. Their belying me consists in this, that they deny the resurrection, which is easier to me than creation in the first instance; and their blasphemy is this, that they said God has got a son; whereas I am single in nature and in attributes, and I am in need of nothing, but every thing is in need of me. I was not born, neither will any one be born of me, nor is there any one like unto me."

¹⁹Abu Huraira said that the Prophet of God related these words of God: "The sons of Adam vex me and abuse time; whereas I am time itself; in my hands are all events; I have made the day and night."

²⁰Abu Musa al Ashari related that the Prophet of God said, "There is not one more patient than God at the sins which he hears: they say he hath got a son; yet after this God keeps them in safety and bestows on them daily bread."

²¹Mu'adh-ibn-Jabal said, "I was riding with the Prophet on an ass, and there was nothing between us except the back of the saddle; and the Prophet said, 'O Mu'adh, do you know what debt God has charged against his servants, and what he owes them?' I replied, 'God and his Prophet know best.' Muhammed then said, 'Verily the debt of God on his servants is, that they worship him and do not associate any thing with him; and what God owes them is, that he will not punish those who do not associate any thing with him.' And I said, 'O Prophet of God, may I give these joyful tidings to mankind?' He said, 'No; for then they will rest on this alone.'"

²²Anas has related that the Prophet and Mu'adh were riding together, when the Prophet said, "O Mu'adh!" He said, "I am ready to serve you and obey you." This Muhammed exclaimed three times, and Mu'adh answered each time in the same manner. His highness then said, "There is not one who shall bear witness, from the sincerity of his heart, that there is no God but one God, and that Muhammed is his messenger, who will not be preserved from the fire." Mu'adh said, "Shall I not acquaint mankind of this which will make them happy?" The Prophet said, "At this time they will depend upon it alone." But Mu'adh revealed it just before his death, to avoid sinning.

²³Abu Dhar Ghaffari said, "I came to the Prophet when he was asleep with a white cloth over him, and returned to him when he awoke; and he said, 'There is no creature who shall say there is no God but God, and shall die on it, but will enter into paradise.' I said, 'Although he may have committed adultery and theft?' The Prophet replied, 'Although he may have committed both.' I repeated my question three times, and received similar answers, and he added, 'Contrary to the supposition of Abu Dhar.' And whenever Abu Dhar related this tradition, he would say, from the greatness of his own mind, 'Contrary to the supposition of Abu Dhar.'"

²⁴Amer-ibn-il-Aas said, "I came to the Prophet, and said to him, 'Hold out your arm that I may confess to you,' and he held out his right hand. I drew back my own. The Prophet said, 'Why is this, O Amer?' I said, 'To make an agreement with you.' Muhammed said, 'What agreement?' I replied, 'That you ask for me remission of my sins.' He said, 'Do you not know, O Amer, that Islam does away every thing which happened previous to it, and that Islam and Hijrat and Hajj overthrow the habitations of former faults.'"

²⁵Mu'adh said, "I said to the Prophet, 'Tell me an act by which I may reach paradise, and keep far from hell.' He said, 'Truly thou hast asked me concerning a very great matter; but it is easy to him to whom God has made it so; worship then God, and do not associate any thing with him; say your prayers and be charitable, fast the month Ramdan, and go on pilgrimage to the Caaba.' After that he said, 'Do I not point out to you the doors of virtue? To fast is a shield, alms do away sins, as water extinguishes fire, and to say prayers at midnight is one of the doors of virtue.' Then the Prophet read this commandment, 'The Creator of the universe praises the wakeful at night, who keep their sides from the bed of rest.' Then he said, 'Do I not shew you the root of every thing and the pillars of religion and its exalted cushion?' I said, 'Yes, O Prophet of God.' He said, 'The root of religion is Islam, and its pillars are prayers, and its exalted cushion is to fight with infidels.' Again he said, 'Shall I not inform you of those things which are regulated and restrained by it?' I said, 'Yes, O Prophet of God.' Then he took hold of his tongue and said, 'Restrain this;' and I said, 'O Prophet of God, shall I be entangled by what I may have uttered?' He said, 'O Mu'adh, (your mother weep over you!) men are not thrown into the fire upon their faces and noses, unless from their tongue.'"

²⁶Abu-u'mamah: The Prophet of God said, "He who befriends another for the sake of God, and makes another an enemy on God's account, and gives for God, and does not give to God's enemy, verily that person has perfected his Iman."

²⁷Abu'd'har-Ghaffari: The Prophet of God said, "The most excellent of all actions is to befriend any one on God's account, and to be at enmity with that person who shall be the enemy of God."

²⁸Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God said, "That person is a Musleman from whose hands and tongue Muslemans are safe, and that person is a Momin in whom is found an asylum for blood and property."

²⁹Anas said the Prophet seldom read me lectures without saying, "There is no faith in him who is not faithful to his trust, nor is there any religion in him who breaks his promise."

³⁰Ubadah-bin Samit said, "I heard the Prophet of God say, 'Whoever gives evidence that there is no God but God, and that Muhammed is sent by him, God will forbid him hell-fire.'"

³¹Othman-bin-Affan: The Prophet of God said, "Whoever dies knowing no God but God, will enter into paradise."

³²Ja'bir: The Prophet of God said, "There are two qualities which are the cause of entrance into paradise and hell." A man said, "O Prophet, what are they?" He said, "He who shall die associating any thing with God, will go to hell; and he who does not, will go to heaven."

³³Abu'hurairah said, "We were sitting around the Prophet, and Abu-bacr and Omer with us; and the Prophet rose up and went out, and delayed his return; and we feared his being alone, lest any thing should happen to him from his enemies: we all got up, and I was the first person to lament his absence: I came out to look for him, till I reached a garden which belonged to the assistants, and walked around the wall, hoping to find a gateway, but did not find any; when on a sudden I saw a drain, which conducted water into the garden from a well on the outside of it; and I contracted myself and penetrated into the garden: the Prophet said, 'Is it Abu'hurairah?' I said, 'Yes:' he said, 'Wherefore have you come?' I said, 'You were amongst us when you stood up and walked away, and delayed returning; at which I was alarmed lest any accident should happen to you without us, and I lamented it, and was the first person who did so: then I came to this garden and contracted myself, like a fox when entering his hole, and the rest are following me.' The Prophet said, 'O Abuhurairah!' and giving me his shoes, said, 'Take them away, and whoever shall present himself to you behind this garden, and shall be a witness to God and his Prophet, from his heart, give him glad tidings of paradise.' The first person I met was Omer, who said, 'What shoes are these, O Abu'hurairah?' I said, 'They belong to the Prophet of God, and were sent by me for the purpose that whoever I met who should give evidence with a sincerity of heart, I should give him joy of paradise.' Then Omer struck me on the breast, and I fell on my back: he then said, 'Return,' and I returned to the Prophet, and took protection with him in tears; and Omer arrived, following me. The Prophet said, 'What is the matter with you, O Abu'hurairah?' I said, 'I met Omer, and told him your errand; when he struck me on the breast, and I fell on my back to the ground, and he told me to return.' The Prophet then said to Omer, 'What was the cause of your doing this?' He said, '(May my father and mother be sacrificed for you) did you send Abu'hurairah with your shoes; that he should give assurance of paradise to any one he met who might from his heart give evidence to the unity of God?' The Prophet said, 'Yes.' Omer said, 'Do not so, for I am fearful that mankind will depend on this alone, and abandon the other duties; therefore leave them alone to act as at present.' The Prophet told Abu'hurairah not to mention it to any one."

³⁴Mu'adh-ibn-Jabal: The Prophet of God said to me, "The keys of paradise are the bearing witness that there is no other God but God."

³⁵Othman said that when the Prophet died, his companions grieved much, to such a degree that some of them were disposed to doubt its possibility, and I was also of that number, at that time. Omer passed by me and saluted me, but I was ignorant of both. Then Omer went and complained to Abubacr, when they came and hailed me, and Abubacr said, "What was the reason of your not returning the compliment which your brother Omer paid?" I replied, "I am ignorant of the charge." Then Omer said, "By God I went towards you, and paid you the compliment of a salam, and you did not return it." Othman said, "I swear by God that I know nothing of your being near me." Abubacr said, "Othman has spoken true, the calamity of the Prophet's death must have prevented you." To which I answered, "Yes." Abubacr said, "How did that so operate upon you?" I replied, "The death of the Prophet happened before I had asked how I was to be freed from the love of the world and deceit of the devil." He said, "I asked him about that affair." Then I stood near him, and said to him, "(May my father and mother be sacrificed for you) you are the most worthy of it." Abubacr said, "I asked the Prophet what was the redemption from it." The Prophet said, "Whoever receives from me this maxim, 'There is no God but God,' he will be freed."

³⁶Mekdad said, "I heard the Prophet of God say, 'There will not be a city, town, village or inhabitant of the wilds, but will enter into Islam. Some will be conquered, others ruined: the conquered will be brought over to the Iman, and the rest made to pay a poll tax'; then I said, that the religion of all will be for God."

³⁷Wahab-bin-Munabbih: People asked him if to say "There is no God but God" was not the key of paradise. He said, "Yes, but it is a key which has wards, and if ye come with a key of that description, paradise will be opened to you, otherwise it will not."

³⁸Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God said, "When any one of you shall have believed truly and sincerely, whatever good works that person may do, will be rewarded from ten to seven hundred fold; and every evil will be retaliated one for one, until he dies."

³⁹Abu-Umamah said, "A man asked the Prophet what was the mark whereby a man might know the reality of his faith." He said, "If thou derive pleasure from the good which thou hast performed, and be grieved for the evil which thou hast committed, thou art a true believer." The man said, "What does a fault really consist in?" He said, "When any thing pricks your conscience, forsake it."

⁴⁰Amer-Ibn-Abasah said, "I came before the Prophet and then said to him, 'O Prophet of God, who is your assistant in Islam?' He said, 'A free man (Abubacr) and a slave, (called Bilal).' I then asked him, 'What is Islam?' He said, 'Purity of speech and charity.' 'And what is Iman?' He said, 'Abstinence and obedience.' I then asked the Prophet which was the most excellent: he said, 'He from the tongue and hands of whom Muslemans remain safe.' I then asked him which was the most excellent Iman: he said, 'An amiable disposition.' 'And which is the best prayer?' He said, 'That which keeps you longest standing.' 'Which is the most excellent Hijrat?' He said, 'Abandoning that which God disapproves of.' 'And which Jehad is the most excellent?' He said, 'That in which the legs of thy horse shall be cut off, and thy own blood spilt.' I said, 'And which is the best time for standing up in prayer?' The Prophet said, 'In the middle of the latter part of the night.'"

⁴¹Mua'dh-Ibn-Jabal: I heard the Prophet of God say, "He who died without associating any thing with God, and shall have constantly said the five prayers and fasted the month Ramdan, will be pardoned." I said, "O Prophet, shall I not rejoice mankind with this circumstance?" He said, "Let them alone until they practise it." Mua'dh-Ibn-Jabal asked the Prophet of the most excellent Iman. He said, "To love him who loves God, and hate him who hateth God, and to keep your tongue employed in repeating the name of God." "What else, O Prophet?" He said, "To do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you, and to reject for others what you would reject for yourself."

¹Abdullah-Ibn-Masu'ud: A man said to the Prophet, "O Messenger of God, which is the greatest of all crimes before God?" He said, "That you call any other like unto God who created you." The man said, "And next to it?" He said, "That you murder your child from an idea that it will eat your victuals." "And what after this?" He said, "That you commit adultery with your neighbour's wife."

²Abdullah-Ibn-Omer: The Prophet of God said, "The greatest crime is to associate another with God, and to vex your father and mother, and to murder your own species, or commit suicide, or swear to a lie."

³Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "Abstain ye from seven ruinous destructive things." The companions said, "O Prophet, what are they?" He said, "Associating any thing with God, and magick, and killing any one without reason, and taking interest on money, and taking the property of the orphan, and running away on the day of battle for the faith, and taxing with adultery good women who may be ignorant of sin."

⁴Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "He is not a Momin who commits adultery, or who steals, or who drinks liquor, or who plunders, or who embezzles when charged with the plunder of the infidel. Beware, beware."

⁵Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "The signs of hypocrisy are three: speaking falsely, promising and not performing, and when trusted being perfidious."

⁶Abdullah-Ibn-Omer: The Prophet said, "There are four qualities which, being possessed by any one, constitute a complete hypocrite; and whoever has one of the four, has one hypocritical quality till he discards it: perfidy when trusted, the breaking of agreements, speaking falsely, and prosecuting hostility by treachery."

⁷Ibn-Omer: The Prophet said, "Hypocrisy is like unto a sheep between two flocks, which wants the ram, and at one time turns to one side, at another time to the other."

⁸Safwan-bin-Assal: A Jew said to his friend, "Carry me to this Prophet." He said, "Do not call him a Prophet, for if he hears it he will be pleased." And they came to the Prophet and asked him about the nine wonders which appeared from the hands of Moses. He said, "Do not associate any thing with God, or steal, or commit adultery, or murder, or take an inoffensive person before the King to be killed, or practise magick, or take interest, or accuse women of adultery, or turn your backs on the field of battle; and it is proper particularly for the Jews not to fish on Saturday." Safwan says that the Jews kissed the hands and feet of the Prophet, and said, "We bear witness that you are a Prophet." He said, "What prevented you from being my disciples?" They replied, "David called on God to perpetuate the gift of prophecy in his family, and we feared the Jews would kill us if we became your followers."

⁹Anas: The Prophet of God said, "There are three roots to Iman: one of them, not to trouble him who shall say there is no God but God, not to think him an unbeliever on account of one fault, or discard him for one crime; secondly, to fight perpetually for the religion, even to the time of Dajjal; for neither shall the tyranny of the tyrannical King, nor the justice of the just King, have any weight in this matter; thirdly, to have faith in destiny."

¹⁰Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "When a man commits adultery, Iman leaves him, and remains over his head like a canopy; but when he quits such bad ways, Iman will return to him."

¹¹Mu'adh-Ibn-Jabal: The Prophet of God advised me in ten things: he said, "Do not associate any one thing with God, although they kill or burn you; nor affront your parents, although they should order you to quit your wives, your children, and your property; nor abandon the divine prayers intentionally; and he who does so will not remain in the asylum of God. Never drink wine, for it is the root of all evil; abstain from vice, for from it descends the anger of God; refrain from running away in battle, although ye be destroyed; and when a pestilence shall pervade mankind, and you shall be amongst them, remain with them; cherish your children, and beat them in order to teach them good behaviour; and instruct them in the fear of God."

¹²Hudhaifah-Bin-Yeman said, "There was no hypocrisy except in the time of the Prophet; for at this time there is nothing but infidelity or belief."

¹Abu Hurairah: The Prophet of God said, "It is most certain that God has passed over the wicked desire of the hearts of my sect until they practise them, or utter that they will do so."

²Abu Hurairah: Some of the Prophet's friends came to him and said, "Verily we find in our minds such wicked propensities, as we think it even hard to mention." The Prophet said, "Do you find them really bad?" They said, "Yes." He said, "This is purely Iman."

³Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "Does the devil come to any one of you, and say who created this, and who created that, even to say who created your creator? When it comes to this, then tell him to take protection with God (by saying, God defend us from the cast-out devil) and tell him to keep on one side from the attempts of the devil."

⁴Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "Men are constantly asking one another; even to say God has created the creation, but who has created God? Whoever is found in this state, tell him to say, I believe in God and his Prophets."

⁵Ibn-Masu'ud: The Prophet said, "There is not one amongst you but has an angel and a devil appointed over him." The companions said, "Do you include yourself in this?" He said, "Yes, for me also, but God has given me victory over the devil, and he does not order me except in what is good."

⁶Anas: The Prophet said, "Verily the devil enters into man as the blood into his body."

⁷Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, "There is not of the sons of Adam, except Mary and her son, one born but is touched by the devil at the time of his birth, and the child makes a loud noise from the touch."

⁸Abuhurairah: The Prophet said, "The noise which a child makes at its birth is from the devil's touch."

⁹Ja'bir: The Prophet said, "Verily the devil rests his throne upon the waters, and sends his armies to excite contention and strife amongst mankind; and those in his armies who are nearest to him in power and rank, are those who do the most mischief. One of them returns to the devil and says I have done so and so, and he says he has done nothing; after that another comes and says I did not quit him till I made a division between him and his wife; then the devil appoints him a place near himself, and says you are a good assistant."

¹⁰Ja'bir: The Prophet said, "Verily the devil is hopeful in his endeavours to secure the worship of those of the land of Arabia who say their prayers; but he is employed in working them on to quarrel."

¹¹Ibn-Abbas: A man came before the Prophet and said, "Indeed I have conceived such a thought that it would be better for me to be burnt than to give utterance to it." The Prophet said, "Praise be to God, who has prevented the machinations of the devil."

¹²Ibn-Masu'ud: The Prophet said, "Verily the devil sticks close to the sons of Adam, and an Angel also; the business of the devil is to do evil, and that of the Angel to inform of the truth; and he who meets with truth and goodness in his mind, let him know it proceeds from God, and let him praise God; and he who finds the other, let him seek for an asylum from the devil in God." Then the Prophet read this revelation of the Koran: "The devil threatens you with poverty if ye bestow in charity, and orders ye to pursue avarice; but God promises you grace and abundance from charity."

¹³Othman-Ibn-Abil'as said, "I said, 'O Prophet of God, indeed the devil intrudes himself between me and my prayers and my reading, and perplexes me in both.' Then the Prophet said, 'This is a demon called Khinzab, who casts doubt into prayer: when you are aware of it, take protection with God, and spit over your left arm three times.' I did so and all doubt and perplexity was dispelled."

¹⁴Kasim-ibn-Muhammed: A person said to me, "I am troubled with much doubt at my prayers, and am frequently in this condition." I told him to finish his prayers, that he would never get rid of his doubts till he read them through.

¹Abdullah-Ibn-Omer: The Prophet of God said, "God wrote the orders for creation, before creating the heavens and earth, fifty thousand years; and his throne was upon the waters."

²Ibn-Omer: The Prophet said, "Whatever is in the universe is by the order of God, even to understanding and stupidity."

³Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God said that Adam and Moses (in the world of spirits) maintained a debate before God, and Adam got the better of Moses; who said, "Thou art that Adam whom God created by the power of his hand, and breathed into thee from his own spirit, and made the Angels bow before thee, and gave thee an habitation in his own paradise: after that thou threwest man upon the earth, from the fault which thou committedst." Adam said, "Thou art that Moses whom God elected for his prophecy, and to converse with, and he gave to thee twelve tables, in which are explained every thing, and God made thee his confidant, and the bearer of his secrets: then how long was the Bible written before I was created?" Moses said, "Forty years." Then Adam said, "Didst thou see in the Bible that Adam disobeyed God?" He said, "Yes." Adam said, "Dost thou reproach me on a matter which God wrote in the Bible forty years before creating me?"

⁴Ibn-Masu'ud said, "The Prophet of God related this tradition to me: verily the root of creation of every one is semen, which is collected in his mother's womb forty days in embryo; after that it is like a clot of blood, and in forty days after it assumes the appearance of a piece of flesh; and then God sends an Angel to it to write four things in its fortune, when its actions, its life, and its portion are specified, and whether fortunate or unfortunate: after that he breathes a spirit into it. Therefore I swear by God that some of you will be appropriated to paradise, and some of you to hell."

⁵Sahal-ibn-Sad: The Prophet of God said, "Verily there is no reliance on actions but at the latter end."

⁶Aayeshah: The Prophet was called to say prayers over the bier of one of the children of the companions, and I said to him, "O Prophet of God, be happy; for this child is a bird of the birds of paradise, for it hath committed no sin." Then the Prophet said, "Peradventure it may be otherwise, because God hath created those who are fit for paradise when in their father's loins, and those for hell at the same time."

⁷Ali: The Prophet said, "There is not one amongst you whose sitting place is not written by God, whether in the fire or in paradise." The companions said, "O Prophet, since God hath appointed our places, may we confide in this and abandon our religious and moral duties?" He said, "No, because the happy will do good works, and those who are of the miserable will do bad works." After which the Prophet read this revelation from the Koran: "He who hath given to the needy, and abstained from sin, and known as a truth that God is but one and Muhammed his servant and messenger, I will speedily appoint him to a matter by which he will easily enter into paradise."

⁸Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Verily God hath written it in the destiny of those who will commit adultery, and they certainly and by necessity must do so: then the adultery of the eye is to look with an eye of desire on the wife of another; and the adultery of the tongue is to utter what is forbidden. The heart of man may desire, and sometimes the parts of man and woman fall into adultery and sometimes reject it."

⁹Abu'hurairah: "I said to the Prophet of God, truly I am a youth, and fear my desires may lead me to commit adultery, and I have not the means of marriage." (By which words it is supposed that Abu'hurairah requested permission to become an eunuch.) The Prophet remained silent. Then I spoke again in the like manner, but he was silent; and again a third time, when the Prophet of God said, "O Abu'hurairah, the pen of thy actions is already dry, then be an eunuch or not as thou likest."

¹⁰Abdullah-ibn-Omer: The Prophet of God said, "The hearts of men are at the disposal of God like unto one heart, and he turneth them about in any way that he pleaseth." After that the Prophet said, "O thou director of hearts, turn our hearts to obey thee."

¹¹Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "There is not one born but is created to Islam, then it is their fathers and mothers who make them Jews and Christians and Gabrs; like as the beasts produce their young with all their members perfect; do you see any thing deficient in them?"

¹²Abu Musa-al-ashari said, "The Prophet of God warned us of five things: one of them, God sleepeth not, it is impossible that he should do so; he circumscribeth the portions of some and maketh abundant those of others; the actions of the night are carried up by the angels before the actions happen of the next day, and so likewise those committed in the day before the performance of those of the night. The splendour of God is his veil, and if it were lifted up it would burn every thing."

¹³Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God said, "The hand of God's gifts is full, and does not diminish from giving; it is the bestower of the day and of the night, and it hath been constantly supplying our wants, since the beginning of the creation of the heavens and earth without a deficiency. In his hand is the scale of daily bread, he augmenteth to some and curtaileth from others according to his pleasure."

¹⁴Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God was asked about the children of polytheists who might die in their infancy, whether they would go to heaven or hell. He said, "God knoweth best what their actions would have been had they lived; it depends on this."

¹⁵Ubadah-bin-Samit said, the Prophet said, "The first thing which God created was a pen, and he said to it, write: it said, what shall I write? And God said, write down the quantity of every individual thing to be created, and it wrote all that was, and that will be, to eternity."

¹⁶Muslim bin Yesar: The Prophet said, "Verily God created Adam, and touched his back with his right hand, and brought forth from it a family: and God said to Adam, I have created this family for paradise, and their actions will be like unto those of the people of paradise. Then God touched the back of Adam, and brought forth another family, and said, I have created this for hell, and their actions will be like unto those of the people of hell." Then a man said to the Prophet, "Of what use will deeds of any kind be?" He said, "When God createth his servant for paradise, his actions will be deserving of it until he die, when he will enter therein; and when God createth one for the fire, his actions will be like those of the people of hell till he die, when he will enter therein."

¹⁷Abdullah-ibn-Omer: The Prophet came out of his house with two books in his hands, and said, "Do you know what books these are?" We said, "No, but do thou tell us." Then he said of the book which was in his right hand, "This is from God; in it are the names of the people of paradise, of their fathers and tribes; and their numbers were cast up at the bottom of the book; and of them there cannot be more or less." And he said of the book that was in his left hand, "This is from God, in it are the names of the people of hell, their fathers and tribes cast up at the bottom, and neither will there be more or less." Then his companions said, "O Prophet, of what use are actions to works that are already finished?" He said, "Do your duty towards God in the straight road, and seek to approach him, because the people of paradise end their lives with deeds becoming paradise, whatever their actions may have been during their lives; and the people for hell will seal their lives as inhabitants of hell, whatever their actions may have been during their lives." Then the Prophet threw the books from his hands and said, "God hath finally determined respecting his servants, a tribe in heaven and a tribe in hell."

¹⁸Abu Khizamah: I said, "O Prophet of God, inform me respecting charms, and the medicines which I swallow, and shields which I make use of for protection, whether they prevent any of the orders of God?" Muhammed said, "These also are by the order of God."

¹⁹Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God came out of his house when we were debating about fate, and he was angry, and became red in the face, to such a degree that you would say the seeds of a pomegranate had been bruised on it. And he said, "Hath God ordered you to debate of fate, or was I sent to you for this? Your forefathers were destroyed for debating about fate and destiny; I adjure you not to argue on those points."

²⁰Abu-Musa-al-ashari said, "I heard the Prophet of God say, verily God created Adam from a handful of earth, taken from all parts, and the children of Adam became different, like the earth: some of them red, some white and some black, some between red white and black, some gentle and some severe, some impure and some pure."

²¹Abdullah-ibn-Omer said, "I heard the Prophet of God say, verily God created his creation in darkness, and reflected upon it his own light; and those whom this light reached found the right road, and those whom it did not reach were lost. On this account I say that the pen became dry on the wisdom of God."

²²Anas said the Prophet of God used to say frequently, "O thou director of hearts from one condition to another, fix my heart on thy own religion." Then I said, "O Prophet, I put faith in thee and in thy religion; therefore dost thou fear from me the decay of religion and Iman?" He said, "Yes, for verily all hearts are in the possession and power of God, he directeth them as he willeth."

²³Abu-Musa: The Prophet of God said, "Hearts are like a feather in a desert, driven about by contrary winds, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other."

²⁴Ali (with whom God be pleased): The Prophet of God said, "No creature believeth, till he believeth in four things: the first of them is this, that he bear witness there is no other God but God, and bear witness that Muhammed the elect is the messenger of God truly sent, and that he believe in death as ordered by God, and life after death, and in fate as ordained by God."

²⁵Ibn Abbas: The Prophet of God said, "There are two sects among my followers that will not benefit by Islam: one of them Murjiah and the other Kaderiah."

²⁶Ibn Omer said, "I heard the Prophet of God say, there will be in my sect some who will sink under the earth, and others that will change their likeness for the worse; and these things will happen to those who deny fate."

²⁷Ibn Omer: The Prophet said, "A denier of fate is like a Gabr, who when sick, ask not about him, and if he dies, be not present at his funeral."

²⁸Omer-ibn-al-khattab: The Prophet of God said, "Sit not with a disputer about fate, nor begin a conversation with him."

²⁹Aayeshah (with whom God be pleased): The Prophet said, "There are six persons whom I have cursed, and who are cursed by God; and whatever the Prophet doth will be approved of by God: one who shall add any thing to the book of God, the second who shall belie God's fate, the third who shall dishonour him whom God hath honoured, or shall dignify him whom God hath disgraced; the fourth who shall wish to make lawful what God hath forbidden, the fifth who shall act towards my family in such a way as God hath forbidden, the sixth he who shall abandon my laws."

³⁰Mu'r-ibn-Ucamis said, "The Prophet of God said, when God hath ordered a creature to die in any particular place, he causeth his wants to direct him to that place."

³¹Aayeshah: I said, "O Prophet of God, what is the condition of the children of Muslemans that have died, are they in heaven or in hell?" He said, "As the conditions of their fathers." Then I said, "O Prophet of God, do they go to heaven without good deeds?" He said, "God knows best how they would have acted." Then I said, "What is the condition of the children of polytheists?" He said, "They also are as their fathers." I said, "Without bad actions?" He said, "God knows best the things which they would have done."

³²Ibn-Masu'ud said, the Prophet of God said, "The woman who buries her child alive, and the child so buried, are in hell."

³³Abu Dardaa: The Prophet of God said, "Verily God hath pre-ordained five things on his servants: the duration of life, their actions, their dwelling places, their travels and their portions."

³⁴Aayeshah: I heard the Prophet of God say, "Whoever shall say any thing about predestination, will be interrogated about it on the day of the resurrection, and he who shall not talk about it will not be asked thereof."

³⁵Ibn-al-Dailami said, I was walking before Ubai bin Cab, and said to him, "Really a doubt occurs to my mind about fate, therefore relate to me the sayings of the Prophet: perhaps God may remove the doubt from my heart." Then Ubai bin Cab said, "Verily if God should punish the people of heaven and earth, he would not be a tyrant; and if he have compassion on them, it will be better for them than their actions deserve; and if you give in charity gold equal to the mountain of Ohud in the road of God, he will not approve of thee until thou believe in fate and destiny, and till thou shalt know that whatever happeneth to thee is from fate: and if thou shouldest die without believing in fate thou most certainly wouldest enter into hell fire." Then I heard the like from Abdullah-ibn-Masu'ud and Hudhaifah-ibn-al-Yeman and Zaid bin Thabit.

³⁶Nafi said, a man came before Ibn Omer, and said, "Such a one has sent his salam to you." Then Ibn Omer said, "I have heard that he has fabricated something which was not in the religion; and if true, do not return my salam to him, because I heard the Prophet of God say, such folks will either sink into the earth or be changed from their natural likeness, or have a shower of stones upon them."

³⁷Ali said, "Khadijah asked the Prophet of God concerning two of her children, which were by the Prophet, and who died in the days of ignorance, saying, what are their conditions, are they in heaven or in hell?" He said, "They are both in hell." Ali said that when Muhammed perceived symptoms of displeasure in the face of Khadijah he said to her, "If you saw the place they are in, you would be displeased with both of them." She said, "O Prophet of God, what is the state of the son that I had by you?" He said, "Verily Muslemans and their children are in paradise, and infidels and their children in hell," and then read a revelation, the signification of which is this: "Those who have believed and their children followed their steps, I have joined together."

³⁸Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "When God created Adam he fondled his back, and there fell from it all mankind, and in this way creation will go on till the resurrection; and he created in both the eyes of every man flashes of light, and then shewed all mankind to Adam, and Adam said, 'O my creator, who are these?' He said, 'They are thy children.' Then Adam saw a person amongst them, the sparkling of whose eyes pleased him, and Adam said, 'O my Lord, who is this man?' God said, 'This is Dawud the Prophet.' Adam said, 'How many years hast thou made his life?' He said, 'Sixty years.' Adam said, 'O my creator, add forty years to his age out of my life.'" The Prophet of God said that when the age of Adam had elapsed, except forty years, the angel of death came to him. Adam said, "Do not forty years of my life still remain?" The angel said, "Did you not give forty years of your own life to your son?" The Prophet of God said, "Then Adam denied, and his children have inherited this vice; and Adam forgot, and eat of the tree, and his children inherited forgetfulness from him: Adam committed a fault, and his children have inherited crimes from him."

³⁹Abu Dardaa: The Prophet of God said, "God created Adam, and struck him on the right shoulder, and brought out his white children, you would say they were pearls; then he struck his left shoulder, and produced his black children, you would say they were coals; and God said, those of the right side are towards paradise, and I have no fear, and he said of those of the left side, they are towards hell and I fear not."

⁴⁰Abu Radhrah said, "Verily there was a man of the companions of the Prophet who was called Abuabdullah, who was sick, and his friends came to inquire after his health at a time that he was weeping, and said to him, 'Why dost thou weep? Hath not the Prophet of God said to you, cut off part of your whiskers and keep them so till you meet me?'" He said, "Yes, but I heard the Prophet say, verily God took one tribe in his right hand, one in his left, and said, the right is for paradise and the left for the fire, and I fear not: now I do not know which of the two I belong to."

⁴¹Ibn Abbas: The Prophet of God said, God took an engagement from the children of Adam in Naaman, and brought out a family from the back of Adam, and scattered them before him. After that God spoke to them in his presence, saying, "Am I not your creator?" They said, "Yes; we bear witness to your Godhead" (that they might not plead ignorance on the day of the resurrection).

⁴²Ubai-bin-Cab said, from the word of God: when God created the children of Adam, he placed them together and made them various; after that he gave them forms and speech, and they spoke; and then he took a promise from them, to confess one God; and they said, "Thou art our cherisher and our God, and we have no other cherisher but thee and no other God but thee," and they bore testimony to this. Then Adam looked towards his family, and saw the affluent and the indigent, some handsome and others deformed: then he said, "O my Lord, why didst thou not make all equal?" God said, "Verily I have befriended those, for the purpose of receiving gratitude." Then Adam saw Prophets amongst his children, bright as lamps: then God took a promise from Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa-bin-Mariam, which were in the world of spirits, and others; and afterwards sent Isa to Mariam, and he entered at her mouth.

⁴³Umm Salmah said, "O Prophet of God, you feel pain every year from the poison which you swallowed in mutton at Khaiber." He said, "I do not experience any thing from it but what was pre-ordained."

¹Bara-ibn-Aazib: The Prophet of God said, when a Musleman is interrogated in his grave, about his God, his Prophet and religion, he will give evidence to the unity of God, and the mission of his Prophet; and will say my religion is Islam.

²Anas: The Prophet of God said, "When a servant is put into the grave and mankind leave him, verily he heareth the noise they make in walking away; when two angels come to the dead man, and make him sit up in his grave; and say, what was your opinion about Muhammed? Then that person who is a Musleman will say, I bore witness that he was the servant of God and his Prophet. Then it will be said to the dead person, look towards thy place, which was in the fire, but God hath now changed it for thee to paradise; and he sees them both. And it will be said to the hypocrite, what sayest thou with respect to Muhammed? He will answer, I know him not. The angels will then say to him, did not thy understanding and reading inform thee? Then he will be struck with an iron hammer, and he will roar out, which will be heard by all animals that may be near his grave, excepting man and the genii."

³Abdullah-bin-Omer: The Prophet said, "When any one of you dieth, his place is shewn him morning and evening, whether in heaven or hell, and it is said to him, this grave is thy sitting place until the day of resurrection."

⁴Aayeshah said, a Jew came to me, and mentioned the punishments of the grave, and said, "May God protect thee from the sufferings of the grave." Then I interrogated the Prophet about them, he said, "Yes, punishments in the grave are true," and I always observed the Prophet, at the end of every prayer, implore God to defend him from the sufferings of the grave.

⁵Zaid Ibn Thabit said, one day the Prophet of God was riding on a camel in the orchard of Beni Najar, and we along with him, when the camel tried to throw the Prophet, and there were five or six graves on the spot, and Muhammed said, "Does any one know who were buried here?" A man said, "I know." He said, "In what state did they die?" The man said, "In infidelity." The Prophet said, "It is certain enough that such are punished in their graves, and if I were not afraid that you would leave off burying, verily I would call on God to give you the power of hearing what I now hear." After which the Prophet turned himself towards us, and said, "Call on God to defend you from the fire, and from the punishments of the grave, and all other calamities, and from the wickedness of Dajjal."

⁶Abuhurairah said, the Prophet of God said, "When a dead body is placed in its grave, two black angels come to it, with blue eyes, the name of one Munkir, and the other Nakir, and they ask about the Prophet of God. If the dead person be a Musleman he will bear witness to the unity of God and the mission of Muhammed; when the angels will say, we knew thou wouldest say so, after which the grave will be expanded seven thousand yards in length and seven thousand in breadth. After that a light will be given for the grave, and it will be said, sleep. Then the dead body will say, shall I return to my brethren and inform them of this? When the angels will say, sleep like the bridegroom, till God shall raise thee up from this grave on the day of the resurrection. But if the corpse be that of a hypocrite, it will be asked, what sayest thou about Muhammed? It will answer, I know him not. And the angels will reply, we knew thou wouldest say so. Then the ground will be ordered to close upon it, and it will break its sides, and turn its right side to its left, and its left to its right; and it will suffer perpetual punishment in the grave till God raise it therefrom."

⁷Bara-ibn-Aazib: The Prophet of God said, two angels come to a dead body and cause it to sit up, and say, "Who is thy defender?" And it will say, "My defender is God." "And what is thy religion?" It will say, "My religion is Islam." Then they will ask, "Who is this man who was sent to thee?" It will say, "He was the messenger of God." "And how didst thou know that he was the Prophet of God?" It will say, "I read the book of God, and put faith in it." Then a voice will come from heaven saying, "My servant hath spoken true." And a bed shall be prepared and clothes provided for it from paradise; and a door shall be opened for it towards paradise, when a fragrant gale will breathe upon it from above, and a place will be opened for it in the grave to see out of. But the soul of an infidel will be replaced in its body in the grave. Two angels will sit it up and say, "Who is thy cherisher?" It will say, "Alas, alas, I know not." And it will be asked its religion; it will answer, "Alas, alas, I know not." Then the angels will ask about Muhammed. It will reply, "Alas, I know him not." A voice will then come from heaven saying, "This servant hath lied; then give it a bed from hell and clothes also, and open for it a door towards hell." Then a hot wind will come to it, and its grave will be contracted so as to break the bones of each side, after which an angel will come to it, blind and dumb, with a mace of iron, with which if a mountain were struck it would turn it to dust. Then the angel will strike the body with the mace, the noise of which will be heard by every thing between the east and west excepting the genii and man; and it will turn to dust, after which a soul will be returned to it, and it will be tormented to the day of resurrection.

⁸Othman: When I was sitting on a grave I wept till the whole of my beard became wet, and they said to me, "You recollect paradise and hell, and do not cry, but you cry from sitting on a grave." I replied, "Verily the Prophet of God said the grave is the first stage of the journey to eternity: whoever is redeemed from this stage, every thing after it is easy; and whoever is not redeemed from this, every thing after it is more difficult; and the Prophet said, I have not seen a more intricate stage than that of the grave."

⁹Othman: When the Prophet had finished the interment of a corpse, he stood upon the grave, and said to his companions, "Ask grace for this body," and they prayed accordingly and said, "God strengthen him on thy own unity and on the mission of thy Prophet; for verily at this time the dead are asked."

¹⁰Abu Said-al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "Verily there are appointed for the grave of the unbeliever ninety serpents to bite him, to the day of resurrection, any one of which breathing upon the earth, would blast it."

¹¹Jabir: I came out with the Prophet of God towards the bier of Sad-bin-Mu'adh and he read prayers over it, and put it into the grave, and dust was thrown over it, and the Prophet repeated Subhan Allah, we also did the same. Then he said Allah Acber, and we did the same: and the Prophet was asked why he said Subhan Allah and Allah Acber. He said, "Verily the grave of this servant was tight upon him, but it is now expanded from what we have repeated."

¹²Asma-bint-Abibacr: One day the Prophet mentioned the torments of the grave, and the Muslemans wept and cried.

¹³Jabir: The Prophet said when a corpse enters the grave, the sun appears to it as setting; and it sits up and rubs its eyes and says, "Allow me to say my prayers."

¹⁴Abuhurairah: The Prophet said, verily a dead body sits up in its grave without fear or noise, after which it is asked its religion in the world; it will reply, "I was in Islam." "And what dost thou say concerning Muhammed?" It will say, "He is the messenger of God, who brought wonders to us from God, and I considered him a teller of truth." "And didst thou see God?" It will say, "It is not possible for any one to see God." Then an opening will be made for it towards hell, to see some tearing others to pieces in flames; then it will be told, "Look towards that from which God hath guarded thee." After which an opening will be made for it towards paradise, and it will see its beauties and pleasures; and it will be told, "This is the place of thy abode, because thou livedst in the truth, and diedst in it: and God will raise thee up in it." And a bad man will sit in his grave in lamentation and wailing. Then he will be asked what he did; he will say, "I know not." "But what dost thou say concerning Muhammed?" He will say, "I heard something about him." For him will be opened a crevice towards paradise, and he will look at its beauties, and will be told, "Look at those things which God hath withheld from thee." Then a hole will be opened for him towards hell, and he will see its wailing and gnashing of teeth, and will be told, "This is thy abode, because thou livedst in doubt, diedst in doubt, and wilt be raised up in doubt, God willing."

¹Aayeshah: The Prophet said, "Whosoever fabricateth any thing new in my religion, that person and that thing will be rejected."

²Ja'bir: The Prophet of God said, "Verily the best word is the word of God, and the best rule of conduct is that delivered by Muhammed; and the worst of all acts are those which are innovations; every thing newly introduced being so, and every innovation is abandoning the right road."

³Ibn Abbas: The Prophet said, "The greatest enemies of God are three persons: the first is he who shall abandon the respect for the Caaba, the second that person who is entered into Islam and does acts of infidelity, the third who shall, without cause, shed the blood of man."

⁴Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "The whole of my sect will enter into paradise excepting he who shall deny me." He was asked, "Who would deny him?" He said, "He who obeys me will go to heaven, and he who has disobeyed me has denied me."

⁵Ja'bir said, that a party of angels came towards the Prophet, when he was sleeping, and they said to each other, "Verily there is a parable for your friend, then let us explain it." Some of them observed, "He certainly is asleep." Others said, "His eyes are sleeping but his heart is wakeful," and they said, "The parable is that of a man who hath built a house and dressed victuals therein, and sent invitations; therefore those who accept them have entered the house and eaten thereof, and those who have not accepted the invitations have not entered the house and have not eaten of the food." Then the angels said, "Explain clearly, that he may understand." Some said, "He verily is asleep;" and others said, "His eyes are asleep, but his heart waketh." Then the angels said, "The house is paradise, and the invitor Muhammed, and the builder God: therefore, those who obey Muhammed, verily obey God; and those who disobey Muhammed verily disobey God; and Muhammed is the separator between the true and the false."

⁶Anas said, three persons came to the wives of the Prophet and asked about his acts of worship: and when the wives explained his adorations they thought them trifling: and the three persons said, "What relation is there between our worshipping and his? For certainly God has forgiven him his former sins, as well as all that he may fall into in future." Then one of them said, "I will ever pray during the night;" another said, "I will always fast during the day;" the third said, "I will never have any thing to do with woman." Then the Prophet of God came to them and said, "Are you the persons that say so? I swear by God that I fear him more than you do, and am more abstinent than you, but I fast and eat also, say my prayers and sleep, and marry likewise; then those who turn from my ways are not of me."

⁷Aayeshah said, "The Prophet did an act and permitted others to do the same. But one tribe refused, which reached the ears of the Prophet, who said, 'What is the matter with them that they should refuse to do what I do? I swear by God I know better than they, and fear God more.'"

⁸Rafi-Ibn-Khadij said, "The Prophet came to Medinah when the people were inserting the male bud of the date tree into the female, in order to produce a greater abundance of fruit, and he said to them, 'Why do you do this?' They said, 'It is an ancient custom.' The Prophet replied, 'Perhaps it would be better were you not to do so,' and they left it off, and the tree produced but little fruit. The people then complained to Muhammed, who said, 'I am no more than man; when I order you any thing respecting religion, receive it, and when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing more than man.'"

⁹Abu Musa: The Prophet of God said, "I and my religion are like unto a man who came to a tribe and said, O people, verily I have seen with my own eyes an army which is coming to plunder you; therefore hasten away. Some of them ran away and escaped; others disbelieved him, when they were seized by the army in the morning and destroyed. Then this is the simile: those who obey me and follow my religion will be redeemed; and those who do the reverse will be punished."

¹⁰Abu Musa said, the Prophet said, "My religion is like clouds dropping much rain, some of them falling on pure, favourable soil, cause fresh grass to grow; some of them fall in hollows from which mankind are benefited, some fall on high lands from which no benefit is derived; then the two first are like the person acquainted with the religion of God and instructing others; and the last like the person not regarding it nor accepting the right road."

¹¹Abdullah-ibn-Omer said, "I went before the Prophet one day, when he heard the voices of two persons maintaining opposite opinions concerning the meaning of a revelation of the Koran; and he came out of his house in anger, and said, our ancestors were ruined for differing about the meaning of the book of God."

¹²Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Men will be liars towards the end of the world, and will relate such stories as neither you nor your fathers ever heard. Then avoid them, that they may not lead you astray and throw you into contention and strife."

¹³Abu'hurairah said, there were people of the book who read the Bible in Hebrew and translated it into Arabic for the people of Islam, and the Prophet said, "Do not consider them liars or tellers of truth, but say to them, we believe in God and that which is sent to us, and what was sent to Moses and Jesus."

¹⁴Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "The sign of a liar is that he relateth every thing that he heareth."

¹⁵Ibn Masu'ud: The Prophet said, there was not any Prophet sent before me by God to his sect but found friends and companions, who embraced his maxims and became his disciples; after which were born those who gave out precepts which they did not practise, and did what they were not ordered to do; therefore those who oppose them with the hand, the tongue and the heart, are Momins. And there is not any thing in Iman besides this, even to a grain of mustard seed.

¹⁶Abu'hurairah: The Prophet of God said, "That person who calls another to the right road, will be rewarded as the follower of it, and there will not be a deficiency in their rewards; and he who shall call on another to stray, will sin, as the person who obeys the call, nor will their crimes be less."

¹⁷Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Islam commenced in a forlorn state, and it will quickly return as at its beginning; then be joyful ye who are firm."

¹⁸Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Verily Iman will direct its course towards Medinah as a snake towards its hole."

¹⁹Mekdam-bin-Madikerib: The Prophet said, "Know for certain that the Koran was given to me, and with it, that which is like unto it. It is near that the affluent will arrogantly say, hold fast the Koran, and know what you find there as lawful, to be lawful, and what is there stated as unlawful, to be unlawful. Now that which the Prophet of God hath made unlawful is like what God hath made so. Know then, the flesh of the tame ass is forbidden, and that of all animals of prey; and it is forbidden you to pick up any thing belonging to those who have agreed to pay the poll tax, unless they give it you. And whoever shall alight at your house give him to eat; and if you do not voluntarily give him, it is lawful that he take some by force."

²⁰Irbad-bin-Sariah said, "The Prophet of God was standing and said, doth any one of you suppose that God hath not forbidden any thing but what is in the Koran? Beware! for verily I swear by God that I have ordered, advised and prohibited things which are like the Koran or more than it: and God hath not made it lawful for you to enter the houses of the people of the book without their permission, or that you beat their women, or eat their fruits, when they shall have agreed to give you what is established as a poll tax."

²¹Irbad said, the Prophet read prayers with us one day, after which he directed himself towards us, and admonished us till we shed tears and our hearts were affected, and a man said, "O Prophet of God, we may say you are taking your leave of us, then advise us." He said, "I admonish you to fear God, and yield obedience to my successor, although he may be a black slave, for this reason that those amongst you who may live after me will soon see great schisms. Therefore hold fast my ways, and those of my successors, who may be directors of the straight road, having found it themselves; and ardently seize my laws and be firm thereto, and fear any thing newly introduced, because every thing new is heresy, and every heresy leads astray."

²²Abdullah-Bin-Masu'ud said, the Prophet drew a straight line for us, and said, "This is the path of God," after which he drew several other lines on the right and left side of it, and said, "These are roads, upon every one of which is a devil who calls mankind towards his own way; verily this road of mine is straight, then follow it."

²³Abdullah-ibn-Omer: The Prophet said, "Not one of you is a Momin till his wishes are bent on following what I have brought."

²⁴Bilal-bin-Harith: The Prophet of God said, "He who shall revive any one of my laws which shall have died away after my time, for him there is a reward equal to that of him who shall practise it; and he who shall give rise to a heresy displeasing to God and his Prophet, his sin will be equal to that of the person who followeth such heretical practices."

²⁵Abdullah-ibn-Omer: The Prophet said, "Verily there will happen to my sect like unto that of the children of Israel: if any one amongst them shall have been guilty of incest with his mother, such will happen in any tribe. Verily the children of Israel were separated into seventy-two tribes, and mine will be divided into seventy-three; every one of them will go to hell excepting one class." The companions said, "O Prophet of God, which is that one?" He said, "The religion which is professed by me and my friends."

²⁶Ibn Omer: The Prophet of God said, "Verily God doth not assemble people together of my sect to mislead them; but he aideth them in their councils, and he who dissenteth will enter singly into the fire."

²⁷Ibn Omer: The Prophet said, "Follow my learned men; for whoever shall turn from them is in the fire."

²⁸Anas: The Prophet of God said to me, "Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning, free from malice towards any one." Then he said, "O my son, this is one of my laws, and he who loveth my laws verily loveth me, and he who loveth me will be with me in paradise."

²⁹Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Whoever holdeth fast my laws at the time when wickedness prevaileth in my sect, his reward will be equal to that of one hundred martyrs."

³⁰Jarir: When Omer came before the Prophet, he said, "Verily I hear stories from the Jews which are very pleasing to me; wilt thou allow me to write down some of them?" The Prophet said, "Dost thou waver in the faith, as the Jews and Christians waver in theirs? Verily I swear by God I have brought you a faith bright and pure: if Moses were alive he would follow no religion but mine."

³¹Abusaid-al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "Whoever hath eaten of pure food and practised my laws, and mankind have lived in security from him, will enter into paradise." Then a man said, "O Prophet of God, verily in these times there are many of that description." The Prophet said, "Yes, and many such will also be found after me."

³²Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "Verily ye are in an age in which if ye abandon one tenth of what is ordered, ye will be ruined. After this a time will come when he who shall observe one tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed."

³³Abu-Umamah: The Prophet said, "Mankind will not go astray after having found the right road, unless from disputation." After which the Prophet read the revelation: "Mankind dispute not with you but for the purpose of quarrelling; but they are a sect at enmity with you."

³⁴Anas: The Prophet said, "Torment not yourselves, lest God should punish you, because a tribe tormented themselves and God treated them with severity for it."

³⁵Abu'hurairah: The Prophet said, "The Koran consisteth of five heads: things lawful, things unlawful, clear and positive precepts, mysteries, and examples. Then consider that lawful which is there declared to be so, and that which is forbidden as unlawful; obey the precepts, believe the mysteries and take warning from the examples."

³⁶Ibn-Abbas: "Commandments are of three kinds: one the reward of which is clear, then follow it; one which leads astray, abstain from it; and another in which arise contradictions, resign that to God."

³⁷Mu'adh-Bin-Jabal: The Prophet said, "Verily the devil is a wolf to man as a wolf is to sheep, which seizeth any one separated from the flock; fear therefore caverns, and go with the crowd."

³⁸Abu Dhar: The Prophet said, "That person who separateth himself a hand's breadth from what is generally established, verily hath withdrawn himself from the collar of Islam."

³⁹Malic-bin-Anas: The Prophet of God said, "I have left two things amongst you, and you will not stray as long as you hold them fast: one is the book of God, the other the laws of the Prophet."

⁴⁰Ghudaif-bin-Harith al-Thumali: The Prophet said, "Whatever heresy is newly invented suspends proportionally my law: then it is better to hold fast my laws than innovations."

⁴¹Ibrahim-bin-Maisarah: The Prophet of God said, "That person who respecteth an innovator, hath certainly assisted in sapping the foundation of Islam."

⁴²Ibn Abbas said, "That person who hath learnt the book of God, and followed its contents, God will direct from straying in the world, and will protect on the day of resurrection from the punishment of account."

⁴³Ibn-Masu'ud: The Prophet said, "God hath made a straight road, and two walls, one on each side of it, in which are doors open, and over them curtains are thrown; and at the top of the road is an admonisher who saith, go straight on the road and not crooked; and above this admonisher is another who saith (whenever a creature is trying to open these doors), open them not, because if you do you will fall into them." After this the Prophet explained and told them, "Verily the road is Islam; and the doors which are open are those things which God hath forbidden; and the curtains dropped are the bounds of God; and the admonisher the Koran, and the upper admonisher is God in the heart of every Momin."

⁴⁴Ja'bir said, verily Omer Ibn-al-Khattab brought a copy of the Pentateuch to the Prophet, and said, "This is a copy of the Pentateuch." Muhammed was silent, and Omer was very near reading part of it, and the face of the Prophet changed; when Abubacr said, "(Your mother weeps for you) do you not look on the Prophet's face?" Then Omer looked, and said, "God protect me from the anger of God and his Prophet; I am satisfied with this, that God is my cherisher, and Islam my religion, and Muhammed my Prophet." Then Muhammed said, "If Moses were alive and found my prophecy he would follow me."

⁴⁵Ja'bir: The Prophet said, "My words are not contrary to the word of God, but the word of God cannot contradict mine, and some of the words of God abrogate others."

⁴⁶Ibn Omer: The Prophet said, "Some of my traditions rescind others, like the Koran."

⁴⁷Abu-Thalabah al Khushani: The Prophet of God said, "Verily God hath ordered the divine commandments, then lose them not; and he hath forbidden the unlawful, then do not fall therein; and he hath fixed boundaries, then pass not beyond them; and he hath remained silent on some things without forgetting them, then do not debate about them."