42. Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The Jews were split up into seventy-one or seventy-two sects; and the Christians were split up into seventy one or seventy-two sects; and my community will be split up into seventy-three sects.

Abu `Amir al-Hawdhani said:

Mu`awiyah b. Abi Sufiyan stood among us and said: Beware! The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) stood among us and said: Beware! The people of the Book before were split up into seventy two sects, and this community will be split into seventy three: seventy two of them will go to Hell and one of them will go to …

‘A’ishah said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited this verse: “He it is who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental . . . .” Up to “men of understanding”. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: When you see those people who follow that which is allegorical in the Quran, those…

Narrated AbuDharr:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The best of the actions is to love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah.

‘Abd Allah b. Ka`b b. Malik who used to lead his father from among his sons when he became blind, said:

I heard Ka`b b. Malik - the transmitter Ibn al-Sarh then narrated the story of his remaining behind from the Prophet (ﷺ) during the campaign of Tabuk - say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade the Muslims to speak to any of us three. When (in this state) abundant time passed on me, I ascended the wal…

‘Ammar b. Yasir said:

I came to my family when my hands had cracks. They dyed me with saffron. I then went to Prophet (ﷺ) and saluted him, but he did not return me salutation. He said: Go and wash it away from you.

‘A’ishah said:

The camel of Safiyyah daughter of Huyayy was fatigued, and Zainab had a surplus mount. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Zainab : Give her the camel. She said: Should I give to that Jewess? Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became angry and kept away from her during Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and a part of Safar.

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Controverting about the Qur'an is disbelief.

Narrated Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Beware! I have been given the Qur'an and something like it, yet the time is coming when a man replete on his couch will say: Keep to the Qur'an; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited. Beware! The…

Narrated AbuRafi':

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden and saying: We do not know. What we found in Allah's Book we have followed.

`A'ishah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

If any one introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected. Ibn `Isa said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone practices any action in a way other than our practice, it is rejected.

Narrated Irbad ibn Sariyah:

AbdurRahman ibn Amr as-Sulami and Hujr ibn Hujr said: We came to Irbad ibn Sariyah who was among those about whom the following verse was revealed: "Nor (is there blame) on those who come to thee to be provided with mounts, and when thou saidst: "I can find no mounts for you." We greeted him …

‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying:

"Beware! The extremists perished," saying it three times.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

If anyone summons other to follow right guidance, his reward will be equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without their rewards being diminished in any respect on that account; and if anyone summons others to follow error the sin of which sins being diminished in any respect on that acco…

‘Amir b. sa’id on his father’s authority reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

The Muslim who offends most against the Muslims is he who enquires about something which has not been forbidden to men, and it is declared forbidden because of his enquiry.

Yazid b. ‘Umairah, who was one of the companions of Mu’adh b. Jabal said:

Whenever he (mu’adh b. jabal) sat in a meeting for preaching, he would say: Allah is a just arbiter; those who doubt would perish. One day Mu’adh b. jabal said: In the times after you there would be trails in which riches would be abundant. During these trails the Quran would be easy so much so that…

Sufyan said (according to one chain), and Abu al-Salit said (according to another chain):

A man wrote to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-Aziz asking him about Divine decree. He wrote to him: To begin with, I enjoin upon you to fear Allah, to be moderate in (obeying) His Command, to follow the sunnah (practice) of His Prophet (ﷺ) and to abandon the novelties which the innovators introduced after his Sun…

Nafi said:

Ibn ‘Umar had a friend from the people of Syria who used to correspond with him. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar wrote to him: I have been informed that you have talked something about Divine decree. You should write it to me, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Among my community there will be people w…

Khalid al-Hadhdha said:

I said to al-Hasan: Abu Sa’id, tell me about Adam. Was he created for the heaven or the earth? He said: No, for the earth. I said: It was unavoidable for him. I said: Tell me about the following verse of the Quran: ”can lead (any) into temptation concerning Allah, except such as are (themselves) goi…

Khalid al-Hadhdha, asked al-Hasan about the Quranic verse:

“And for this did He create them.” He said: He created these for this and those for that.

Khalid al-Hadhdha asked al-Hasan about the Quranic verse:

“Can lead (any) into temptation concerning Allah, except such as are (themselves) going to the blazing fire.” He said: Except the one whom Allah destined that he should go to Hell.

Humaid said:

Al-Hasan used to say that his fall from the heaven on the earth is dearer to him than uttering: The matter is in my hand.

Humaid said:

Al-Hasan came to us. The jurists of Mecca told me that I should speak to him that some day he should hold a meeting for them and preach to them. He said: Yes. So they gathered and he addressed them. I did not see anyone on orator greater than him. A man said: Abu Sa’id, who created Satan? He replied…

Humaid al-Tawil asked al-Hasan about the verse:

“Even so do We let it creep into the hearts of the sinners.” He said: Polytheism

Explaining the Quranic verse; “And between them and their desire is placed a barrier.” Al-Hasan said:

Between them and their faith.

Ibn ‘Awn said:

I was a prisoner in Syria. A man called me from behind. I turned towards him and suddenly found that it was Raja b. Haiwah. He said: Abu ‘Awn, what is this that the people are telling about al-Hasan? I said: They are much lying to al-Hasan.

Hammad said:

I heard Ayyub say: Two kinds of people have lied to al-Hasan: people who believed in free will and they intended that they publicise their belief by it; and people who had enmity with and hostility (for al-Hasan), saying: Did he not say so and so? Did he not say so and so?

Yahya b. Kathir al-‘Anbari said:

Qurrah b. Khalid used to tell us: O young people! Do not think that al-Hasan denied predestination, for his opinion (i.e., belief) was sunnah and sight.

Ibn ‘Awn said:

If we learnt that the remark of al-Hasan would reach the extent that it has reached, we would write a book for his withdrawal and call witnesses to him; but we said: This is a remark that surprisingly came out (from him) and it will not be transmitted to others.

Ayyub said:

Al-Hasan said: I will never return to it.

‘Uthman al-Batti said:

Al-Hasan never interpreted any Quranic verse but to establish (Divine decree).

Ibn ‘Umar said:

We used to say in the times of the Prophet (ﷺ): We do not compare anyone with Abu Bakr. ’Umar came next and then ‘Uthman. We then would leave (rest of) the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) without treating any as superior to other.

Ibn ‘Umar said:

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was alive, we used to say: The most excellent member of the community of the Prophet (ﷺ) after himself is Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then 'Uthman.

Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyyah said:

I said to my father: Which of the people after the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is best? He replied: Abu Bakr. I then asked: Who comes next? He said: ‘Umar. I was then afraid of asking him who came next, and he might mention ‘Uthman, so I said: You came next, O my father? He said: I am only a man among the Muslims.

Muhammad al-Firyabl said:

I heard Sufyan say: If anyone thinks that ‘All (Allah be pleased with him) was more deserving for the Caliphate than both of them, he imputed error to Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, the Muhajirun (Immigrants), and the Ansar (Helpers) Allah be pleased with all of them. I think that with this (belief) none of his action will rise to the heaven.

Sufyan al-Thawri said:

The Caliphs are five: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘All and ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz.

Ibn 'Abbas said:

Abu Hurairah said that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: I saw (in my dream) a piece of cloud from which ghee and honey were dropping. I saw the people spreading their hands. Some of them took much and some a little. I also saw a rope hanging from Heaven to Earth. I saw, Messenger o…

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Ibn ‘abbas through a different chain of narrators. This version adds:

He refused to tell him (his mistake).

Narrated AbuBakrah:

One day the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Which of you had dream? A man said: It is I. I saw as though a scale descended from the sky. You and AbuBakr were weighed and you were heavier; AbuBakr and Umar were weighed and AbuBakr was heavier: Umar and Uthman were weighed and Umar was heavier; than the scale was t…

Abu Bakrah said:

One day the Prophet (ﷺ) asked: Which of you had a dream? He then mentioned the rest of the tradition to the same effect, but he did not mention the word “disliked”. Instead, he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was grieved about that. He then said: There will be a caliphate on the model of prophecy, then Allah will give the kingdom to whom he wills.

Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

Last night a good man had a vision in which Abu Bakr seemed to be joined to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). ‘Umar to Abu Bakr, and ‘Uthman to ‘Umar. Jabir said: When we got up and left the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we said: The good man is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and that their being joined together m…

Samurah b. Jundub told that a man said:

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! I saw (in a dream) that a bucket was hung from the sky. Abu Bakr came, caught hold of both ends of its wooden handle, and drank a little of it. Next came ‘Umar who caught hold of both ends of its wooden handle and drank of it to his fill. Next came ‘Uthman who caught hold of …

Makhul said:

The Romans will enter the Levant and stay there for forty days, and no place will be saved from them but Damascus and 'Uman.

Abu al-A’yas ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Salam said:

A king of the foreigners will come and prevail over all the cities except Damascus.

Makhul reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying:

The place of the assembly of Muslims at the time of war will be in a land called al-Ghutah.

‘Awf said:

I heard al-Hajjaj addressing the people say: The similitude of ‘Uthman with Allah is like the similitude of Jesus son of Mary. He then recited the following verse and explained it: “Behold! Allah said: O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehood) of those who blaspheme.” He was making a sign with his hand to us and to the people of Syria.

Al-Rabi’ b. Khalid al-Dabbi said:

I heard al-Hajjaj say in his address: Is the messenger of one of you sent for some need is more respectable with him or his successor among his people? I thought in my mind: I make a vow for Allah that I shall never pray behind you. If I find people who fight against you, I shall fight against you a…

‘Asim said:

I heard al-Hajjaj say on the pulpit: Fear Allah as much as possible; there is no exception in it. Hear and obey the Commander of the Faithful ‘Abd al-Malik; there is no exception in it. I swear by Allah, if order people to come but from a certain gate of the mosque, and they come out from another ga…

Al-A’mash said:

These clients (i.e., non-Arabs) are to be struck and cut off. I swear by Allah, if I strike a stick with a stick, I would annihilate them like the day that passed away. Al-hamra means clients or non-Arabs.

Sulaiman al-A’mash said:

I prayed the Friday prayer with al-Hajjaj and he addressed. He then transmitted the tradition of Abu Bakr b. ‘Ayyash. He said in it: Hear and obey the caliph of Allah and his select ‘Abd al-Malik bin Marwan. He then transmitted the rest of the tradition, and said: If I seized Rabi’ah for Mudar. But he did not mention the story of the clients (i.e. non Arabs).