Hadeeth Cards

Da'wa cards that highlight great meanings from the noble prophetic hadiths in a simple style and attractive display that helps the Muslim to have a deeper understanding of his religion in an easy way

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Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah never sent any prophet nor did He invest anyone with authority except that he has two entourages: one entourage enjoins him to do good and encourages him to carry it out; another entourage enjoins him to do evil and incites him to carry it out. Saved is the one whom Allah protects.''

Narrated by Bukhari line

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that Allah did not send any prophet, nor gave anyone authority, except the prophet or sovereign has two entourages. One commands him with good and the other commands him with evil. The one who is saved from the negative influences of an evil entourage is the one whom Allah protects.

Shaqīq ibn Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) reported: Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) used to give us a reminder every Thursday. A man said to him: "O Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmān, we would like for you to give us a reminder every day!" He said: "What prevents me from doing so is that I dislike to bore you. I give you an admonition every now and then, just as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was giving them to us, out of fear that we might become bored."

Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim line

Shaqīq ibn Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) used to give them an admonition every Thursday. So a man told him that they wished that he would give them an admonition every day. He told them that what prevented him from doing so was his fear that they would become bored and annoyed; and that he was committed to giving them admonitions, yet he would examine their needs (and give them accordingly); just as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to do with them, for fear that they would become bored. Definitely, boredom causes the admonition to have no effect.

Sohaib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a magician, and when that magician became old, he said to the king: I have become old, so send to me a boy whom I can teach magic. So, the king sent him a boy, who on his way met a monk, listened to him, and admired his words. Whenever the boy went to the magician, he used to sit with the monk, and then, on reaching the magician, the latter would beat him. So, the boy complained about this to the monk. The monk said to him: Whenever you are afraid of the magician, tell him that your family detained you. And whenever you are afraid of your family, tell them that the magician detained you. So the boy carried on like that (for some time). Then a huge, terrible beast once appeared on the road, and the people were unable to pass. The boy said: Today I shall know whether the magician is better or the monk. So, he took a stone and said: O Allah, if the affair of the monk is better in Your Sight than that of the magician, then kill this beast so that the people can cross (the road). Then he struck it with a stone and killed it, and the people passed the road. The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him: O my son, today you are better than me, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put to trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me. The boy used to treat the people who suffered from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind and heard about the boy. He came and brought many gifts for the boy and said: All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me. The boy said: I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah, I shall supplicate Him and He will cure you. So, he believed in Allah, and Allah cured him. Later, the courtier came to the king and sat in the place where he used to sit before. The king said: Who gave you back your sight? The courtier replied: My Lord. The king then said: Do you have another Lord besides me?! The courtier said: Your Lord and mine is Allah. The king took him and kept on torturing him until he told him about the boy. So, the boy was brought to the king, who said to him: O boy, your magic reached the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. He said: Indeed, I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure. So, he tortured him extensively until he told him about the monk. Then the monk was brought to the king, who said to him: Give up your religion. The monk refused. So, the king ordered a saw to be brought and placed on the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then it was said to the courtier of the king: Give up your religion. He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed on the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the boy was brought and it was said to him: Give up your religion. He refused, and so the king sent him to the top of such-and-such mountain with some of his followers. He said to them: Ascend the mountain with him till you reach its top, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise, throw him from the top. They took him and when they ascended to the top, he said: O Allah, save me from them by any means that You wish. So, the mountain shook and they all fell down and the boy came back walking to the king. The king said: What did your companions (the people I sent with you) do? The boy said: Allah saved me from them. So, the king ordered some people to take the boy on a boat to the middle of the sea, saying: If he renounces his religion (well and good), but if he refuses, throw him. So, they took him out to sea, and he said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. So they all drowned in the sea. Then the boy returned to the king, and the king said: What did your companions do? The boy replied: Allah saved me from them. Then he said to the king: You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. The king asked: And what is that? The boy said: Gather the people in an elevated place and tie me to the trunk of a tree; then take an arrow from my quiver and say: In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy! If you do this, you will kill me. So the king did accordingly, and placing an arrow in the bow, he shot it, saying: In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy. The arrow hit the boy in his temple, and the boy placed his hand over the arrow wound and died. The people proclaimed: We believe in the Lord of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the boy! Then it was said to the king: Do you see what happened? That which you feared has taken place. By Allah, all the people have believed (in the Lord of the boy). So he ordered that ditches be dug at the entrances to the roads, and it was done, and fires were kindled therein. Then the king said: Whoever does not abandon this religion, throw them into the fire or order them to throw themselves. They did. Then, a woman and her little boy came, and it was as if she was being somewhat hesitant of falling into the fire, so her baby said to her: Be patient, mother, for verily, you are following the truth.''

Narrated by Muslim line

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that there was once a king among the nations before us, and he had a magician. When the magician grew old, he said to the king: I have become old, so send me a young man whom I can teach magic. So, the king sent him a young man, who, on his way to the magician, met a monk. He sat with him once, listened to his words and admired him. Whenever he went to the magician, he used to sit with the monk, then on reaching the magician, the latter would beat him for being late. So, the boy complained this to the monk, who said to him: Whenever you are afraid of the magician, tell him that your family detained you. And whenever you are afraid of your family, tell them that the magician detained you. So the boy carried on like that (for some time). Then a huge, terrible beast once appeared on the road, and the people were unable to pass. The boy said: Today I shall know whether the magician is better or the monk. So, he took a stone and said: O Allah, if the affair of the monk is better in Your Sight than that of the magician, then kill this beast so that the people can cross (the road). Then he struck it with a stone and killed it, and the people passed the road. The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him: O my son, today you are better than me, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put on trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me. The boy used to treat the people who suffered from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases with the permission of Allah. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind. He came and brought many gifts to the boy and said: All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me. He said: I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah, I shall supplicate Allah, and He will cure you. So, he believed in Allah, and Allah cured him. Later, the courtier came to the king and sat in the place where he used to sit before. The king said: Who gave you back your sight? He said: My Lord. He said: Do you have another Lord besides me?! He said: My Lord and your Lord is Allah. The king took him and kept on torturing him until he told him about the boy. So, the boy was brought to the king, who said to him: O boy, your magic reached the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. He said: Indeed, I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure. So, he tortured him extensively until he told him about the monk. Then the monk was brought to the king, who said to him: Renounce your religion. The monk refused. So, the king ordered a saw to be brought and placed on the middle of his head, and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the courtier of the king was brought, and it was said to him: Renounce your religion. He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed on the middle of his head, and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the boy was brought, and it was said to him: Renounce your religion. He refused, and so the king sent him to some of his followers, between three and ten in number. He said to them: Ascend the mountain with him till you reach its top, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise, throw him from the top. They took him and ascended the mountain. The boy said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. So, the mountain shook and quaked violently, and they all fell down, and the boy came back walking to the king. The king said: What did your companions do? He said: Allah saved me from them. So he handed him over to another group of his men and said: Take him away, load him onto a small boat until you reach the middle of the sea. If he renounces his faith, then good. Otherwise, throw him into the sea. So they took him away. He said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. Suddenly, their boat capsized, drowning them all, and he walked back to the king. The king said to him: What did your companions do? The boy replied: Allah saved me from them. Then he said to the king: You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. He said: And what is that? The boy said: Gather the people in an open space. Crucify me on a tree trunk. Then take an arrow from my quiver, place it in the bow’s grip, and say: In the Name of Allah, Lord of the boy. Then shoot me—for if you do so, you will kill me. So he assembled the people in one place, crucified him on a trunk, took an arrow from his quiver, placed it in the bow’s center, and said: In the Name of Allah, Lord of the boy. Then he shot him—the arrow struck his temple between his eye and ear. The boy placed his hand on the wound and died. The people said: We believe in the Lord of the boy, we believe in the Lord of the boy, we believe in the Lord of the boy. Then it was said to the king: Do you see what you feared? By Allah, what you feared has indeed come to pass. The people followed the boy and all believed in his Lord. So the king ordered great, elongated trenches to be dug at the crossroads, lit with raging fires, and commanded: Whoever does not renounce his religion—throw him in it. They carried out his orders until a woman came with her child. She hesitated, frozen in place, reluctant to enter the fire. Then her child said to her: O mother, be patient! For indeed, you are upon the truth.

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Abu Dharr, I see that you are weak and I love for you what I love for myself. Do not rule over two persons and do not manage an orphan's property."

Narrated by Muslim line

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) informed that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had said to him: “I see that you are weak and I love for you what I love for myself. Do not rule over two persons and do not manage an orphan's property." These are four sentences the Prophet addressed Abu Dharr with: 1. “I see that you are weak.” This description, which accords with the reality, is given as advice. And there is no harm if a person tells someone else that he has such and such trait, as an advice, not as an insult or exposing one’s faults; as the Prophet himself said: “I see that you are weak.” 2. “I love for you what I love for myself.” This is part of the Prophet’s noble character. When the first sentence contained some criticism, he made this statement, which means: I only told you this because I love for you what I love for myself. 3. “Do not rule over two persons.” In other words, do not be the leader of two persons, rather than more than two. The meaning here is that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from being a leader, because he was weak, and leadership requires a strong and trustworthy person. A strong person would exercise authority and have a firm say; and when he says something, he fulfills it. He should not be weak before people, for when people see someone weak, they will show him no respect or regard, and the fools will treat him boldly. However, if a leader is strong and does not exceed the limits set by Allah, the Almighty, or neglect his authority in which Allah has put him, then he is a true leader. 4. “Do not manage an orphan’s property.” An orphan is one whose father had died before reaching puberty. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from managing the wealth of orphans, for it needs care and protection, whereas Abu Dharr was weak and would not be able to take proper care of such property. That is why the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not manage an orphan’s property.” That is, do not be responsible for it; leave it to someone else. This is not degradation of Abu Dharr, for he was a man who used to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and led an austere and ascetic life. However, he was weak in a particular area, namely guardianship and leadership.

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me to (an official position)?" He patted me on my shoulder with his hand and said: "O Abu Dharr, you are weak and it is a trust. It will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection, except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him."

Narrated by Muslim line

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave him a specific piece of advice concerning leadership and assuming it, after he had asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to appoint him to a position of authority. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You are weak." This statement is a bit strong; however, integrity entails being frank with a person about their character. If a person is strong, he should be told that he is strong, and if a person is weak, he should be told that he is weak. This Hadīth provides evidence that leadership is conditional on the person assuming it being strong and trustworthy, because the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "…and it is a trust." So if a person is strong and trustworthy, then these characteristics make him qualified for leadership and authority. If someone is strong but not trustworthy, trustworthy but not strong, or neither strong nor trustworthy; these three types of people are not suited for leadership. Based on this, leadership should be entrusted to a strong person, as this is more beneficial to the people who are in need of authority and strength. If there is no strength, especially if there is weakness in the religion; people's rights will be lost. So this Hadīth gives strong evidence to avoid assuming leadership, especially by those who have a weakness in discharging the duties of authority. The disgrace and remorse mentioned in the Hadīth in this statement "It will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection" apply to those who are not qualified to assume a post of authority or are qualified, but do not discharge their responsibility justly. In these cases, Allah, the Exalted, will disgrace and humiliate him on the Day of Resurrection and he will regret what he neglected. This threat does not apply to someone who is qualified for leadership and acts justly. That is why the noble Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) made an exception when he said: "except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him," because there is a great credit for the person who takes it up rightfully. This is indicated in a number of authentic Hadīths, such as the one where he said: "Allah will shade seven types of people under His shade... " and the Hadīth where he said: "Those who are just will be on pulpits of light..." and so on.

‘Uqbah ibn al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I offered the ‘Asr prayer behind the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in Madīnah. When he finished the prayer with Taslīm, he got up hurriedly and went out by crossing the rows of people to one of his wives' rooms. The people were astonished at his speed. The Prophet came back and saw the people surprised at his haste and said to them: "I remembered a gold nugget in my house which I didn't want to distract me, so I ordered it to be distributed (in charity). In another version: "I left a piece of gold in my house from the charity which I did not want to let it remain with us overnight."

Narrated by Bukhari line

Uqbah ibn al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he prayed the ‘Asr prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) one day, and the Prophet hurriedly left by crossing the rows of people to one of the rooms of his wives. The people were astonished at his haste. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came back and saw the people wondering about his haste, so he wanted to clarify it, and told them that he remembered a gold nugget in his house of Zakah which was supposed to be distributed, and he did not want his thinking about it to prevent and distract him from contemplating and devoting himself completely to Allah while in the prayer.

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I and two of my paternal cousins entered upon the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). One of them said: "O Messenger of Allah, appoint us rulers over some of what Allah, the Almighty, has entrusted you with." The other said the same. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah! We do not entrust this post to anyone who seeks it or is keen to attain it.’"

Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim line

The Hadīth contains a prohibition of giving authority to whoever seeks it or has greed for it. When the two men asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to appoint them rulers over some of what Allah entrusted him with, he said: "By Allah! We do not entrust this affair to anyone who seeks it or is keen to attain it." i.e. we do not give authority to anyone who asks for it or is keen to have it. That is because perhaps the one who seeks it or has greed for it aims at giving himself authority, not at bringing reform. Since such a person could be liable to such an accusation, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade giving authority to the one who seeks it, saying: "By Allah! We do not entrust this post to anyone who seeks it or is keen to attain it." The subject matter of this Hadīth was confirmed by the Hadīth of ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not ask for a position of authority, for if you are granted this position without having asked for it, you will be helped in it, and if you are granted it as a result of your asking for it, you will be left alone to handle it." So, it is not befitting for a ruler to fulfill the request of someone who seeks authority over an area of land even if he is qualified for it. Likewise, if someone asks to be appointed a judge, saying for example to the person in charge of judiciary, like the minister of justice, for example: "Make me a judge over such-and-such land," he should not to be given such an authority. As for the case where someone asks to be moved from authority over one land to another, then it is not included in this Hadīth, because he has already been in a position of authority, but is asking to be moved to another location. This applies unless it is known that his intention and aim is to gain authority over the people of that land, in which case, he should be prevented, since actions are to be judged according to intentions. One may wonder about the statement of Yūsuf (peace be upon him) to the ruler: {Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge} [Sūrat Yūsuf: 55]. The answer to that is one of two things: 1. If the legislation of those who came before us contradict our own legislation, we should act upon our legislation, based on the well-known principle among the scholars of Islamic fundamentals: "We hold the legislation of those before us as our legislation, as long as there is nothing reported in our legislation that runs counter to it." In fact, there is something reported in our legislation that disagrees with that, namely the Hadīth that reads: "We do not give authority to anyone who seeks to be given authority." 2. It could be said that Yūsuf (peace be upon him) saw that the wealth was being wasted, squandered, and tampered with, so he wished to save the country from this manipulation. In a situation like that, the aim is to remove the mismanagement and poor administration, so there is nothing wrong here. For example, if there is a commander over a section (of a land), who neglects the duties entailed by that authority and causes corruption, then the one suitable for this job – if he cannot find other than himself – must ask the ruler to give him authority over that section, saying to him: "Give me authority over this land in order to rid it of the bad state it is in," and this is alright, and is in accordance with the rules. There is also a Hadīth where ‘Uthmān ibn Abi al-‘Ās said to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "Make me a leader of my people." i.e. in prayer. So he said: "You are their leader." Based upon this, some scholars said: “The Hadīth indicates the permissibility of seeking leadership in what is good.” In the supplication of the slaves of the Most Merciful – a description which Allah gave them – they say: {And make us leaders for the pious} [Sūrat al-Furqān: 74]. This is not included in the disliked pursuit of leadership which pertains to worldly leadership, whose seeker is not helped, nor does he deserve to be granted such leadership.

‘Ā'idh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) visited ‘Ubaydullāh ibn Ziyād and said: "O son, I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The worst of shepherds is the harsh one', so beware of being one of them." Thereupon, Ibn Ziyād said to him: "Sit down, for you are from the chaff of the Muhammad's Companions." ‘Ā'idh said: "Was there chaff among them? Chaff only appeared after them and in other than them."

Narrated by Muslim line

‘Ā'idh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) visited ‘Ubaydullāh ibn Ziyād, who was the ruler of the Iraqis after his father, and said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The worst of shepherds is the harsh one'", i.e. the one who is harsh in looking after camels while herding them, bringing them in and taking them out, shoving them into one another, and overburdening them. He was giving an example of the evil ruler, and the meaning intended here is the harsh ruler who oppresses people and is neither gentle nor merciful with them. The statement: "Beware of being one of them" is from the speech of ‘Ā'idh as an advice to Ibn Ziyād. Thereupon, Ibn Ziyād gave the following reply: "You are nothing but the chaff of them", i.e. you are not from the virtuous and knowledgeable Companions of the Prophet, or those with high status among them; rather, you are from the worthless among them. The word "chaff" here is a metaphor used to indicate meanness and worthlessness. So the noble Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Was there worthless chaff among them? Such worthless chaff only appeared after them and among those other than them." This is the eloquence and veracity of speech that every Muslim believes in. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) were all the cream of the crop, the masters of the Muslim nation, and more virtuous than those who came after them. All of them were upright role models and there is no worthless chaff among them. The chaff only came from and among those after them.

’Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: There was a man who, as far as I know, lived farther from the mosque than anyone else, and he never missed a prayer. He said: It was said to him, or I said to him: If only you would buy a donkey so that you may ride it in the darkness and the scorching heat. He said: I do not like that my house be near the mosque, for I want the steps I take to the mosque and back from it to my family to be recorded for me. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Verily, Allah has gathered all of that for you."

Narrated by Muslim line

’Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) informed that a man from the Ansār lived farthest from the Prophet's Mosque, yet he never missed a prayer—he would attend every prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So it was said to him: If you were to buy a donkey to ride during the darkness of night and the heat of the ground in the daytime, he replied: It would not please me for my house to be next to the mosque. I want Allah to record for me my walking to the mosque for prayer and my return when I go back to my family. His words reached the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who said: "Verily, Allah has gathered all of that for you."