The Book of Faith

Abu Sa'id reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah, the High and Glorious, would say: O Adam I and he would say: At Your service, at your beck and call, O Lord, and the good is in Your Hand. Allah would say: Bring forth the group of (the denizens of) Fire. He (Adam) would say: Who are the denizens of Hell? It would be said: They are out of every thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. He (the Prophet) said: It is at this juncture that every child would become white-haired and every pregnant woman would abort and you would see people in a state of intoxication, and they would not be in fact intoxicated but grievous will be the torment of Allah. He (the narrator) said: This had a very depressing effect upon them (upon the companions of the Prophet) and they said: Messenger of Allah, who amongst us would be (that unfortunate) person (who would be doomed to Hell)? He said: Good tidings for you, Yajuj Majuj would be those thousands (who would be the denizens of Hell) and a person (selected for Paradise) would be amongst you. He (the narrator) further reported that he (the Messenger of Allah) again said: By Him in Whose Hand is your life, I hope that you would constitute one-fourth of the inhabitants of Paradise. We extolled Allah and we glorified (Him). He (the Prophet) again said: BY Him in Whose Hand is my life, I wish you would constitute one-third of the inhabitants of Paradise. We extolled Allah and Glorified (Him). He (the Prophet) again said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, I hope that you would constitute half of the inhabitants of Paradise. Your likeness among the people is the likeness of a white hair on the skin of a black ox or a strip on the foreleg of an ass.

The same hadith has been narrated from A'mash on the authority of the same chain of transmitters with the exception of these words:

You would be no more among men (on the Day of Resurrection) but like a white hair on (the body of) a black ox, or like a black hair on (the body of) a white ox, and he made no mention of: a strip on the foreleg of an ass.

It Is narrated on the authority of Abu Malik:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who professed that there is no god but Allah and made a denial of everything which the people worship beside Allah, his property and blood became inviolable, an their affairs rest with Allah.

Abu Malik narrated on the authority of his father that he heard the Messenger (ﷺ) say:

He who held belief in the unity of Allah, and then narrated what has been stated above.

It is reported by Sa'id b. Musayyib who narrated it on the authority of his father (Musayyib b. Hazm) that when Abu Talib was about to die, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to him and found with him Abu Jahl ('Amr b. Hisham) and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughirah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no god but Allah, and I will bear testimony before Allah (of your being a believer), Abu Jahl and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya addressing him said: Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of 'Abdul-Muttalib? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) constantly requested him (to accept his offer), and (on the other hand) was repeated the same statement (of Abu Jahl and 'Abdullah b. Abi Umayya) till Abu Talib gave his final decision and be stuck to the religion of 'Abdul-Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no god but Allah. Upon this the Messenger of Allah remarked: By Allah, I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am forbidden to do so (by God), It was then that Allah, the Magnificent and the Glorious, revealed this verse: " It is not meet for the Prophet (ﷺ) and for those who believe that they should beg pardon for the polytheists, even though they were their kith and kin, after it had been made known to them that they were the denizens of Hell" (ix. 113) And it was said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): " Verily you canst not guide to the right path whom you love. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will, and He knoweth best who are the guided" (28: 56).

The same hadith is mentioned through a different chain except it ends where it mentions that Allah revealed the verses and it does not mention the verses. There is also a slight variation in words.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah said to his uncle at the time of his death:

Make a profession of it that there is no god but Allah and I will bear testimony (of your being a Muslim) on the Day of judgment. But he (Abu Talib) refused to do so. Then Allah revealed this verse: " Verily you canst not guide to the right path whom you love. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will and He knoweth best who are the guided" (xxviii. 56).

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah said to his uncle (at the time of his death):

Make a profession of it that there is no god but Allah and I will bear testimony (of your being a Muslim) on the Day of judgment. He (Abu Talib) said: Were it not the fear of the Quraysh blaming me (and) saying that it was the fear of (approaching death) that induced me to do so, I would have certainly delighted your eyes. It was then that Allah revealed: " Verily you canst not guide to the right path whom you love. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will and He knoweth best who are the guided" (xxviii-56).

It is narrated on the authority of 'Uthman that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said. He who died knowing (fully well) that there is no god but Allah entered Paradise.

It is narrated on the authority of Humran that he heard Uthman saying this:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) uttering these words (as stated above).

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira:

We were accompanying the Messenger (ﷺ) in a march (towards Tabuk). He (the narrator) said: The provisions with the people were almost depleted. He (the narrator) said: (And the situation became so critical) that they (the men of the army) decided to slaughter some of their camels. He (the narrator) said: Upon this Umar said: Messenger of Allah, I wish that you should pool together what has been left out of the provisions with the people and then invoke (the blessings of) Allah upon it. He (the narrator) said: He (the Prophet) did it accordingly. He (the narrator) said: The one who had wheat in his possession came there with wheat. He who had dates with him came there with dates. And Mujahid said: He who possessed stones of dates came there with stones. I (the narrator) said: What did they do with the date-stones. They said: They (the people) sucked them and then drank water over them. He (the narrator said): He (the Prophet) invoked the blessings (of Allah) upon them (provisions). He (the narrator) said: (And there was such a miraculous increase in the stocks) that the people replenished their provisions fully. He (the narrator) said: At that time he (the Prophet) said: I bear testimony to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and I am His messenger. The bondsman who would meet Allah without entertaining any doubt about these (two fundamentals) would enter heaven.

It is narrated either on the authority of Abu Huraira or that of Abu Sa'id Khudri. The narrator A'mash has narrated this hadith with a little bit of doubt (about the name of the very first narrator who was in direct contact with the Prophet. He was either Abu Huraira or Abu Sa'id Khudri. Both are equally reliable transmitters of the traditions). He (the narrator) said:

During the time of Tabuk expedition, the (provisions) ran short and the men (of the army) suffered starvation; they said: Messenger of Allah, would you permit us to slay our camels? We would eat them and use their fat. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Do as you please. He (the narrator) said: Then 'Umar came there and said: Messenger of Allah, if you do that (if you give your consent and the men begin to slay their camels), the riding animals would become short. But (I would suggest you to) summon them along with the provisions left with them Then invoke Allah's blessings on them (different items of the provisions) It is hoped Allah shall bless them. The Messenger of Allah replied in the affirmative. (the narrator) said: He called for a leather mat to be used as a table cloth and spread it out. Then he called people along with the remaining portions of their provisions. He (the narrator) said: Someone was coming with handful of mote, another was coming with a handful of dates, still another was coming with a portion of bread, till small quantities of these things were collected on the table cloth. He (the narrator said): Then the messenger of Allah invoked blessing (on them) and said: Fill your utensils with these provisions. He (the narrator) said: They filled their vessel to the brim with them, and no one amongst the army (which comprised of 30,000 persons) was left even with a single empty vessel. He (the narrator) aid: They ate to their fill, and there was still a surplus. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked: I bear testimony that there is no god but Allah and I am the messenger of Allah. The man who meets his Lord without harboring any doubt about these two (truths) would never be kept away from Paradise.

It is narrated on the authority of Ubadah b. Samit that the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed:

He who said:" There is no god but Allah, He is One and there is no associate with Him, that Muhammad is his servant and His messenger, that Christ is servant and the son of His slave-girl and he (Christ) His word which He communicated to Mary and is His Spirit, that Paradise is a fact and Hell is a fact," Allah would make him (he who affirms these truths enter Paradise through any one of its eight doors which he would like.

It is narrated on the authority of Umar b. Hani with the same chain of transmitters with the exception of these words:

Allah would make him (he who affirms these truths) enter Paradise through one of the eight doors which he would like.

It is narrated on the authority of Sunabihi that he went to Ubada b. Samit when he was about to die. I burst into tears. Upon this he said to me:

Allow me some time (so that I may talk with you). Why do you weep? By Allah, if I am asked to bear witness, I would certainly testify for you (that you are a believer). Should I be asked to intercede, I would certainly intercede for you, and if I have the power, I would certainly do good to you, and then observed: By Allah, never did I hear anything from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) which could have been a source of benefit to you and then not conveyed it to you except this single hadith. That I intend to narrate to you today, since I am going to breathe my last. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, Allah would prohibit the fire of Hell for him.

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal:

I was riding behind the Prophet (ﷺ) and there was nothing between him and me but the rear part of the saddle, when he said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He moved along for a few minutes, when again he said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He then again moved along for a few minutes and said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied. At your beck and call, and at your pleasure. Messenger of Allah He, (the Prophet) said: Do you know what right has Allah upon His servants? I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (the Prophet) said: Verily the right of Allah over His servants is that they should worship Him, not associating anything with Him. He (the Prophet) with Mu'adh behind him, moved along for a few minutes and said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He (the Prophet) said: Do you know what rights have servants upon Allah in case they do it (i. e. they worship Allah without associating anything with Him)? I (Mu'adh b. Jabal) replied: Allah and His Messenger know best. (Upon this) he (the Prophet) remarked: That He would not torment them (with the fire of Hell).

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal that he observed:

I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on an ass known as 'Ufair. He (Mu'adh) observed: He (the Prophet) said: Mu'adh, do you know what right has Allah over His bondsmen and what right have His bondsmen over Him? Mu'adh added: I replied: Allah and his Messenger know best. Upon this he (the Prophet (ﷺ) remarked: The right of Allah over His bondsmen is that they should worship Allah and should not associate anything with Him, and the right of His bondsmen over Allah, Glorious and Sublime, is that He does not punish him who associates not anything with Him. He (Mu'adh) added: I said to the Messenger of Allah: Should I then give the tidings to the people? He (the Prophet) said: Do not tell them this good news, for they would trust in it alone.

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

Mu'adh, do you know the right of Allah over His bondsmen? He (Mu'adh) said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (the Messenger of Allah) said: That Allah alone should be worshipped and nothing should be associated with Him. He (the Prophet) said: What right have they (bondsmen) upon Him in case they do it? He (Mu'adh) said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (the Prophet) said: That He would not punish them.

It is narrated on the authority of Aswad b. Hilal that he heard Mu'adh say this:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called, me and I replied to him. He (the Prophet) said: Do you know the right of Allah upon the people? and then followed the hadith (mentioned above).

It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira:

We were sitting around the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Abu Bakr and Umar were also there among the audience. In the meanwhile the Messenger of Allah got up and left us, He delayed in coming back to us, which caused anxiety that he might be attacked by some enemy when we were not with him; so being alarmed we got up. I was the first to be alarmed. I, therefore, went out to look for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and came to a garden belonging to the Banu an-Najjar, a section of the Ansar went round it looking for a gate but failed to find one. Seeing a rabi' (i. e. streamlet) flowing into the garden from a well outside, drew myself together, like a fox, and slinked into (the place) where God's Messenger was. He (the Prophet) said: Is it Abu Huraira? I (Abu Huraira) replied: Yes, Messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) said: What is the matter with you? replied: You were amongst us but got up and went away and delayed for a time, so fearing that you might be attacked by some enemy when we were not with you, we became alarmed. I was the first to be alarmed. So when I came to this garden, I drew myself together as a fox does, and these people are following me. He addressed me as Abu Huraira and gave me his sandals and said: Take away these sandals of mine, and when you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, gladden him by announcing that he shall go to Paradise. Now the first one I met was Umar. He asked: What are these sandals, Abu Huraira? I replied: These are the sandals of the Messenger of Allah with which he has sent me to gladden anyone I meet who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, with the announcement that he would go to Paradise. Thereupon 'Umar struck me on the breast and I fell on my back. He then said: Go back, Abu Huraira, So I returned to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and was about to break into tears. 'Umar followed me closely and there he was behind me. The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be on him) said: What is the matter with you, Abu Huraira? I said: I happened to meet 'Umar and conveyed to him the message with which you sent me. He struck me on my breast which made me fall down upon my back and ordered me to go back. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: What prompted you to do this, 'Umar? He said: Messenger of Allah, my mother and father be sacrificed to you, did you send Abu Huraira with your sandals to gladden anyone he met and who testified that there is no god but Allah, and being assured of it in his heart, with the tidings that he would go to Paradise? He said: Yes. Umar said: Please do it not, for I am afraid that people will trust in it alone; let them go on doing (good) deeds. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Well, let them.