Word of Wisdom from Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)

Compiled by Dr. Shahid Athar

"Acquire knowledge, it enables its professor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven. It is our friend in the desert, our company in solitude and companion when friendless. It guides us to happiness, it sustains us in misery, it is an ornament amongst friends and an armour against enemies." (widely attributed to the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh))

"A Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can eat, is committing an act of charity." (Muslim)

"There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah." (Bukhari)

"What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured." (Bukhari)

"The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

"If you put your whole trust in Allah, as you ought, He most certainly will satisfy your needs, as He satisfies those of the birds. They come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests." (Tirmidhi)

"When Allah created his creatures He wrote above His throne: 'Verily, my Compassion overcomes my wrath." (Bukhari & Muslim)

"Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures." (Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)

" 'Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone.' Then the Prophet said: 'O my son! This is one of my laws, and he, who loves my laws verily loves me.' " (Bukhari)

"Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people." (Baihaqi)

"Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith." (Muslim)

"When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less." (Muslim)

"If you do not feel ashamed of anything, then you can do whatever you like." (Abu-Masud: Bukhari)

"O Lord, grant me your love, grant me that I love those who love you; grant me, that I might do the deeds that win your love. Make your love dearer to me than the love of myself, my family and wealth." (Tirmidhi)

"It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad; and it is better still to sit with the good than alone. It is better to speak to a seeker of knowledge than to remain silent; but silence is better than idle words." (Bukhari)

"Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms." (Muslim)

"Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth. He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you."(Abu Daud: Tirmidhi)

"It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path, that leads to bliss." (Muslim)

"Once a man, who was passing through a road, found a branch of a tree with torns obstructing it. The man removed the thorns from the way. Allah thanked him and forgave his sins." (Bukhari)

"Who are the learned? Those who practice what they know." (Bukhari)

"Allah has revealed to me, that you must be humble. No one should boast over one another, and no one should oppress another." (Iyad b. Hinar al-Mujashi: Muslim)

"Who is the most favoured of Allah? He, from whom the greatest good comes to His creatures." (Bukhari)

"A true Muslim is thankful to Allah in prosperity, and resigned to His will in adversity." (Muslim)

"A Muslim who meets with others and shares their burdens is better than one who lives a life of seclusion and contemplation. " (Muslim)

"Serve Allah, as you would if you could see Him; although you cannot see Him, He can see you. (Umar: Muslim)

"Allah does not look at your appearance or your possessions; but He looks at your heart and your deeds." (Abu Huraira: Muslim)

"The best richness is the richness of the soul." (at the field ofTabuk, Syria, Rajab 9 A.H.: Bukhari)

"Keep yourselves far from envy; because it eats up and takes away good actions, like a fire eats up and burns wood." (Abu Daud)

"Much silence and a good disposition, there are no two things better than these." (Bukhari)

"Verily, Allah is mild and is fond of mildness, and He gives to the mild what He does not give to the harsh." (Muslim)

"Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him." (Bukhari)

"Once the Prophet was asked:'Tell us, which action is dearest to Allah?' He answered:'To say your prayer at its proper time.' Again he was asked: 'What comes next?' Mohammed said: 'To show kindness to parents.' 'Then what?' he was asked, 'To strive for the cause of Allah!' " (Ibn Masad: Bukhari)

"When two persons are together, two of them must no whisper to each other, without letting the third hear; because it would hurt him." (Bukhari & Muslim)

"Verily, it is one of the respects to Allah to honor an old man." (Bukhari)

"All Muslims are like a foundation, each strengthening the other; in such a way they do support each other." (Abu Musa: Bukhari & Muslim)

"Strive always to excel in virtue and truth." (Bukhari)

"You will not enter paradise until you have faith; and you will not complete your faith till you love one another." (Muslim)

"He, who wishes to enter paradise at the best gate, must please his father and mother." (Bukhari & Muslim)

"I am leaving two things among you, and if you cling to them firmly you will never go astray; one is the Book of Allah and the other is my way of life." (Farewell Pilgrimage: Muatta)

"Allah is One and likes Unity." (Muslim)

"The best of alms is that, which the right hand gives and the left hand knows not of." (Bukhari)

"The perfect Muslim is not a perfect Muslim, who eats till he is full and leaves his neighbors hungry." (Ibn Abbas: Baihaqi)

"He is not of us who is not affectionate to the little ones, and does not respect the old; and he is not of us, who does not order which is lawful, and prohibits that which is unlawful." (Ibn Abbas: Tirmidhi)

"No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that, what he desires for himself." (Abu Hamza Anas: Bukhari & Muslim)

"To strive for the cause of Allah from daybreak to noon and sunset is better than the goods and enjoyment of the whole worldly life." (Bukhari)

"Be not like the hypocrite who, when he talks, tells lies; when he gives a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he proves dishonest." (Bukhari & Muslim)

"The proof of a Muslim's sincerity is, that he pays no heed to that, which is not his business." (Abu Hureira: Tirmidhi)

"Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind." (Muslims & Bukhari)

"Conduct yourself in this world, as if you are here to stay forever; prepare for eternity as if you have to die tomorrow." (Bukhari)

"The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveller, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way." (Tirmidhi)

Our Fajr Double Advantage--The key to spiritual and material success for Muslims

 By Michael Young

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" - a famous maxim coined by the American scientist, writer and inventor, Benjamin Franklin. And he was not alone in these beliefs. The writer Samuel Johnson also warned that "nobody who does not rise early will ever do any good".

This is not just opinion but proven scientific fact. A study by researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo in the American state of Utah found that:

"students who habitually go to bed late and sleep late the next day have lower grade point averages (GPAs) than students with early-to-bed and early-to-rise sleeping habits. The later students slept in the morning, the lower their grades tended to be. Out of all the factors studied, weekday and weekend wakeup times had the strongest association with students' GPAs. Each hour over the average that students slept in on weekdays was associated with a 0.13-point drop on the GPA (0.0-4.0 scale)."
Source: Journal of American College Health 2000; 49: 125-130

Of course, we Muslims are well used to getting up not just at the crack of dawn but actually half an hour before it to begin the day with the ritual worship of fajr salat (and even earlier in Ramadan before starting the day's fast).

Spiritual Success

What are the spiritual blessings of fajr salat?

According to a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, prophet Mohammed stated that the action which is dearest to God is salat at its proper times. On another occasion prophet Mohammed also said to his companions:

"The five set prayers may be compared to a stream of fresh water, flowing in front of your house, into which you plunge five times each day. Do you think that would leave any dirt on your body?' When they replied: 'None at all!' Mohammed said: 'Indeed the five prayers remove sins, just as water removes dirt." (Bukhari, Muslim)

And once while standing beside a tree in autumn, he stated:

"When a Muslim observes his salat with due attention and devotion, he sheds his sins just like this tree is shedding its leaves." (Ahmad)

Moreover, in the Quran we are told that prostrating (in salat) brings us closer to God (96:1).

Prophet Mohammed also tells us that fajr salat along with isha is particularly rich in blessings:

"If people only knew what blessings are in the fajr and isha prayers, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl." (Bukhari and Muslim)

And according to Utham, (RA), prophet Mohammed said:

"To perform the dawn prayer, [fajr], in congregation is like keeping vigil throughout the night." (Muslim).

Material Success

In Surah 23, ayats 1-2 of the Quran we learn that:

"Certainly the believers have succeeded, those who offer salat with devotion."

Spiritual success certainly. But as Muslims we are also called upon not just to earn spiritual blessings for the next world but also to be materially successful in this one. Despite the obvious call to work hard and make the most of our abilities demonstrated in the parable of the talents, the Christian West has often had an ambiguous attitude towards wealth, sometimes glorifying poverty and misinterpreting Jesus's gospel statement that "love of money is the root of all evil" to mean that money itself is the root of all evil. As a Muslim, I am more inclined to agree with the playwright George Bernard Shaw who is reported to have said that "lack of money is the root of all evil".

[Shaw was an admirer of prophet Mohammed and in the 1936 book The Genuine Islam referred to him as "the wonderful man" and "the saviour of humanity".]

Prophet Mohammed himself stated:

"There will dawn a time over people when the destruction of a man will be at the hands of his wife, parents, and children. They will humiliate him because of his poverty and will make such demands which will induce him to engage in such activities (to gain more money) which will finally destroy his religion." - Baihaqi. Narrated by Ibn Mas'ood (RA) and Abu Hurairah (RA)

The other side of the coin, so to speak, is:

"How excellent is the wealth of the Muslim". - Sahih Bukhari hadith 4.95 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri (RA)

It is wealth which enables us to take care of our families, keep on the straight path and avoid doing wrong in order to make ends meet. It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to pay Zakat. It is wealth which enables us to help others and contribute to Dawah through additional charity. It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to go on Hajj.

It was wealthy Muslim traders who peacefully spread Islam throughout West Africa and the areas we now know as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. And if we look at the first generation of Muslims, we find the shining example of Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awl. The eighth person to embrace Islam, he migrated twice to Abyssinia. Abdur-Rahman distinguished himself in both the battles of Badr and Uhud, suffering more than twenty wounds at the latter. Then starting with nothing, he went on to achieve tremendous success as a merchant, becoming the richest of the companions. From his great wealth, Abdur-Rahman financed the Muslim armies, contributed to the upkeep of the family of Mohammed after the prophet's death and was universally renowned for his fabulous generosity.

So how can we turn getting up for Fajr to our material advantage? Certainly not by slinking back into bed again and snuggling up for another few hours. As prophet Mohammed said:

"The most excellent jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

In the context of fajr, what this means is, once up, stay up! Stay up and do something useful. Work on your goals. If you don't have any, set some. Decide what you want to achieve in life. Devise a plan to make those goals a reality then take action. You will be amazed at what you can get done in those few quiet hours when most of the rest of the world is still asleep. You can organise your day, learn a language, work on your degree course or get fit by going jogging in the coolness of the morning.

You can also turn staying up after fajr to your career advantage by driving into work earlier, beating the traffic then packing so much productive work into the next hour without interruption because no one is there to pop into your office and the phone hasn't started ringing yet.

A further fajr advantage is that along the way you can listen on cassette to the wisdom and inspiration of motivational and business speakers. We spend hundreds of ours commuting in our cars every year, by some estimates the equivalent to two full terms of university tuition. Put this time to good use, especially first thing in the morning when you are relaxed and driving on a virtually empty road, when you are bright and fresh and can best take it all in. Turn your car into a university on wheels.

Each of our lives is different, but you know how to apply these ideas to your own situation.

Take action now!

"Ah, that's too hard", I hear you say. Well God assures us in the Quran that:

"We do not lay a burden on anyone beyond his capacity." (Quran: 23:62)

It is possible to turn these early hours to great advantage. It's desirable and it's beneficial. We are obliged to get up for fajr anyway. From this we derive a spiritual advantage. Let's stay up and get to work. Why have just one type of advantage when we can have two - spiritual and material. As Muslims we are uniquely placed. The next fajr is less than 24 hours from now. First thing tomorrow morning make sure that you take advantage of your fajr double advantage.

The Way to Perform the Night Prayer

I spoke in detail about this subject in my book Salaat at-Taraaweeh (pg. 101-115), so I felt that I should abridge that discussion here in order to make it easy for the reader and to remind him:

The First Manner: consists of thirteen rak'aat, which is commenced with two short rak'aat. According to the most correct opinion, these are the two rak'aat of Sunnah prayer offered after 'Ishaa, or they are two specific rak'aat by which one begins the Night Prayer, as has been stated previously. Then one prays two very long rak'aat (after that). Then two more rak'aat are prayed, and then another two rak'aat are prayed. Then two more rak'aat are prayed and another set of two rak'aat are prayed. Then witr is made with one rak'ah.

The Second Manner: consists of thirteen rak'aat. There are eight rak'aat within them, in which one makes tasleem after every two rak'aat. Then witr is made with five rak'aat and one does not sit nor make the tasleem except in the fifth rak'ah.

The Third Manner: consists of eleven rak'aat, in which one makes tasleem after every two rak'aat and then prays witr at the end with one rak'ah.

The Fourth Manner: consists of eleven rak'aat, in which one prays four rak'aat and makes one tasleem after the four. The he prays another four in a similar manner and ends it with three rak'aat (for witr).

Would the Prophet (saws) remain in the sitting position after every two rak'aat, when praying a unit of four rak'aat or a unit of three rak'aat? We do not find a clear answer for this, but remaining in the sitting position (for tashahhud) while doing a unit of three rak'aat is not legislated (in the Religion)!

The Fifth Manner: consists of eleven rak'aat, in which one prays eight rak'aat and does not sit in any of them except for the eighth rak'ah. While sitting (in the eighth rak'ah), he makes the tashahhud and sends Salaat on the Prophet (saws) and then stands up again without making the tasleem. Then he makes witr with one rak'ah and when finished, he makes the tasleem. This consists of nine rak'aat. Then he prays two rak'aat after that while in the sitting position.

The Sixth Manner: One prays nine rak'aat, in which he does not sit except after the sixth rak'ah. Then he makes the tashahhud and sends Salaat on the Prophet (saws) and then stands again without making the tasleem. Then he makes witr with three rak'aat and when finished, he makes the tasleem, etc. (the rest is the same as the previous manner)

These are the manners in which it is reported that the Prophet (saws) performed the Night Prayer. It is possible to add other types of manners to it, by subtracting what one wishes from each set of rak'aat until he cuts it down to one rak'ah, acting on the previously mentioned hadeeth of Allaah's Messenger (saws): "So whoever wishes, then let him pray witr with five rak'aat, and whoever wishes, then let him pray witr with three rak'aat, and whoever wishes, then let him pray witr with one rak'ah."

So if one wants, he can pray these five rak'aat or three rak'aat with one sitting and one tasleem, as is stated in the Second Manner. And if he wants, he can make tasleem after every two rak'aat, as is stated in the Third Manner, and this is preferred.

As for praying the set of five rak'aat or three rak'aat by sitting after every two rak'aat and not making the tasleem, then we did not find any authentic report that the Prophet (saws) used to do this. The asl (foundation) is that it is permissible, but since the Prophet (saws) forbade us from praying witr with three rak'aat indicating the reason for that by saying: "And do not liken it to the Maghrib prayer." [1] So then anyone that prays the witr in three rak'aat must not liken it to the Maghrib prayer. This can be done in two ways:

1. Making the tasleem between the even and odd number rak'ah (i.e. between the second and the third rak'ah). This is what is more strong and preferred.

2. One does not sit between the even and odd number (i.e. he prays three rak'aat straight with one tasleem), and Allaah knows best.