from the life of the prophet muhammad (pbuh)

476 Pages·2014·3.59 MB·English

PRINCIPLES FOR LIFE
FROM THE LIFE OF
THE PROPHET
MUHAMMAD (PBUH)

250 Ahadith and Their Commentaries

Murat KAYA
Istanbul 2007
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FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................. 4
A. ACCEPT ISLAM AND FIND SALVATION ............................................................................. 8
B. DELIGHTFULNESS OF FAITH ............................................................................................. 15
C. INTENTION AND SINCERITY .............................................................................................. 23
1. Intention ............................................................................................................................... 23
2. Sincerity ............................................................................................................................... 28
D. KNOWLEDGE and PRACTICE .............................................................................................. 33
1. The Virtue of Knowledge ..................................................................................................... 33
2. Beneficial Knowledge (Ilm) .................................................................................................. 38
3. Putting Knowledge into Practice ........................................................................................... 43
E. THE PRACTICE OF WORSHIP .............................................................................................. 48
1. Virtues of Ablution (Al-Wudhu) ........................................................................................... 48
2. Being Respectful to Call to Prayer (Adhan) .......................................................................... 54
3. Five Daily Ritual Prayers (Salah) .......................................................................................... 59
a. Significance of Salah ........................................................................................................................................ 59
b. The Virtue of Prayer ........................................................................................................................................ 63
c. Having Awe in Salah (Prayer) ..................................................................................................................... 68
d. Observing prayer early in its period ....................................................................................................... 76
e. Praying in Congregation ................................................................................................................................ 79
4. The Friday Prayer (Salat Al-Jum’a) ...................................................................................... 88
5. Ramadan and Fasting ............................................................................................................ 93
a. The Virtues of Ramadan and Fasting ...................................................................................................... 93
b. The Virtues of The Night of Power (Al-Laylat al-Qadr).................................................................. 98
c. Utilizing the Festivity (Eid) Days .............................................................................................................102
6. Zakat (Obligatory Alms) ..................................................................................................... 107
7. Sadaqah (Charity) and Infaq (Donating) ............................................................................. 112
a. Abundance in Infaq ........................................................................................................................................112
b. To Hurry up in Giving Charity ..................................................................................................................119
c. The Manners of Giving Charity .................................................................................................................124
d. Those who can afford to give only a few indeed give from their heart ................................130
8. Hajj (Major Pilgrimage to Mecca) and Umra (Minor Pilgrimage) .................................... 135
9. Sacrifice ............................................................................................................................. 145
10. Being in the same state as in the Noble Qur’an .............................................................. 151
a. The Effort to understand the Qur’an .....................................................................................................151
b. Living the Qur’an ............................................................................................................................................157
c. Cure with the Qur’an .....................................................................................................................................164
d. The Intercession of the Qur’an .................................................................................................................172
11. Times of Dawn ................................................................................................................. 178
12. Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) ......................................................................................... 189
13. Praising and Thanking Allah ............................................................................................. 201
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14. Saying Blessings for the Prophet Muhammad ................................................................... 212
15. Supplication (du‘a) ........................................................................................................... 221
16. Steadfastness in Supererogatory Deeds ......................................................................... 231
17. Worshiping during the period of widespread turmoil......................................................... 240
18. I’tikaf ............................................................................................................................... 245
F. AVOIDING SINFUL ACTS ................................................................................................... 250
1. Allah has a sense of jealousy so He doesn’t like when His servants perform sinful acts ...... 250
2. Major Sins .......................................................................................................................... 256
a. Ascribing Partners to Allah and Disobedience to Parents ..........................................................256
b. Killing someone or Committing Suicide ..............................................................................................265
c. Lying and False Oath (Perjury) ................................................................................................................271
d. Interest ................................................................................................................................................................281
e. Alcohol Consumption ....................................................................................................................................289
f. Fornication and Adultery .............................................................................................................................300
g. Betrayal, being disloyal ................................................................................................................................309
h. Backbiting and Being a Talebearer ........................................................................................................319
i. Oppression ..........................................................................................................................................................332
j. Arrogance and continuously reminding favors .................................................................................340
k. Practicing Sorcery and Other Sins ..........................................................................................................346
3. Not to belittle sins ............................................................................................................... 357
4. Staying away from suspicious things ............................................................................... 365
5. Repentance and Asking for Forgiveness ............................................................................. 372
6. Piety (Taqwa) .................................................................................................................... 382
7. To Leave Certain Desires and Passions ............................................................................ 396
8. Not to be fooled by Satan .................................................................................................. 408
G. CALLING TO ISLAM AND SERVING IN THE WAY OF ALLAH .................................... 420
1. The Responsibility of Calling to Islam ................................................................................ 420
2. The Virtue of Delivering the Message of Islam and Calling Others to It .............................. 433
3. The Love of Serving Islam ................................................................................................. 438
a. Being a Key to Goodness .............................................................................................................................438
b. Pursuing Good Deeds....................................................................................................................................444
c. The Ease of Performing Good Deeds .....................................................................................................451
4. Struggle (Jihad) in the Way of Allah ................................................................................... 458
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 472

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FOREWORD

ه
دٍ مَّ حَ مُ َانٰلوسُ رَ ىَلعَ مُ َلاسَّ لاوَ ُةَلاصَّ لاوَ نَ يمٰ َلاعَ لْا بِّ رَ ٰلِلّٰ دُ مْ حَ لَْا
نَ يعٰ مَ جْ َأ هٰ ٰبحْ صَ وَ هٰ ٰلآ ىَلعَ وَ

Infinite thanks and praises be to our Almighty Lord Allah each one of whose
characteristics is almighty, each one of whose names is perfect, and each one of
whose artworks is unimaginably beautiful, whose knowledge and wisdom is absolute,
whose benediction is abundant, and whose mercy is boundless!
Infinite blessings and greetings be to the Sultan of the worlds, the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), the cause of our creation, the cure of our life, the eternal light of
Islam and faith, the best exemplar who shapes our character, and our interceder in
both worlds!
It is known that;
The last divine book is the Noble Qur’an and the last prophet is His
Excellency prophet Muhammad Mustafa (pbuh), who is the seal of the Messengers
and master of the Prophets.
Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet are the two fundamental sources of
Islam, the final religion in the presence of Allah.
If one of them is missing, neither religion nor faith would be complete.
For this reason, in the presence of Allah the Almighty, obeying the Prophet
(pbuh) is same as obeying Allah, and He specifically draws attention to this fact in
the Noble Qur’an. In the following verses it is stated that:
“He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah.”
(Al-Nisa; 4:80)
“Those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens
with rivers flowing beneath, to abide therein (forever) and that will be the
supreme achievement.”
(Al-Nisa; 4:13)
These divine statements show that obeying the Prophet (pbuh) is a necessary
condition for faith. However, this obedience should not be out of duty but from the
heart, out of sincerity and love. This level of obedience is also laid down as a
condition by Allah:
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“But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make you
judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against
Your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.”
(Al-Nisa; 4:65)
The same level of delicacy in the rules regarding obeying the Prophet applies
when it comes not to revolt against him as well. As a matter of fact, Allah considered
disobedience to the Prophet the same as disobedience to Himself and strongly
prohibited it. In the noble verses, the warning is clear for those who disobey the
Messenger of Allah:
“But those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His
limits will be admitted to a Fire, to abide therein: And they shall have a
humiliating punishment.”
(Al-Nisa; 4:14)
“…let those beware who withstand the Messenger’s order, lest some trial
befall them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them.”
(Al-Nur; 24:63)
All these divine measures indicate the divine dimension of the sayings of
Prophet Muhammad as a source of Islam second only to the Qur’an. This is why
obedience to the Prophet (pbuh) means to follow his sayings. And this is also why,
just as the Noble Qur’an is a revelation from Allah, Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah
and ahadith which explain what the Qur’an concisely means are also considered as
revelations from Allah. This is a fact expressed in the Qur’an as follows:
“Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent
down to him…”
(Al-Najm; 53:3-4)
As a matter of fact, since Noble Qur’an is revealed to the heart of the Prophet
Muhammad,1 his every act became the moral of Qur’an. Thus, his sayings (hadith)
manifested themselves as the interpretation of the Qur’an. In short, the entire life,
sayings, and acts of our Master (pbuh) are the best explanation of the Noble Qur’an.
In this respect, the Noble Qur’an and the Sunnah represent an indivisible
unity. Whoever holds on to them does not go astray and earns eternal salvation.
Indeed this fact is expressed by the Prophet (pbuh) in his famous Farewell Speech:
“I left with you two things. If you follow them, you will never go astray. One
of them is the Book of Allah and the other is the Sunnah of His Prophet.”
(Ibn Hisham, IV,

276; Muwatta, Qadar, 3)

1 Al-Baqarah; 2:97
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For this reason, the Companions of the Prophet and the righteous scholars
who are the inheritors of the prophets have attributed great importance to the Sunnah
and to the ahadith which are the written documents of the Sunnah and transmitted
them to us with a praiseworthy accuracy. The most important factor in the
transmission of the Sunnah to this day is Muslims’ learning it from each other and
keeping it alive by practicing it in their lives since the time of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). So much so that in order to accept someone’s reporting of a
hadith, some scholars of hadith used to require that the narrator of the hadith practice
it in his/her life.
In other words, the issue was not just to report the sayings of the Prophet but
also to understand and practice them in the best way. Sunnah of the Prophet is our
most valuable and primary source which explain and interpret our sacred book.
Ahadith are the channels through which our beloved Prophet Muhammad
communicates with us. It is his way of talking to us from centuries ago, and showing
us to the straight path. Ahadith are the breaths from the Age of Bliss, the only cure
for the problems of the contemporary man who is drowning in the swirls of modern
ignorance.
Thus, in order to add our lives a Prophetic cure and love, a Muhammadan
blessing and benediction we must always hold tight to the Qur’an and the Sunnah of
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In order to achive this, it is our fundamental task to
read and understand the ahadith first.
With the encouragement of our esteemed elders, this book that you are
holding has been written because of this fundamental duty and out of necessity. First,
ahadith about certain topics are selected. We have compiled sayings of our beloved
Prophet (pbuh) related to practical side of Islam, faith, worship, avoiding sins, calling
to the true path, and serving in the way of Allah. These topics are briefly explained
with the help of fundamental sources under the light of verses and other ahadith.
The selected hadith are taken from credible hadith books. Every hadith is
compared to its original form by cross checking it with its source. We have paid
special attention to their translations as much as we can in terms of being loyal to
their originals and expressing the meaning by good usage of the language.
While asking Allah the Almighty to forgive our mistakes and accept our good
deeds;
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I would like to express my sincere thanks to first of all our honorable teacher
Osman Nuri TOPBAŞ who suggested the writing of this work and provided every
kind of support and help during the process;
To my honorable teachers Abdullah SERT, Ahmet TAŞGETİREN, Mustafa
ERİŞ, Prof. Dr. Ethem CEBECİOĞLU, Ass. Prof. Dr. Ömer ÇELİK, Dr. Âdem
ERGÜL and other teachers who put efforts in reviewing and revisions;
To my brothers Harun KIRKIL and Şükrü Mutlu KARAKOÇ;
Especially to asst. prof. Mustafa ÖZTÜRK, Sadettin EKİNCİ and Muhammed
Ali EŞMELİ;
Furthermore, I sincerely thank to the directors of Altinoluk Magazine who
accurately published and distributed this book to its readers as a gift.
May Our Lord turn all our efforts into continuous charity that are
suitable for His consent. May He grant us the opportunity to live as living
Qur’ans by holding on to the Sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh). May Allah bless us
with the intercession of His Messenger (pbuh) on the Day of Judgment under his
umbrella!
Amen!
Dr. Murat KAYA
June, 2007
Sultantepe – Üsküdar

 Turkish version of this book was distributed by Altinoluk as a gift in 2007 to those who subscribed.
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A. ACCEPT ISLAM AND FIND SALVATION
ه
ُهاَنيْ َتَأ َةَفوكُ لْا ُهنْ عَ ُاللّٰ يَ ضٰ رَ مٍ ٰتاحَ نُ بْ ا يُّ دٰ عَ مَ دٰ َق امَّ َل لَ اَق يِّ ٰبعْ شَّ لا نٰ عَ .١
ه
ىَّلصَ اللٰٰ ّ لٰ وسُ رَ نْ مٰ تَ عْ مٰ سَ امَ اَنثْ دِّ حَ :ُ هَل اَنلُْقَف ةٰ َفوكُ ْلا لٰ ْهَأ ءٰ اَهَقُف نْ مٰ رٍ َفَن يٰف
ه ه
: لَ اَقَ ف مَ َّلسَ وَ هٰ يْ َلعَ ُاللّٰ ىَّلصَ يَّ ٰبَّنلا تُ يْ َتَأ : لَ اَقَف مَ َّلسَ وَ هٰ يْ َلعَ ُاللّٰ
» مْ َلسْ َت مْ ٰلسْ َأ ،مٍ ٰتاحَ نَ بْ ا يَّ دٰ عَ اَي«
: لَ اَقَف »؟مُ لاَ سْ لْٰ ْ ا امَ وَ « : تُ لُْق
ه ه
اَهرٰ يْ خَ اَهِّلكُ رٰ ادَ قْ َلْْ اٰب نُ مٰ ؤْ ُتوَ ٰاللّٰ لُ وسُ رَ يِّنَأوَ ُاللّٰ لََّ ٰإ َهلّٰإ لََ نْ َأ دُ َهشْ َت«
.»اَهرِّ مُ وَ اَهوٰ لْحُ اَهرِّ شَ وَ
1. Sha’bi narrates:
When Adi b. Hatim (r.a) came to Kufah, we went to visit him with a group of jurists from
Kufah. We said to him:
“Would you mind telling us about the things that you heard from the Prophet?”
Upon this, Adi (r.a.) said:
I went to the Prophet. He told me:
“O Adi b. Hatim, accept Islam and reach salvation!”
I asked him:
“What is Islam?”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“ –That you bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that I am His Messenger, you
believe everything in fate, its good, its bad, those which are sweet and those which are bitter.” (Ibn
Majah, Muqaddimah, 10)
ه ه
مَ َّلسَ وَ هِ يْلَعَ ُاللّٰ ىَّلصَ يَّ بِ نَّلا ىتََأ :لُ وُقيَ هُ نْعَ ُاللّٰ يَ ضِ رَ ءِ ارَ بَلْا نِ عَ .٢
ه
:لَ اقَ »؟مُ ِلسْ ُأوَ لُ تِ اقَ ُأ ِاللّٰ لَ وسُ رَ ايَ« :لَ اقَ فَ دِ يدِ حَ لْابِ عٌ نَّقَ مُ لٌ جُ رَ
ه ه
هِ يْلَعَ ُاللّٰ ىَّلصَ ِاللّٰ لُ وسُ رَ لَ اقَ فَ .لَ تِ ُقفَ لَ تَاقَ مَّ ثُ مَ لَسْ َأفَ » لْ تِ اقَ مَّ ثُ مْ ِلسْ َأ«
:مَ َّلسَ وَ
.»ارا يثِ كَ رَ جِ ُأوَ لًا يِلقَ لَ مِ عَ «
2. It is related that al-Bara’ said:
(In the Uhud War) a man who was wearing iron armor came to the Prophet and asked:
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“O the Messenger of Allah! Is it all right if I join the war now and convert to Islam when
the war is over?”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“First convert to Islam first and then fight!”
After converting to Islam, the man joined the war and was martyred.
Upon that, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“His action was little but his reward is great.” (Bukhari, Jihad, 13; Ahmad, IV, 293)
ه ه ه
هِ يْلَعَ ُاللّٰ ىَّلصَ اللِٰ ّ لُ وسُ رَ لَ اقَ :لَ اقَ امَ هُ نْعَ ُاللّٰ يَ ضِ رَ رَ مَ عُ نِ بْا نِ عَ .٣
:مَ َّلسَ وَ
ه
لُ وسُ رَ اادمَّ حَ مُ نَّ َأوَ ُاللّٰ َّلَإ هَ لِّإ لََ نْ َأ ةِ دَ اهَ شَ :سٍ مْ خَ ىلَعَ مُ لًَ سْ ِلْْا يَ نِ بُ «
ه
.» نَ اضَ مَ رَ مِ وْصَ وَ جِّ حَ لْاوَ ةِ اكَ زَّ لا ءِ اتَيِإوَ ةِ َلًصَّ لا مِ اقَ ِإوَ اللِٰ ّ
1. As narrated by Ibn Umar, Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said:
“Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): the testifying (shahada) that there is
no god except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; establishing the prayer (salat);
paying the zakat (wealth-tax), the Hajj and the fast (sawm) of Ramadan.”
(Bukhari, Iman, 2; Tefsir, 2/10;
Muslim, Iman, 19-22)
ه ه ه
اللِٰ ّ لَ وسُ رَ نَّ َأ هُ نْعَ ُاللّٰ يَ ضِ رَ صِ اعَ لْا نِ بْ ورِ مْ عَ نِ بْ ِاللّٰ دِ بْعَ نْ عَ .٤
ه
:لَ اقَ مَ َّلسَ وَ هِ يْلَعَ ُاللّٰ ىَّلصَ
ه
.»ُهاتَآ امَ بِ ُاللّٰ هُ عَ نَّقَ وَ افا افَ كَ قَ زِ رُ وَ مَ لَسْ َأ نْ مَ حَ َلفْ َأ دْ قَ «
4. Abdullah Amr b. al-As reported Allah's Messenger (pbuh) as saying:
“He is successful who has accepted Islam, who has been provided with sufficient for his
want and been made contented by Allah with what He has given him.”
(Muslim, Zakat, 125. Also see
Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 35/2348)
Explanations:
The most important need of human beings who were sent to this world for being tested is
to find peace and salvation in the eternal life. Thus, their ultimate goal should be finding peace in
this world and reaching eternal happiness in the Hereafter by glorifying the spiritual life in this
world. However, due to the impediments of the human inner self and tricks of Satan, it is very
difficult for a man to find salvation in the Hereafter by using his intelligence and potential. For
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this reason, Allah the Almighty showed mercy to His servants and sent His prophets and books.
Humanity can find salvation only by following the enlightened teachings of these blessed divine
guides.
The real salvation that the humankind needs is giving the last breath in faith, thus entering
into the Paradise and avoiding the hellfire. In other words, it is to receive eternal bliss by gaining
the consent of Allah. This could only be possible by first accepting Islam and then following a
lifestyle in accordance with the limits of the Qur’an and Sunnah; because “Islam is the beginning
of all works.” 1 Going through all kinds of difficulty, trouble, and suffering, the Prophet (pbuh)
invited human beings to the straight path. For the salvation of the entire world, he sent
messengers to the rulers of the neighboring countries inviting them to “Accept Islam; Find
Salvation.” 2
Since converting to Islam is the fundamental condition for salvation, the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) strongly wanted for a person to choose Islam and became extremely happy for them
if they find the straight path. For example, nothing made him as happy as Abu Bakr’s conversion
to Islam.
(Ibn Kathir, el-Bidaya, III, 80)
Again, when other servants of Allah such as Abu Dharr,3 Khalid b. Zayd,4 Hubayb b.
Yasaf,5 and Rayhanah bint-i Amr6 found salvation by choosing Islam, signs of great happiness,
good news, and smiles were seen on his face.
Adi b. Khatim (r.a.) expressed the happiness of our Master as:
“When I became a Muslim, I saw the face of the Messenger of Allah brightened with
great happiness.”
(Ahmad, IV, 378)
Another example regarding the importance of converting to Islam is that the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) asked from a man who came fully equipped to fight at the most difficult moment of
a war to convert to Islam before everything else. This is because, in order for our good deeds to
mean something in the sight of Allah being Muslim is the necessary condition. Otherwise, good
deeds do not benefit us in the Hereafter. For the good deeds done without faith, only some kind
of worldly benefits are given due to the justice and mercy of Allah. (Muslim, Munafiqin, 57;
Haythami, III, 111)

1 Tirmidhi, Iman, 8/2616; Ibn-i Majah, Fitan, 12; Ahmad, V, 231, 236, 237.
2 See Bukhari, Bad’ul-vahy, 2; Jihad, 102; Cizye, 6; Ikrah, 2; I’tisam, 18; Muslim, Jihad, 74.
3 Hakim, Mustadrak, III, 385/5459.
4 Ibn-i Kathir, Bidaya, III, 83.
5 Waqidi, Maghazi, I, 47.
6 Ibn-i Kathir, Bidaya, IV, 128.
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