'Umar ibnil-Khattab Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that one day while we were sitting with Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam, a man with extremely white clothing and very black hair came to us. No signs of travel were visible on him and none of us recognised him. Sitting down close to Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam, resting his knees against his and placing his palms on his own thighs, he said: O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam. Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam replied: Islam is to testify that none is worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish Salat, to pay Zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to Baitullah, provided you have resources for it. The man said: You have spoken the truth. 'Umar Radiyallahu 'anhu said: We were amazed at his asking the question and endorsing the answer. Then he said: Tell me about Iman (faith)? Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: Iman is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in the Divine Destiny – both good and bad of it. He said: You have spoken the truth. And then asked: Tell me about Ihsan? Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: Ihsan is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him; and even if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you. Then he said: Tell me about the Hour? Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam replied: The one who is asked about it knows no more than the one who is asking. He said: Then tell me about its signs. Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: That a slave-girl will give birth to her mistress; and you will see barefooted, naked and destitute shepherds competing with one another in constructing lofty buildings. 'Umar Radiyallahu 'anhu said: Then he went away and I stayed for a while. Then, Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam asked: O 'Umar! Do you know who the questioner was? I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: He was Jibrail, who came to teach you your Deen (Islam). (Muslim: 93)
Note: In Hadith, amongst the signs of the Last Day is that a slave
girl will give birth to her owner (mistress); which means that
disobedience of parents will become rampant at the approach of the Last
Day, so much so that girls, in whose nature obedience to their mother is
more ingrained, would not only become disobedient, but dominate over
their mothers, like a lady mistress orders her maid-servant. This is why
Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam has described a slave-girl
giving birth to her mistress. The second sign of the Last Day means,
such people shall be in possession of wealth who would not be worthy of
it. Their interest will be in constructing high buildings and they would
compete with one another in it. (Ma'ariful Hadith)
Ibne-Mas'ud Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates: I heard Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam saying: There are only two people worthy of envy: A person whom Allah has given wealth and empowers him to spend it in righteous causes; and the other, whom Allah has given knowledge by means of which he makes sound judgements, and teaches it to others. (Bukhari: 1409)
Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates: I heard Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam saying: Behold! Indeed, the world is accursed, and all that it contains is accursed except the Dhikr of Allah, and that which brings one closer to Allah, an 'Aalim or a seeker of knowledge of Deen. (Tirmidhi: 2322)
Abu Umamah Al-Bahili Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that two men were mentioned to Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam, one of them learned and the other devout worshipper. Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: The superiority of an 'Alim over an 'Abid is like that of mine over the least amongst you. Then Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: Indeed, Allah, His angels, the inhabitants of the skies and the earths, even the ants in their holes and even fish invoke mercy, grace and honour on him who teaches people good deeds. (Tirmidhi: 2685)
Abu Harun Al-'Abdi Rahimahullah reports from Abu Sa'id Al- Khudri Radiyallahu 'anhu, who narrates that Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: People from the East will come to you to seek knowledge of Deen, and when they come to you, treat them well. Abu Harun 'Abdi, says: Whenever Abu Sa'id would see us, he would say: Welcome to those about whom Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam advised us. (Tirmidhi: 2651)
Abu Waqid Al-Laithi Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that once Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam was sitting in the masjid, and other people were also present. Three men came, two of them turned their attention towards Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam, and one amongst them left. These two men stood near Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam; one of them found some room in the circle, so he sat there, the other one sat behind them and the third one (as mentioned above) turned his back and left. At the end of the gathering, Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: Should I not inform you about these three persons? One of them came closer to Allah by sitting in the circle and so Allah covered him with His Mercy. And the other one felt shy (to sit in the circle), so Allah regarded his shyness and did not deprive him of His Mercy and the last one turned away, so Allah turned away from him. (Bukhari: 66)
Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates: I heard Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam saying: He who comes to my Masjid (Masjid-un-Nabwi) with no other intention but to learn or teach a good deed is like a Mujahid in the path of Allah. And, he who comes with some other intention is like one who has come to look at the belongings of others (and this looking is of no benefit to him), (Ibne-Majah: 227)
Note: The excellence mentioned in this Hadith is valid for all
masjids, as all masjids are subsidiaries of Masjid-un-Nabwi.
(Injah-ul-Haja)
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that Rasullullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam said: A believer's thirst for knowledge is never quenched. He continues to hear and learn until he enters Paradise. (Tirmidhi: 2686)
