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Muhammad

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All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

Muhammad (Arabic: مُحَمَّد‎, pronounced [muħammad]; c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he is a prophet, sent to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

Quotes

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Last Words

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  • اللَّهُمَّ الرَّفِيقَ الأَعْلَي
    • "O Allah! (with) the highest companion."
      • Sahih Bukhari, Book No. 64, Chapter 84, Hadith 4463, reported by Aisha (one of his wives)
Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.

Final sermon

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The Last Sermon of Muhammad delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H (c. 630 AD)

Some excerpts include:

  • "O People, verily your blood, your property and your honour are sacred and inviolable until you appear before your Lord, as the sacred inviolability of this day of yours, this month of yours and this very town (of yours). Verily you will soon meet your Lord and you will be held answerable for your actions."
  • "O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have right over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers."
  • "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone."
  • "All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly."
  • "Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

Sunni Hadith

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It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.
Note: Hadith ("Traditions") of the prophet are accounts of sayings attributed directly to Muhammad, through traditionally accepted sources, and to Muslims they are second in importance only to the Qur'an. They are seen as explanations of the Quranic verses and the second source of legislation in Islamic jurisprudence.
(Arranged by source)
Avoid cruelty and injustice for, on the Day of Judgment, the same will turn into several darknesses; and guard yourselves against miserliness; for this has ruined nations who lived before you.
There are two blessings which deceive many people: health and free time.
  • The Amir al-Mu'minin, Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Actions only go by intentions. Everyone gets what they intend. Anyone, therefore, who emigrates to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is indeed to Allah and His Messenger. But anyone who emigrates to gain something of this world or to marry a woman, his emigration is to that to which he emigrated."
  • 'A'isha, Umm al-Mu'minin, Umm 'Abdullah said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'An army will invade the Ka'ba. When they are at Bayda', the earth will swallow them up from the first to the last of them.'" She said, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, how will it swallow them up from the first to the last of them when their traders are among them as well as others who are not really part of them?' He said, 'It will swallow them up from the first to the last of them and then they will resurrected according to their intentions.'"
  • Abu Hurayra 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Sakhr said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah does not look at your bodies nor your forms but He looks at your hearts and your actions."
  • Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah the Mighty and Majestic accepts the repentance of His servant as long as his death-rattle has not begun."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Part of the excellence of a person's Islam is his leaving alone what does not concern him."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "People will enter the Garden [paradise] whose hearts are like the hearts of birds."
  • Ibn 'Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are two blessings which deceive many people: health and free time."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Once a man was walking along a road and became very thirsty. He found a well, climbed down into it and drank. When he came out, he saw a dog driven by thirst to eat mud. He said, 'This dog has reached the same extreme of thirst that I had reached.' So he climbed back down the well, filled his leather sock with water and, holding it between his teeth, climbed back up and let the dog drink Allah thanked him for that and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, do we then receive a reward on account of animals?'" He said, "There is a reward for every live animal [lit. everything with a moist liver]."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Every right thing is sadaqa."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is pleased with His slave who eats a morsel and praises Allah for it or takes a drink and praises Allah for it."
  • 'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you dozes off while he is praying, he should go and lie down until he is no longer sleepy. If someone prays when he is drowsy, he may not know whether he is asking for forgiveness or asking for something bad for himself."
  • Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best jihad is a just word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler."
  • Abu 'Abdullah Tariq ibn Shihab al-Bajali al-Ahmasi reported that a man asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, after he had put his feet in his stirrups, "What jihad is the best?" He said, "A true word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of injustice. Injustice will be darkness on the Day of Rising. Beware of avarice. Avarice destroyed those before you and prompted them to shed each other's blood and make lawful what was unlawful."
  • Avoid cruelty and injustice for, on the Day of Judgment, the same will turn into several darknesses; and guard yourselves against miserliness; for this has ruined nations who lived before you.
  • Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A believer in respect of another believer is like a building whose parts support one another." and he intertwined his fingers.
  • He also reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone passing through any of our mosques or markets carrying arrows should hold or grasp them by their heads so that no Muslim will be injured by them."
  • An-Nu'man ibn Bashir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The metaphor of the believers in their mutual love, mercy and affection is that of the body. When one limb of it complains, the rest of the body collapses with sleeplessness and fever."
  • Abu Hurayra said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kissed al-Hasan ibn 'Ali while al-Aqra' ibn Habis was with him. Al-Aqra' said, 'I have ten children and have never kissed any of them.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, looked at him and said, 'Anyone who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy."
  • Jarir ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If someone does not show mercy to people, Allah will not show mercy to him."
  • Abu Qatada al-Harith ibn Rib'i reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I stand in prayer and would like to make it long but I hear the crying of a child and shorten my prayer not wanting to make things difficult for its mother."
  • Ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. He should not wrong him nor surrender him to his enemy. Allah will take care of the needs of anyone who takes care of the needs of his brother. On the Day of Rising Allah will dispel the anxiety of anyone who dispels the anxiety of another Muslim. On the Day of Rising Allah will veil anyone who veils another Muslim."
  • Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of you can truly be said to believe until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself."
  • He also reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Help your brother, wronging or wronged." A man said, "Messenger of Allah, I can help him if he is wronged but tell me how I can help him if he is wronging?" He said, "You can restrain him - or prevent him - from injustice. That is helping him."
  • Sahl ibn Sa'd reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I and those who care for orphans will be in the Garden [heaven] like this," and he pointed with his forefinger and middle finger and made an opening between them."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I and an orphan's guardian, whether he is a relative or a non-relative, will be like these two in the Garden [heaven]," and the transmitter, Malik ibn Anas, indicated the index and middle fingers.
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Someone who strives on behalf of widows and the poor is like someone who fights in the way of Allah." I think that he also said, "And like someone who continually stands at night in prayer and like someone who continually fasts."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A believing man should not hate a believing woman. If he dislikes something in her character, he should be pleased with some other or another­ trait of hers."
  • Abu Hurayra stated, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The most perfect of believers in belief is the best of them in character. The best of you are those who are the best to their women."
  • Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "All of you are shepherds. Each of you is responsible for his flock. An amir is a shepherd. A man is a shepherd in respect of his family. The woman is a shepherd in respect of her husband's house and children. All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock."
  • Abu Dharr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Abu Dharr, if you cook a stew put a lot of water in it, keeping your neighbours in mind."
  • 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best of companions in the sight of Allah Almighty is the one who acts best towards his companion. The best of neighbours in the sight of Allah Almighty is the one who acts best towards his neighbour."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who desires the expansion of his provision or to have the best of his life prolonged, should maintain ties of kinship.'"
  • 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported: "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'A person who maintains ties of kinship is not someone who only does so with those who maintain ties with him. A person who maintains ties of kinship is someone who restores them when they have been cut off.'"
  • Asma' bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiq said, "My mother came to me during the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while she was still an idolater and I asked the Messenger of Allah, 'My mother has come to me, wanting something. Shall I give it to her?' He said, 'Yes. Give to your mother.'"
  • Salman ibn 'Amir reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you breaks the fast, he should break it with dates. They are a blessing. If he cannot find any dates, then water. It is pure." He said, "Sadaqa given to a poor person is sadaqa but to a relative it is both sadaqa and maintaining ties of kinship."
  • Abu 'Abdullah 'Amr ibn al-'As reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One of the major wrong actions is for a man to abuse his parents." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, is it possible for a man to abuse his parents?" He replied, "Yes. He may curse another man's father who in turn curses his father, and curse his mother and he in turn curses his mother."
  • "One of the worst major wrong actions is for a man to curse his parents." It was said, "O Messenger of Allah, how can a man curse his parents?" He said, "He may curse another man's father who in turn curses his father, and curse his mother and he in turn curses his mother."
  • Abu Usayd Malik ibn Rabi'a as-Sa'idi said, "Once while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a man from the Banu Salama came up and asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, is there any devotion to my parents which I can show them after their death?' He said, 'Yes, praying for them, asking forgiveness for them, fulfilling their pledges after them, maintaining ties with relations which are only maintained through them, and honouring any friend of theirs." [Abu Dawud]
  • 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb's grandfather said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who does not show mercy to our young people nor honour our old people is not one of us."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "No young man honours an old man on account of his age without Allah decreeing for him one who will honour him in his old age."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man follows the religion of his close friend, so each of you should be very careful about whom he takes as a close friend."
  • Anas reported that a Bedouin said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "When will the Hour come?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How have you prepared for it?" He said, "With love of Allah and His Messenger." He said, "You will be with the one you love."
  • Seven kinds of people will be sheltered under the shade of God on the Day of Judgment...They are: a just ruler, a young man who passed his youth in the worship and service of God...one whose heart is attached to the mosque...two people who love each other for the sake of God...a man who is invited to sin...but declines, saying 'I fear God'...one who spends his charity in secret, without making a show...and one who remembers God in solitude so that his eyes overflow.
  • Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say, "Allah divided mercy into a hundred parts and He kept back ninety-nine parts with Himself and left one part on the earth. It is from this part that creatures show mercy to one another so that an animal lifts its hoof from its young fearing to hurt them."
  • In one variant, "Allah Almighty has a hundred mercies out of which He sent down one mercy among jinn, men, beasts and insects by which they show affection to one another and by which they show mercy to one another and by which wild animals show mercy to their young. Allah Almighty has held back ninety-nine of the mercies and will show them to His slaves on the Day of Rising."
  • Muslim also related it from Salman al-Farisi who said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty has a hundred mercies. One of them is the mercy by which creatures show mercy to one another, and ninety-nine are for the Day of Rising."
  • In one variant, "On the day He created the heavens and the earth, Allah Almighty created a hundred mercies, each mercy equal to what is between the heaven and the earth, and He put one mercy on the earth by which a mother has compassion for her child and wild animals and birds for each other. On the Day of Rising, He will perfect them with this mercy."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When an unbeliever does a good deed, he enjoys its fruits in this world. In the case of a believer, Allah Almighty will store up his good deeds for him in the Next world and will also reward him with provision in this world because of his obedience."
  • In one variant, "Allah will not wrong a believer in respect of any good deed - he gives to him on account it in this world and he rewards him for it in the Next world. The unbeliever enjoys all the fruits of any good deeds he does for Allah Almighty in this world so that when he passes to the Next world, he had no good deeds left for which to be repaid."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The metaphor of the five prayers is that of a sizeable flowing river at the door of one of you in which he washes five times every day."
  • Ibn 'Umar said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "On the Day of Rising, a believer will be brought near his Lord until His mercy descends on him and He will ask him to acknowledge his sins and say, 'Do you confess to such-and-such a sin? Do you confess to such-and-such a sin?' He will say, 'Lord, I confess.' He will say, 'I veiled it for you in the world and I forgive you for it today,' and he will be given the page of his good actions."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is pleased with the slave who eats some food and then praises Him for it, or drinks a drink and then praises Him for it."
  • Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reported that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say three days before his death, "None of you should die without having a good opinion of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted."
  • Anas said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Allah Almighty says, "O son of Adam! I will forgive you as long as you call on Me and have hope in Me, no matter what you do. Son of Adam, I do not care if your wrong actions reach to the clouds of heaven and then you ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you. Son of Adam, if you were to come with sins equivalent in weight to the whole earth and then meet Me having not associated anything with Me, I would come to you with the same amount of forgiveness."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If the believers knew the punishment which Allah has, none of them would have any hope of attaining His Garden [heaven]. If the unbelievers knew the mercy which Allah has, none of them would despair of reaching His Garden.
  • Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Next World."
  • Al-Mustawrid ibn Shaddad reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "This world in in comparison with the Next World is like putting your finger in the sea and seeing what comes back on it."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went through the market with people on both sides of him. He passed the dead body of a deformed sheep, took it by its ear and then said, "Which of you would like to have this for a dirham?" They said, "We would not like to have it for anything. What would we do with it?" He said, "Would you like to have it?" They said, "By Allah, even if it was alive, it would be defective since it is deformed, and now it is dead." He said, "By Allah, this world has less value with Allah than this has with you."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If I had the whole of Uhud in gold, it would not make me happy for three days to pass while I have any of it except something I have kept for a debt."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Look at those who are lower than you and do not look at those who are higher than you. That is more likely to prevent you underestimating the blessing of Allah on you."
  • In one variant, "When one of you sees someone who has been given more bounty in respect of wealth or physical strength, he should then look at someone who has less than him."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "This world is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the unbeliever."
  • Ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took hold of my shoulders and said, "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller on the road." Ibn 'Umar used to say, 'In the evening, do not anticipate the morning, and in the morning do not anticipate the evening. Take from your health for your illness and from your life for your death."
  • Abu 'Abbas Sahl ibn Sa'd as-Sa'idi said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, show me an action for which Allah will love me and for which people will love me if I do it. He said, "Do with little of this world and Allah will love you, and do with little of what belongs to other people and people will love you."
  • Sahl ibn Sa'd as-Sa'idi reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If this world had been worth as much as a gnat's wing in the eyes of Allah, no unbeliever would have had a single drink of water from it."
  • Ka'b ibn 'Iyad said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Every community has a trial, and the trial of my community is wealth."
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mughaffal said, "A man said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I love you." He said, "Be careful of what you say." He said, "By Allah, I love you," three times. He said, "If you love me, then prepare yourself for poverty. Poverty comes swifter to the one who loves me than a flood to its destination."
  • Ka'b ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two hungry wolves loose among sheep do not cause as much damage as that caused to a man's deen by his greed for money and reputation."
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, slept on a straw mat and when he got up he had a mark on his side. We said, "Messenger of Allah, we could make a covering for you?" He said, "What have I to do with this world? I am only in this world like a rider who seeks shade under a tree and then goes on."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The poor will enter the Garden [heaven] five hundred years before the rich."
  • Abu Hurayra stated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The most truthful phrase ever said by a poet is the words of Labid: "Everything except Allah is false."
  • Abu Muhammad Fadala ibn 'Ubayd al-Ansari reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "O the delight of the one who is guided to Islam, has adequate livelihood, and is contented."
  • Abu Karima al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "A human being fills up no vessel worse than his belly. Enough for a son of Adam are some morsels which will kept his back straight. If it cannot be avoided, then a third is for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for himself."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Wealth is not from a lot of money. Wealth is the independence of the self."
  • From Ibn 'Umar is that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stated while he was on the minbar, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is the one which spends and the lower is the beggar's."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The very poor man is not the one who goes around to people to ask for a bite or two to eat or a date or two, but the one who does not have enough for himself but is too shy to ask so that he is given sadaqa - or does not beg from people importunately."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is better for one of you to take a rope and carry firewood on his back than for him to go to a man to beg from him who then gives to him or refuses to."
  • It is better for any of you to carry a load of firewood on his own back than to beg from someone else.
  • Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of you eats better food than that which he eats as a result of the work of his own hand. The Prophet Dawud used to eat from the work of his own hand."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The likeness of the miser and the one who gives is like two men wearing shirts of chain-mail from their breasts to their collar bones. When the giver of sadaqa spends, his shirt expands over his body until it covers his fingertips and obliterates his footsteps. When the miser wants to spend anything, every link remains in its place. He tries to make it looser but it will not get looser."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Food for two is enough for three, and food for three is enough for four."
  • Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said, "Once when we were on a journey with the Prophet, a man came on a camel of his and began to look to his right and left. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Anyone who has a spare mount should prepare it for someone who does not have a mount to ride, and anyone who has extra provision should prepare it for someone who does not have any provision," and he mentioned the different categories of property until we thought that none of us had any right to anything in excess of our needs."
  • Ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took me by the shoulder and said, "Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller on the road."
  • Abu Hurayra reported the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Race to good actions as fast as you can. What are you waiting for except delayed poverty, oppressive wealth, debilitating illness, dottering senility, a swift death or the Dajjal? Or are you waiting for an unseen evil, or the Last Hour? The Last Hour will be most bitter and terrible."
  • Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by some graves at Madina and turned his face towards them and said, "Peace be upon you, O people of the graves! May Allah forgive us and you. You preceded us and we are following afterwards."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "None of you should wish for death. If he does good, he may increase in it, and if he does evil, he may turn in repentance."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of injustice. Injustice will be darkness on the Day of Rising. Beware of avarice. Avarice destroyed those before you and prompted them to shed each other's blood and to make lawful what Allah had made unlawful for them."
  • An-Nu'man ibn Bashir said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "The halal is clear and the haram is clear. But between the two there are doubtful things about which most people have no knowledge. Whoever exercises caution with regard to what is doubtful, shows prudence in respect of his deen and his honour. Whoever gets involved in the doubtful things is like a herdsman who grazes his animals near a private preserve (hima). He is bound to enter it. Every king has a private preserve and the private preserve of Allah on His earth are the things that He has made forbidden. There is lump of flesh in the body, the nature of which is that when it is sound, the entire body is sound, and when it is corrupt, the entire body is corrupt - it is the heart."
  • Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali said, "I memorised from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Leave what gives you doubt for what gives you no doubt.'"
  • 'Atiyya ibn 'Urwa as-Sa'di, the Companion, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The slave [of Allah] will not achieve the status of being one of the Godfearing until he leaves what does not concern him out of consideration for what does concern him."
  • Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said, "A man said, 'Messenger of Allah, who is the best of people?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'A believer who does jihad in the way of Allah with his self and his wealth.' They said, 'Then who?' He said, 'A man who withdraws into a mountain ravine and worships his Lord.'"
  • Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be some sheep which he takes to the peaks of the mountains and to places where the rain falls, in order to flee out of the fear that his deen will be tempted."
  • 'Iyad ibn Himar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah revealed to me that you should be humble so no one should vaunt himself above another, and no one should commit injustice against another."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Sadaqa does not decrease property and Allah only increases a slave in might by forgiveness and no one is humble for the sake of Allah without Allah elevating him."
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "No one who has an atom's weight of pride in his heart will enter the Garden [heaven]." A man said, "And if the man likes his clothes to be good and his sandals to be good?" He said, "Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means to renounce the truth and abase people."
  • Haritha ibn Wahb said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Shall I tell you about the people of the Fire? All those who are coarse, domineering, and arrogant.'"
  • Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Garden (heaven) and the Fire argued and the Fire said, 'I have the tyrants and the arrogant.' The Garden said, 'I have the weak and poor people.' Allah judged between them, 'You, the Garden, are My mercy. By you I show mercy to whomever I wish. You, the Fire, are My punishment by whom I punish whomever I will. It is My duty to fill both of you."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "On the Day of Rising, Allah will not look at anyone who drags his waist-wrapper out of pride."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are three people that Allah will not speak to on the Day of Rising nor purify nor look at and they will have a painful punishment: an old adulterer, a lying ruler and a poor person who is arrogant."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, said, 'Might is My wrapper, and pride is My cloak and I will punish any one who contends with me [for them]."
  • Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about the things most likely to bring people into the Garden (heaven). He said, 'Fearful awareness of Allah and good character.' He was asked about the things most likely to bring people into the Fire. He said, 'The mouth and the genitals.'"
  • 'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is kind and loves kindness in every matter."
  • 'A'isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is kind and loves kindness and gives for gentleness what he does not give for harshness nor for anything else."
  • Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Make things easy for people and do not make them difficult. Give good news to people and do not frighten them away."
  • Jarir ibn 'Abdullah said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Whoever is deprived of kindness is deprived of all good."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that a man said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Advise me." He said, "Do not get angry." He repeated his request several times and the Prophet said, "Do not get angry."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The strong man is not the one who throws people in wrestling. The strong man is the one who has control of himself when he is angry."
  • 'A'isha said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say in this house of his, 'O Allah, anyone who is appointed over any of the affairs of my community and is hard on them, I will be hard on him. Anyone who is appointed over any of the affairs of my community and is kind to them, I will be kind to him."
  • 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As reported, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Those who are just will be on minbars of light with Allah. They are those who are just in respect of their judgements, their families and what they are put in charge of."
  • Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A Muslim man must hear and obey both in respect of what he likes and dislikes, unless he is commanded to do a wrong action. If he is commanded to do a wrong action, he should not hear or obey."
  • Ibn 'Umar said, "When we used to give allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to hear and obey, he would say to us, 'In so far as you are able.'"
  • Hear and obey even if an Abyssinian slave whose head is like a raisin is placed in authority over you.
    • Riyad as-Salihin, Introduction, Hadith 665
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'After I am gone there will be misappropriation and matters of which you disapprove.' They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what do you command us to do?' He said, 'To fulfil the rights you owe to others and to ask Allah for what is owed to you.'"
  • Ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by one of the men of the Ansar who was admonishing his brother for being too modest. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let him be. Modesty is part of belief."
  • 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If anyone has four characteristics, he is a pure hypocrite, and if anyone has one of them, he has an aspect of hypocrisy until he gives it up: whenever he is trusted, he betrays his trust; whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes an agreement, he breaks it; and whenever he quarrels, he deviates from the truth speaks falsely."
  • 'Adi ibn Hatim reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even if with only half a date. If you cannot manage even that, then with a good word."
  • Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A good word is sadaqa."
  • Abu Dharr said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, "Do not think little of anything which is right, even just showing your brother a cheerful face."
  • Anas said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I want to travel, so provision me.' He said, 'May Allah provision you with taqwa.' He said, 'Give me more.' He said, 'And forgive your wrong actions.' He said, 'Give me more.' He said, 'And may He make good easy for you wherever you are.'"
  • Abu Umama Suda ibn 'Ajlan al-Bahili reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "The person closer to Allah is the one who initiates the greeting."
  • Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Visit the sick, feed the hungry and set captives free."
  • Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The metaphor of the five prayers is that of an sizeable flowing river at the door of one of you in which he washes five times every day."
  • Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A morning spent in the way of Allah or an evening is better than this world and everything it contains."
  • The Messenger of Allah said, "Verily, Allah has revealed to me that you should adopt humility. So that no one may wrong another and no one may be disdainful and haughty towards another."
    • Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, Compiled By Al-Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya bin Sharaf An-Nawawi Ad-Dimashqi, Chapter 279, Hadith 1589 [6]
  • I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."
  • Faith (belief) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Haya (This term "Haya" covers a large number of concepts which are to be taken together; amongst them are self respect, modesty, bashfulness, and scruple, etc.) is a part of faith.
  • The Prophet said "None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind."
    • Narrated Anas, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 14
  • Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:
    • 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else
    • 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake
    • 3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire.
    • Bukhari 1:15
  • Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
    • Narrated by Ibn Umar, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24
I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful.
  • Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. If you have always been good (benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her liking), she will say, 'I have never received any good from you."
  • I heard the Prophet saying, "Whoever (intentionally) ascribes to me what I have not said then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire."
    • Narrated Salama, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 106
  • Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Muslims (to offer the prayer) of Eid al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."
  • I have been given five things which were not given to any one else before me. 1. Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month's journey. 2. The earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to perform Tayammum, therefore anyone of my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer is due. 3. The booty has been made Halal (lawful) for me yet it was not lawful for anyone else before me. 4. I have been given the right of intercession (on the Day of Resurrection). 5. Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation only but I have been sent to all mankind.
    • Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 7, Number 331
  • Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
    • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387
  • By Him in Whose Hand my soul is I was about to order for collecting fire-wood (fuel) and then order Someone to pronounce the Adhan for the prayer and then order someone to lead the prayer then I would go from behind and burn the houses of men who did not present themselves for the (compulsory congregational) prayer. By Him, in Whose Hands my soul is, if anyone of them had known that he would get a bone covered with good meat or two (small) pieces of meat present in between two ribs, he would have turned up for the 'Isha' prayer.
    • Sahih Bukhari Volume 001, Book 011, Hadith Number 617.
  • The Prophet, said, "Whenever I start the prayer I intend to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I cut short the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother's passions."
    • Narrated Anas bin Malik, Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book of Call to Prayer, Hadith 678 [7]
  • The clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba narrated, "Muawiya wrote to Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: Write to me something which you have heard from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) ." So Al-Mughira wrote: I heard the Prophet saying, "Allah has hated for you three things: 1. Vain talks, (useless talk) that you talk too much or about others. 2. Wasting of wealth (by extravagance) 3. And asking too many questions (in disputed religious matters) or asking others for something (except in great need). (See Hadith No. 591, Vol. Ill)
  • (Each one) of you should save himself from the fire by giving even half of a date (in charity). And if you do not find a half date, then (by saying) a pleasant word (to your brethren).
    • Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 394
  • The Prophet said, "He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes Allah's right and his master's right will get a double reward."
    • Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ashari, in Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 46, Number 723
  • If the people knew what is the reward of making the call (for the prayer) and (of being in) the first row (in the prayer), and if they found no other way to get this privilege except by casting lots, they would certainly cast lots for it. If they knew the reward of the noon prayer, they would race for it, and if they knew the reward of the morning (i.e. Fajr) and Isha prayers, they would present themselves for the prayer even if they had to crawl to reach there.
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 854
  • Narrated Um Kulthum bint Uqba: That she heard Allah's Apostle saying, "He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar."
    • Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 3, Book 49, Hadith 857
  • A Bedouin came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." His opponent got up and said, "He is right. Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." The Bedouin said, "My son was a laborer working for this man, and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people told me that my son should be stoned to death; so, in lieu of that, I paid a ransom of one hundred sheep and a slave girl to save my son. Then I asked the learned scholars who said, "Your son has to be lashed one-hundred lashes and has to be exiled for one year." The Prophet said, "No doubt I will judge between you according to Allah's Laws. The slave-girl and the sheep are to go back to you, and your son will get a hundred lashes and one year exile." He then addressed somebody, "O Unais! go to the wife of this (man) and stone her to death" So, Unais went and stoned her to death.
  • A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He replied, "I do not find such a deed." Then he added, "Can you, while the Muslim fighter is in the battle-field, enter your mosque to perform prayers without cease and fast and never break your fast?" The man said, "But who can do that?" Abu- Huraira added, "The Mujahid (i.e. Muslim fighter) is rewarded even for the footsteps of his horse while it wanders about (for grazing) tied in a long rope."
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 44
  • Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Somebody asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is the best among the people?" Allah's Apostle replied "A believer who strives his utmost in Allah's Cause with his life and property." They asked, "Who is next?" He replied, "A believer who stays in one of the mountain paths worshipping Allah and leaving the people secure from his mischief."
  • I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause-- and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause----is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 46
  • Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Whoever believes in Allah and His Apostle, offer prayer perfectly and fasts the month of Ramadan, will rightfully be granted Paradise by Allah, no matter whether he fights in Allah's Cause or remains in the land where he is born." The people said, "O Allah's Apostle ! Shall we acquaint the people with this good news?" He said, "Paradise has one-hundred grades which Allah has reserved for the Mujahidin who fight in His Cause, and the distance between each of two grades is like the distance between the Heaven and the Earth. So, when you ask Allah (for something), ask for Al-firdaus which is the best and highest part of Paradise." (i.e. The sub-narrator added, "I think the Prophet also said, 'Above it (i.e. Al-Firdaus) is the Throne of Beneficent (i.e. Allah), and from it originate the rivers of Paradise."
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the forenoon or in the afternoon is better than the world and whatever is in it."
  • The Prophet said, "Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah's cause). The Prophet said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it."
    • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 53
  • The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any Sariya' (army-unit) setting out in Allah's Cause. By Him in Whose Hands my life is! I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred.
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 54
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "Nobody who enters Paradise likes to go back to the world even if he got everything on the earth, except a Mujahid who wishes to return to the world so that he may be martyred ten times because of the dignity he receives (from Allah)." Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: Our Prophet told us about the message of our Lord that "Whoever amongst us is killed will go to Paradise." Umar asked the Prophet, "Is it not true that our men who are killed will go to Paradise and their's (i.e. those of the Pagan's) will go to the (Hell) fire?" The Prophet said, "Yes."
  • Allah's Apostle said, "Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords."
    • Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abi Aufa, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 73
  • Narrated 'Ali: When it was the day of the battle of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans), Allah's Apostle said, "O Allah! Fill their (i.e. the infidels') houses and graves with fire as they busied us so much that we did not perform the prayer (i.e. 'Asr) till the sun set."
  • Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abi Aufa: Allah's Apostle invoked evil upon the pagans on the ay (of the battle) of Al-Ahzab, saying, "O Allah! The Revealer of the Holy Book, the Swift-Taker of Accounts, O Allah, defeat Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans), O Allah, defeat them and shake them."
  • The freed slave of 'Umar bin 'Ubaidullah who was 'Umar's clerk: 'Abdullah bin Abi Aufa wrote him (i.e. 'Umar) a letter that contained the following:-- "Once Allah's Apostle (during a holy battle), waited till the sun had declined and then he got up among the people and said, "O people! Do not wish to face the enemy (in a battle) and ask Allah to save you (from calamities) but if you should face the enemy, then be patient and let it be known to you that Paradise is under the shades of swords." He then said,, "O Allah! The Revealer of the (Holy) Book, the Mover of the clouds, and Defeater of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans of infidels), defeat them infidels and bestow victory upon us.
    • Narrated Salim Abu An-Nadr, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 210.
  • That he heard the Prophet saying, "It is not permissible for a man to be alone with a woman, and no lady should travel except with a Muhram (i.e. her husband or a person whom she cannot marry in any case for ever; e.g. her father, brother, etc.)." Then a man got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have enlisted in the army for such-and-such Ghazwa and my wife is proceeding for Hajj." Allah's Apostle said, "Go, and perform the Hajj with your wife."
  • Narrated Ikrima: Ali burnt some people and this news reached Ibn 'Abbas, who said, "Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet said, 'Don't punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.' No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' "
  • Allah's Apostle called: "War is deceit".
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 268
  • Narrated Abu Burda that his father said, "The Prophet sent Mu'adh and Abu Musa to Yemen telling them. 'Treat the people with ease and don't be hard on them; give them glad tidings and don't fill them with aversion; and love each other, and don't differ.'"
    • Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 275
  • I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand.
    • Narrated in Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220
  • Whoever killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims, shall not smell the smell of Paradise though its smell is perceived from a distance of forty years.
  • A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that.
  • The Prophet said, ‘But for the Israelites, meat would not decay, and if it were not for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands.
  • Allah's Apostle said, "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one."
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 652
  • Allah's Apostle said, "My similitude in comparison with the other prophets before me, is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its place!' So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets."
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 735
  • Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: "Allah's Apostle said, "A time will come upon the people, when a group of people will wage a holy war and it will be said, 'Is there amongst you anyone who has accompanied Allah's Apostle?' They will say, 'Yes.' And so victory will be bestowed on them. Then a time will come upon the people when a group of people will wage a holy war, and it will be said, "Is there amongst you none who has accompanied the companions of Allah's Apostle?' They will say, 'Yes.' And so victory will be bestowed on them. Then a time will come upon the people when a group of people will wage a holy war, and it will be said, "Is there amongst you anyone who has been in the company of the companions of the companions of Allah's Apostle ?' They will say, 'Yes.' And victory will be bestowed on them."
  • Allah's Apostle said, "The superiority of 'Aisha over other women is like the superiority of Tharid to other meals."
    • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 57, Number 114
  • The Prophet said, "Had only ten Jews (amongst their chiefs) believe me, all the Jews would definitely have believed me"
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 277
  • Allah's Apostle used to say, "None has the right to be worshipped except Allah Alone (Who) honored His Warriors and made His Slave victorious, and He (Alone) defeated the (infidel) clans; so there is nothing after Him.
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 440
  • Narrated Anas: The Prophet offered the Fajr Prayer near Khaibar when it was still dark and then said, "Allahu-Akbar! Khaibar is destroyed, for whenever we approach a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be the morning for those who have been warned." Then the inhabitants of Khaibar came out running on the roads. The Prophet had their warriors killed, their offspring and woman taken as captives. Safiya was amongst the captives, She first came in the share of Dahya Alkali but later on she belonged to the Prophet . The Prophet made her manumission as her 'Mahr'.
  • Allah's Apostle said, "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them. And there are two gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of silver; and two other gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of so-and-so (i.e. gold) and nothing will prevent the people staying in the Garden of Eden from seeing their Lord except the curtain of Majesty over His Face."
    • Narrated Abdullah bin Qais, in Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 402
  • Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! How can we know her permission?" He said, "Her silence (indicates her permission)."
    • Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Hadith 67
  • Narrated Usama: The Prophet said, "I stood at the gate of Paradise and saw that the majority of the people who entered it were the poor, while the wealthy were stopped at the gate (for the accounts). But the companions of the Fire were ordered to be taken to the Fire. Then I stood at the gate of the Fire and saw that the majority of those who entered it were women."
  • A man from Bani Aslam came to Allah's Apostle while he was in the mosque and called (the Prophet ) saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." On that the Prophet turned his face from him to the other side, whereupon the man moved to the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." The Prophet turned his face (from him) to the other side whereupon the man moved to the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and repeated his statement. The Prophet turned his face (from him) to the other side again. The man moved again (and repeated his statement) for the fourth time. So when the man had given witness four times against himself, the Prophet called him and said, "Are you insane?" He replied, "No." The Prophet then said (to his companions), "Go and stone him to death." The man was a married one. Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari said: I was one of those who stoned him. We stoned him at the Musalla ('Id praying place) in Medina. When the stones hit him with their sharp edges, he fled, but we caught him at Al-Harra and stoned him till he died.
  • "God does not judge you according to your bodies and appearances, but He looks into your hearts and observes your deeds."
  • Narrated Abu Hurairah: A man came to Allah's Messenger and said, "Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man said. "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man further said, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your father."
    • Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:2
  • "I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this," — putting his index and middle fingers together.
    • Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 8 Book 73 Number 34
  • Narrater Abu Hurairah. Allah's Apostle said, "Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet.
  • Allah's Apostle said, "O Aisha! This is Gabriel sending his greetings to you." I said, "Peace, and Allah's Mercy be on him." 'Aisha added: The Prophet used to see things which we used not to see.
    • Narrated 'Aisha, in Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 220
  • When the Imam says 'Amin', then you should all say 'Amin', for the angels say 'Amin' at that time, and he whose 'Amin' coincides with the 'Amin' of the angels, all his past sins will be forgiven.
    • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 411
  • Allah's Apostle said, "(The Prophet) Solomon once said, 'Tonight I will sleep with ninety women, each of whom will bring forth a (would-be) cavalier who will fight in Allah's Cause." On this, his companion said to him, "Say: Allah willing!" But he did not say Allah willing. Solomon then slept with all the women, but none of them became pregnant but one woman who later delivered a half-man. By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, if he (Solomon) had said, 'Allah willing' (all his wives would have brought forth boys) and they would have fought in Allah's Cause as cavaliers."
    • Narrated Abu Huraira in Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 78, Number 634
  • Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said, "When the Jews greet you, they usually say, 'As-Samu 'alaikum (Death be on you),' so you should say (in reply to them), 'Wa'alaikum (And on you)."
  • Allah's Apostle [Muhammad (peace be upon him)] said, "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you (from the fire [of hell])." They asked, "Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah's Apostle?" He said, "No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise).
  • Narrated Abu Qilaba: Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
  • Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet said, "I saw in a dream that I waved a sword and it broke in the middle, and behold, that symbolized the casualties the believers suffered on the Day (of the battle) of Uhud. Then I waved the sword again, and it became better than it had ever been before, and behold, that symbolized the Conquest (of Mecca) which Allah brought about and the gathering of the believers. "
  • Narrated Abu Bakra: During the battle of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a Word (I heard from the Prophet). When the Prophet heard the news that the people of the Persia had made the daughter of Khosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler."
  • The Prophet said, "A Muslim has to listen to and obey (the order of his ruler) whether he likes it or not, as long as his orders involve not one in disobedience (to Allah), but if an act of disobedience (to Allah) is imposed one should not listen to it or obey it.
  • The Prophet said, "O 'Abdur-Rahman! Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking (for it), then you will be helped (by Allah) in it. If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then you should expiate your oath and do what is better."
    • Narrated 'Abdur-Rahman bin Samura, in Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 89, Number 260
  • حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ يُقَاتِلُ لِلْمَغْنَمِ، وَالرَّجُلُ يُقَاتِلُ لِلذِّكْرِ، وَالرَّجُلُ يُقَاتِلُ لِيُرَى مَكَانُهُ، فَمَنْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏ "‏ مَنْ قَاتَلَ لِتَكُونَ كَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ‏"‏‏.‏
  • I have been sent with Jawami al-Kalim (i.e., the shortest expression carrying the widest meanings), and I was made victorious with awe (caste into the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the earth were brought to me and were put in my hand.
  • Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to people.
    • Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, #473
  • Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).
  • Allah's Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn `Ali while Al-Aqra` ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him. Al-Aqra` said, "I have ten children and have never kissed one of them." The Prophet cast a look at him and said, "Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully."
  • Narrated by Abu Qatadah: "The Messenger of Allah came towards us while carrying Umamah the daughter of Abi Al-`As (the Prophet’s granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up he lifted her up."
  • Narrated Umm Khalid: I (the daughter of Khalid ibn Said) went to Allah's Messenger with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah's Messenger said, "Sanah, Sanah!" (`Abdullah, the narrator, said that sanah meant "good" in the Ethiopian language). I then started playing with the seal of prophethood (between the Prophet's shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah's Messenger said, "Leave her." The Prophet, then, invoked Allah to grant her a long life thrice.
  • It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah.
  • It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and believe in me (that) I am the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought. And when they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.
  • It is narrated on the authority of Jabir that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded that I should fight against people till they declare that there is no god but Allah, and when they profess it that there is no god but Allah, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah, and then he (the Holy Prophet) recited (this verse of the Holy Qur'an):" Thou art not over them a warden" (lxxxviii, 22).
  • It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.
  • It Is narrated on the authority of Abu Malik: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) 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.
  • It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah observed: O womenfolk, you should give charity and ask much forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell. A wise lady among them said: Why is it, Messenger of Allah, that our folk is in bulk in Hell? Upon this the Holy Prophet observed: You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. I have seen none lacking in common sense and failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise, besides you. Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common sense and with religion? He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Your lack of common sense (can be well judged from the fact) that the evidence of two women is equal to one man, that is a proof of the lack of common sense, and you spend some nights (and days) in which you do not offer prayer and in the month of Ramadan (during the days) you do not observe fast, that is a failing in religion. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Tahir with this chain of transmitters.
    • Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0142
  • "He who builds a masjid in the way of Allah, God will build a house for him in the paradise."
  • I have been given superiority over the other prophets in six respects: I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by terror (in the hearts of enemies): spoils have been made lawful to me: the earth has been made for me clean and a place of worship; I have been sent to all mankind and the line of prophets is closed with me.
  • I have been commissioned with words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning; I have been helped by terror (in the hearts of enemies): and while I was asleep I was brought the keys of the treasures of the earth which were placed in my hand. And Abfi Huraira added: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has left (for his heavenly home) and you are now busy in getting them.
  • When the slave of anyone amongst you prepares food for him and he serves him after having sat close to (and undergoing the hardship of) heat and smoke, he should make him (the slave) sit along with him and make him eat (along with him), and if the food seems to run short, then he should spare some portion for him (from his own share).
    • Sahih Muslim, Volume 4, Book 15, Number 4096
  • It has been reported from Sulaiman b. Buraid through his father that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say: Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of Muhajirs and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajirs. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muslims and will be subjected to the Commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or Fai' except when they actually fight with the Muslims (against the disbelievers). If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. When you lay siege to a fort and the besieged appeal to you for protection in the name of Allah and His Prophet, do not accord to them the guarantee of Allah and His Prophet, but accord to them your own guarantee and the guarantee of your companions for it is a lesser sin that the security given by you or your companions be disregarded than that the security granted in the name of Allah and His Prophet be violated When you besiege a fort and the besieged want you to let them out in accordance with Allah's Command, do not let them come out in accordance with His Command, but do so at your (own) command, for you do not know whether or not you will be able to carry out Allah's behest with regard to them.
    • Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number 4294
  • It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death of a hypocrite.
  • It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira (through another chain of transmitters) that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Whom do you consider to be a martyr among you? They (the Companions) said: Messenger, of Allah, one who is slain in the way of Allah is a martyr. He said: Then (if this is the definition of a martyr) the martyrs of my Umma will be small in number. They asked: Messenger of Allah, who are they? He said: One who is slain in the way of Allah is a martyr; one who dies in the way of Allah, is a martyr; one who dies of plague is a martyr; one who dies of cholera is a martyr. Ibn Miqsam said: I testify the truth of your father's statement (with regard to this tradition) that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: One who is drowned is a martyr.
  • Verily Allah has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 021, Number 4810
  • Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: A woman was punished because she had kept a cat tied until it died, and (as a punishment of this offence) she was thrown into Hell. She had not provided it with food or drink, and had not freed her so that she could eat the insects of the earth.
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 026, Number 5570
  • Abu Huraira reported that a person came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Who among the people is most deserving of a fine treatment from my hand? He said: Your mother. He again said: Then who (is the next one)? He said: Again it is your mother (who deserves the best treatment from you). He said: Then who (is the next one)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Again, it is your mother. He (again) said: Then who? Thereupon he said: Then it is your father.
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 032, Number 6180 [8]
  • Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
    • Sahih Muslim, Book 041, Number 6985
  • ...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child.
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1731, and Al-Tirmizi, #1408.
  • There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2244, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2466.
  • The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed [killing and injuring]
    • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1678, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6533.
  • Yahya ibn Yahya related to me from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha al-Ansari from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Allah! Bless them in their measure, and bless them in their sa and mudd." He meant the people of Madina.
    • Muwatta of Imam Malik, Madina, hadith 1 [9]
  • Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man says to his muslim brother, 'O kafir!' it is true about one of them."
    • Muwatta of Imam Malik, Speech, hadith 1 [10]
  • Malik related to me from 'Abdullah ibn Dinar from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man says to his Muslim brother, 'O unbeliever!' it is true about one of them."
  • Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from 'Amr ibn Mu'adh al-Ash-hali al-Ansari that his grandmother said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'O believing women! Let none of you despise giving to her neighbour even if it is only a roasted sheep's trotter.'
  • Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said from the mimbar when mentioning sadaqa and refraining from asking, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is the one which expends, and the lower one is the one which asks."
  • Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was sent to perfect good character."
  • Yahya related to me from Malik from Abuz-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By Him in whose hand myself is! To take your rope and gather firewood on your back is better for you than that you come to a man to whom Allah has given some of His favour and ask him, so he gives to you or refuses."
  • Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry."
  • Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two must not converse secretly to the exclusion of another person."
  • Malik related to me from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sa'sa'a from his father from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sa'sa'a from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It will soon happen that the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he takes to the peaks of the mountains and the valleys, fleeing with his deen from trials."
  • Malik related to me that Safwan ibn Sulaym said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, 'Can a believer be a coward?' He said, 'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can a believer be a miser?' He replied, 'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can a believer be a liar?' He said, 'No.'"
  • Malik related to me from Abuz-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One of the most evil of people is the two-faced person who shows one face to these people and another face to those people."
    • Muwatta of Imam Malik, Speech, hadith 21 [16]
  • Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr from Abu Salih as-Samman from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man was walking on a road when he became very thirsty. He found a well and went into it and drank and came out. There was a dog panting and eating earth out of thirst. The man said, 'This dog has become as thirsty as I was.' He went down into the well and filled his shoe and then held it in his mouth until he climbed out and gave the dog water to drink. Allah thanked him for it and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, do we have a reward for taking care of beasts?" He said, "There is a reward for every one with a moist liver."
    • Muwatta of Imam Malik, chapter 49, Hadith 23
  • "Happy is the man who avoids dissension, but how fine is the man who is afflicted and shows endurance."
    • Sunah of Abu Dawood, Hadith 1996
  • A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you.
    • Narrated Ma'qil ibn Yasar, in Abu Dawud, Book 11, Number 2045
  • Narrated Mu'awiyah al-Qushayri: I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them.
  • By his good character, a believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day.
    • Abu Dawood, Hadith 2233
  • Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a person who utters, "There is no god but Allah" and not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist). The tyranny of any tyrant and the justice of any just (ruler) will not invalidate it. One must have faith in Divine decree.
  • The Prophet said: Go in Allah's name, trusting in Allah, and adhering to the religion of Allah's Apostle. Do not kill a decrepit old man, or a young infant, or a child, or a woman; do not be dishonest about booty, but collect your spoils, do right and act well, for Allah loves those who do well.
    • Narrated Anas ibn Malik, Sunan Abu Dawood, Vol. 3, Book of Jihad (Kitab Al-Jihad), Hadith 2608
  • The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars.
  • The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.
    • Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas, in Abu Dawud, Book 38, Number 4447
  • It is a fine thing when a believer praises and thanks God if good comes to him, and praises God and shows endurance if smitten by affliction. The believer is rewarded for (every good action), even for the morsel he raises to his wife's mouth.
  • The first to be summoned to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be those who praise God in prosperity and adversity.
    • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 730
  • It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.
    • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1011
  • He who has been a ruler over ten people will be brought shackled on the Day of Resurrection, until the justice (by which he ruled) loosens his chains or tyranny brings him to destruction.
    • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1037
  • Do not turn away a poor man...even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you...God will bring you near Him on the Day of Resurrection.
    • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376
  • The best among you are those who are best to their wives.
    • Narrated in Ibn Majah, #1978, and Al-Tirmizi, #3895.
  • that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a bribe and the one who takes it."
  • People, beware of injustice, for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.
    • Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #5798, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2447.
  • Surely, there is no advantage (preference) for an Arab over an aajami (non-Arab), nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor a white over a black, except by piousness and good deeds.
    • Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 22391; al-Silsilat al-Saheeh, 2700
  • O people! Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety.
    • Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #22978
  • Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the salah (prayer), paying the zakat (obligatory charity), making the hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadhan.
  • Righteousness is good morality, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike people finding out about.
  • Abu Musa reported God’s messenger as saying, “When the bier of a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim passes you, stand up for it. You are not standing for its sake, but for the angels who are accompanying it.”
    • Mishkat al-Masabih, Book 5, Hadith 158.
  • "Love the Arabs for three reasons because (1) I am an Arab (2) the Holy Koran is in Arabic and (3) the tongue of the dwellers of paradise shall also be Arabic.
  • In the name of God, I put my trust in God. O God, I seek refuge in Thee lest I stray or be led astray or cause injustice or suffer injustice or do wrong or have wrong done to me!
    • Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 67b.
  • The example of a believer is like a fresh tender plant; from whichever direction the wind blows, it bends the plant. But when the wind dies down, (it) straightens up again.
    • Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 1
  • It was narrated from Samurah that the Messenger of Allah said: Whoever kills his slave, we will kill him: whoever mutilates (his slave). We will mutilate him, and whoever castrates (his slave), we will castrate him.
    • Sunan an-Nasa'i, The Book of Oaths, Retaliation and Blood Money, Vol. 5, Book 45, Number 7440
  • Whoever killed "Muaahadan" a confederate (a term used in Islamic state to refer to non-Muslim citizens), will not smell Paradise. And its scent can be smelled from a distance of forty years (a term in Arabic means "far distance").
  • The ink of scholars (used in writing) is weighed on the Day of Judgement with the blood of martyrs and the ink of scholars outweighs the blood of martyrs.
    • As quoted in Al-Jaami' al-Saghîr by Imam al-Suyuti, where it is declared a "weak Hadith".
    • Variant translations:
    • The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.
    • The ink of scholars will be weighed in the scale with the blood of martyrs.
      • As quoted in Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology (2004) by John Renard
Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the salah (prayer), paying the zakat (obligatory charity), making the hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadhan.
  • A Muslim asked: "Oh Apostle of God, who are your kin whom you have ordered us to obey?" He replied, "Ali (blessings and peace be upon him), Fatimah (blessings be upon her), and her two sons."
    • al-Suyuti, Dur al-Manthur, vol.7, p. 7 ; ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, vol.5, p. 16 ; al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Tafsir, vol.7, p. 406 ; ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, p. 102 ; Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, Dhakha‘ir al-Uqba, p. 25 ; al-Shablanji, Nur al-Absar, p. 100
  • Oh God, highest friend in heaven!
    • Reşit Haylamaz (2013). The Luminous Life of Our Prophet. Tughra Books. p. 355. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018.
    • Fethullah Gülen. Muhammad The Messenger of God. The Light, Inc. p. 24. ISBN 1-932099-83-2.
    • Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Volume 5). DARUSSALAM. p. 214.
  • O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me and join me to the higher companions...
    • Al-Bukhaari (5674) and Muslim (2191)
    • Reported to be Muhammed's last words

Shi'ite Hadith

[edit]
The one who recites the Qur’an and the one who listens to it have an equal share in the reward.
  • The one who recites the Qur'an and the one who listens to it have an equal share in the reward.
    • Mustadrakul Wasa'il, Volume 1, Page 293
  • The best of those amongst you is the one who learns the Qur'an and then teaches it to others.
    • Al-Amali of Shaykh at-Tusi, Volume 1, Page 5
  • Everything in existence prays for the forgiveness of the person who teaches the Qur'an - even the fish in the sea.
    • Usulul Kafi, Volume 3, Page 301
  • These hearts rust just as iron rusts; and indeed they are polished through the recitation of the Qur'an.
    • Irshadul Qulub; Page 78
  • In his last testament to ‘Ali (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) told him: "O’ ‘Ali! I advice you to recite the Qur’an in every state (which you may find yourself in)."
    • Man La Yahdhuruhul Faqih, Volume 4, Page 188
  • Nothing is harder for Satan to bear than a person who recites the Qur'an by looking at the pages (of the Qur'an).
    • Thawabul A'mal, Page 231
  • Brighten up your houses through the recitation of the Qur'an, and do not make them (your homes) like graves, similar to what the Jews and Christians have done (by not performing the prayers and worship of God in their house and limiting this to the Synagogues and Churches).
    • Usulul Kafi, Volume 2, Page 610
  • One who recites ten verses (ayat) of the Qur'an every night will not be counted amongst the negligent ones (Ghafilin); and one who recites fifty verses (ayat) will be written as those who remember Allah (Dhakirin); and one who recites one hundred verses (ayat) will be written down as the obedient and worshipper of Allah (Qanitin).
    • Thawabul A'mal, Page 232
  • I advise you to recite the Qur'an and remember Allah much, for surely the Qur'an will remember you (do your dhikr) in the Heavens and it will be a Divine Light (nur) for you on the Earth.
    • Al-Khisal, Page 525
  • The superiority of the Qur'an over the rest of words, is like the superiority of Allah over His creations.
    • Mustadrak al-Wasa'il, Volume 4, Page 237
  • Whoever recites the first four verses of Suratul Baqarah, Ayatul Kursi (verse 255 of Suratul Baqarah) along with the two verses which follow it (verses 256 and 257 up to ‘Wa Hum Fiha Khalidun’), and the last three verses (of this same Surah) will not see any bad or sorrow in his life or his wealth; Satan will not come near him; and he will not forget the Qur'an.
    • Thawabul A'mal, Page 234
  • For every thing there is an embellishment (or a decoration), and the embellishment of the Qur'an is a good voice.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 190
  • Surely this Qur'an is the rope of Allah, and a manifest Light (nur), and a beneficial cure. Therefore, busy yourselves with the recitation of it, for Allah - The Mighty and Glorious – grants the reward of ten good deeds to you for every letter which is recited.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 19
  • Whenever the waves of calamities encompass you like the dark night, seek refuge with the Qur'an - for it is an intercessor whose intercession will be accepted. One who takes it as a guide, Allah will lead that person into Heaven; and whoever disregards it or goes against it, will be lead into the Hell fire.
    • Fadhlul Qur'an, Page 599
  • Recite the Qur'an in such a way that your hearts develop a love for it and your skin becomes softened by it. However as soon as your hearts become indifferent to it (meaning that the Qur'an has no effect on you), then stop reciting it.
    • Mustadrakul Wasa'il, Volume 4, Page 239
  • One who listens to the Qur'an (while it is being recited) will be kept away from the evils of this world; and one who recites the Qur'an will be kept away from the trials of the hereafter. And the person who listens to even one verse of the book of Allah - this is better (for him) than possessing a mansion of gold.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 19
  • The number of levels (stages) in Heaven is (equivalent to) the number of verses in the Qur'an (6236). Thus, when a reciter of the Qur'an enters into Heaven, it will be said to him: ‘Go up one level for every verse that you can recite.’ Thus, no one will be in a higher level than the one who has memorized the entire Qur'an.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 22
  • If you want ease and success in this world, the death of a martyr, to be saved on the Day of Loss, a shade on the Day of the burning Qiyamat, and guidance on the Day of going astray, then take lessons from the Qur'an. Surely it is the word of the Merciful, a protection from the Satan, and one of the most weightiest of things for the scale of (good) deeds (on the Day of Judgement).
    • Jami'ul Akhbar, Page 78
  • Surely the recitation of the Qur'an is an atonement for the sins, a covering (protection) from the Hell Fire, and a safety from the punishment. Mercy will descend upon the reciter, the Angels will seek forgiveness for him, Heaven will long for that person, and his Master (Allah) will be pleased with him.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 93, Page 17
  • The people of the Qur'an (those who recite and those who memorize the Qur'an) will be in the highest level (in Heaven) from amongst all of the people with the exception of the Prophets and Messengers. Thus, do not seek to degrade the people of the Qur'an, nor take away their rights, for surely they have been given a high rank by Allah.
    • Thawabul A'mal, Page 224
  • Place a portion (of goodness) from the Qur'an in your homes, for surely ease will come to the people of that house in which the Qur'an is read, goodness will increase, and the inhabitants (of that house) will be given excess bounties.
    • Wasa'ilush Shi'a, Volume 4, Page 85
  • The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859
  • One who adheres to the five (daily) prayers diligently, they shall be a means of illumination and salvation for him on the Day of Judgment.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18862
  • The prayer of a person is (in reality) a light in his heart, so whoever desires, can illuminate his heart (by means of prayers).
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume7, Tradition 18973
  • The prayer is one of the (primary) dictates of religion, in it lies the pleasure of the Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious, and it is the conduct of the Prophets.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 231
  • The prayer is the standard of Islam. Whosoever loves prayers, and observes their limits, timings and methods, is a true believer.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18870
  • For every thing there is a face and the face of your religion is prayers. So see to it that none from amongst you damages and disfigures the face of his religion.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 209
  • Whenever the time of each prayer arrives, an Angel announces to the people: (O’ People!) Stand up and extinguish, with prayers, the fire which you have set alight for yourselves.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 209
  • The position of prayers with respect to religion is similar to that of the head with respect to the body.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18972
  • The example of the five (daily) prayers is like that of a clear-water river flowing in front of your houses in which a person washes himself five times a day – cleansing him from all dirt.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18931
  • The most beloved of deeds in the eyes of Allah are: offering prayers at the stipulated times; (then) goodness and kindness towards parents; (and then) Jihad in the way of Allah.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18897
  • One who considers the prayers to be insignificant and trivial is not from me. By Allah! He shall never come close to me at the pool of Kauthar.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 224
  • Do not destroy your prayers for verily one who destroys his prayers shall be resurrected in the company of Qarun, Haman and Fir`awn.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202
  • Prayer is the pillar of your religion and one who intentionally forsakes his prayer has destroyed his religion. And one who does not guard the times of the prayers, shall be made to enter ‘Wayl’, which is a valley in Hell, as Allah, the Exalted, has said: "So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of their prayers."
    • Biharul Anwar,Volume 82, Page 202
  • Do not abandon your prayers intentionally for surely the obligations of Allah and His Messenger cease to cover one who forsakes his prayers intentionally.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 19096
  • If a person abandons his prayer such that he neither desires its rewards nor fears its chastisement, for such a person I do not care if he dies a Jew, a Christian or a Magian.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202
  • "The good deeds of one who, without any appropriate excuse does not offer his prayer until its time passes away, are annulled." He then said: "The divide between a believer and disbelief is the abandonment of prayers."
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202
  • The name of one who forsakes his prayer intentionally is written upon The door of Hell from which he shall (eventually) enter.
    • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 19090
  • A hopeful sinner is closer to the mercy of Allah than a hopeless worshipper.
    • Mizan al-hikma, Volume 10, Page 504, Tradition 7109
A person who circumambulates this House (the Ka’bah) seven times and performs the two Rak’at Salat (of Tawaaf) in the best form possible will have his sins forgiven.
  • A person who circumambulates this House (the Ka’bah) seven times and performs the two Rak’at Salat (of Tawaaf) in the best form possible will have his sins forgiven.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 49
  • Surely Allah has chosen four cities from amongst all others, just as He, the Noble and Grand has said (in the Noble Qur’an): "I swear by ‘the fig’ and ‘the olive’ and the ‘Mountain of Sinai’ and by this protected city." ‘The fig’ is the city of Madinah; ‘The olive’ is the city of Baitul Maqdas (in Jerusalem); ‘The Mountain of Sinai’ is Kufah; and the protected city is Makkah."
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 77
  • The water of Zamzam is a cure for whatever (ailment) it is taken for.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 245
  • The greatest sin of a person who goes to ‘Arafat and then leaves is to think that he has not been forgiven of his sins.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 248
  • A person seeing (visiting) my grave deserves my intercession. And a person who visits me after my death is like a person who visited me during my lifetime.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 334
  • Walimah is only in five occasions: in the ‘Urs, Khurs, ‘Idhar, Wikar and the Rikaz – ‘Urs is when a person gets married; and Khurs is when a child is born; and ‘Idhar is on the circumcision of a baby boy; and Wikar is when a person purchases a house; and Rikaz is when a person returns from Hajj.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 384
  • The person who seeks knowledge while in his youth is similar to the act of inscribing something upon a rock; while the person who seeks knowledge while he is old is similar to the act of writing something upon the water.
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 1, Page 222
  • A person shall arrive on the Day of Judgement and shall be in possession of good deeds in the measure of vastly accumulated clouds or towering mountains. (Witnessing them) he shall ask: ‘Oh My Lord! How can these be for me when I have not performed them?’ God shall reply: ‘This is your knowledge that you had taught and conveyed to the people, and which was acted upon after you had died.’
    • Biharul Anwar, Volume 2, Page 18
  • (On the Day of Judgment, a group would be seen in the most excellent and honourable of states. They would be asked if they were of the Angels or of the Prophets. In reply they would state): "We are‑neither Angels nor Prophets but of the indigent ones from the ummah of Muhammad (S.A.W.)". They would then be asked: "How then did you achieve this lofty and honourable status?" They would reply: "We did not perform very many good deeds nor did we pass all the days in a state of fasting or all the nights in a state of worship but yes, we used to offer our (daily) prayers (regularly) and whenever we used to hear the mention of Muhammad (S.A.W.), tears would roll down our cheeks".
    • Mustadrak al‑Wasail, vol 10, pg. 318

Quotes about Muhammad

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Quran

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Main article: Quran
  • And thus we have made you a just nation so that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels. And indeed, it is difficult except for those whom Allah has guided. And Allah would never cause you to lose your faith. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful. We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased by. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
    • Quran, Chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah) verse 143-144
  • And [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you an apostle confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him." [God] said, "Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?" They said, "We have acknowledged it." He said, "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses."
    • Qur'an 3:81
  • Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
    • Chapter 17 (Al-Isra) verse 1
  • And [remember, O Muhammad], when We told you, "Indeed, your Lord has encompassed the people." And We did not make the sight which We showed you except as a trial for the people, as was the accursed tree [mentioned] in the Qur'an. And We threaten them, but it increases them not except in great transgression.
    • Quran, Chapter 17 (Al-Isra) verse 60
  • And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to all the creation.
    • Quran 21:107
  • There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of God [Muhammad] an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers God often.
    • Qur'an 33:21
  • Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the prophets. And ever Allah, of all things, Knowing.
    • Qur'an 33:40
  • Indeed, Allah and His angels are saluting the Prophet [Muhammad]. O you who have believed! salute him, and greet him with the greetings of peace.
    • Qur'an 33:56
  • And those who believe and do righteous deeds and believe in what has been sent down upon Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He will remove from them their misdeeds and amend their condition.
    • Qur'an 47:2
  • Indeed, We have granted to you, [O Muhammad], a great conquest
    • Qur'an 48:1
  • And be patient, [O Muhammad], for the decision of your Lord, for indeed, you are in Our eyes. And exalt [God] with praise of your Lord when you arise.
    • Qur'an 52:48
  • And he certainly saw him in another descent,
    At the Lote-tree of the Utmost Boundary –
    Near it is the Garden of Refuge –
    When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it]
    The sight [of the Prophet] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit].
    He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.
  • Quran, Chapter 53 (An-Najm), verses 13–1
  • And indeed, you [O Muhammad] are of a great moral character.
    • Qur'an 68:4

Quotes about Muhammad by his Companions

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This section contains quotations about Muhammad attributed to his Companions
  • Anas bin Malik said about Muhammad: "The Apostle of God [Muhammad] was the most handsome, most generous and the bravest of all the people.."
    • Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 277.
  • Abu Hurayrah said about him: "The Apostle of God [Muhammad] was so clean, clear, beautiful and handsome, as though his body was covered and molded in silver. His hair was slightly curled."
    • Shama'il Muhammadiyah, Book 1, Hadith 11
  • Al-Bara' said about him: "The Apostle of God had the most handsome face amongst men and he had the best disposition and he was neither very tall nor short-statured."
    • Sahih Muslim, Book 30, Hadith 5772
  • Ibn 'Umar reported that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, "Respect Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the members of his family."
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, slept on a straw mat and when he got up he had a mark on his side. We said, "Messenger of Allah, we could make a covering for you?" He said, "What have I to do with this world? I am only in this world like a rider who seeks shade under a tree and then goes on."
  • 'Ali ibn Abi Talib was asked, "How was your love for the Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "By Allah, we loved him more than our wealth, our sons, our fathers and our mothers, and more than cold water in a time of great thirst."
  • 'Amr ibn al-Harith, the brother of the Umm al-Mu'minin, Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, said, "When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, he left neither dirham nor dinar nor slave nor slavegirl nor anything other than his white mule which he used to ride, his weapons, and some land that he made sadaqa for travellers."
  • Ibn 'Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to go hungry for nights in a row at the time when his people could find no support. Most of their bread was barley bread."
  • An-Nu'man ibn Bashir said, "'Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioned the things of this world that the people had acquired and he said, 'One day I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sifting through some bad dates he had found in order to fill his belly."
  • 'A'isha said, "When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died, there was nothing in my house that could be eaten by a living creature except for half a barley loaf on a shelf. I ate from it until I seemed to have had it for a long time. Then I measured it and it finished."
  • 'Abdullah ibn Mughaffal said, "A man said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I love you." He said, "Be careful of what you say." He said, "By Allah, I love you," three times. He said, "If you love me, then prepare yourself for poverty. Poverty comes swifter to the one who loves me than a flood to its destination."
  • Anas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had the best character of anyone."
  • .'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was neither obscene nor indecent. He used to say, 'The best of you are the best in character."
  • Abu Sa'id al-Maqburi said that Abu Hurayra passed by some people who had a roast sheep in front of them and they invited him to eat, but he refused to eat, saying, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left this world without having his fill of barley bread."
  • Abu Hurayra said, “I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah. It was as if the sun was shining in his face. When he laughed, it reflected from the wall.”
  • Umm Ma'bad said, “From afar, he was the most beautiful of people, and close up he was the most handsome.”
  • His mother Amina said, “He was born clean. There was no impurity on him.”
  • Anas said, “I have not smelled amber, musk or anything more fragrant than the smell of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”
  • ‘A’isha said, “I never ever saw the private parts of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”
  • 'Amr ibn al-'As said, "There is no one I love better than the Messenger of Allah."
  • When Bilal was near death, his wife called out, "O sorrow!" Bilal said, "What joy! I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!"
  • It is related that a woman said to 'A'isha, "Show me the grave of the Messenger of Allah." She showed it to her and the woman wept until she died.
  • Ibn Ishaq said that the father, brother and husband of one of the women of the Ansar were killed in the Battle of Uhud fighting for the Messenger of Allah. She asked, "What has happened to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?" They said, "He is as well as you would like, praise be to Allah!" She said, "Show him to me so I can look at him." When she saw him, she said, "Every affliction is as nothing now that you are safe."
  • ‘A’isha said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never filled his stomach completely. When he was with his family, he did not ask them for food nor desire it. If they fed it to him, he ate. He accepted whatever they served him and he drank whatever they gave him to drink.”
  • ‘A’isha said, “I never the saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever take revenge for an injustice done to him as long as it was not regarding one of the orders of Allah which must be respected. He never struck anyone with his hand at all except when doing jihad in the way of Allah. He never hit a servant or a woman.”
  • ‘A’isha said, “His character was the Qur’an. He was pleased by what it finds pleasing and angry according to what it finds hateful.”
  • Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people in giving gifts and most generous of all in the month of Ramadan. When he met with Jibril, he was more generous than even the wind which is sent forth.”
  • It is mentioned that Mu'awwidh ibn ‘Afra’ said, “I brought the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a plate of fresh dates and cucumber, and he gave me a handful of jewelry and gold.”
  • ‘Ali said, “When the situation was hot, fear intense and the fighting fierce, we were concerned for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. None was closer to the enemy than he. I saw him on the Day of Badr when we were keeping close to him and he was the closest one to the enemy. He was the bravest person on that day.”
  • Ibn Abi Hala described him saying, “He was always joyful with an easy disposition. He was gentle, neither gruff nor rude nor clamorous nor obscene nor carping nor excessively complimentary. He left food which he did not want without complaining about it.”
  • Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never kept himself apart from me from the time I became a Muslim and whenever he saw me, he smiled.”
  • Al-Husayn said, “Tell me about when he went out and how he behaved then?” His father replied, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, held his tongue except regarding what concerned people. He brought people together and did not split them. He honoured the nobles of every group of people and appointed them over their people. He was cautious about people and on his guard against them, but he did that without averting his face from them or being discourteous. He asked about his Companions and he asked people how other people were. He praised what was good and encouraged it, and disliked what was ugly and discouraged it. He took a balanced course, without making changes. He was not negligent, fearing that people would become negligent or weary. He was prepared for any eventuality. He did not neglect a right nor did he let his debts reach the point where others had to help him. The best and most preferred people in his eyes were those who had good counsel for all. Those he most esteemed were those who supported and helped him.”
  • "Zayd ibn Aslam said, 'Umar went out at night to observe the people and saw a lamp in a house where an old woman was teasing some wool, saying:
"The prayer of the good be upon Muhammad, may the blessed bless him!
I was standing in tears before dawn. If only I knew,when death gives us different forms,
Whether the Abode will join me to my beloved!"
She meant the Prophet. 'Umar sat down in tears."
  • It is related that once 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar's foot went numb. He was told, "Remember the most beloved of people to you and it will go away!" He shouted, "O Muhammad!" and the feeling returned.
  • Anas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not asked in Islam for anything without giving it. A man came to him and he gave him sheep filling the space between two mountains and he returned to his people saying, 'O people! Become Muslim! Muhammad gives a gift without any fear of poverty.' Even if a man becomes Muslim only out of desire for this world, it is not long before Islam becomes dearer to him than this world and everything in it."
  • Anas said that he passed by some boys and greeted them, saying, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do that.'" [Agreed upon]
  • Anas said, "If one of the slavegirls of the Madina took the hand of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, she could take him wherever she liked." [meaning he was fatherly and kind] [al-Bukhari]
  • Al-Aswad ibn Yazid said, "I asked 'A'isha, 'What did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do in his house?' She said, 'He would serve his family. When it was time for the prayer, he would go out to the prayer." [al-Bukhari]
  • 'A'isha said, "The words of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, were clear words which could be understood by all who heard them."
  • 'A'isha said, "I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laugh so much that the inside of his mouth showed. He used only to smile."
  • Jabir said, "When it was the day of the 'Id, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to return by a different route."
  • Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never criticised food. If he liked it, he ate it, and if he disliked it, he left it."
  • "When I saw his light shining forth,
In fear I covered my eyes with my palms,
Afraid for my sight because of the beauty of his form.
So I was scarcely able to look at him at all.
The lights from his light are drowned in his light
and his faces shines out like the sun and moon in one.
A spirit of light lodged in a body like the moon,
a mantle made up of brilliant shining stars.
I bore it until I could bear it no longer.
I found the taste of patience to be like bitter aloes.
I could find no remedy to bring me relief
other than delighting in the sight of the one I love.
Even if he had not brought any clear signs with him,
the sight of him would dispense with the need for them.
Muhammad is a human being but not like other human beings.
Rather he is a flawless diamond and the rest of mankind is just stones.
Blessings be on him so that perhaps Allah may have mercy on us
on that burning Day when the Fire is roaring forth its sparks."
  • Hassaan ibn Thabit, quoted from, Qasida in praise of the Prophet attributed to Hassan ibn Thabittranslated by Aisha Bewley, [18]
  • "By God, no woman has conceived and born
One like the apostle, the prophet of mercy and the guide
Nor has there walked on the surface of the earth
One more faithful to the protection of a neighbor or to a promise
Than he who was the light that shone on us
Blessed in his deeds, just, and rightly guided"
  • Hassaan ibn Thabit, as quoted in HASSĀN IBN THĀBIT, A TRUE MUKHADRAM:A STUDY OF THE GHASSĀNID ODES OF HASSĀN IBN THĀBIT,Jennifer Hill Boutz, p. 40
  • I witness with God's permission that Muhammad
Is the messenger who is higher than heaven.
  • Hassaan ibn Thabit, Diwan number 89, as quoted in And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 179, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • Qayla bint Makhrama said, "I saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was sitting cross-legged and when I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sitting so humbly, I trembled out of fear."
  • Aisha radiyallahu anha relates that the speech of Rasoolullah [Muhammad] sallallahu alaihe wasallam was not quick and continuous as that of yours. He spoke clearly, word for word. A person sitting in his company remembered what he said.
  • Anas bin Maalik Radiyallahu 'Anhu reports: "No one was more beloved to the Sahaabah than Rasulullah [Muhammad] Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam. When they saw him they did not stand up, knowing that he did not approve of it".
  • 'Aayeshah Radiyallahu 'Anha reports, that: "It was not the nature of Rasulullah [Muhammad] Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam to talk indecently, nor did he engage himself in the use of obscene language. Nor did he shout and talk in the bazaars (which is against dignity). He did not avenge a bad deed with a bad one, but forgave it, and thereafter did not even mention it".
  • Anas Radiyallahu 'Anhu says: "Rasulullah [Muhammad] Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam did not store anything for the next day".
  • Abdullah ibn Haarith radiyallahu anhu relates, The laugh of Sayyidina Rasoolullah [Muhammad] sallallahu alaihe wasallam was but a smile
  • Abdullah ibn Haarith radiyallahu anhu reports, I did not see anyone who smiled more than Rasoolullah [Muhammad] sallallahu alaihe wasallam.
  • lbn 'Abbaas Radiyallahu 'Anhu reports that: "Rasulullah [Muhammad] Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam and his family spent many consecutive nights without food, because there would be no supper. The bread of Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam was mostly made of barley". (Sometimes bread made of wheat was also available).
  • 'Aayeshah Radiyallahu 'Anha says: "Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam never filled his stomach with bread made of barley for two consecutive days till he passed away".

Quotes about Muhammad by his contemporary enemies

[edit]
This section contains quotations about Muhammad attributed to his contemporary enemies
  • Abu Sufyan Sakhr ibn Harb said in a long hadith concerning what happened with Heraclius: "Heraclius said, "What does he order you to do?" I replied, "He says, "Worship Allah alone and do not associate anything with Him and abandon what our ancestors said." He commands us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste, and to maintain ties of kinship."
  • When the Makkans drove Zayd ibn ad-Dathima out of the Haram to kill him, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb said to him, "I ask you by Allah, Zayd, don't you wish that Muhammad were with us now to take your place so that we could cut off his head, and you were with your family?" Zayd said, "By Allah, I would not wish Muhammad to be now in a place where even a thorn could hurt him if that was the condition for my being with my family!" Abu Sufyan remarked, "I have not seen any people who love anyone the way the Companions of Muhammad love Muhammad."

Quotes about Muhammad by Muslims

[edit]
This section contains quotations about Muhammad attributed to Muslims
  • He entered a world that had lost its faith, and hence had lost the secret of internal peace and external order, a world that was waiting for the liberating voice of Islam. Muhammad was the exemplar of virtues, virtues both of the preacher and of the soldier; he had the eloquence, convincing power, and intensity of the preacher, and the courage, gallantry and success of the warrior. Superb in his talents and his character he ruled his time as he dominated later times. No event that has since taken place has been the same as it would have been without Muhammad. History before him and after him is completely different.
    • Abbās al-Aqqād, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 236, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • His is the wisdom of singularity because he is the most perfect existent in the human species. That is why the whole affair began with him and is sealed with him. For he was a prophet while Adam was between water and clay. Then, in his elemental configuration, he was the Seal of the Prophets. And three is the first of the singulars. Every singular beyond one derives from it.
  • Adam was still dust and clay-
Ahmad was a prophet then,
He had been selected by God-
Utter blessings over him!
  • Asikpasazade, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 101, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • Muhammad is the exemplar to both worlds, the guide of the descendants of Adam.
He is the sun of creation, the moon of the celestial spheres, the all-seeing eye;
The torch of knowledge, the candle of prophecy, the lamp of the nation and the way of the people;
The commander-in-chief on the parade-ground of the Law; the general of the army of mysteries and morals;
The lord of the world and the glory of 'But for thee'; ruler of the earth and of the celestial spheres...
  • Attar, Ilahi Nama (Book of God)
  • Whatever is the radiance of both worlds,
Is the reflection of his, Muhammad's, heart.
  • Attar, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 200, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • God has elevated the dignity of His Prophet and granted him virtues, beautiful qualities and special prerogatives. He has praised his high dignity so overwhelmingly that neither tongue nor pen are sufficient [to describe him]. In His book He has clearly and openly demonstrated his high rank and praised him for his qualities of character and his noble habits. He asks His servants to attach themselves to him and to follow him obediently. It is God—great is His Majesty!—who grants honor and grace, who purifies and refines, He that lauds and praises and grants a perfect recompense... He places before our eyes his noble nature, perfected and sublime in every respect. He grants him perfect virtue, praiseworthy qualities, noble habits and numerous preferences. He supports his message with radiant miracles, clear proofs, and apparent signs.
  • Qadi Ayyad, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 46, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
My wish is this, that when I die, I still may smile,
And while I go, Muhammad's name be on my tongue,
  • Shakeel Badayuni, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 87, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • You are free from the defect of having an end,
I am perplexed my Master! What shall I call thee?
The melodies of Razā echo resoundingly in the gardens
And why not? Does he not sing the praises of the majestic flower?
I will say that, you to be the Master, for you are the beloved of The Master (Allah).
For between the Beloved and One who loves Him, there is no mine and yours.
  • Ahmad Raza Khan, Imam Ahmed Raza Khan and Love for the Prophet, translated by The Sunni Way, [19]
  • If a single atom of the Prophet manifested itself to creation, naught that is beneath the Throne would endure it.
  • Bayazid Bastami, Aspects of Islamic Civilization, Routledge, p. 124, translated by A. J. Arberry
  • The gnosis and knowledge of men is, compared with the Prophet's, like the drop of moisture which oozes out of the top of a bound waterskin.
  • Bayazid Bastami, Aspects of Islamic Civilization, Routledge, p. 124, translated by A. J. Arberry
  • Then for thirty thousand years I flew in the expanse of His Unity, and for thirty thousand years more I flew in Divinity, and for thirty thousand years more I flew in Singularity. When ninety thousand years had come to an end, I saw Abu Yazid, and all that I saw, all was I. Then I traversed four thousand wildernesses, and reached the end. When I gazed, I saw myself at the beginning of the degree of the prophets. Then for such a while I went on in that infinity, that I said, “No one has ever reached higher than this. Loftier than this no station can be.” When I looked well, I saw that my head was at the sole of the foot of a prophet. Then I realized that the end of the state of the saints is but the beginning of the states of the prophets; to the end of the prophets there is no term. Then my spirit transcended the whole Dominion, and Heaven and Hell were displayed to it; but it heeded naught Whatever came before it, that it could not suffer. To the soul of no prophet it reached, without it gave greeting. When it reached the soul of God's Chosen One, upon him be peace, there it beheld a hundred thousand seas of fire without end, and a thousand veils of light. Had I so much as dipped my foot in the first of those seas, I would have been consumed and given myself over to destruction. Therefore I became so bewildered with awe and confusion, that naught remained of me. However I desired to be able to see but the tent-peg of the pavilion of Mohammad, God's Messenger, I had not the boldness. Though I had attained to God, I had not the boldness to attain to Mohammad. Then Abu Yazid said, “O God, whatsoever thing I have seen, all has been I. There is no way for me to Thee, so long as this ‘I’ remains; there is no transcending my selfhood for me What must I do?” The command came, “To be delivered out of thy thouness, follow after Our beloved, the Arab Mohammad. Anoint thine eye with the dust of his foot, and continue following after him.
  • Bayazid Bastami, Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya’ (Memorial of the Saints) by Farid al-Din Attar, p. 126-134, translated by A.J. Arberry
A complete version can be viewed at Wikisource: Bayazid Bastami's Encounter with God
  • Prince of Medina, listen to my calling-
The journey is under your protection.
You lead the travelers to the other shore.
Lord of Medina, listen to my calling,
My hopes are directed to you,
I do not think of any other helper.
Bridegroom of Medina, listen to my calling!
Come again, Muhammad, the sinner hopes in you!
My prince will protect me- therefore I trust in God
The beloved will prostrate, will lament and cry-
therefore I trust in God.
Muhammad, the pure and innocent, will intercede there for his people...
When the trumpet souns, the eyes all will be opened...
The pious will father, and Muhammad, full of glory...
Will proceed for every soul to the gat of the Benefactor...
And the Lord will honor him, and forgive us all our sins-
Therefore I trust in God!
  • Muhammad, the lord of the two worlds and of men and djinn,
Of the two communities, the Arabs and the non-Arabs.
  • Please pray for us on Doomsday-
Your name is beautiful, you yourself are beautiful, Muhammad!
Your words are accepted near God, the Lord-
Your name is beautiful, you yourself are beautiful, Muhammad!
  • Yunus Emre, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 105, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • Your sandals are the crown for the Throne's seat
  • Nizami, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 272, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • He has been glorified by all glorious qualities; he was granted all words. By his noble nature the props of the tent of the whole of existence stay firmly placed; he is the secret of the word of the book of the angel, the meaning of the letters "creation of the world and the heavens"; he is the pen of the Writer Who has written the growing of created things; he is the pupil in the eye of the world, the master who has smithed the seal of existence. He is the one that suckles at the teats of revelation, and carries the eternal mystery; he is the translator of the tongue of eternity. He carries the banner of honor and keeps the reins of praise; he is the central pearl in the necklace of prophethood and the gem in the diadem of messengers. He is the first according to the cause, and the last in existence. He was sent with the Greatest namus to tear the veil of sorrow, to make the difficult easy, to push away the temptation of the hearts, to console the sadness of the spirit, to polish the mirror of the souls, to illuminate the darkness of the hearts, to make rich those who are poor in heart and to loosen the fetters of the souls.
    • Abdul-Qadir Gilani, as quoted in, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 135, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • The lord of the Prophets, whose name we proclaim from our minarets five times a day, sooner or later will enter the hearts of all human beings. And since Prophet Muhammad was a man of peace, humanity will attain happiness through the Message he brought: Islam.
  • To our friend (Muhammad), in beauty of disposition and of fidelity, one — reacheth not
In this matter, to thee, denial of our work — reacheth not.
By the right of ancient society (I swear) that any mystery confidant —
To our friend, of one way (sincere), thank-offering, — reachet not.
Although, into splendour, have come beauty boasters (the prophets, the leaders of the people, the guides of the path),
To our beloved (Muhammad, whose beauty was the world's boast) in beauty and grace, one — reachet not.
To the market of created beings, they (Fate and Destiny) bring a thousand coins:
To the die of our master of assay, one (coin) — reachet not.
From the Creator's reed, issue a thousand pictures: and one
To the degree of approval of the picture of our idol (Muhammad) — reacheth not.
O heart! grieve not of the reproach of the envious; and be firm;
For, to our hopeful heart, evil — reachet not.
Alas! the Kafila of life (manifestations of glories) passed in such a way,
That, to the air of our (far distant) country, its dust — reachet not.
So live that if thou (die and) become the dust of the path, to any one,
From our way (of life) a particle of dust (of grief) of the heart — reach not.
Hafiz consumed; and I fear that the explanation of his tale
To the ear of the powerful King — reacheth not.
  • Hafez, The Divan-i Hafiz translated by H. Wilberforce-Clarke, Ibex Publishers, pg. 392-393
  • From all the heart-ravishers, it is fit that thou (O Muhammad) shouldest take tribute;
For, over all lovely ones (prophets), thou, crown-like, art chief.
  • Hafez, The Divan-i Hafiz translated by H. Wilberforce-Clarke, Ibex Publishers, pg. 233
  • Inscribed on the Prophet's sword:
    Forgive him who wrongs you
    join him who cuts you off
    do good to him who does evil to you
    and speak the truth even if it be against yourself.
    • Hadith of Ahmad ibn Hanbal; quoted in The Knowing Heart : A Sufi Path of Transformation (1999) as translated by Kabir Helminski, p. 180
  • His [Muhammad's] aspiration preceded all other aspirations, his existence preceded nothingness, and his name preceded the Pen, because he existed before all peoples. There is not in the horizons, beyond the horizons or below the horizons, anyone more elegant, more noble, more knowing, more just, more fearsome, or more compassionate, than the subject of this tale. He is the leader of created beings, the one "whose name is glorious Ahmad"61:6.
    • Mansur Al-Hallaj, as quoted in, The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad, Carl W. Ernst (2010), Muḥammad as the Pole of Existence, Cambridge University Press, p. 125
  • All knowledge is but a drop from his [Muhammad's] ocean, and all wisdom is but a handful from his stream, and all times are but an hour from his life.
    • Mansur Al-Hallaj, as quoted in The Tawasin, Mansur Al-Hallaj, Translated by Aisha Bewley (1974), Diwan Press, p. 1-3
  • I shall kiss the image if I do not find
A way to kiss the Prophet's sandals.
Perhaps the good fortune of kissing it
Will be granted to me in Paradise in the most radiant place,
And I rub my heart on it so that perhaps
The burning thirst which rages in it will be quenched.
  • We trust in him [Muhammad] at the Day of Judgment,
And in this world too he is our protection.
  • Muhammad Iqbal, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 241, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • Love of the Prophet runs like blood in the veins of his community.
  • Muhammad Iqbal, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 256, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • There is a beloved hidden within thine heart:
I will show him to thee, if thou hast eyes to see.
His lovers are fairer than the fair,
Sweeter and comelier and more beloved.
By love of him the heart is made strong
And earth rubs shoulders with the Pleiades.
The soil of Najd was quickened by his grace
And fell into a rapture and rose to the skies
In the Muslim 's heart is the home of Muhammad,
All our glory is from the name of Muhammad.
Sinai is but an eddy of the dust of his house,
His dwelling-place is a sanctuary to the Ka'ba itself.
Eternity is less than a moment of his time,
Eternity receives increase, from his essence.
He slept on a mat of rushes,
But the crown of Chosroes was under his people's feet.
He chose the nightly solitude of Mount Hira,
And he founded a state and laws and government.
He passed many a night with sleepless eyes
In order that the Muslims might sleep on the throne of Persia.
In the hour of battle, iron was melted by the fash of his sword;
In the hour of prayer, tears fell like rain from his eye.
When he prayed for Divine help, his sword answered "Amen"
And extirpated the race of kings.
He instituted new laws in the world,
He brought the empires of antiquity to an end.
With the key of religion he opened the door of this world:
The womb of the world never bore his like...
  • Muhammad Iqbal, as quoted in, Secrets of the Self, translated by R. A. Nicholson, p. 30-31
  • Muhammad is the preface to the book of the universe;
All the worlds are slaves and he is the Master.
  • Jami, as quoted in, Secrets of the Self, by Muhammad Iqbal, translated by R. A. Nicholson, p. 36
  • When Muhammad was born, angels proclaimed it with high and low voices. Gabriel came with the good tidings, and the Throne trembled. The houris came out of their castles, and fragrance spread. Ridwan [the keeper of the gates of Paradise] was addressed: "Adorn the highest Paradise, remove the curtain from the palace, send a flock of birds from the birds of Eden to Amina's dwelling place that they may drop a pearl each from their beaks." And when Muhammad was born, Amina saw a light, which illuminated the palaces of Bostra. The angels surrounded her and spread out their wings. The rows of angels, singing praise, descended and filled hill and dale
  • Ibn Al-Jawzi, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 150, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
O Centre of the compass! O inmost ground of the truth!
O pivot of necessity and contingency!
O eye of the entire circle of existence! O point of the Koran and the Furqan!
O perfect one, and perfecter of the most perfect, who has been beautified by the majesty of God the Mericful!
Thou art the Pole (qutb) of the most wondrous things. The sphere of perfection in its solitude turns on thee.
Thou art transcendent, nay thou art immanent, nay thine is all that is known and unknown, everlasting and perishable.
Thine in reality is Being and not-being; nadir and zenith are thy two garments.
Thou art both the light and its opposite, nay but thou art only darkness to a gnostic that is dazed.
  • Grant me by your intercession, for which I hope,
A beautiful page instead of my ugly sins!
  • Ibn Khaldun, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 88, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • O Thou! to please whose love and wrath as well,
Allah created heaven and likewise hell;
Thou hast thy court in heaven, and I have naught,
Why not admit me in thy courts to dwell?
  • Omar Khayyam, as quoted in, The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, New York M.W. Dunne, 1903, p. 145
  • Enumerate my good qualities one by one; my faults,
pass by in tens. Pardon each sin committed for the love
of God. Fan not the fire of hatred by the breath of
passion, pardon, rather, in memory of the tomb of the
Prophet of God [Mohammed].
  • Omar Khayyam, as quoted in, The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, number 249
  • They say that on the night of his Ascension into heaven, the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, prayed first at the Dome of the Rock, laying his hand upon the Rock. As he went out, the Rock, to do him honour, rose up, but he laid his hand on it to keep it in its place and firmly fixed it there. But by reason of this rising up, it is even to this present day partly detached from the ground beneath.
    • Nasir-I Khursraw, Dairy of a Journey through Syria and Palestine, pp. 49-50; translated (1888) by Guy le Strange.
  • The king of the kingdoms of messengerdom,
The tughra of the page of Majesty.
  • Amir Khusrow, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 205, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I have life.
I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen one.
If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings,
I am quit of him and outraged by these words
  • Rumi, as quoted in Rumi and Self Discovery by Ibrahim Gamard
  • The Sufi is hanging on to Muhammad, like Abu Bakr.
    • Rumi, Quoted in Ibrahim Gamard, Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses — Annotated and Explained, p. 171.
  • The soil of Medina is sweeter than both worlds:
Oh, happy the town where dwell the Beloved!
  • Rumi, as quoted in, Secrets of the Self, Muhammad Iqbal, translated by R. A. Nicholson, p. 36
  • Our caravan leader is the pride of the world, Mustafa [Muhammad]
    • Rumi, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 215, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • "The way to God is exceedingly fearful and blocked deep by snow. Mohammed risked his life, driving his horse through and opening up the road. Whoever goes on this road, does so by his guidance and guarding. He discovered the road in the first place, and set up waymarks everywhere, posting signs that say, “Do not go in this direction, and do not go that way. If you go that way you will perish, even as the people of ‘Ad and Thamud, but if you go in this direction you will be saved, like the believers... Know that Mohammed is the guide. God says,“Until you first come to Mohammed you cannot reach Us.” This is like when you decide to go somewhere; thought leads the way, saying, “Go to this place, it is in your best interests.” After that your eyes act as a guide, and then your limbs begin to move, all in that order. But the limbs have no knowledge of eyes, nor the eyes of thought."
  • Rumi, Discourses of Rumi, OMPHALOSKEPSIS, p. 408-409, translated by A. J. Arberry
  • Mohammed is not called "Ummi" because he was incapable of writing or reading. He is called "Ummi" because with him writing and wisdom were innate, not taught. He who inscribes characters on the face of the moon, is such a man not able to write? And what is there in all the world that he does not know, seeing that all people learn from him? What can the partial intellect know what the Universal Intellect [Muhammad] does not possess?"
  • Rumi, Discourses of Rumi, OMPHALOSKEPSIS, p. 257
  • God made your praise and uttered your glorification
He made Gabriel kiss the threshold of your mystic rank
The lofty heaven is ashamed before your sublime worth
You were created while Adam was being kneaded of water and clay
You were the primordial starting-point of creation
Whatever came into being thence forward was your offshoot and branch
I am bewildered by what kind of words to oddness you
Because you are more sublime than what I say about you
Suffice is for your glorious rank the Divine utterance "Were it not for
you…" and enough for your glorification the names of Taha an Yasin
  • Saadi, as quoted in, Glorification of the Prophet Muhammad in the Poems of Sa'adi, translated by Gholamreza Aavani, Institute For Research In Philosophy, p. 6

"He who chooses a path contrary to that of the prophet [Muhammad], shall never reach the destination. O Saadi, do not think that one can treat that way of purity except in the wake of the chosen one [Muhammad]."

  • Saadi, Glorification of the Prophet Muhammad in the Poems of Sa'adi, Gholamreza Aavani, p. 4
  • the full moon dwindles when seeing the beauty of Muhammad.
the cypress tree cannot match the statues of Muhammad in uprightness
  • Saadi, as quoted in, Glorification of the Prophet Muhammad in the Poems of Sa'adi, translated by Gholamreza Aavani, Institute For Research In Philosophy, p. 15
  • The Peace of God be upon him and his Posterity!
So long as the tongue is fixed in the mouth,
May the praise of Muhammad be a source of delight.
The beloved of God, the most exalted of Prophets,
Whose pillow is the glorious firmament.
The earth-conquering horseman with the chestnut Buraq,
Which passed beyond the palace of the cerulean portico!
  • Saadi as quoted in Delphi Collective Works of Saadi (Illustrated), Delphi Classics, page 138
  • To speak any word but your name
Is error, is error;
To sing any artistic praise but for you
Is shame, is shame!
  • Sanai, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 176, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • No better leaders guiding you on the Path of God
Than the Koran and the sacred Traditions.
Only Muhammad's hand and heart are able
To take care of the secrets' treasury (the human heart).
If your heart is filled by Ahmad's light,
Be assured that you are saved from the Fire.
  • Sanai, Persian Sufi Poetry, by J. T. P. De Bruijn, Curzon, pg. 40
  • I asked the wind: "Why do you serve Solomon?"
It said: "Because Ahmad's name is engraved on his seal!"
  • Sanai, And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 197, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
  • If my sin is too grave to be forgiven,
Yet I have hope that God will grant me the best of refuges.
When God the Savior appears in His terrible might, I will place
my hope
In Muhammad, the dispeller of cares and sorrows in this world
and the next.
When I lower the wing of submission before him, asking for the
precious gift
Of intercession, to him my request will be a paltry thing.
And if the pious man comes before him with good deeds,
I will present before him tears of remorse.
I hereby cling to the door of Muhammad, the Prince of Prophets,
For he who holds tight to the key of God’s door will prosper.
For every act of virtue, charity, or favor, whether performed freely
Or compelled, comes through him.
I hereby grab tight to the rope of praise for him, which will avail me
on a day
When bonds of lineage and kinship are of no avail.
My poetry, when I praise the Prophet, disdains Zuhayr’s,
For the dew of Harim’s gifts cannot compare with the bounty that
will pour down on me.
  • Ahmed Shawqi, The Mantle Odes — Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad, by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, translated by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, Indiana University Press, pg. 173
  • Glad tidings of the Guide and his birth spread east and west,
Like light that penetrates the dark of night,
It snatched the blood from Arab despots’ hearts,
And put to flight the foreign tyrants’ souls.
It so alarmed the battlements of Īwān Kisrá that they cracked,
From the shock of truth, not the shock of bold warriors’ advance.
When you came you found mankind in chaos,
Like stone idols enthralled by stone idols,
And the earth was filled with injustice
And subjected to every despot who held sway over mankind.
The Persian overlord oppressed his subjects,
While pride left Rome’s Caesar blind and deaf to his people’s plight.
They tortured God’s worshippers on false pretexts,
And slaughtered them like sacrificial sheep.
Among mankind, the strong shed the blood of the weak,
Like lions killing sheep or whales killing minnows.
  • Ahmed Shawqi, The Mantle Odes — Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad, by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, translated by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, Indiana University Press, pg. 184-186
  • God conveyed you by night to the Farthest Mosque,
Where His angels and Messengers stood gathered to receive you.
When you strode in, they thronged around you, their master,
Like stars around the full moon, or troops around their flag.
Each one of noble station, they followed you in prayer,
For whoever follows God’s beloved will triumph.
Passing close by them, you traversed the heavens—or what lies above them—
On a luminous mount with a bridle of pearl.
Yours was a mount that, due to your might and dignity, has no equal
Among swift steeds or hard-treading she-camels that leave traces on
the ground.
Burāq is of the Maker’s will and of His make,
And God’s power is above all suspicion and doubt.
Until you reached a heaven to which
No wing can fly, no foot can walk.
As if a voice had said, “Let every prophet stand according to his rank,”
And, “O Muhammad, this is God’s throne, so touch it!”
You have written out the sciences for both religion and the world,
O reader of the Tablet! O holder of the Pen!
Your mind comprehends the secrets of both religion and the world;
The stores of science and knowledge were laid open before you.
Your closeness to God has multiplied beyond reckoning
The pendants of favor bestowed upon you, and the necklaces of grace.
  • Ahmed Shawqi, The Mantle Odes — Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad, by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, translated by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, Indiana University Press, pg. 184-186
  • Then ask the band of polytheists who were pasturing their herds
round the cave
(Who, except to pursue God’s Chosen One, would not have pastured
there):
Did they see the pure trace or hear the whisper
Of voices glorifying God or reciting the Qurƒān?
Did they think the spider’s web was a forest
And the dappled doves that hovered there were vultures
So that they turned back, cursed by the very ground they traversed,
Like falsehood put to flight by the majesty of truth?
But for God’s hand, the two companions would not have been safe;
But for His watchful eye, the pillar of religion would not still stand.
They were concealed and covered by the wing of God,
And whoever is enfolded in God’s wing will not be harmed.
  • Ahmed Shawqi, The Mantle Odes — Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad, by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, translated by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, Indiana University Press, pg. 184-186
  • He brought his community from darkness to light, and afforded shadow for them when the sun was burning bright; Muhammad, God's messenger and closest friend, his prime choice among his creatures, the best one ever created by God and His proof on His earth; he, guiding to His truth and alerting to His wisdom and calling to His guidance; he whose birth was blessed and whose arrival was fortunate; radiant is his morning light and glowing his lamp at night; he, whose wars are victorious and whose sermons are glorious,...
  • Another of the auspicious omens predicting my future greatness, was this: in a dream I saw the Prophet Muhammad, "on whom be the Grace of God," who congratulated me and said, "in consequence of the support you have given to my descendants, the Almighty has decreed that seventy-two of your posterity shall sit on the throne of Sovereignty." When I awoke, I wrote all the particulars of this dream to my Peer, he replied by letter, "I congratulate you on this dream, your having seen the Prophet, (on whom be the grace of God), proves that you will certainly obtain numerous victories and that many happy consequences will arise from this dream."
    • Timur, The Mulfuzat Timury, translated from Chughtai to Persian by Abu Talib Hussayny, translated from Persian to English by Major Charles Stewart, Oriental Translation Committee, 1830, page 11
  • When I reached my ninth year, they taught me the daily service of the Mosque, during which I always read the 91st Chapter, denominated the Sun. While seated in the school-room, I always took the chief seat, and often fancied myself the commander of all the other boys. One day a subject of conversation was started, on which was the best mode of sitting, each boy gave some answer to the question, when it came to my turn, I said, the best mode of sitting is on the knees, for Muhammad has commanded, "whilst in prayer sit on your knees;" on which all the spectators praised me exceedingly.
    • Timur, The Mulfuzat Timury, translated from Chughtai to Persian by Abu Talib Hussayny, translated from Persian to English by Major Charles Stewart, Oriental Translation Committee, 1830, page 21
  • In a commentary of the Quran, Sahl al-Tustari states in regards to Surah An-Najm verse 13, "That is, in the beginning when God, Glorified and Exalted is He, created him as a light within a column of light (nūran fī ʿamūd al-nūr), a million years before creation, with the essential characteristics of faith (ṭabāʾiʿ al-īmān), in a witnessing of the unseen within the unseen (mushāhadat al-ghayb bi’l-ghayb). He stood before Him in servanthood (ʿubūdiyya), by the lote tree of the Ultimate Boundary [53:14], this being a tree at which the knowledge of every person reaches its limit." Tustari states in regards to Surah An-Najm verse 16 "when there shrouded the lote tree that which shrouded [it].This means: that which shrouded the lote tree (ay mā yaghshā al-shajara) was from the light of Muḥammad as he worshipped. It could be likened to golden moths, which God sets in motion towards Him from the wonders of His secrets. All this is in order to increase him [Muḥammad] in firmness (thabāt) for the influx [of graces] (mawārid) which he received [from above]." Tustari states in regards to Surah An-Najm verse 17 "The eye did not swerve, nor did it go beyond [the bounds].He did not incline to the evidences of his self (shawāhid nafsihi), nor to witnessing them (mushāhadatihā), but was totally absorbed in the witnessing (mushāhada) of his Lord, Exalted is He, seeing (shāhid) the attributes [of God] that were being manifested [to him], which required firmness from him in that place (maḥall)." Tustari states in regards to Surah An-Najm verse 18 "Verily he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.That is, those of His attributes that became manifest through His signs. Though he saw them, he did not let slip [his gaze] from his witnessed Object (mashhūd) [of worship], and did not withdraw from the vicinity of his worshipped Object (maʿbūd), but rather [what he saw] only increased him in love (maḥabba), longing (shawq) and strength (quwwa).God gave him the strength by which he could bear the theophany (tajallī) and supreme lights (anwār ʿaẓīma). This was out of his being favoured above the other prophets. Do you not see how Moses fell down in a swoon at the theophany. Yet twice as much did the Prophet ﷺ penetrate it (jābahu) in his contemplation, through a face-to-face encounter with the sight of his heart (kifāḥan bi-baṣar qalbihi), and yet remained firm due to the strength of his state, and his elevated station (maqām) and rank (daraja). His words, Exalted is He:"
    • Sahl al-Tustari, Tafsir al-Tustari by Sahl al-Tustari, translated by Annabel Keeler and Ali Keeler (2011), Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, pages 213-214
  • Mohammed used to go with his foster-brother to feed the family flocks. One day his foster-brother returned home and announced that some one had attacked his brother. They all started out, and found Mohammed, who told them that some one had come with a golden cup filled with snow, had cut open his breast and taken out his heart and cleansed it, removing a black clot.

Quotes about Muhammad by non-Muslims

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This section contains quotations about Muhammad attributed to non-Muslims
  • Being Muslim is no condition to love Muhammad
O Kausari, even Hindus are the seeker of Muhammad
  • Dillu Ram Kausuri, Dillu Ram Kausari: The Hindu poet who composed eulogies for the Prophet Muhammad published by Firstpost, December 1, 2017.
  • Since the coming of Jesus Christ, Mahometanism has overspread a great part of the barbarous world. But this carries in it such apparent and certain marks of falsity, that it can be no temptation to any person in whom there is but a spark of good sense...The author from whom it was derived: a robber, one drenched in sensuality, and therefore utterly unqualified to be the revealer of the will of the holy God to men...
    • Reverend William Bates in the Works of the Reverend William Bates, D.D. (1990) Volume 1, page 114, Sprinkle Publications
  • It is no wonder the religion of Mahomet extended and established its conquests in many countries: for that seducer persuaded the barbarous people by force of arms, they must be his disciples or slaves. And can the mind form a clear judgment, or the will make a free choice, when under a tyrannous necessity of compliance, or losing all the comforts of life? Can violence and cruelty produce a rational faith? That may force them to a counterfeit compliance, but cannot make men sincerely believe; it is apt to breed form without, and atheism within.
    • Reverend William Bates (1990). The Whole Works of the Rev. William Bates, Volume 1 (W. Farmer, Ed.)(pages 152–153). Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications.
  • ...in later times Mahomet opened a way for his religion by his sword, and advanced it by conquest. Now it is no wonder that a religion so pleasing to the lower appetites, that gives licence to all corrupt affections in the present life, and promises a sensual paradise suitable to beasts in the future, should be embraced by those who were subject to his arms.
    • Reverend William Bates (1990). The Whole Works of the Rev. William Bates, Volume 1 (W. Farmer, Ed.)(pages 503–504). Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications.
  • Not a few of the false prophets—for instance, Mahomet—without premeditated foresight, have by slow and imperceptible degrees gained over parties of retainers, and afterwards deceived both themselves and others: accordingly, the circumstances of their birth and their condition, in their early years, are in the case of such impostors unknown, unworthy of trust, and fictitious.
    • Johann Albrecht Bengel (1860). Vol. 2: Gnomon of the New Testament (M. E. Bengel & J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (A. R. Fausset, Trans.) (10). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
  • But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigour, a young man of four and twenty, married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and twenty years, at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and sexual passion? Not thus are men's lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married, you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection... It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel, whenever I reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.
    • Annie Besant, in The Life and Teachings of Mohammad (1932), p. 4
  • The ideas of freedom for all human beings, of human brotherhood, of the equality of all men before the law of democratic government, by consultation and universal suffrage, the ideas that inspired the French Revolution and the Declaration of Rights, that guided the framing of the American Constitution and inflamed the struggle for independence in the Latin-American countries were not inventions of the West. They find their ultimate inspiration and source in the Holy Quran, They are the quintessence of what the intelligentsia of medieval Europe acquired from Islam over a period of centuries through the various societies that developed in Europe in the wake of the Crusades in imitation of the brotherhood associations of Islam. It is highly probable that but for the Arabs modern European civilization would never have arisen at an, it is absolutely certain that but for them it would never have assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous phases of evolution.
  • How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades? The lies which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man are disgraceful to ourselves only. A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be in earnest. He was to kindle the world; the Worlds Maker had ordered so.
    • Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History (1841)
  • It is a great shame for any one to listen to the accusation that Islaam is a lie and that Muhammad was a fabricator and a deceiver. We saw that he remained steadfast upon his principles, with firm determination; kind and generous, compassionate, pious, virtuous, with real manhood, hardworking and sincere. Besides all these qualities, he was lenient with others, tolerant, kind, cheerful and praiseworthy and perhaps he would joke and tease his companions. He was just, truthful, smart, pure, magnanimous and present-minded; his face was radiant as if he had lights within him to illuminate the darkest of nights; he was a great man by nature who was not educated in a school nor nurtured by a teacher as he was not in need of any of this.
    • Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History (1841)
  • And one his limb transpierced, and one lopped off, should show, it would be nothing to compare with the disgusting mode of the ninth Bolgia. A cask by losing centre-piece or cant was never shattered so, as I saw one rent from the chin to where one breaketh wind. Between his legs were hanging down his entrails; his heart was visible, and the dismal sack that maketh excrement of what is eaten. While I was all absorbed in seeing him, he looked at me, and opened with his hands his bosom, saying: "See now how I rend me; How mutilated, see, is Mahomet; in front of me doth Ali weeping go, cleft in the face from forelock unto chin; and all the others whom thou here beholdest, disseminators of scandal and of schism while living were, and therefore are cleft thus.
  • Is it possible to conceive, we may ask, that tho man who directed such great and lasting reforms in his own country by substituting the worship of tho one only true God for tho gross and debasing idolatry in which his countrymen had boon plunged for ages; who abolished infanticide, prohibited the use of spirituons liquors and games of chance (those sources of moral depravity), who restricted within comparatively narrow limits the unrestrained polygamy which he found in existence and practice—can we, we repeat, conceive so great and zealous a reformer to have been a mere impostor, or that his whole career was one of sheer hypocrisy? Can we imagine that his divine mission was a mere invention of his own of whose falsehood he was conscious throughout? No, surely, nothing but a consciousness of really righteous intentions could have carried Mohammed so steadily and constantly without ever flinching or wavering, without ever betraying himself to his most intimate connections and companions, from his first revelation to Khadijah to his last agony in the arms of Ayesha.
    • John Davenport, An apology for Mohammed and the Koran. London, 1869. Pages 138-139
  • Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all others, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race—Mohammed… To be the religious head of many empires, to guide the daily life of one third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a messenger of God.
  • If we judge greatness by influence, he was one of the giants of history.
    • Will Durant, The Age of Faith: The Story of Civilization, Volume IV.
  • By the false prophet, is sometimes meant the Pope and his clergy; but here an eye seems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call the great prophet of God.
    • Jonathan Edwards, referring to the false prophet of Revelation 16:13, in The Fall of Antichrist (1829), Part VII, page 395, New York, Published by S. Converse
I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
  • I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind ... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.
  • That his reforms enhanced the status of women in general by contrast with the anarchy of pre-Islamic Arabia is universally admitted.
  • The communication of ideas requires a similitude of thought and language: the discourse of a philosopher would vibrate without effect on the ear of a peasant; yet how minute is the distance of their understandings, if it be compared with the contact of an infinite and a finite mind, with the word of God expressed by the tongue or the pen of a mortal! The inspiration of the Hebrew prophets, of the apostles and evangelists of Christ, might not be incompatible with the exercise of their reason and memory; and the diversity of their genius is strongly marked in the style and composition of the books of the Old and New Testament. But Mahomet was content with a character, more humble, yet more sublime, of a simple editor; the substance of the Koran. ... In the spirit of enthusiasm or vanity, the prophet [Muhammad] rests the truth of his mission on the merit of his book; audaciously challenges both men and angels to imitate the beauties of a single page; and presumes to assert that God alone could dictate this incomparable performance. This argument is most powerfully addressed to a devout Arabian, whose mind is attuned to faith and rapture; whose ear is delighted by the music of sounds; and whose ignorance is incapable of comparing the productions of human genius. The harmony and copiousness of style will not reach, in a version, the European infidel: he will peruse with impatience the endless incoherent rhapsody of fable, and precept, and declamation, which seldom excites a sentiment or an idea, which sometimes crawls in the dust, and is sometimes lost in the clouds. The divine attributes exalt the fancy of the Arabian missionary; but his loftiest strains must yield to the sublime simplicity of the book of Job, composed in a remote age, in the same country, and in the same language. If the composition of the Koran exceed the faculties of a man to what superior intelligence should we ascribe the Iliad of Homer, or the Philippics of Demosthenes? In all religions, the life of the founder supplies the silence of his written revelation.
  • He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as Divine Law, and not as a book of a human being made for education or entertainment.
  • He spoke in the market and other public places. Most of those who heard him laughed at what he told them; but some poor people and a few slaves believed him and adopted the new religion. Others said he was a dreamer and a fool.
    Mohammed, however, paid no heed to the insults he received. He went on telling about the appearance of Gabriel and preaching the doctrines which he said the angel had ordered him to teach the people.
  • My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.
    • Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, p.3
  • It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.
    Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time.
    Of many important historical events, one might say that they were inevitable and would have occurred even without the particular political leader who guided them. For example, the South American colonies would probably have won their independence from Spain even if Simon Bolivar had never lived. But this cannot be said of the Arab conquests. Nothing similar had occurred before Muhammad, and there is no reason to believe that the conquests would have been achieved without him. The only comparable conquests in human history are those of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, which were primarily due to the influence of Genghis Khan. These conquests, however, though more extensive than those of the Arabs, did not prove permanent, and today the only areas occupied by the Mongols are those that they held prior to the time of Genghis Khan. ... the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
  • In the beginning of the seventh century this man did arise; a singular compound of whatever the nation, tribe, time, and country, could produce ; merchant, prophet, orator, poet, hero, and legislator; all after the Arabian manner. Mohammed was born of the noblest tribe in Arabia, the guardian of the purest dialect, and of the Caaba, the ancient sanctuary of the nation; a boy of considerable beauty, not rich, but educated in the family of a man of consequence.
  • The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations. ... the fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations.
  • He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a result of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a source... In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints... His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family.
  • I said to myself: You've dealt with Christianity and Judaism but what about your own religion? Can you take it for granted that Muhammad existed? ... The more I read, the historical person at the root of the whole thing became more and more improbable.
    • Muhammad Sven Kalisch:Andrew Higgins - [[[:Template:Reference archive]] Professor Hired for Outreach to Muslims Delivers a Jolt] - Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2008
  • The Mullahs say Ahmed went to heaven, Sarmad says that heaven came down to Ahmed.
    • Sarmad Kashani, as quoted in Armenian settlements in India, from the earliest times to the present day, Anne Basil (1969), Armenian College, p. 14
  • Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was super human; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he Muhammad had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia, Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain and part of Gaul.
    If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. . . his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold, the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with words.
    Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?
  • On 8 June 632, according to the tradional biography, the Prophet died after a short illness. He had achieved a great deal. To the pagan peoples of western Arabia he had brought a new religion which, with its monotheism and its ethical doctrines, stood on an incomparably higher level than the paganism it replaced. He had provided that religion with a revelation which was to become in the centuries to follow the guide to thought and count of countless millions of Believers. But he had done more than that; he had established a community and a well organized and armed state, the power and prestige of which made it a dominant factor in Arabia. What then is the final significance of the career of the Arabian Prophet? For the tradiotional Muslim the question scarcely arises. Muhammad was the last and greatest of the Apostles of God, sent as the Seal of Prophecy to bring the final revelation of god's word to mankind. His career and success were fore-ordained and inevitable and needed no the pious fantasy of later generations of believers clothed the dim figure of the Prophet with a rich and multi-coloured fabric of fable, legend, and miracle, not realizing that by diminishing his essential historic humanity they were robbing him of one of his most attractive qualities.
  • My whole heart and soul are stirred and incensed against the Turks and Mohammed, when I see this intolerable raging of the Devil. Therefore I shall pray and cry to God, nor rest until I know that my cry is heard in heaven.
    • Martin Luther while being confined to residence at Coburg, as quoted in History of the Christian Church, (1910) by Philip Schaff, Vol. VII : Modern Christianity : The German Reformation, § 123. Luther at the Coburg; though it mentions Muhammad, this remark might actually be directed at those responsible for his confinement, as he makes allusions to dwelling in the "empire of birds" and his location as a "Sinai" and regularly uses other uncomplimentary comparisons of those involved in suppressing his ideas to figures unpopular to himself and his contemporaries.
  • His Mohammed, as has been said, commands that ruling is to be done by the sword, and in his Koran the sword is the commonest and noblest work. Thus the Turk is, in truth, nothing but a murderer or highwayman, as his deeds show before men's eyes.
  • After him arose the Madman who emulated his precursor since he paved the way for him. But he added the further objective of procuring rule and submission, and he invented his well known religion. All of these men purposed to place their teachings on the same level with our divine religion. But only a simpleton who lacks knowledge of both would liken divine institutions to human practices. Our religion differs as much from other religions for which there are alleged resemblances as a living man endowed with the faculty of reason is unlike a statue which is ever so well carved out of marble, wood, bronze or silver. When a person ignorant of divine wisdom or of God's works sees the statue that superficially resembles a man in its contours, form, features, and color, he believes that the structure of the parts of a statue is like the constitution of a man, because he is deficient in understanding concerning the inner organization of both. But the informed person who knows the interior of both, is cognizant of the fact that the internal structure of the statue betrays no skillful workmanship at all, whereas the inward parts of man are truly marvelously made, a testimony to the wisdom of the Creator, such as the prolongation of the nerves in the muscles and their ramifications, the branching out of the sinews and their intersections and the network of their ligaments and their manner of growth, the articulations of the bones and the joints, the pulsating and non-pulsating blood vessels and their ramifications, the setting of the limbs into one another, the uncovered and covered parts, every one of these in proportion, in form and proper place. ... This event was predicted in the divinely inspired prophecy of Daniel, according to which, in some future time a person would appear with a religion similar to the true one, with a book of Scriptures and oral communications, who will arrogantly pretend that God had vouchsafed him a revelation, and that he held converse with Him, besides making other extravagant claims. Thus Daniel in his description of the rise of the Arabic kingdom after the fall of the Roman Empire, alluded to the appearance of the Madman and his victories over the Roman, Persian, and Byzantine Empires in the vision concerning a horn which grew, became long and strong. This is clearly indicated in a verse that can be understood by the masses as well as by the select few. Since this interpretation is borne out by the facts of history, no other meaning can be given to the following verse: "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." (Danield 7:8).
  • I regard Mohammed as a great man, who solved a political problem of appalling difficulty, — the construction of a state and an empire out of the Arab tribes. I have endeavored, in recounting the mode in which he accomplished this, to do justice to his intellectual ability and to observe towards him the respectful attitude which his greatness deserves.
  • Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about A.D. 570 into an Arabian tribe that worshipped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty, he was already a successful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five, his employer, recognizing his merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he married her, and as long as she lived, remained a devoted husband. ... Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy. But the angel commanded "Read." So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: "There is one God." ... In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumours of God's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, 'An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being. At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: "If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you worshipped, He lives forever."
    • James A. Michener, Islam: The Misunderstood Religion in Readers' Digest (American edition), May 1955, pp. 68-70.
  • I have seen the light of Muhammad (with my mind's eye). I have seen the prophet and the messenger of God, in other words, I have understood his message or imbibed his spirit. After contemplating the glory of God, my ego was completely eliminated.
    • Attributed to Guru Nanak, in the Janamsakhi of Bhai Bala. As quoted in 'Guru Granth Sahib: A Model For Interfaith Understanding,' by and quote translated by Dr. Kazi Nurul Islam, published in Khalsa Samachar Volume 22 Issue 43, New Delhi, August 30th, 2012 to September 5th, 2012, page. 8 Viewable here: [20]
  • It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother.
    • Sarojini Naidu, Ideals of Islam, vide Speeches & Writings (1918), p. 169
  • Mahomet was a great man, an intrepid soldier; with a handful of men he triumphed at the battle of Bender (sic); a great captain, eloquent, a great man of state, he revived his fatherland and created a new people and a new power in the middle of Arabia.
  • Muhammad was a prince; he rallied his compatriots around him. In a few years, the Muslims conquered half of the world. They plucked more souls from false gods, knocked down more idols, razed more pagan temples in fifteen years than the followers of Moses and Jesus did in fifteen centuries. Muhammad was a great man. He would indeed have been a god, if the revolution that he had performed had not been prepared by the circumstances.
    • Napoleon I of France in Campagnes d'Egypte et Syrie (1998), Imprimerie Nationale, p. 275. as translated by John v. Tolan in European Accounts of Muhammad's Life. Napoleon wrote his memoirs on the island of Saint Helena. It is here he develops his portrait of Muhammad as a model lawmaker and conqueror.
  • "I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MOHAMED, AN APOSTLE OF GOD" is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.
  • No great religious figure has been so maligned as Muhammad. Attacked in the past as a heretic, an imposter, or a sensualist, it is still possible to find him referred to in otherwise academic writings as 'the false prophet'. A modern German writer accuses Muhammad of sensuality, surrounding himself with young women. This man was not married till he was twenty-five years of age, then he and his wife lived in happiness and fidelity for twenty-four years, until her death when he was forty-nine. Only between the age of fifty and his death at sixty-two did Muhammad take other wives, only one of whom was a virgin, and most of them were taken for dynastic and political reasons. Certainly the Prophet's record was much better than the head of the Church of England, Henry VIII.
  • The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Muhammad the Prophet. There is Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the Statesman; Muhammad the Orator; Muhammad the Reformer; Muhammad the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad the Judge; Muhammad the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero.
  • In the year 612, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, a prosperous merchant from Mecca deeply troubled by the splintered, selfish nature of Arab society, emerged as the Prophet Muhammad with divine instructions on how to unite and transform his people. He called his new belief system Islam, meaning "peace through surrender to God." In its essence, Islam was a strict code of ethics requiring subservience to the community and compassion toward the poor. It quickly helped Arab tribes end their constant blood feuds and create and all-powerful super-tribe based not on family connection but on shared ideology and security. Islam made Arabia an instant superpower. Within two decades of Muhammad's death in 632, the new Muslim Empire controlled Persia, Syria, Egypt, and pieces of North Africa.
  • The medieval ecclesiastics, either through ignorance or bigotry, painted Muhammadanism in the darkest colours. They were in fact trained both to hate the man Muhammad and his religion. To them Muhammad was Anti-Christ. I have studied him — the wonderful man, and in my opinion far from being an Anti-Christ he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much-needed peace and happiness.
  • Head of the State as well as of the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammed; for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports. He rose superior to the titles and ceremonies, the solemn trifling, and the proud humility of court etiquette. To hereditary kings, to princes born in the purple, these things are, naturally enough, as the breath of life; but those who ought to have known better, even self-made rulers, and those the foremost in the files of time — a Caesar, a Cromwell, a Napoleon — have been unable to resist their tinsel attractions. Mohammed was content with the reality, he cared not for the dressings, of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.
    • Reginald Bosworth Smith, in "Mohammedanism and Christianity" (7 March 1874), published in Mohammed and Mohammedanism (1889), p. 289
  • Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached. God is not pleased by blood — and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death.
  • The Prophet Muhammad at God's behest, called men to the worship of one God and proclaimed that, by responding to this call, mankind would achieve true dignity, honour, prosperity and happiness. Within an astonishingly brief period, and over vast areas which were in the grip of ignorance, darkness and confusion were finally dispelled, order was established and all manner of beneficent institutions sprang into life, a high moral order was set up and the blessings of knowledge, learning and science began to be widely diffused. The strength of this message was its crystal clear simplicity and marvelous easiness, for Islam reached out to the soul of the people without having recourse to long explanations and involved sermons. Thanks to this message, bringing the ideals of tauhid, resalat, peace and harmony, paganism in its various forms was defeated, and human dignity finally became a reality. Islam taught right thinking, proper action and honest speaking, and for these reasons it found its way, without any difficulty, into both the minds and hearts of men.
    • Prof. Laura Veccia Vaglieri, An interpretation of Islam (1957)
  • But with all that, Mohammed spoke some wonderful truths. If you read the Koran, you find the most wonder­ful truths mixed with supersti­tio­ns. How will you expl­ain it? That man was inspi­red, no doubt, but that inspi­rat­ion was, as it were, stum­bled upon. He was not a trained Yogi, and did not know the reason of what he was doing. T­hink of the good Mohammed did to the world, and think of the great evil that has been done thro­ugh his fanatic­ism! Think of the millions massacred through his teachi­ngs, mothers bereft of their children, children made orphans, whole countries destroyed, mil­lions upon mil­lions of people killed! (...) So we see this danger by studying the lives of great teach­ers like Moham­mad and others. Yet we find, at the same time, that they were all inspi­red. Whene­ver a prophet got into the super­conscious state by heighte­ning his emotional nature, he brought away from it not only some truths, but some fanaticism also, some super­st­ition which injured the world as much as the greatness of the teaching help­ed.
    • Swami Vivekananda: Complete Works, vol.1, p.184, from his book Raja Yoga, Ch.7: "Dhyana and Samadhi")
  • But that a camel-merchant [Muhammad] should stir up insurrection in his village; that in league with some miserable followers he persuades them that he talks with the angel Gabriel; that he boasts of having been carried to heaven, where he received in part this unintelligible book, each page of which makes common sense shudder; that, to pay homage to this book, he delivers his country to iron and flame; that he cuts the throats of fathers and kidnaps daughters; that he gives to the defeated the choice of his religion or death: this is assuredly nothing any man can excuse, at least if he was not born a Turk, or if superstition has not extinguished all natural light in him.
    • Voltaire:François-Marie Arouet, Letter to Frederick II of Prussia, December 1740, referring to Muhammad
  • Most blessed Father [Pope Benedict XIV]— Your holiness will pardon the liberty taken by one of the lowest of the faithful, though a zealous admirer of virtue, of submitting to the head of the true religion this performance ["Fanaticism, or Mahomet"], written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect. To whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet, than to the vicar and representative of a God of truth and mercy? Your holiness will therefore give me leave to lay at your feet both the piece and the author of it, and humbly to request your protection of the one, and your benediction upon the other; in hopes of which, with the profoundest reverence, I kiss your sacred feet.
  • Your religion, although it has some good points, such as worship of the great Being, and the necessity of being just and charitable, is otherwise nothing but a rehash of Judaism and a tedious collection of fairy tales. If the archangel Gabriel had brought the leaves of the Koran to Mahomet from some planet, all Arabia would have seen Gabriel come down: nobody saw him; therefore Mahomet was a brazen impostor who deceived imbeciles.
  • His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.
  • The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievement. Circumstances presented him with an opportunity such as few men have had, but the man was fully matched with the hour. Had it not been for his gifts as seer, statesman, and administrator and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten.
    ...Only a profound belief in himself and his mission explains Muhammad's readiness to endure hardship and persecution during the Meccan period when from a secular point of view there was no prospect of success. Without sincerity how could he have won the allegiance and even devotion of men of strong and upright character like Abu-Bakr and 'Umar ? For the theist there is the further question how God could have allowed a great religion like Islam to develop on a basis of lies and deceit. There is thus a strong case for holding that Muhammad was sincere. If in some respects he was mistaken, his mistakes were not due to deliberate lying or imposture.
  • In Muhammad, I should hold, there was a welling up of the creative imagination, and the ideas thus produced are to a great extent true and sound. It does not follow, however, that all the Qur'anic ideas are true and sound. In particular there is at least one point at which they seem to be unsound; the idea that 'revelation' or the product of the creative imagination is superior to normal human traditions as a source of bare historical fact. There are several verses in the Qur'an (II. 5I; 3. 39; I2. I03) to the effect that 'this is one of the reports of the unseen which We reveal to thee; thou didst not know it, thou nor thy people, before this'. One could admit a claim that the creative imagination was able to give a new and truer interpretation of a historical event, but to make it a source of bare fact is an exaggeration and false.
    This point is of special concern to Christians, since the Qur'an denies the bare fact of the death of Jesus on the cross, and Muslims still consider that this denial outweighs the contrary testimony of historical tradition. The primary intention of the Qur'an was to deny the Jews' interpretation of the crucifixion as a victory for themselves, but as normally explained it goes much farther. The same exaggeration of the role of 'revelation' has also had other consequences. The Arab contribution to Islamic culture has been unduly magnified, and that of the civilized peoples of Egypt, Syria, 'Iraq and Persia, later converted to Islam, has been sadly belittled.
    Too much must not be made of this slight flaw. Which of us, conscious of being called by God to perform a special task, would not have been more than a little proud ? On the whole Muhammad was remarkably free from pride. Yet this slight exaggeration of his own function has had grave consequences and cannot be ignored.
  • I always took the view — contrary to most previous scholars of Islam — that the Quran was not something that Muhammad had consciously produced. For long, however, I hesitated to speak of him as a prophet, because Muslims would have taken this to mean that everything in the Quran was finally and absolutely true, which was something I did not believe. More recently, however, I have said that Muhammad is a prophet comparable to the Old Testament prophets, though with a different task, namely, to bring the knowledge of God to people without such knowledge, whereas their task was mainly to criticize the conduct of those who already believed in God.
  • I therefore do not believe that either the Bible or the Qur'an is infallibly true in the sense that all their commands are valid for all time. ... when the form of society changes in important respects some commands cease to be appropriate, though many others continue to be valid. I do, however, believe that Muhammad, like the earlier prophets, had genuine religious experiences. I believe that he really did receive something directly from God. As such, I believe that the Qur'an came from God, that it is Divinely inspired. Muhammad could not have caused the great upsurge in religion that he did without God's blessing.
  • Since the creation of the universe
God had already appointed his great faith-preaching man,
From the West he was born,
And received the holy scripture
And book made of 30 parts (Juz)
To guide all creations,
Master of all rulers,
Leader of the holy ones,
With support from the Heavens,
To protect his nation,
With five daily prayers,
Silently praying for peace,
His heart directed towards Allah,
Giving power to the poor,
Saving them from calamity,
Seeing through the Unseen,
Pulling the souls and the spirits away from all wrongdoings,
Mercy to the world,
Transversing the ancient, Majestic path,
vanquishing away all evil,
His religion, Qing Zhen (the name for islam in chinese (especially at that time), which literally means Pure and True),
Muhammad, The Noble Great One.
  • Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China, from Kaikyōken: Le monde Islamique, Volume 7, page 139, published by Shikai Shobo
  • The universe began with the heavenly tablet recording his name.
The religion-delivering great sage, born in the western realm.
Conferring and receiving heavenly scripture in thirty parts, universally transforming all created beings.
Master of the trillion rulers, leader of the ten thousand sages.
Assisted by destiny, protector of the community. In each of the five prayers, he silently supplicates for their total well-being.
His intention is that Allah should remember the needy. Deliver them from tribulations to safety, Knower of the unseen.
Exalted above every soul and spirit, free from any blameworthy deeds.
A mercy to all of the worlds, whose path is preeminent for all time.
Renounce spiritual ignorance; return to The One – that is the religion called Islam.
Muhammad is the most noble sage.
  • This Mahomet was borne, Anno Dom. 591. in Itraripia, a beggarly Village in Arabia, whose father was Abdillas, an Ismaelite; and his mother Cadiges, a Jew; both different in Religion, and also of diverse Countries: In his youth he was partly taught the Judaicall Law, and partly the superstition of the Gentiles. Many alleadge his parentage was never knowne (being so base) untill his riper yeares bewrayed the same, I also learned that his Parents dyed whiles he was a young child, and was turned over to his Unckle, who afterward sold him to one Abdeminoples, a Merchant in Palestina: And he, after a little time, having remarked his ready and prompt wit, sent him downe to Ægypt, to be a Factor in his Merchandise; where, by his dissimulate behaviour, he crept in favour with Christians, Jewes, and Gentiles. He was in proportion of a meane stature, lively faced, big-headed, eloquent in language, of a sanguinicall complexion, and a couragious stomacke, in all attempts exceeding desperate: he was also deceitfull, variant, and fradulent, as may appeare in his Satanicall Fables, expressed in his Alcoran, where oft one saying contradicteth another, both in words, and effect.

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