In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With pens of longing,
And the ink of love,
We record lines more precious than gold,
In describing the Master of all creation,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
Chapter: How the speech of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was.
It is narrated from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not speak rapidly as you do now.
Rather, he spoke with clear, distinct speech,
Which was easily memorized by those who sat with him.
In this hadith, the Mother of the Believers, ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, describes
The speech of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Saying:
"He did not speak rapidly as you do now."
Meaning, he did not deliver his words in a hurried, rushed, or overlapping manner.
"Rather, he spoke with clear, distinct speech."
The meaning of "clear" is manifest, and "distinct"
Means separated, where each part is distinguished from the other,
So that whoever hears him can clearly understand it.
Thus, his guidance, peace be upon him, was to be measured in speech,
And to be deliberate in delivering his hadith.
Unlike some people who, when they speak, do not clarify their words,
And perhaps, due to the speed of their speech, some letters are lost,
And sometimes even entire words.
As for her saying, "Which was easily memorized by those who sat with him,"
This is due to its clarity and eloquence,
And because he delivered it in a measured way, not in a rush.
It is recorded in the two Sahih collections from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him, would speak in such a way
That if a counter were to count his words, they could be counted.
The intent here is to emphasize his deliberation and clarity.
From Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Would repeat a word three times so that it would be understood from him.
In this hadith,
It is shown that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Would repeat a word three times.
By "word," it means a sentence,
Or a part of a sentence.
He would repeat it three times so that it would be understood from him.
This was not his practice in all his speech,
But he would do so when the situation required it,
Such as emphasizing a matter or showing its importance.
Repetition has many purposes,
And among its purposes is ensuring the listener understands and retains the speech.
That is why Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"So that it would be understood from him,"
Meaning, so that the listeners might contemplate it,
And its meaning might be firmly established in their minds.
A benefit:
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He, peace be upon him,
Was the most eloquent of Allah’s creation,
The sweetest of them in speech,
The most rapid in delivery,
And the most pleasant in expression,
To the point that his speech would capture the hearts,
And captivate the souls,
And even his enemies bore witness to this.
When he spoke,
He spoke with distinct, clear speech,
That a counter could count.
It was not a hurried babble that could not be memorized,
Nor was it broken by awkward silences between the parts of his speech.
Rather, his guidance in this was the most perfect of guidance.
This is a fine etiquette,
Which should be observed when speaking to people,
And when preaching, advising, and teaching them.
Whoever adopts this noble Prophetic etiquette,
And treats people with good character,
And is patient with them,
And seeks the help of Allah in calling them and teaching them,
It is likely that they will respond to him and learn from him.
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the laughter of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
From ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Harith Ibn Juz’, may Allah be pleased with him,
That he said:
"I have never seen anyone smile more than the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
And from him also, he said:
"The laughter of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was nothing but a smile."
In this hadith,
There is a clarification of the frequency of the Messenger of Allah’s, peace be upon him, smiling.
He was like that due to the perfection of his character, his humility, and his good social conduct with people.
He, peace be upon him, would meet people with a bright, open, and smiling face.
Also, it clarifies that the Prophet, peace be upon him, would not exceed a smile.
This was the case in most of his circumstances,
Since it is established that he, peace be upon him, on some occasions, laughed until his molars were visible.
From Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"I surely know the first man to enter Paradise,
And the last man to exit the Fire."
A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection,
And it will be said:
"And his major sins will be hidden from him."
It will be said to him:
It will be said:
He will say:
"I have sins that I do not see here."
Abu Dharr said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laugh until his molars were visible."
In this hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, says:
"I surely know,"
Meaning, through revelation,
"The first man to enter Paradise,"
And he intends by this himself, peace be upon him,
For he is the first to open the gate of Paradise,
And the first to enter it.
And he says:
"And I know the last man to exit the Fire,"
And he is the one whose description is mentioned in this hadith.
No one will remain in the Fire after him except those who are to dwell therein forever,
And they are the disbelievers.
It is mentioned in a narration:
"I surely know the last of the people of the Fire to exit it,
And the last of the people of Paradise to enter it."
Meaning, it is one man who will be the last to exit the Fire,
Then he will enter Paradise.
And his saying:
"A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection,"
"And it will be said,"
Meaning, Allah the Almighty will say to the angels:
"Present his minor sins to him,"
"And his major sins will be hidden from him,"
Meaning, ask him about his minor sins, not his major ones.
It will be said to him:
"You did such and such on such and such a day."
And he will admit, not denying it,
Meaning, he will remember it and confirm it.
And his saying:
"While he is fearful of his major sins,"
Meaning, he is afraid of his major sins,
That they might be presented to him and he be held accountable for them,
Because whoever is held accountable for the minor,
It is more certain that he will be punished for the major.
Then Allah the Almighty will say:
"Give him a good deed in place of every evil deed he committed."
This substitution for him is a matter of grace from the Lord of the Worlds.
Then the servant will say:
"My Lord, I have done things,"
Meaning, from the major sins,
"That I do not see here,"
Meaning, in the records.
This means that when the servant sees the substitution of evil deeds for good ones,
He asks to see the major sins,
Which he was afraid would appear,
And this is because of what he witnessed of the grace of Allah the Almighty,
And the vastness of His mercy, glory be to Him.
And his saying:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laugh,"
"Until his molars were visible."
The molars are the back teeth,
Which are hardly visible except when laughing intensely.
His laughter, peace be upon him,
Here is a recognition of the grace of Allah the Almighty, His bounty, and His mercy toward His servants.
From Jarir Ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, never barred me from him since I embraced Islam,
And he never saw me but that he laughed."
And he also said:
"And he never saw me since I embraced Islam but that he smiled."
In this hadith,
The noble Companion,
Jarir Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Bajali, may Allah be pleased with him, informs us
That the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Never barred him from entering upon him since he embraced Islam,
And this was due to his status among the people,
And also due to the nobility of his character, peace be upon him.
And his saying:
"And he never saw me but that he laughed,"
Meaning, he never met him after his conversion to Islam without laughing.
And he intends by laughter here,
A smile,
As it came in the second narration with the wording:
"Smiling."
From ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"I surely know the last of the people of the Fire to exit it:
A man who will exit it crawling.
It will be said to him:
'Go and enter Paradise.'
He said: So he will go to enter Paradise,
And he will find that the people have already taken their places.
So he will return and say:
'O my Lord, the people have already taken their places.'
It will be said to him:
'Do you remember the time you were in?'
He will say: 'Yes.'
He said: It will be said to him:
'Wish for something.'
He said: So he will wish.
It will be said to him:
'You shall have what you wished for,
And ten times the like of the world.'
He said:
So he will say:
'Are You mocking me, while You are the King?'
He said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laugh,"
until his molars became visible.
In this hadith,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) says:
"I truly know the last of the people of the Fire to emerge from it,"
meaning one of the sinful believers.
"A man who crawls out of it,"
and in another narration,
"he emerges from it creeping,"
meaning he walks on his hands and knees.
Then it is said to him—
meaning Allah the Exalted says to him—
"Go and enter Paradise."
So he goes to enter,
but finds that the people have already taken their dwellings,
meaning their places in Paradise.
It is then imagined to him
that no dwelling remains for anyone else.
So he returns and says, "O my Lord,
the people have taken the dwellings,"
meaning no place remains for me to settle in Paradise.
Then Allah says to him,
"Do you remember the time you were in?"
meaning, do you remember the worldly life?
He says, "Yes."
Then He says to him,
"Wish for whatever you desire,"
meaning ask for whatever you want.
So he asks and asks,
and when his wishes are exhausted,
Allah says to him,
"You shall have what you wished for,
and ten times the like of the world."
The servant is stunned and says,
"Are You mocking me, while You are the King?"
meaning, are You ridiculing me?
"And the situation is that You are the King of magnificent status,
of great proof,
while I am the lowly, despised servant."
The point is that there emanated from him
this astonishment and bewilderment
due to the joy he received,
from that which had never crossed his mind,
nor had he imagined it in his hopes.
Thus, he was not, at that moment, in control of his words,
nor aware of what would follow
from the state he was in.
Rather, it flowed from his tongue according to his habit
in addressing the people of his time,
and conversing with his companions and brethren.
We have already passed by his saying:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laugh
until his molars became visible."
If the reward of the last person to emerge from the Fire
among the sinful monotheists who enters Paradise
is like the world and ten times its like,
and he has whatever his soul desires and his eye delights in,
then how much greater is the reward of the close servants of Allah?
On the authority of 'Ali ibn Rabi'ah, he said:
I witnessed 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
when a beast was brought for him to ride.
When he placed his foot in the stirrup, he said:
"In the name of Allah."
When he settled on its back, he said:
"Praise be to Allah."
Then he said:
“That ye may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favour when ye mount thereon, and may say: Glorified be He Who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them);” (43:13)
“That ye may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favour when ye mount thereon, and may say: Glorified be He Who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them);” (43:13)
"And indeed we are to our Lord returning."
Then he said:
"Praise be to Allah"
three times,
"Allah is the Greatest"
three times,
"Exalted are You, I have wronged myself, so forgive me,
for none forgives sins except You."
Then he laughed.
I said to him,
"For what reason did you laugh, O Commander of the Faithful?"
He said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
do as you saw me do,
then he laughed."
I said,
"For what reason did you laugh, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said:
"Indeed, your Lord marvels at His servant when he says,
'My Lord, forgive me my sins,'
knowing that no one forgives sins except Him."
In this hadith,
'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)
was brought a beast to ride.
When he placed his foot in the stirrup, he said:
"In the name of Allah."
The stirrup is what hangs from the saddle,
and the rider places his foot in it to mount the beast.
And his saying,
"When he settled on its back,"
meaning he became steady on its back,
he said:
"Praise be to Allah,"
meaning for the blessing of riding and others.
Then he said:
“That ye may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favour when ye mount thereon, and may say: Glorified be He Who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them);” (43:13)
meaning, He has made this mount subservient to us,
“That ye may mount upon their backs, and may remember your Lord's favour when ye mount thereon, and may say: Glorified be He Who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them);” (43:13)
meaning, capable of controlling it.
The meaning is:
Were it not for His subjection of it,
we would not have been capable of riding it.
“And lo! unto our Lord we surely are returning.” (43:14)
meaning, we are surely returning to Him after our death,
and to Him is our ultimate journey.
This is by way of drawing attention from the journey of the world to the journey of the Hereafter.
Then he said:
"Praise be to Allah"
three times,
"Allah is the Greatest"
three times,
"Exalted are You, I have wronged myself,"
meaning I have committed errors and shortcomings that necessitate punishment,
"so forgive me,
for none forgives sins except You."
Perhaps mentioning the wronging of the self in this situation and seeking forgiveness,
while being mindful of this great blessing,
is indicative of the servant's shortcoming in the presence of his Lord, the Exalted,
despite His abundant blessings upon him,
so it was appropriate to seek forgiveness.
Then the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), laughed.
When he was asked about the reason for his laughter,
he said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) do as I did,"
meaning he acted as the Prophet (peace be upon him) acted,
in word and deed.
In this is a clarification of what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were upon
of following and emulating him (peace be upon him).
And his saying:
"I said, 'For what reason did you laugh, O Messenger of Allah?'"
meaning I asked him just as you asked me.
He said:
"Indeed, your Lord marvels at His servant when he says,
'My Lord, forgive me,'
'for none forgives sins except You.'"
Marveling is one of the active attributes of Allah,
and Allah the Exalted marvels in a way that befits His majesty,
and there is nothing like unto Him.
And his saying:
"None forgives sins except You,"
contains an affirmation of Oneness,
and a means of seeking forgiveness.
In a narration by Ahmad:
"The Lord marvels at His servant when he says,
'My Lord, forgive me,'
He says:
'My servant knows that none forgives sins except Me.'"
On the authority of 'Amir ibn Sa'd, he said:
Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"I truly saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
laugh on the day of the Trench
until his molars became visible."
He said:
I said, "How was his laughter?"
He said:
"There was a man with a shield,
and Sa'd was an archer.
The man would say
such and such with the shield,
covering his forehead.
So Sa'd aimed an arrow at him.
When he raised his head,
he shot him, and it did not miss this part of him,"
meaning his forehead.
The man fell over,
and kicked with his leg.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) laughed
until his molars became visible.
He said:
I said, "For what reason did he laugh?"
He said:
"At what he did to the man."
This hadith is weak,
and it is rendered unnecessary by what is reported in Sahih Muslim
on the authority of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him),
that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
gathered his parents for him on the day of Uhud.
He said:
"There was a man among the polytheists
who had burned the Muslims."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him:
'Shoot, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you!'
He said:
"So I drew an arrow for him that had no arrowhead,
and I hit his side, so he fell,
and his private parts were exposed.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laughed
until I looked at his molars."
And his saying in this hadith,
"burned the Muslims,"
meaning he inflicted heavy casualties upon them,
and acted upon them as fire acts,
due to the intensity of his onslaught.
And his saying,
"and kicked with his leg,"
meaning he raised it and fell onto his back.
Regarding his statement:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, laughed,
until I saw his molars.
This was out of joy at the killing and destruction of his enemy,
not because of the exposure of his private parts.
A benefit:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was
cheerful of countenance,
always radiant,
and a gentle smile would almost never
leave his noble face.
Through it, his companion would find happiness,
his guest would find comfort,
his associate would find joy,
his enemy would be humbled,
and his detractor would be cast down.
Through it, the perfection of his character was known,
as well as the nobility of his nature.
On the authority of Simak Ibn Harb, who said:
I asked Jabir Ibn Samurah,
"Did you used to sit with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?"
He replied, "Yes, frequently.
I sat with the Prophet, peace be upon him,
more than a hundred times.
He would not rise from the place where he prayed the morning prayer
until the sun had risen.
When the sun rose, he would stand up.
His Companions would recite poetry to one another,
and discuss matters from the Age of Ignorance,
while he remained silent.
They would laugh,
and he would sometimes smile along with them."
The hadith has more to follow, if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and companions.