Riyad as-Salihin
From the words of the Master of the Messengers,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter of Miscellaneous and Instructive Narrations.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"A man said,
'I shall surely give charity.'
So he went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a thief.
In the morning, the people were talking, saying,
'Charity was given to a thief!'
He said,
'O Allah, all praise belongs to You!
I shall surely give charity again.'
So he went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a prostitute.
In the morning, they were talking, saying,
'Charity was given tonight to a prostitute!'
He said,
'O Allah, all praise belongs to You—
[it fell] upon a prostitute,
and upon a wealthy man!'
Then he was visited [in a dream] and told,
'As for your charity to the thief,
perhaps he may refrain [from theft].'
[Earlier, he had said,] 'I shall surely give charity,'
and went out with his charity,
placing it in the hand of a wealthy man.
In the morning, they were talking, saying,
'Charity was given tonight to a wealthy man!'
So he said,
'O Allah, all praise belongs to You!'
[He was told,] 'Perhaps the thief will refrain from his stealing;
as for the prostitute,
perhaps she will refrain from her illicit acts;
and as for the wealthy man,
perhaps he will take heed
and spend from that which Allah has given him.'"
Related by al-Bukhari with his wording,
and by Muslim with a similar meaning.
"He was visited"—
that is, in a dream.
Lessons derived from the hadith:
If the intention of the giver of charity is righteous,
his charity is accepted,
even if it does not fall into the hands of one truly entitled to it.
Clarification of the virtue of giving charity secretly.
Clarification of the blessing of submission and contentment,
and the censure of being discontent with the divine decree.
The recommendation of reminding sinners
and calling them to the truth,
for perhaps they will take heed
and repent.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
who said:
"We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
at an invitation to a meal,
and the foreleg [of the sheep] was offered to him,
as it used to please him.
He took a bite from it,
and then said:
'I will be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection.
Do you know why that is?
Allah will gather the first and the last [generations]
on one level plain,
where an onlooker can see them all
and a caller can make them all hear,
and the sun will draw near to them.
The people will suffer such distress and agony
as they can neither endure nor bear.
Then the people will say,
"Do you not see the state you are in,
and what has overwhelmed you?
Will you not look for someone who will intercede for you
with your Lord?"
Some people will say to one another,
"[Go to] your father, Adam."
So they will come to him and say,
"O Adam!
You are the father of mankind;
Allah created you with His Hand,
breathed into you of His created spirit,
commanded the angels,
and they prostrated before you,
and He settled you in Paradise.
Will you not intercede for us with your Lord?
Do you not see the state we are in
and what has overwhelmed us?"
But he will reply,
"My Lord has become angry today with such wrath
as He has never been angry before,
nor will He ever be angry like it hereafter.
And He forbade me from the tree,
but I disobeyed.
Myself, myself, myself!
Go to someone else;
go to Noah."
So they will come to Noah
and say,
"O Noah!
You are the first of the Messengers
to the people of the earth,
and Allah has named you a grateful
servant.
Do you not see the state we are in?
Do you not see what has overwhelmed us?
Will you not intercede for us with your Lord?"
But he will reply,
"My Lord has become angry today with such wrath
as He has never been angry before,
nor will He ever be angry like it hereafter.
And indeed, I was granted a supplication
that I made against my people.
Myself, myself, myself!
Go to someone else;
go to Abraham."
So they will come to Abraham and say,
"O Abraham!
You are the Prophet of Allah and His intimate friend from among the inhabitants of the earth;
intercede for us with your Lord!
Do you not see the state we are in?"
But he will say to them,
"My Lord has become angry today with such wrath
as He has never been angry before,
nor will He ever be angry like it hereafter.
And I had told three lies.
Myself, myself, myself!
Go to someone else;
go to Moses."
So they will come to Moses and say,
"O Moses!
You are the Messenger of Allah;
Allah favored you over all people through His messages and His speaking to you.
Intercede for us with your Lord!
Do you not see the state we are in?"
But he will reply,
"My Lord has become angry today with such wrath
as He has never been angry before,
nor will He ever be angry like it hereafter.
And I killed a soul when I had not been commanded to kill it.
Myself, myself, myself!
Go to someone else;
go to Jesus."
So they will come to Jesus and say,
"O Jesus!
You are the Messenger of Allah,
“O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender.” (4:171)
and you spoke to the people while in the cradle.
Intercede for us with your Lord!
Do you not see the state we are in?"
But Jesus will reply,
"My Lord has become angry today with such wrath
as He has never been angry before,
nor will He ever be angry like it hereafter."
And he will not mention any sin.
"Myself, myself, myself!
Go to someone else;
go to Muhammad, peace be upon him."
In another narration: "So they will come to me and say,
'O Muhammad!
You are the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets,
and Allah has forgiven all your past and future sins.
Intercede for us with your Lord!
Do you not see the state we are in?'
So I will go and come beneath the Throne,
and fall prostrate before my Lord.
Then Allah will reveal to me praises of Him
and exquisite words of glorification
such as He has never revealed to anyone before me.
Then it will be said,
'O Muhammad!
Raise your head;
ask, and you shall be given;
and intercede, and your intercession shall be accepted.'
So I will raise my head and say,
'My Ummah, O Lord!
My Ummah, O Lord!
My Ummah, O Lord!'
Then it will be said,
'O Muhammad!
Admit from among your Ummah
those who have no reckoning over them
through the right-hand gate
of the gates of Paradise,
and they will share with the rest of the people
in all the remaining
gates.'
Then he said:
'By Him in Whose Hand is my soul,
the distance between the two doorposts
of the gates of Paradise
is like the distance between Mecca
and Hajar,
or like the distance between Mecca
and Busra.'"
Agreed upon.
"He took a bite [nahs] from it"—
that is, he bit off a piece using the edges
of his front teeth.
"One level plain [sa'id wahid]"—
meaning a vast, expansive land.
"The two doorposts"
refers to the two sides of a doorframe.
Among the benefits derived from this hadith:
the humility of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
his acceptance
of invitations,
and his eating among the generality of his Companions.
The most beloved meat to the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, was the shoulder,
due to its tenderness,
ease of digestion,
and superior flavor.
In this lies an indication
of the permissibility of preferring a particular type
of food over another,
and eating more of it.
It affirms the virtue of the Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and that he is the leader of all the prophets
and the most foremost among them before
the Lord of the worlds.
This does not contradict his prohibition,
peace be upon him,
against favoring him over the other prophets,
because what was intended
was the prohibition of belittling the one over whom he is preferred.
[continuation of the above sentence]
It is recommended for whoever seeks a need
or a request from a servant of Allah
to preface it by addressing
the person petitioned with his best qualities
and most honorable merits,
so that it is more conducive
to having his request granted;
yet one should be cautious [of flattery].
It is permissible for someone asked
for something beyond his ability
to excuse himself with a reason
that is readily acceptable,
and it is recommended that he direct the requester to someone believed
to be more capable of fulfilling
that matter than himself;
for the one who guides to good is like the one who does it.
It illustrates the tremendous terror
of the Standing and the intense distress of the Gathering
upon the servants on the Day of Resurrection.
It affirms the attribute
of anger for Allah,
and that Allah becomes angry at the sins
committed by His servants against Him.
It shows the humility of the prophets, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon them,
as they recall their past lapses
and thus feel that
they are not worthy of this grand station.
It highlights the superiority
of the Messengers of Strong Resolve over
all others, because they were the ones
specifically approached with the request to the exclusion of others;
namely, Nuh,
Ibrahim, Musa,
'Isa,
and their seal, Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
It affirms the Wasilah and the Praiseworthy Station
(al-Maaqam al-Mahmud) for the Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The praises of Allah Almighty
are limitless;
therefore, the Lord of Might will inspire
His Messenger in that
station with words of exquisite praise
upon Him that He has never inspired
in anyone before him.
It shows that the Ummah
of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
is the best of all nations;
for they are the first to enter Paradise,
they constitute the majority of its inhabitants,
and for their Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
the gates of Paradise will be thrown open.
It clarifies some of the merits
of the Muhammadan Ummah—
may Allah increase it in honor—
as they will enter Paradise
through an exclusive gate of their own,
while sharing with the rest of mankind
in entering through all other gates.
Riyad
al-Salihin.