Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Treachery.
Allah the Almighty said:
“O ye who believe! Fulfil your indentures. The beast of cattle is made lawful unto you (for food) except that which is announced unto you (herein), game being unlawful when ye are on the pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth that which pleaseth Him.” (5:1)
And the Almighty also said:
"And fulfill every commitment."
“Come not near the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better till he come to strength; and keep the covenant. Lo! of the covenant it will be asked.” (17:34)
On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-As, may Allah be pleased with them both:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"There are four traits, whoever possesses them is a pure hypocrite;
and whoever possesses one of them,
possesses a trait of hypocrisy until he abandons it:
when he is entrusted, he betrays;
when he speaks, he lies;
when he makes a covenant, he acts treacherously;
and when he disputes, he behaves wickedly."
Agreed upon.
On the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn Umar, and others, may Allah be pleased with them, they said:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"For every treacherous person, there shall be a banner on the Day of Resurrection,
it will be said: 'This is the treachery of so-and-so.'"
Agreed upon.
On the authority of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"For every treacherous person, there shall be a banner at his posterior on the Day of Resurrection,
raised for him in proportion to his treachery.
Beware, there is no treachery greater than that of a general leader."
Narrated by Muslim.
The banner:
Meaning the great flag held by the commander of an army.
His posterior:
Meaning his backside.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The severe prohibition of treachery,
especially from one in a position of authority,
because his treachery is greater,
as it affects a great number of people.
The intense condemnation of treachery,
because it exposes the person before all creation on the Day of Resurrection with a sign,
which is the banner that will be with him.
People will be called on the Day of Resurrection by their fathers,
because he said:
"This is the treachery of so-and-so, son of so-and-so,"
as in the other narration of this hadith.
It is a humiliation for the treacherous person,
because the banner will be at his backside,
knowing that a banner is usually held in front and raised high.
As for the treacherous person,
it is behind him and pointing downward,
and this is an increase in his disgrace.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him:
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
Allah the Almighty said:
"There are three whom I will oppose on the Day of Resurrection:
a man who gave in My name then betrayed,
a man who sold a free person and consumed his price,
and a man who hired a worker,
received full work from him, but did not pay his wage."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The severity of Allah opposing these three specifically, above others.
A warning against breaking a covenant made and sworn upon by Allah.
A prohibition against enslaving free people.
A warning against withholding the wage of a worker after receiving the work.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Reminding Others of One's Charity and Similar Acts.
Allah the Almighty said:
“O ye who believe! Render not vain your almsgiving by reproach and injury, like him who spendeth his wealth only to be seen of men and believeth not in Allah and the Last Day. His likeness is as the likeness of a rock whereon is dust of earth; a rainstorm smiteth it, leaving it smooth and bare. They have no control of aught of that which they have gained. Allah guideth not the disbelieving folk.” (2:264)
And the Almighty said:
“Those who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah and afterward make not reproach and injury to follow that which they have spent; their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve.” (2:262)
On the authority of Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him:
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection,
nor will He look at them, nor will He purify them,
and for them is a painful punishment."
He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, repeated this three times.
Abu Dharr said:
"They are ruined and lost! Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said: "The one who lets his garment trail, the one who reminds others of his charity, and the one who sells his merchandise by means of false oaths."
Narrated by Muslim.
In a narration of his: "The one who lets his lower garment trail."
Meaning the one who lets his lower garment or robe hang below the ankles out of arrogance.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Pride and Oppression.
Allah the Almighty said:
“Those who avoid enormities of sin and abominations, save the unwilled offences - (for them) lo! thy Lord is of vast mercy. He is Best Aware of you (from the time) when He created you from the earth, and when ye were hidden in the bellies of your mothers. Therefor ascribe not purity unto yourselves. He is Best Aware of him who wardeth off (evil).” (53:32)
And the Almighty said:
“The way (of blame) is only against those who oppress mankind, and wrongfully rebel in the earth. For such there is a painful doom.” (42:42)
"For them is a painful punishment."
On the authority of ‘Iyad ibn Himar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Verily, Allah the Almighty has revealed to me that you should be humble,
so that no one oppresses another,
and no one boasts over another."
Narrated by Muslim.
The linguists said:
Oppression (al-baghy):
Transgression and arrogance.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of some servants considering themselves superior to others.
The prohibition of boasting, which breeds oppression.
The Sunnah is a revelation from Allah,
but it is not recited (as Qur'an).
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If a man says, 'The people are ruined,' then he is the most ruined among them."
Narrated by Muslim.
The famous narration is "ahlakuhum" (the most ruined of them) with a damma on the kaf.
And it was narrated with a fatha (ahlakahum - he is the one who ruined them).
This prohibition applies to one who says it out of self-admiration,
belittling others and elevating himself above them.
This is what is forbidden.
As for one who says it because he sees a deficiency in the people regarding their religion,
and says it out of sorrow for them and for the religion,
then there is no harm in it.
This is how the scholars interpreted and detailed it.
Among those who said this from the leading Imams:
Malik ibn Anas and al-Khattabi,
and al-Humaydi and others.
I have clarified this in the book *al-Adhkar*.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of self-admiration and despising others,
and preferring oneself over them,
because one does not know the status of people before their Lord.
Whoever does that is worse than them,
due to the sin he incurs by finding fault with them and backbiting them.
The Muslim fulfills the duty of calling to Allah
when he sees the corruption of the people,
and this situation requires compassion for those who differ,
and not being hasty in wishing for punishment to befall them.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Boycotting Between Muslims.
Beyond three days,
except for an innovation in the one being boycotted,
or an open display of immorality, or similar reasons.
Allah the Almighty said:
“The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.” (49:10)
And the Almighty said:
“O ye who believe! Profane not Allah's monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord. But when ye have left the sacred territory, then go hunting (if ye will). And let not your hatred of a folk who (once) stopped your going to the inviolable place of worship seduce you to transgress; but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty. Help not one another unto sin and transgression, but keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.” (5:2)
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Do not cut off relations,
do not turn your backs on one another,
do not hate one another,
and do not envy one another.
And be, O servants of Allah, brothers.
It is not lawful for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three days."
Agreed upon.
On the authority of Abu Ayyub, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"It is not lawful for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three nights;
they meet,
and this one turns away, and that one turns away.
The better of the two is the one who initiates the greeting."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The permissibility of boycotting for the sake of one's own ego
for three nights,
and this is out of kindness,
because it is in the nature of humans to have anger, bad temper, and the like,
and usually, this fades or diminishes within three nights.
The expression of "brotherhood" in the hadith
encourages maintaining ties,
and warns against turning away and cutting off relations.
Boycotting and turning away are ended by the greeting,
unless ceasing to speak causes harm to the other.
The better of the two disputants
is the one who initiates the greeting and conversation with his brother,
thereby removing the causes of turning away and cutting off relations.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Deeds are presented every Monday and Thursday,
and Allah forgives every person who does not associate anything with Allah,
except for a person between whom and his brother there is animosity.
He says:
'Leave these two until they reconcile.'"
Narrated by Muslim.
On the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saying:
"Satan has despaired that the worshippers will worship him
in the Arabian Peninsula,
but he is active in sowing discord among them."
Narrated by Muslim.
Sowing discord:
Causing corruption, turning their hearts against each other, and causing them to cut off relations.
"Despaired" (yaysa) comes from despair, which is hopelessness.
"The worshippers" means the Muslims.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Iblis will not succeed in getting any of the Muslims to worship him.
Satan has various methods he uses against the Muslims
to divide their unity and scatter their gathering.
Prayer is the greatest ritual of the religion after the good word,
and therefore the Muslims were called "the worshippers."
The Arabian Peninsula has characteristics distinct from other lands.
The hadith is among the signs of Prophethood,
for what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed us of has come to pass;
the Ummah has become many nations,
and the religion has become many sects and factions.
We seek refuge in Allah from an evil outcome.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"It is not lawful for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three days.
Whoever boycotts for more than three and dies, enters the Fire."
Narrated by Abu Dawud with an isnad meeting the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
From the benefits of the hadith:
An explanation of the evil consequence of persisting in boycotting.
Persisting in boycotting and cutting off relations without a legal reason
is one of the major sins that casts its perpetrator into the Fire of Hell,
we seek refuge in Allah.
Narrated by Abu Khirash Hadrad Ibn Abi Hadrad al-Aslami,
who is also said to be al-Sulami, a Companion, may Allah be pleased with him,
that he heard the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"Whoever boycotts his brother for a year, it is as if he has shed his blood."
It was recorded by Abu Dawud.
"As if he has shed his blood" means he has killed him wrongfully.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
It clarifies the gravity of the sin of boycotting others.
It draws a parallel in terms of punishment
to the punishment of a murderer,
because boycotting is a form of spiritual killing
that is no less evil than physical killing.
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"It is not lawful for a believer to boycott a believer for more than three days."
If three days have passed,
he should meet him and offer him the greeting of peace (salam).
If he returns the greeting,
then both of them share in the reward.
But if he does not return the greeting,
then he (the one who refused) bears the sin,
while the one who offered the greeting has cleared himself of the boycott.
It was recorded by Abu Dawud.
Abu Dawud said:
"If the boycott is for the sake of Allah the Exalted,
then it does not fall under this prohibition at all."
Among the benefits of this hadith:
Whoever initiates the greeting
is absolved of the boycott,
even if his opponent does not return the greeting.
It is permissible to boycott for the sake of Allah the Exalted.
Riyad al-Salihin.