*Riyadh al-Salihin* from the Words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter: Clarifying the Multitude of Paths of Goodness.
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:
"While a man was walking along a path,
he was overcome by severe thirst.
He found a well, climbed down into it,
drank, and then came out.
Suddenly, he saw a dog panting,
eating the moist earth out of extreme thirst.
The man said:
'This dog has reached the same point of thirst
that I had reached.'
So he climbed down into the well,
filled his leather sock with water,
and held it with his mouth
until he climbed back up and gave the dog a drink.
Allah appreciated his deed and forgave him."
They asked, "O Messenger of Allah!
Shall we truly have a reward regarding beasts?"
He replied, "For serving every living being, there is a reward."
Agreed upon.
In a narration of al-Bukhari:
"Allah appreciated his deed, forgave him,
and admitted him into Paradise."
In another narration of both:
"While a dog was circling a well,
on the verge of dying of thirst,
a prostitute from the Children of Israel saw it.
She took off her leather sock,
drew water with it, and quenched its thirst,
so she was forgiven because of it."
*Al-mūq* means the leather sock.
*Yatīf*
means to circle around a *rakiyyah*,
which is a well.
*Yalhath* (panting)
means his breathing rises
and falls between his ribs,
causing his tongue to hang out of his mouth.
*Al-tharā*
means moist soil.
*Raqā*
means he climbed up.
"Allah appreciated his deed"
means He accepted that action from him and praised him for it.
"For serving every living being, there is a reward"
means that quenching the thirst of any living creature brings reward.
*Baghiyy*
means a prostitute.
"She was forgiven because of it"
means she was pardoned on account of that deed.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement to show kindness to animals
that we have not been commanded to kill.
The virtue of giving water to drink.
The vastness of the mercy of Allah the Almighty,
such that it encompasses even dumb animals,
for they are of His creation.
The vastness of His bounty, Glorified is He,
as He may forgive major sins
on account of an easy, small good deed.
One should never belittle any
act of righteousness,
for it may well be the cause
of the forgiveness of sins.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,
“Lo! nothing in the earth or in the heavens is hidden from Allah.” (3:5)
knows all the circumstances of His servants
and recompenses them accordingly.
The virtue of sincerity towards Allah,
for these were actions
untouched by the bane of ostentation,
because they performed them
without being seen by anyone
except Allah.
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:
"I saw a man
frolicking in Paradise
because of a tree he cut down
from the middle of the road
that used to cause harm to Muslims."
Narrated by Muslim.
In another narration:
"A man passed by a tree branch
lying across a road
and said:
'By Allah, I shall surely remove this
from the way of the Muslims so it does not harm them.'
So he was admitted into Paradise."
In another narration of both:
"While a man was walking
along a road,
he found a thorny branch on the path
and moved it aside.
Allah appreciated his deed
and forgave him."
*Yataqallab* (frolicking)
means turning from one place to another within it,
delighting in its pleasures.
"Because of a tree"
means on account of a tree.
*Dahr al-tarīq*
means the middle of the road or its visible surface.
*La-unayyiyan*
means "I shall surely remove."
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement toward
removing whatever harms Muslims
while they pass along the road,
and doing everything that benefits
the Muslims and keeps harm
away from them.
Islam is a religion of cleanliness,
environmental protection, and public safety.
The eagerness of Islam
to maintain the cleanliness of public facilities
and care for them.
This is the reward of one who removes
what harms people along their physical
paths;
what then of one who lifts ignorance from them
and clarifies for them the path
of their journey to Allah?
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:
"Whoever performs ablution,
perfecting his ablution,
and then comes to Friday prayer,
listens and remains silent,
he will be forgiven for what occurs between that and the next Friday,
plus an extra three days.
And whoever fiddles with pebbles
has engaged in idle distraction."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Perfecting his ablution"
means performing ablution just as commanded.
"Comes to Friday prayer"
means comes to the mosque
to perform the Friday prayer.
*Laghā* (engaged in idle distraction):
*Laghw* is null, useless speech
that contains no benefit.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement to perform ablution well
and complete it properly, just as
explained by the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Preserving and maintaining
the Friday prayer,
which is obligatory upon every
Muslim and is only valid
when performed in congregation.
The Friday prayer expiates
the sins of ten days,
because a good deed is rewarded tenfold
its like.
The condition for this is
listening attentively and refraining from idle distraction.
The obligation of listening attentively
to the Friday sermon
and not being distracted from it
by any speech or anything else.
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:
"When
the Muslim—or
believing—servant performs ablution and washes his face,
there comes out from his face
every sin committed by looking
with his eyes, along with the water
or with the last drop of water.
And when he washes
his hands, there comes out from his hands
every sin
his hands struck out with, along with the water
or with the last drop of water.
And when
he washes his feet,
there comes out every sin
his feet walked towards, along with the water
or with the last drop of water,
until he emerges
purified of sins."
Narrated by Muslim.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The virtue of ablution,
and that persisting in it regularly
is a means to the forgiveness
of sins.
Every limb of the human body
is prone to committing certain sins:
the eye through looking,
the hand through assault and theft,
and the like.
Therefore, sins follow
every limb that committed them,
and they depart from every limb
that has repented from them.
It is understood from this hadith
that two benefits are obtained from wudu:
purification of the body
from filth,
and purification of the soul
from sins.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
who said:
"The five daily prayers,
the Friday prayer to the next Friday prayer,
and Ramadan to Ramadan
are expiations for what lies between them,
provided the major sins are avoided."
Narrated by Muslim.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Clarifying the virtue of Friday and Ramadan,
and performing the prayers every day.
Performing the five daily prayers every day,
and observing Friday and Ramadan
in the best manner
becomes a cause
for Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, to forgive,
by His grace and mercy,
the minor sins committed between them.
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:
"Shall I not guide you
to that by which Allah erases
sins
and raises ranks?"
They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He said:
"Performing wudu thoroughly despite difficulties,
taking many steps
to the mosques,
and waiting for the prayer
after the prayer;
that is the ribat (guarding the frontier)."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Performing wudu thoroughly"
means performing it
completely and perfectly.
"Difficulties" (al-makarih)
is the plural of makrah,
which is what a person dislikes
and finds burdensome.
"Ribat"
means stationing oneself at the enemy's borders
and guarding them
to protect the territory of the Muslims.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The importance of guiding people
to goodness and acts of righteousness
that draw them closer
to Allah the Almighty.
Encouraging goodness
even if people do not ask about it,
as it is an educational method
used by the Prophet in upbringing and teaching.
The encouragement to cover
the limbs of wudu by washing
and wiping, and perfecting it,
even if there is
hardship and difficulty in doing so.
Maintaining prayer in
the mosque.
Worship is a form of jihad
and preparation for jihad,
due to the patience, endurance, and fortitude it requires,
as well as restraining the soul
from its desires and waywardness.
These matters
are a means of forgiveness,
for they erase sins
and raise one's ranks.
The merit of a house far
from the mosque over one near to it,
for the further the house is,
the more steps are taken.
Whoever cannot wait for the prayer
and restrain himself
for a period in the houses of Allah,
cannot perform ribat
on the frontiers to protect the lands
of the Muslims and repel
the aggression of the disbelievers.
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever prays the two cool prayers
will enter Paradise."
Agreed upon.
"The two cool prayers"
are the Dawn (Fajr) and the Afternoon (Asr) prayers.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The merit of maintaining
the Fajr and Asr prayers,
and not being preoccupied by sleep
or worldly affairs
from performing the obligatory prayers on time.
For the Dawn prayer
occurs during the pleasure of sleep,
and the Afternoon prayer
occurs during the preoccupation
of finishing the day's work.
Entry into Paradise is not limited
to performing only these two obligatory prayers,
but one must be diligent
regarding all obligatory prayers;
they were specifically mentioned
because some people neglect
them.
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If a servant falls ill or travels,
there is recorded for him
the like of what he used to do
when resident and healthy."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The vastness of Allah the Almighty's mercy
and His kindness to His servants.
Whoever is unable to perform
the righteous deeds he was accustomed to
due to a valid religious excuse,
such as travel or illness,
while maintaining a firm intention
to perform them
when able,
Allah records his reward for him
as if he were resident and healthy.
This merit
applies to voluntary deeds;
as for the obligatory ones,
they must be performed
whether resident or traveling,
according to one's ability.
On the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Every act of kindness
is a charity."
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement
to perform acts of kindness.
Everything a believer does
of righteous and good deeds
carries a reward and recompense.
On the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"There is no Muslim
who plants a plant,
but that what is eaten
from it is a charity for him,
and what is stolen from it
is a charity for him.
No one diminishes it
but that it is a charity for him."
Narrated by Muslim.
In another narration of his:
"A Muslim does not plant a plant
and then a human eats from it,
nor an animal,
nor a bird,
but that it is a charity for him
until the Day of Resurrection."
And in another narration of his:
"No Muslim plants
a plant
or sows a crop,
and then a human eats from it,
nor an animal, nor anything,
but that it is a charity for him."
All these narrations
are from the narration of Anas,
may Allah be pleased with him.
His saying "yarza'uhu"
means "diminishes it."
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The difference between
planting (ghars) and sowing (zar'):
planting is for trees,
and sowing is for other types of vegetation.
The encouragement to plant
and farm,
as it is a means of cultivating the earth,
And it is among those deeds
whose reward does not cease
upon the death of the one who performed them.
Striving to bring about benefit
for the creatures of Allah the Exalted,
facilitating their affairs,
and fulfilling their needs.
A Muslim is rewarded for
what is stolen from his wealth,
or what is usurped from him,
or what is destroyed of his property,
if he remains patient and seeks the reward for that
with Allah the Exalted.
Through righteous deeds.
Through righteous deeds.