Pearls from the Traditions of the Prophet

TRADITIONS (HADITH) OF THE PROPHET

إِنَّما الْأَعْمالُ بَالنِّـيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّما لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى

Actions are only by intentions; and a man shall have only that which he intended.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَنْظُرُ إِلى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ، وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ

Truly, God does not look at your forms and wealth; rather, He looks at your hearts and deeds.

الدُّنْـيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤمِنِ، وَجَنَّـةُ الْكَافِـرِ

The world is the believer’s prison and the unbeliever’s paradise.

لَوْ عَدَلَتِ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى عَدُوَّهُ مِنْهَا شَرْبَة

Had the world been worth even the wing of a mosquito in the eyes of God,

His enemies would not have drunk even a sip of water from it.

الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ، وَالْعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَهُ هَوَاهَا وَتَمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

The wise person is the one who calls himself to account,

and works for what is after death.

The incapable is the one who allows his self to follow its desires,

and maintains vain hopes in God.

الْكَلِمَةُ الْحِكْمَةُ ضَالَّةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ فَحَيْثُ وَجَدَهَا فَهُوَ أَحَقُّ بِهَا

A word of wisdom is the lost property of the believer;
wherever he finds it, he has most right over it.

مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ عِلْمًا مِمَّا يُبْتَغَى بِهِ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لا يَتَعَلَّمُهُ

إِلا لِيُصِيبَ بِهِ عَرَضًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لَمْ يَجِدْ عَرْفَ الْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

Whoever acquires some knowledge by which the Face of God is sought,

and yet he only learns it in order to attain a worldly gain,

he will not even smell the fragrance of the Garden on the Day of Resurrection.

قَالَ: مَنْ أَرْبَابُ الْعِلْمِ؟ قَالَ: الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ بِمَا يَعْلَمُونَ

قَالَ: فَمَا أَخْرَجَ الْعِلْمَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ الْعُلَمَاءِ؟ قَالَ: الطَّمَعُ

He said: "Who are the masters of knowledge?"

He replied: "Those who act by what they know."

He asked: "So what expels knowledge from the hearts of the people of knowledge?"

He replied: "Greed."

مَنْ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ لِيُجَارِيَّ بِهِ الْعُلَمَاءَ، أَوْ لِيُمَارِيَ بِهِ السُّفَهَاءَ،

أَوْ يَصْرِفَ بِهِ وُجُوهَ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ، أَدْخَلَهُ اللَّهُ النَّارَ

Whoever seeks knowledge to compete with the people of knowledge, or to debate with fools,

or to turn people’s faces towards himself, God will enter him into the Fire.

مَنْ جَعَلَ الْهُمُومَ هَمًّا وَاحِدًا، هَمَّ آخِرَتِهِ كَفَاهُ اللَّهُ هَمَّ دُنْيَاهُ

لَمْ يُبَالِ اللَّهُ فِي أَيِّ أَوْدِيَتِهَا هَلَكَ وَمَنْ تَشَعَّبَتْ بِهِ هُمُومُ أَحْوَالِ الدُّنْيَا

Whoever makes all his concerns into one concern – that of his Hereafter,

God suffices him for his worldly concerns.

Whoever is fully occupied by his concern with worldly affairs,

God does not care in which valley of the world he perishes.

بَدَأَ الإِسْلامُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا كَمَا بَدَأَ، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ

Islam began as a stranger and will return as it began,
so glad tidings and congratulations to the strangers!

إِنَّ هَذِهِ الْقُلُوبَ تَصْدَأُ كَمَا يَصْدَأُ الْحَدِيدُ

قِيلَ: فَمَا جَلاؤُهَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

قَالَ: كَثْرِةُ ذِكْرِ الْمَوتِ، وَتِلاَوَةُ الْقُرْآنِ

"Truly, these hearts rust the way iron rusts when touched by water."

Someone asked, "O Messenger of God, how can the hearts be polished?"

He replied, "By plentiful remembrance of death and recitation of the Qur’an."

اللَّهُمَّ طَهِّرْ قَلْبِي مِنَ النِّفَاقِ وَعَمَلِي مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ وَلِسَانِي مِنَ الْكَذِبِ وَعَيْنِي مِنَ الْخِيَانَةِ،

فَإِنَّكَ تَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ

O God, purify my heart from hypocrisy, my deeds from ostentation,
my tongue from lying and my eyes from treachery;

for truly, You know the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal.

لا مُؤَثّرَ في الوُجودِ إِلاَ اللَّهُ

Nothing is effective in the realm of existence except God.

اقْرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ مَا ائْتَلَفَتْ عَلَيْهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ، فَإِذَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ فَقُومُوا عَنْهُ

Recite the Qur’an as long as your hearts are drawn towards it.

When you feel drawn away from it, then stop reciting and get up.

مَا عَرَفْنَاكَ حَقَّ مَعْرِفَتِكَ وَمَا عَبَدْنَاكَ حَقَّ عِبَادَتِكَ

We did not know you as you deserve to be known;

we did not worship you as you deserve to be worshiped.

قَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَعْقِلُهَا وَأَتَوَكَّلُ،

أَمْ أُطْلِقُهَا وَأَتَوَكَّلُ ؟ قَالَ: أعْقِلْهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ

A man asked: "O Messenger of God, shall I tie my camel and trust in God

or release it and trust in Him?" He replied, "Tie it and trust in God."

مَن عَرَفَة نَفسَهُ عَرَفَة رَبَّهُ

Whoever knows himself knows his Lord.

اللَّهِ جَميلٌ يُحِبُّ الجَمال

God is beautiful and loves beauty.

لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ تَتَوَكَّلُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ حَقَّ تَوَكُّلِهِ

لَرَزَقَكُمْ كَمَا يَرْزُقُ الطَّيْرَ تَغْدُو خِمَاصًا وَتَرُوحُ بِطَانا

Were you to place your trust in God as it should be placed,

He would give you sustenance the way He sustains the birds:

they go out in the morning hungry and return in the evening with bellies full.

الطَّاعِمُ الشَّاكِرُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الصَّائِمِ الصَّابِرِ

One who eats gratefully is at the same level as one who fasts patiently.

عَجَبًا لأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ، إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ لَهُ خَيْرٌ، وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ إِلا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ

إِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ فَشَكَرَ كَانَ لَهُ خَيْرٌ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ شَرٌّ فَصَبَرَ كَانَ لَهُ خَيْرٌ

Wonderful is the situation of the believer: all his matters are good for him, and this is only for the believer.
If good fortune befalls him, he shows gratitude, so that is good for him.
If misfortune afflicts him, he has patience, and that is also good for him.

حُفَّتِ الْجَنَّةُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ، وَحُفَّتِ النَّارُ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ

The Garden is surrounded by hardships, while the fire is surrounded by lusts.

عَجِبْتُ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ يَفِرُّ مِنَ الْقَدَرِ وَهُوَ مُوَاقِعُهُ

وَمِنَ الرَّجُلِ يَرَى الْقَذَاةَ فِي عَيْنِ أَخِيهِ، وَيَدَعُ الْجِذْعَ فِي عَيْنِهِ

وَمِنَ الرَّجُلِ يُخْرِجُ الضِّغْنَ مِنْ مَوْضِعٍ وَيَدَعُ

الضِّغْنَ فِي نَفْسِهِ، وَمَا نَدِمْتُ عَلَى أَمْرٍ قَطُّ

فَلُمْتُ نَفْسِي عَلَى تَنَدُّمِي عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا وَضَعْتُ سِرِّي عِنْدَ أَحَدٍ

فَلُمْتُهُ عَلَى أَنْ يُفْشِيَهُ، كَيْفَ أَلُومُهُ وَقَدْ ضِقْتُ بِهِ
I am amazed at the man who flees from his destiny when he will surely meet it,

who sees the speck in his brother’s eye but forgets the log in his own eye,

and who wishes to remove rancour from his brother’s heart but leaves the rancour in his own heart.

I have never entrusted my secret to another person and then condemned him for spreading it:

how can I blame him when I was bursting with it myself?

مَنْ تَوَاضَعَ للَّهِ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ، فَهُوَ فيِ نَفْسِهِ صَغِيرٌ، وَفيِ أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ كَبِيرٌ،
وَمَنْ تَكَبَّرَ وَضَعَهُ اللَّهِ، فَهُوَ فيِ نَفُسِهِ كَبيِرٌ، وَفيِ أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ صَغِيرٌ،
حَتَّى لَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ فِي أَعْيُنِهِمْ مِنْ كَلْبٍ أَوْ خَنْزِيرٍ

Whoever humbles himself for God, God elevates him such that he feels small in himself but is great in the eyes of the people.
Whoever is arrogant, God lowers him such that he becomes small in the eyes of the people but feels great in himself,
to the extent that he is worse than a dog or a pig in their view.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْعَبْدَ التَّقِيَّ الْغَنِيَّ الْخَفِيَّ

Truly God loves the pious, rich [or content], obscure servant.