Opening narrations

Narrated Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "There is no faith for the one who does not fulfill his trust, and there is no religion for the one who does not uphold his covenant. By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the faith of a servant will not be upright until his tongue is upright, and his tongue will not be upright until his heart is upright. And a person will not enter Paradise if his neighbor is not safe from his harm." It was asked: "What is meant by harm, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "His oppression and injustice." And any man who acquires wealth through unlawful means and spends from it will not be blessed in it. Even if he gives charity from it, it will not be accepted, and whatever remains will increase his punishment in the Fire, except that the good deeds will expiate the bad ones."

Narrated Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Whoever bears witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Allah has forbidden the Fire for him."

Narrated Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever dies knowing that there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise."

Narrated Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "There are two causes that lead to salvation." A man asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what are the two causes?" He said: "Whoever dies associating anything with Allah will enter the Fire, and whoever dies without associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise."

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): We were sitting around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and with us were Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and a group of people. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up from among us and delayed in returning, and we feared that something might have happened to him, and we were alarmed. So, we got up, and I was the first to be alarmed. I went in search of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until I came to a garden of the Ansar of Banu Najjar. I circled around it looking for a gate, but I could not find one. Then I saw a stream entering a garden from an area outside. The stream was called "Rabi'a." I hurriedly entered and found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O Abu Huraira, what is the matter with you?" I said, "You were among us, and then you stood up and delayed in returning. We feared something might have happened to you, and we became alarmed. I was the first to become alarmed, and I went in search of you until I reached a garden of the Ansar of Banu Najjar. I found no gate, but I saw a stream entering from the outside. I quickly entered and found you." He then gave me his sandals and said: "Go with these sandals and whoever you meet behind this garden, who bears witness that there is no god but Allah, and whose heart is certain in this belief, give him the good news of Paradise." The first person I met was Umar, who asked: "What are these sandals, O Abu Huraira?" I said: "These are the sandals of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He sent me with them to give the good news of Paradise to whoever bears witness that there is no god but Allah, with certainty in his heart." Umar struck me between the chest, and I fell to the ground. He said: "Return, O Abu Huraira." I returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, weeping, and Umar followed me. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked: "What is the matter, O Abu Huraira?" I replied: "I met Umar, and I informed him of what you had sent me with. He struck me between the chest, causing me to fall, and said: 'Return.'" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Umar: "O Umar, what made you do this?" Umar replied: "By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, did you send Abu Huraira with your sandals to give the good news of Paradise to anyone who meets him and believes in the testimony of faith with certainty in his heart?" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ confirmed: "Yes." Umar said: "Do not do this, for I fear that people will rely on it, and they will neglect to work for their deeds." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded: "Let them continue their work."

Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: "The keys to Paradise are the testimony that there is no god but Allah."

Narrated by Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, some of the companions were saddened to the extent that some of them began to have doubts. Uthman said: "I was one of them. While I was sitting, Umar and Abu Bakr passed by me, but I did not realize they had passed. Then Umar complained to Abu Bakr, and they both came to me and greeted me. Abu Bakr asked, 'What prevented you from responding to your brother Umar's greeting?' I said, 'I did not do that.' Umar replied, 'Yes, by Allah, you did!' I said, 'By Allah, I did not realize that you had passed by or greeted me.' Abu Bakr said, 'Uthman is speaking the truth; something has occupied him.' I said, 'Yes.' He asked, 'What is it?' I replied, 'Allah took His Prophet ﷺ before we could ask him about the safety of this matter.' Abu Bakr said, 'I asked him about that.' I went to him and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you are the most deserving of this matter.' I asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is the salvation of this matter?' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: 'Whoever accepts from me the words I have offered him and rejects them, it will be salvation for him.'"

Narrated by Al-Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "There will not remain a house of mud or leather on the face of the earth, except that Allah will bring the word of Islam into it, either with honor from Allah the Almighty, making them among its people, or with humiliation, so that they submit to it." I asked: "So, will the entire religion be for Allah?"

Narrated by Wahb ibn Munabbih (may Allah have mercy on him), he was asked: "Isn't there no god but Allah the key to Paradise?" He replied: "Yes, but every key has teeth. If you bring a key with teeth, it will open for you; otherwise, it will not open."

Narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When one of you improves his Islam, every good deed he performs will be recorded for him as ten times its reward, up to seven hundred times, and every bad deed he performs will be recorded as one single deed, until he meets Allah."

Narrated by Abu Umama (may Allah be pleased with him): A man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "What is faith?" He replied: "When your good deeds please you and your bad deeds sadden you, then you are a believer." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is sin?" He said: "If something troubles your soul, leave it."

Narrated by Amr ibn Abasa (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who is with you in this matter?" He replied: "A free person and a slave." I asked: "What is Islam?" He replied: "Good speech and feeding the poor." I asked: "What is faith (Iman)?" He replied: "Patience and generosity." I asked: "Which Islam is the best?" He replied: "One from whom other Muslims are safe from his tongue and hands." I asked: "Which faith is the best?" He replied: "Good character." I asked: "Which prayer is the best?" He replied: "Long standing in prayer (Qunut)." I asked: "Which migration is the best?" He replied: "To abandon what your Lord dislikes." I asked: "Which jihad is the best?" He replied: "One whose horse is killed and whose blood is shed." I asked: "Which hours are the best?" He replied: "The last part of the night."

Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Whoever meets Allah without associating anything with Him, prays the five daily prayers, and fasts during Ramadan, will be forgiven." I asked: "Shall I not give them the good news, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "Let them continue to do their deeds."

Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I asked the Prophet ﷺ about the best of faith. He replied: "To love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah, and to use your tongue in the remembrance of Allah." I asked: "What else, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "To love for the people what you love for yourself and to hate for them what you hate for yourself."