It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the presence of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), people mentioned a man, and one person said about him: "O Messenger of Allah! There is no one who is superior to so-and-so in such-and-such deeds after the Messenger of Allah." Upon this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will be ruined, you have cut your companion's neck." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this statement several times and then said: "If someone must praise another, then he should say: 'I think that this man is such-and-such, but I cannot declare anyone pure before Allah; in reality, his reckoning is with Allah. However, I think of him as such-and-such.'"

(Second chain) A man praised one of his companions in the presence of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You will be ruined, you have cut his neck. If you must praise him, then say: I think that person is such and such, and his reckoning is with Allah Almighty, and I cannot declare anyone pure before Allah Almighty.

Ata bin Abi Rabah says: A man praised Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and he threw dust on his face and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: When you find those who praise (others), throw dust on their faces.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mihjan bin Adra’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the door of the mosque, when suddenly he saw a man performing prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What do you think, is this man truthful? I said: O Messenger of Allah! This is such-and-such a man, the best and most frequent performer of prayer in Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You should not say this in his presence, otherwise you will destroy him. He repeated this two or three times and then said: Indeed, you are a community for whom ease has been intended.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man praising another man and exaggerating in it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have destroyed this man's back, or you have cut it."

Mujahid says: Sayyiduna Sa'id bin 'As (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a delegation from Iraq to Sayyiduna 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). When those people arrived, they began to praise Sayyiduna 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), but Sayyiduna Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) threw dust on their faces and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to throw dust on the faces of those who praise excessively. Imam Sufyan, in his narration, said: Sayyiduna Miqdad said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Throw dust on the faces of those who praise excessively. Then the narrator Zubair said: Sayyiduna Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) fulfilled his responsibility.

Abu Ma'mar says: A man stood up and began to praise an Amir. Thereupon, Sayyiduna Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) started throwing dust on his face and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to throw dust on the faces of those who praise others.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No man should ever say that he stood (in prayer) for the entire Ramadan or that he fasted the entire Ramadan. The narrator says: I could not understand whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) meant that a person should not declare his own purity, or if there was some other intention, therefore it is necessary that some heedlessness be adopted, or that one should sleep.