It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was sitting in the mosque. I came and sat down. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Abu Dharr! Have you prayed? I said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Get up and pray. So I prayed and then sat down. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Abu Dharr! Seek refuge with Allah from the devils among mankind and jinn. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Are there devils among mankind too? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes, absolutely. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me something about prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is the best thing that has been made; whoever wishes may pray less, and whoever wishes may pray more. I said: O Messenger of Allah! (Tell me about) fasting. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is such an obligation that its reward will also be given, and with Allah there is much more besides. I said: O Messenger of Allah! (Tell me about) charity. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It will be multiplied many times. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Which charity is best? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: That which is given by a person of little means according to his capacity, or given secretly to a poor person. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Who was the first prophet? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Adam (peace be upon him). I said: Was Adam (peace be upon him) a prophet? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes, he was a prophet and he was spoken to. I said: O Messenger of Allah! How many messengers are there? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: About three hundred and fifteen or sixteen. In one narration: Three hundred and fifteen, a great multitude. I said: O Messenger of Allah! What is the greatest thing revealed to you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ayat al-Kursi {اَللّٰہُ لَا اِلٰہَ اِلَّا ھُوَ الْحَیُّ الْقَیُّوْمُ}. In one narration, he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the entire verse.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed so long one morning before the Fajr prayer that it was almost as if the edge of the sun would appear. In any case, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came quickly, the iqamah was called for prayer, he (peace and blessings be upon him) led a brief prayer, and when he finished with salam, he said: Remain seated in your rows as you are. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards us and said: Indeed, I will tell you what kept me from you this morning. I stood in prayer during the night and prayed as much as was destined for me. While I was in prayer, drowsiness overcame me. Then when I awoke, I saw that I was before my Lord, the Exalted, and Allah, the Exalted, was in a very beautiful form. Allah, the Exalted, said: O Muhammad! In what do the angels who are near (to Me) dispute? I said: O my Lord! I do not know. Allah, the Exalted, again said: In what do the angels who are near dispute? I said: O my Lord! I do not know. Then Allah, the Exalted, placed His palm between my shoulders, and I felt the coolness of His fingertips in my chest, and everything became clear to me and I attained knowledge. Then Allah, the Exalted, said: O Muhammad! (Now tell Me) in what do the angels who are near dispute? I said: In the expiations. He said: What are the expiations? I said: Walking to the congregational prayers, sitting in the mosque after the prayer, and performing complete ablution despite disliked matters. Then Allah, the Exalted, said: What are the degrees? I said: Feeding (others), speaking gently, and praying at night when people are asleep. Then Allah, the Exalted, said: Ask (of Me). I said: O Allah! I ask You for doing good deeds, abandoning evil deeds, loving the poor, that You forgive me and have mercy on me, and when You intend to send a trial upon a people, then take me (from this world) without being afflicted by that trial, and I ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and the love of the deed which brings me closer to Your love. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is the truth, so learn it and teach it.

Abdur Rahman bin A’ish narrates from a companion that one morning the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to the companions while he was in a pleasant mood, and there was a whiteness or radiance visible on his face. We said: O Messenger of Allah! Today we see you in a very good mood and there is a whiteness or radiance visible on your face, what is the reason? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: What could deprive me of this? The fact is that last night my Lord came to me in the most beautiful form and said: O Muhammad! I said: Yes, my Lord! I am present, I am present. Allah Almighty said: What do the closest angels dispute about? I said: O my Lord! I do not know. This happened two or three times. Then Allah Almighty placed His palms between my shoulders, I felt the coolness of them in my chest, and everything in the heavens and the earth became clear to me. Then he, peace and blessings be upon him, recited this verse: {وَکَذٰلِکَ نُرِی اِبْرَاھِیْمَ مَلَکُوْتَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَاْلاَرْضِ وَلِیَکُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُوْقِنِیْنَ} … And thus We showed Abraham (peace be upon him) the kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he might be among those who have sure faith. (Surah Al-An’am: 75) Then Allah Almighty said: O Muhammad! What do the closest angels dispute about? I said: About the expiations. Allah Almighty said: What is meant by expiations? I said: Walking on foot to the congregational prayers, sitting in the mosque after the prayers, and performing complete ablution despite unpleasant conditions. Then He said: Whoever performs these deeds, he has lived with goodness and died with goodness, and he will be purified from his sins as on the day his mother gave birth to him. And the ranks are these: speaking good words, spreading peace, feeding others, and praying at night when people are asleep. Then Allah Almighty said: O Muhammad! When you pray, recite this supplication:“Allahumma inni as’aluka al-tayyibat, wa tark al-munkarat, wa hubb al-masakin, wa an tatuba ‘alayya, wa idha aradta fitnatan fi al-nas fatawaffani ghayra maftoon.”… O Allah! I ask You for good deeds, to avoid evil deeds, and to love the poor, and that You turn to me, and when You intend a trial for the people, then cause me to die without being afflicted by it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shall I not inform you about the doors of goodness and virtue? Fasting is a shield, charity wipes out sins just as water extinguishes fire, and a servant standing (in prayer) at night. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {تَتَجَافٰی جُنُوبُھُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ … }.

Abu Tamimah narrates from a man of his tribe that he came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, or he said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while I was present with him. He said: Are you the Messenger of Allah or are you Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: Yes. He said: What do you call towards? The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I call towards that One and Unique Lord, that if any distress befalls you and you call upon Him, He will remove your distress; when you are afflicted with drought and you call upon Him, He will send down rain for you to grow grapes; and when you lose your mount in a barren land and you call upon Him, He will return your mount to you. So that man became Muslim and said: O Messenger of Allah! Advise me. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Do not abuse anyone (i.e., do not speak ill of anyone). That man said: Since the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, advised me this, I have not abused anything, whether it be a camel or a goat. Also, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Do not disdain any good deed, even if it is meeting your brother with a cheerful face, or putting water in the bucket of one who asks for water, and keep your lower garment raised to the middle of the shin; but if you cannot do so, then keep it up to the ankles. Beware, avoid letting your garment hang below the ankles, for this is arrogance, and Allah does not like arrogance.

Syedna Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to me and said: Advise me. I said: The question you have asked me, I had asked the same question to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) before you (and he said): I advise you to fear Allah, for it is the foundation of everything; adhere to Jihad, for it is the monasticism of Islam; and be regular in the remembrance of Allah and the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, for it is a source of mercy for you in the heavens and a source of mention for you on the earth.

Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The most virtuous deed is that you maintain ties with the one who severs relations with you, give to the one who deprives you, and forgive the one who abuses you.

Shaibah Hadhrami says: We were sitting with Umar bin Abdul Aziz when Urwah bin Zubair narrated to us that Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There are three things upon which I swear an oath: If a man has a share in Islam, Allah will not make him like the one who has no share in Islam. These three things are: (1) Islam has three parts: prayer, fasting, and zakat; (2) It cannot happen that Allah loves a man in this world and then hands him over to someone else on the Day of Resurrection; (3) The servant will be with those whom he loves, and if I swear an oath on a fourth thing, I hope I will not be sinful, and that is: whoever covers (the faults of) a person in this world, Allah will cover him on the Day of Resurrection. Upon hearing this hadith, Umar bin Abdul Aziz said: Whenever you hear such a hadith which Urwah narrates from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and she from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then memorize it.