Sayings of Muhammad

As a person with a busy lifestyle, and a parent of four children, I have had to look for innovative ways to protect our sense of decency, as well as build character in myself and children.

This started me sharing selected sayings of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with my family. Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived during the sixth and seventh centuries. Muslims believe him to be God’s last prophet and messenger to mankind. He (peace be upon him) invited people to the same God that Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) invited to.

The sayings of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) number in the thousands, and cover a variety of topics. They serve as guidance to more than one billion Muslims (one in five people) worldwide.

As a family these sayings guide us through the day to day challenges of life, and we often use them for settling differences. Daily, they help to quiet our souls.

Reflecting on the benefits they have brought me and my family, I felt obligated to share some of them with people who have never heard Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) sayings before, and are searching for a better way of life.

If each of us strives for better lives, and inner peace, we can make our families and our piece of the world a better place.

Below are thirteen such sayings. I hope you benefit from them as much as we continue to do:

1. He who remembers his Lord and he who does not are as different from each other as the living and the dead. (Abu Musa Al-Ashari in Bukhari and Muslim)

2. When you are three together, two (of you) must not converse privately without the third until you are in the company of other people, because it makes the third sad. (Abdullah ibn Mas’ud in Bukhari and Muslim)

3. None of you should be alone with a woman unless you are her father, her husband or her brother. (Ibn Abbas in Bukhari and Muslim)

4. Among the believers who show most perfect faith are those who have the best disposition and are kindest to their families. (Aisha in Tirmidhi)

5. Four traits make anyone who possesses them a hypocrite, and anyone who possesses one of them possesses a part of hypocrisy till he abandons it: When he is trusted, he betrays his trust; when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a covenant, he acts treacherously; and when he quarrels, he abuses. (Abdullah ibn Amr in Bukhari and Muslim)

6. Charity is due upon every limb of a human being on each day that the sun rises. To act justly between two (people) is a charity. To help a man mount his riding beast, or to load his provisions on it is a charity. A good word is a charity. Every step towards prayer is charity. Removing from the road what causes harm is a charity. (Abu Huraira in Bukhari and Muslim)

7. When one commits fornication he is not a believer, when one steals he is not a believer, when one drinks intoxicants he is not a believer, when one takes plunder on account of which men raise their eyes at him he is not a believer, and when one of you defrauds he is not a believer; so beware, beware! (Abu Huraira in Bukhari and Muslim)

8. A man asked what faith was, to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “When your good deed pleases you and your evil deed grieves you, you are a believer.” He then asked what was sin and received the reply, “When a thing disturbs (the peace of) your heart, give it up.” (Abu Amama in Ahmad)

9. The one who will be dearest to God and nearest to Him on the Day of Resurrection is a just leader, and the one who will be most hateful to God on the Day of Resurrection and will receive the severest punishment will be a tyrannical leader. (Abu Sa’id in Tirmidhi)

10. If anyone protects the propriety of what is between his jaws and what is between his legs (i.e. he should not commit fornication or adultery), I can assure him paradise. (Sahl ibn Sa’d in Bukhari)

11. The major sins are associating other objects of worship with God, disobedience to parents, murder, and giving false witness. (Abdullah ibn Amr in Bukhari and Muslim)

12. Take advantage of five things before five others overtake you: your youth before you grow old; your health before you fall sick; your money before you become poor; your leisure before you become busy; and your life before you die. (Amr ibn Maymum in Tirmidhi)

13. It is better for a man to give a small amount of money as charity during his lifetime than to give a hundred times more at the time of his death. (Abu Sa’id al-Khudri in Abu Dawud)

TO READ MORE SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) YOU MAY DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING BOOKLET:

101 Selected Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

TO SEARCH THE THOUSANDS OF SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) YOU CAN EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Sunan of Abu Daud, and Muwatta of Imam Malik - http://www.islamtomorrow.com/downloads/UPLOADS/Islamasoft_Solutions_page.htm

Sahih Bukhari - http://www.sahihalbukhari.com/sps/sbk/

Sahih Muslim - http://www.sahihmuslim.com/sps/smm/

Location of Hadith - http://www.quran-hadith-index.com/hadithpersonalnotes.htm