CLASS 9
THINGS THE PROPHET ﷺ ENCOURAGED US TO DO
In this class, we will cover a few hadeeths where the Prophet ﷺ reminded us who the best amongst us are, so that we can try and learn and InShaAllah implement these acts/traits in our lives.
1.People of the Quran
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari).
He ﷺ also said, Do not wish to be like anyone, except in two cases:
A man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously.
A man whom Allah has given wisdom (knowledge of the Qur’an and the Hadith) and he acts according to it and teaches it to others. (Sahih Al Bukhari)
In a hadeeth Ibn Maajah (215) and Ahmad (11870) narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Verily Allah has His own people among mankind.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, who are they? He ﷺ said: “They are the people of the Qur’an, Allah’s own people and those who are closest to Him.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
Al-Minnaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “That is, those who memorise the Qur’an and act in accordance with it are the people of Allah, who are as close to Allah as a person’s family is to him. They are called thus by way of honouring them, just as (the Ka‘bah) is called the House of Allah”.
It is not sufficient for a person just to recite Qur’an in order to be one of the people of the Qur’an, unless he also acts in accordance with it, adheres to its limits and follows its teachings.
The one who wants to be included in the words of the Prophet ﷺ about the people of the Qur’an being Allah’s own people and those who are closest to Him should not complete the Qur’an in more than a month.
2. People of Character
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The best of you are those who have the best manners and character.” (Sahih Bukhari)
“The dearest to me among you and the nearest to me on the Day of Judgement are those who have the best character.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi)
"I was sent to perfect good character." (Abad Al Mufrad)
“There is nothing heavier than good character put in the scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection.” (Abu Dawood)
The Prophet ﷺ came with the best of character and so He ﷺ will have those with best character close to him on the day of judgement.
If we really love the Prophet ﷺ then the first thing we should do is to try and better our character.
The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ was asked about that which will admit most people to Paradise. He said: “Taqwa of Allah and a good attitude.” (al-Tirmidhi;. classed as saheeh by al-Albaani).
This is a beautiful Hadeeth which shows the importance of doing good at everything, having Taqwa of Allah is between the Slave and His Lord but the manners is between people and so along with being a good Aa'bid (worshipper of Allah) being a well-mannered person can get us to Jannah by the Mercy of Allah!
3. Men who are good to their women
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his womenfolk, and I am the best of you to my womenfolk.” (al-Tirmidhi; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani)
But why?
We learnt, that the best are those who learn the Quran & teach it or the ones who are best in character. These two are clearly commendable and not that easy to achieve. But why did the Prophet ﷺ say being good with the womenfolk would make us amongst the best?
It is because Shaitaan loves discord between spouses and he tries his best to cause as much fitnah as possible. The man has been given so much power and authority over his womenfolk but when he still treats them the best he can, the man defeats shaitaan.
A woman can enter Jannah because of a content husband and the husband can enter Jannah because of treating his family with love and respect, this is the ultimate loss of our enemy - Iblis.
Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ said: Iblis places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments [for creating dissension]; the nearer to him in rank are those who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says: I did so and so. And he says: You have done nothing. Then one amongst them comes and says: I did not spare so and so until I sowed the seed of discord between a husband and a wife. The Satan goes near him, embraces him and says: ‘You have done well. (Sahih Muslim)
4. The Enjoiners
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best of you are those who, when they are seen, they remind you of Allah.” (Ibn Majah & Adab Al Mufrad; classed as Hasan)
“When they are seen, they remind you of Allah.”
SubhaanAllah, May Allah make us amongst these. When you see them, they remind you of Allah. This can achieved in one of three ways…
A person who enjoins good & forbids evil whenever he/she gets a chance.
A person who is constantly seen doing good deeds or is part of welfare of the Ummah.
A person whose attire is that of a Muslim, he/she dresses as per shariah and also is humble, honest and trustworthy in the way they deal with people.
5. The People who feed others
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best of you are those who feed others” (Ahmad)
Allah describes how He will bless those who feed others even more beautifully, in the following powerful verses from Surah Al-Insan:
′And they give food, in spite of love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.
[Saying], “We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We don’t want from you either reward or gratitude. Indeed, we fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful”.
So Allah will protect them from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness. And He will reward them, for what they patiently endured, with a Garden and clothes of silk. Reclining therein on adorned couches, they will not see therein any (burning) sun or (freezing) cold. And the shade of the (Garden) will come low over them, and its bunches (of fruit) will hang low (i.e. within reach)’. (The Noble Qur’an, 76:8-14)
Warning against not taking care or feeding the poor
Giving food is an important part of being a Muslim - and not doing so is specifically mentioned in the Qur’an as a quality of a disbeliever.
Allah says: “What drove you to Hell?” ’They will say, “We were not of those who prayed, nor did we used to feed the poor…“′ [The Noble Qur’an, 74:42-44]
6. People who repay with Gratitude
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best of you are those who are the best in paying off debts” (Bukhari & Muslim)
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man was owed a young camel by the Prophet ﷺ and he came to him to ask him to pay it off. He ﷺ said: “Give it to him. They looked for a young camel and they could not find anything except one that was of older & better than it. He ﷺ said: “Give it to him.” And he said: You have paid me off, may Allah reward you. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who are the best in paying off debts.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
This hadeeth might amaze many of us, how can just repaying be the loan that one had taken would make someone be counted amongst the best. Firstly, if we read the full hadeeth we would understand it about showing our gratitude to the one who had helped us in our time of need. And secondly, debt is a serious matter in Islam, one that unfortunately many in our ummah has taken lightly, so the one who is mindful of paying the debts off and showing gratitude when doing so is commended.
7. Safe & Beneficial People
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best of you are those from whom good is expected and people are safe from their evil”. (Tirmidhi, Sahih)
The best deed to perform
The greatest type of worship is to perform that which Allah makes obligatory on His servants and to refrain from all that He forbids. Abu Hurayrah narrated that Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah says: ‘The most beloved deeds with which my slave comes nearer to me are what I have enjoined on him.’” (Al-Bukhari).
Also in another hadeeth Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Prayer in its proper time….” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2630, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 85)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
“Since the righteous predecessors lived their whole life in worship, it is then necessary for us to know with which type of worship they started, and which one have they given priority.” He then answered: "The best acts of worship are the most pleasing to Allah in that particular time. The best act of worship during the presence of a guest is to take care of him and not to be distracted from that by other recommended acts of worship. This is also in performing one’s duties towards one’s wife and family. The best act of worship in the night is to be occupied with prayer, reciting the Quran, supplication and Thikr. The best thing during the time of the Athaan (i.e. the call for prayer) is to leave whatever worship one is doing and answer the Mu`aththin (i.e. the one calling the Athaan) by repeating what he says. The best thing during the time of the five obligatory prayers is to exert one's efforts in their prompt performance. The best thing when the poor is in dire need of assistance is to assist him and give that preference over supererogatory Thikr. The best thing to do when your brother is sick or dead is to visit him, attend his funeral, and give that priority over your supererogatory Thikr. And the best thing to do when you are afflicted and suffer people’s harm is to be patient and not to run away from them." [End of quote]
SubhaanAllah a beautiful advice by the sheikh, this is something we generally miss out on, as one of the tricks of Shaitaan to steal from one who is busy with Ibaadah is to get us busy in something is least beneficial.
Please join our free online certificate course “BEST OF YOU”, to learn in detail about the the traits acts that the Prophet ﷺ encouraged us to do and be amongst the Best. https://learn-islam.org/best-of-you (available online now, register and learn).
Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.
Note for Test
Implement at least 2 of these acts in your life. (a 4 Marks Question will be asked about this).
TIPS OF TEST
Do not have to memorize the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Implement at least 2 of these acts in your life. (a 4 Marks Question will be asked about this).
Remember the virtues.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
Inform a minimum of 15 friends/family about LEARN ISLAM (we have around 30 courses for adults and along with courses for children, all for free and certificates are also given) 5 Marks.
Talk about any 3 topics/Sunnahs/deeds and their great rewards covered in this week’s classes with atleast 3 people. 5 Marks.
Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
JOIN FOR FREE VIA
FACEBOOK | EMAIL | WHATSAPP | TELEGRAM
Pls read our FAQs to get the details and to know how we go about things if U have any further Qs pls feel free to ask...
FAQs: - https://learn-islam.org/faqs-short-courses
Happy Learning... JazakAllah Khair...
As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuh :)
SUPPORT LEARN ISLAM
If you benefit from courses by LEARN ISLAM and want to support us, please do so by buying the book FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS written by Abu Sahl Al Ansari (the founder and admin of LEARN ISLAM).
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS : https://learn-islam.org/forgotten-sunnahs-book