Sahih Ibn Hibban 361

Translation

✧ I entered the mosque, and there was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sitting alone. He said: "O Abu Dharr, the mosque has a greeting, and its greeting is two rakahs, so stand and pray them." He said: So I stood and prayed them, then I returned and sat with him. I said: O Messenger of Allah, you have commanded me to pray, so what is prayer? He said: "A good thing that has been set forth; do much of it or little." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best? He said: "Faith in Allah and jihad in the path of Allah." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which of the believers is most complete in faith? He said: "The best of them in character." I said: O Messenger of Allah, which of the believers is safest in submission? He said: "The one from whose tongue and hand people are safe." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which prayer is best? He said: "Lengthy devotion." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which migration is best? He said: "The one who abandons evil deeds." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, what of fasting? He said: "An obligatory duty that suffices, and with Allah are many multiples of reward." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which jihad is best? He said: "The one whose steed is hamstrung and whose blood is shed." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which charity is best? He said: "The effort of one of little means, given quietly to a poor person." I said: O Messenger of Allah, which of what Allah has sent down to you is greatest? He said: "Ayat al-Kursi." Then he said: "O Abu Dharr, the seven heavens in relation to the Kursi are only like a ring cast in a vast open land, and the superiority of the Throne over the Kursi is like the superiority of that open land over the ring." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many prophets were there? He said: "One hundred and twenty thousand." I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many messengers were among them? He said: "Three hundred and thirteen, a great multitude." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, who was the first of them? He said: "Adam." I said: O Messenger of Allah, was he a prophet sent as a messenger? He said: "Yes. Allah created him with His hand, breathed into him of His spirit, and spoke to him directly." Then he said: "O Abu Dharr, four were Syriac: Adam, Sheeth, Akhnukh—who is Idris and was the first to write with the pen—and Nuh; and four were Arabs: Hud, Shuayb, Salih, and your prophet Muhammad ﷺ." I said: O Messenger of Allah, how many books did Allah send down? He said: "One hundred books and four books: fifty scrolls were sent down to Sheeth, thirty scrolls were sent down to Akhnukh, ten scrolls were sent down to Ibrahim, ten scrolls were sent down to Musa before the Tawrah, and the Tawrah, the Injil, the Zabur, and the Quran were sent down." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, what was in the scroll of Ibrahim? He said: "It was all parables: O empowered king, afflicted and deluded, I did not send you to pile up this world, one part upon another; rather, I sent you to turn back from Me the supplication of the oppressed, for I do not reject it even if it comes from a disbeliever. The intelligent person, so long as his mind is not overcome, should have periods: a period in which he privately calls upon his Lord; a period in which he takes himself to account; a period in which he reflects on the work of Allah; and a period in which he withdraws for his needs of food and drink. The intelligent person should not set out except for three things: provision for the return, repair of livelihood, or pleasure that is not unlawful. The intelligent person should be aware of his time, attentive to his own affair, and guarding his tongue. Whoever counts his speech as part of his deeds, his speech will be little except in what concerns him." I said: O Messenger of Allah, what was in the scrolls of Musa? He said: "They were all lessons: I am amazed at one who is certain of death, yet he rejoices; I am amazed at one who is certain of the Fire, yet he laughs; I am amazed at one who is certain of divine decree, yet he exhausts himself; I am amazed at one who sees the world and how it turns upon its people, yet he feels secure with it; and I am amazed at one who is certain of the reckoning tomorrow, yet does not act." I said: O Messenger of Allah, counsel me. He said: "I counsel you to fear Allah, for it is the head of the whole matter." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Hold fast to reciting the Quran and remembering Allah, for it is a light for you on earth and a treasure for you in heaven." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Beware of excessive laughter, for it kills the heart and takes away the light of the face." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Hold fast to silence except from good, for it drives Satan away from you and is a help for you in the matter of your religion." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Hold fast to jihad, for it is the monasticism of my community." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Love the poor and sit with them." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Look to those beneath you and do not look to those above you, for that is more likely that you will not look down upon Allah's blessing with you." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Speak the truth, even if it is bitter." I said: O Messenger of Allah, give me more. He said: "Let what you know of yourself restrain you from people, and do not find fault with them for what you yourself do. It is enough as a fault in you that you recognize in people what you are ignorant of in yourself, or that you find fault with them for what you yourself do." Then he struck my chest with his hand and said: "O Abu Dharr, there is no intelligence like careful planning, no piety like restraint, and no nobility like good character."

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