Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar)

Narrated Anas: Two men left the Prophet on a very dark night. Suddenly a light came in front of them, and when they separated, the light also separated along with them.

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr: I heard the Prophet saying, "Learn the recitation of Qur'an from four persons: Ibn Mas`ud, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubai and Mu`adh bin Jabal."

Narrated Abu Usaid: Allah's Apostle said, "The best of the Ansar's houses are those of Bani An-Najjar, then those of Bani `Abdul Ash-hal, then those of Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, then those of Bani Saida; but there is goodness in all the houses of the Ansar." Sa`d bin Ubada who was one of those who embraced Islam early, said, "I see that Allah's Apostle is giving others superiority above us." Some people said to him, "But he has given you superiority above many other people."

Narrated Masruq: `Abdullah bin Masud was mentioned before `Abdullah bin `Amr who said, "That is a man I still love, as I heard the Prophet saying 'Learn the recitation of Qur'an from four from `Abdullah bin Mas`ud -- he started with him--Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudaifa, Mu`adh bin Jabal and Ubai bin Ka`b."

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said to Ubai, "Allah has ordered me to recite to you: 'Those who disbelieve (Surat-al- Bayina 98).' " Ubai said, "Has He mentioned my name?" The Prophet said, "Yes." On hearing this, Ubai started weeping.

Narrated Qatada: Anas said, "The Qur'an was collected in the lifetime of the Prophet by four (men), all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Abu Zaid and Zaid bin Thabit." I asked Anas, "Who is Abu Zaid?" He said, "One of my uncles."

Narrated Anas: On the day of the battle of Uhud, the people ran away, leaving the Prophet , but Abu- Talha was shielding the Prophet with his shield in front of him. Abu Talha was a strong, experienced archer who used to keep his arrow bow strong and well stretched. On that day he broke two or three arrow bows. If any man passed by carrying a quiver full of arrows, the Prophet would say to him, "Empty it in front of Abu Talha." When the Prophet stated looking at the enemy by raising his head, Abu Talha said, "O Allah's Prophet! Let my parents be sacrificed for your sake! Please don't raise your head and make it visible, lest an arrow of the enemy should hit you. Let my neck and chest be wounded instead of yours." (On that day) I saw `Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and Um Sulaim both lifting their dresses up so that I was able to see the ornaments of their legs, and they were carrying the water skins of their arms to pour the water into the mouths of the thirsty people and then go back and fill them and come to pour the water into the mouths of the people again. (On that day) Abu Talha's sword fell from his hand twice or thrice.

Narrated Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas: I have never heard the Prophet saying about anybody walking on the earth that he is from the people of Paradise except `Abdullah bin Salam. The following Verse was revealed concerning him: "And a witness from the children of Israel testifies that this Qur'an is true" (46.10)

Narrated Qais bin Ubad: While I was sitting in the Mosque of Medina, there entered a man (Abdullah bin Salam) with signs of solemnity over his face. The people said, "He is one of the people of Paradise." He prayed two light rak`at and then left. I followed him and said, "When you entered the Mosque, the people said, 'He is one of the people of Paradise.' " He said, "By Allah, one ought not say what he does not know; and I will tell you why. In the lifetime of the Prophet I had a dream which I narrated to him. I saw as if I were in a garden." He then described its extension and greenery. He added: In its center there was an iron pillar whose lower end was fixed in the earth and the upper end was in the sky, and at its upper end there was a (ring-shaped) hand-hold. I was told to climb it. I said, "I can't." "Then a servant came to me and lifted my clothes from behind and I climbed till I reached the top (of the pillar). Then I got hold of the hand-hold, and I was told to hold it tightly, then I woke up and (the effect of) the handhold was in my hand. I narrated al I that to the Prophet who said, 'The garden is Islam, and the handhold is the Most Truth-worthy Hand-Hold. So you will remain as a Muslim till you die." The narrator added: "The man was `Abdullah bin Salam."

Narrated Abu Burda: When I came to Medina. I met `Abdullah bin Salam. He said, "Will you come to me so that I may serve you with Sawiq (i.e. powdered barley) and dates, and let you enter a (blessed) house that in which the Prophet entered?" Then he added, "You are In a country where the practice of Riba (i.e. usury) is prevalent; so if somebody owe you something and he sends you a present of a load of chopped straw or a load of barley or a load of provender then do not take it, as it is Riba."

Narrated `Ali: The Prophet said, "The best of the world's women is Mary (at her lifetime), and the best of the world's women is Khadija (at her lifetime).

Narrated `Aisha: I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija (although) she died before he married me, for I often heard him mentioning her, and Allah had told him to give her the good tidings that she would have a palace of Qasab (i.e. pipes of precious stones and pearls in Paradise), and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would send her women-friends a good share of it.

Narrated `Aisha: I did not feel jealous of any woman as much as I did of Khadija because Allah's Apostle used to mention her very often. He married me after three years of her death, and his Lord (or Gabriel) ordered him to give her the good news of having a palace of Qasab in Paradise.

Narrated `Aisha: I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija though I did not see her, but the Prophet used to mention her very often, and when ever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them to the women friends of Khadija. When I sometimes said to him, "(You treat Khadija in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth except Khadija," he would say, "Khadija was such-and-such, and from her I had children."

Narrated Isma`il: I asked `Abdullah bin Abi `Aufa, "Did the Prophet give glad tidings to Khadija?" He said, "Yes, of a palace of Qasab (in Paradise) where there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue."

Narrated Abu Huraira: Gabriel came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! This is Khadija coming to you with a dish having meat soup (or some food or drink). When she reaches you, greet her on behalf of her Lord (i.e. Allah) and on my behalf, and give her the glad tidings of having a Qasab palace in Paradise wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble) . "

Narrated 'Aisha: Once Hala bint Khuwailid, Khadija's sister, asked the permission of the Prophet to enter. On that, the Prophet remembered the way Khadija used to ask permission, and that upset him. He said, "O Allah! Hala!" So I became jealous and said, "What makes you remember an old woman amongst the old women of Quraish an old woman (with a teethless mouth) of red gums who died long ago, and in whose place Allah has given you somebody better than her?"

Narrated Jarir bin 'Abdullah: Allah's Apostle has never refused to admit me since I embraced Islam, and whenever he saw me, he would smile.

Jarir bin 'Abdullah narrated: There was a house called Dhul-Khalasa in the Pre-lslamic Period and it was also called Al-Ka'ba Al-Yamaniya or Al-Ka'ba Ash-Shamiya. Allah's Apostle said to me, "Will you relieve me from Dhul-Khalasa?" So I left for it with 150 cavalrymen from the tribe of Ahmas and then we destroyed it and killed whoever we found there. Then we came to the Prophet and informed him about it. He invoked good upon us and upon the tribe of Ahmas.

Narrated `Aisha: On the day of the battle of Uhud the pagans were defeated completely. Then Satan shouted loudly, "O Allah's slaves! Beware the ones behind you!" So the front files attacked the back ones. Then Hudhaifa looked and saw his father, and said loudly, "O Allah's slaves! My father! My father!" By Allah, they did not stop till they killed him (i.e. Hudaifa's father). Hudhaifa said, "May Allah forgive you!" The sub-narrator said, "By Allah, because of what Hudhaifa said, he remained in a good state till he met Allah (i.e. died).

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: The Prophet met Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail in the bottom of (the valley of) Baldah before any Divine Inspiration came to the Prophet. A meal was presented to the Prophet but he refused to eat from it. (Then it was presented to Zaid) who said, "I do not eat anything which you slaughter in the name of your stone idols. I eat none but those things on which Allah's Name has been mentioned at the time of slaughtering." Zaid bin 'Amr used to criticize the way Quraish used to slaughter their animals, and used to say, "Allah has created the sheep and He has sent the water for it from the sky, and He has grown the grass for it from the earth; yet you slaughter it in other than the Name of Allah. He used to say so, for he rejected that practice and considered it as something abominable.

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail went to Sham, inquiring about a true religion to follow. He met a Jewish religious scholar and asked him about their religion. He said, "I intend to embrace your religion, so tell me some thing about it." The Jew said, "You will not embrace our religion unless you receive your share of Allah's Anger." Zaid said, "'I do not run except from Allah's Anger, and I will never bear a bit of it if I have the power to avoid it. Can you tell me of some other religion?" He said, "I do not know any other religion except the Hanif." Zaid enquired, "What is Hanif?" He said, "Hanif is the religion of (the prophet) Abraham who was neither a Jew nor a Christian, and he used to worship None but Allah (Alone)" Then Zaid went out and met a Christian religious scholar and told him the same as before. The Christian said, "You will not embrace our religion unless you get a share of Allah's Curse." Zaid replied, "I do not run except from Allah's Curse, and I will never bear any of Allah's Curse and His Anger if I have the power to avoid them. Will you tell me of some other religion?" He replied, "I do not know any other religion except Hanif." Zaid enquired, "What is Hanif?" He replied, Hanif is the religion of (the prophet) Abraham who was neither a Jew nor a Christian and he used to worship None but Allah (Alone)" When Zaid heard their Statement about (the religion of) Abraham, he left that place, and when he came out, he raised both his hands and said, "O Allah! I make You my Witness that I am on the religion of Abraham."

Narrated Asma bint Abi Bakr: I saw Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail standing with his back against the Ka'ba and saying, "O people of Quraish! By Allah, none amongst you is on the religion of Abraham except me." He used to preserve the lives of little girls: If somebody wanted to kill his daughter he would say to him, "Do not kill her for I will feed her on your behalf." So he would take her, and when she grew up nicely, he would say to her father, "Now if you want her, I will give her to you, and if you wish, I will feed her on your behalf."

Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: When the Ka`ba was rebuilt, the Prophet and `Abbas went to carry stones. `Abbas said to the Prophet "(Take off and) put your waist sheet over your neck so that the stones may not hurt you." (But as soon as he took off his waist sheet) he fell unconscious on the ground with both his eyes towards the sky. When he came to his senses, he said, "My waist sheet! My waist sheet!" Then he tied his waist sheet (round his waist).

Narrated `Amr bin Dinar and 'Ubaidullah bin Abi Yazid: In the lifetime of the Prophet there was no wall around the Ka`ba and the people used to pray around the Ka`ba till `Umar became the Caliph and he built the wall around it. 'Ubaidullah further said, "Its wall was low, so Ibn Az-Zubair built it."

Narrated `Aisha: 'Ashura' (i.e. the tenth of Muharram) was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the prelslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura.

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The people used to consider the performance of `Umra in the months of Hajj an evil deed on the earth, and they used to call the month of Muharram as Safar and used to say, "When (the wounds over) the backs (of the camels) have healed and the foot-marks (of the camels) have vanished (after coming from Hajj), then `Umra becomes legal for the one who wants to perform `Umra." Allah's Apostle and his companions reached Mecca assuming Ihram for Hajj on the fourth of Dhul-Hijja. The Prophet ordered his companions to perform `Umra (with that lhram instead of Hajj). They asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What kind of finishing of Ihram?" The Prophet said, "Finish the Ihram completely.'

Narrated Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab's grand-father: In the pre-lslamic period of ignorance a flood of rain came and filled the valley in between the two mountains (around the Ka`ba).

Narrated Qais bin Abi Hazim: Abu Bakr went to a lady from the Ahmas tribe called Zainab bint Al-Muhajir and found that she refused to speak. He asked, "Why does she not speak." The people said, "She has intended to perform Hajj without speaking." He said to her, "Speak, for it is illegal not to speak, as it is an action of the pre-islamic period of ignorance. So she spoke and said, "Who are you?" He said, "A man from the Emigrants." She asked, "Which Emigrants?" He replied, "From Quraish." She asked, "From what branch of Quraish are you?" He said, "You ask too many questions; I am Abu Bakr." She said, "How long shall we enjoy this good order (i.e. Islamic religion) which Allah has brought after the period of ignorance?" He said, "You will enjoy it as long as your Imams keep on abiding by its rules and regulations." She asked, "What are the Imams?" He said, "Were there not heads and chiefs of your nation who used to order the people and they used to obey them?" She said, "Yes." He said, "So they (i.e. the Imams) are those whom I meant."