The Book of the Sunnah

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that: The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever calls people to true guidance, will have a reward equal to that of those who follow him, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. And whoever calls people to misguidance, will have a (burden of) sin equal to that of those who follow him, without that detracting from their sins in the slightest.'"

It was narrated that Abu Juhaifah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever introduces a good practice that is followed after him, will have a reward for that and the equivalent of their reward, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. Whoever introduces an evil practice that is followed after him, will bear the burden of sin for that and the equivalent of their burden of sin, without that detracting from their burden in the slightest.'"

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'There is no caller who invites people to a thing but on the Day of Resurrection he will be made to stand next to that to which he called others, even if he only called one another person.'"

Kathir bin 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'Awf Al-Muzani said: "My father told me narrating from my grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever revives a Sunnah of mine, which people then act upon, will have a reward equivalent to that of those who act upon it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. And whoever introduces an innovation (Bid'ah) that is acted upon, will have a burden of sins equivalent to that of those who act upon it, withot that detracting from the burden of those who act upon it in the slightest.'"

Kathir bin 'Abdullah narrated from his father, that his grandfather said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Whoever revives a Sunnah of mine that dies out after I am gone, he will have a reward equivalent to that of those among the people who act upon it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. Whoever introduces an innovation (Bid'ah) with which Allah and his Messenger are not pleased, he will have a (burden of) sin equivalent to that of those among the people who act upon it, without that detracting from their sins in the slightest.'"

It was narrated that 'Uthman bin 'Affan said that: The Messenger of Allah said: (According to one of the narrators) Shu'bah (he) said: 'The best of you' (and according to) Sufyan (he) said: "The most excellent of you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it."

It was narrated that 'Uthmaan bin 'Affan said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'The most excellent of you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it.'"

Mus'ab bin Sa'd narrated that his father said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'The best of you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it.' " 'Then he (Mus'ab) took me (the narrator) by the hand and made me sit here, and I started to teach Qur'an.'"

It was narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari that: The Prophet said: "The likeness of the believer who recites the Qur'an is that of a citron, the taste and smell of which are good. The likeness of a believer who does not read the Qur'an is that of a date, the taste of which is good but it has no smell. The likeness of a hypocrite who reads the Qur'an is that of a sweet basil, the smell of which is good but its taste is bitter. And the likeness of a hypocrite who does not read the Qur'an is that of a colocynth (bitter apple), the taste of which is bitter and it has no smell.'"

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah has His own people among mankind.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, who are they?' He said: 'The people of the Qur'an, the people of Allah and those who are closest to Him.'"

It was narrated that 'Ali bin Abu Talib said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever reads the Qur'an and memorizes it, Allah will admit him to Paradise and allow him to intercede for ten of his family members who all deserved to enter Hell.'"

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Learn the Qur'an, recite it and go to bed, for the likeness of the Qur'an and the one who learns it and acts upon it is that of a sack filled with musk, which spreads its fragrance everywhere. And the likeness of one who learns it then goes to bed with it in his heart is that of a sack that is tied up from which no fragrance comes out.'"

It was narrated that Nafi' bin 'Abdul-Harith met 'Umar bin Khattab in 'Usfan, when 'Umar had appointed him as his governer in Makkah.: 'Umar asked: "Whom have you appointed as your deputy over the people of the valley?" He said: "I have appointed Ibn Abza over them." 'Umar said: "Who is Ibn Abza?" Nafi' said: "One of our freed slaves." 'Umar said: "Have you appointed a freed slave over them?" Nafi' said: "He has great knowledge of the Book of Allah, is well versed in the rules of inheritance (Fara'id) and is a (good) judge." 'Umar said: "Did not your prophet say: 'Allah raises some people (in status) because of this book and brings others low because of it?'"

It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: "The Messenger of Allah said to me: 'O Abu Dharr! For you to come out in the morning and learn one Verse from the Book of Allah is better for you than praying one hundred Rak'ah, and for you to come out and learn a matter of knowledge, whether it is acted upon or not, is better for you than praying one thousand Rak'ah.'"

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'When Allah wills good for a person, He causes him to understand the religion.'"

It was narrated that Yunus bin Maisarah bin Halbas said: "I heard Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan narrating that the Messenger of Allah said: "Goodness is a (natural) habit while evil is a stubbornness (constant prodding from Satan). When Allah wills good for a person, He causes him to understand the religion.'"

It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'One Faqih (knowledgeable man) is more formidable against the Shaitan than one thousand devoted worshippers.'"

It was narrated that Kathir bin Qais said: "I was sitting with Abu Darda' in the mosque of Damascus when a man came to him and said: 'O Abu Darda', I have come to you from Al-Madinah, the city of the Messenger of Allah, for a Hadith which I have heard that you narrate from the Prophet.' He said: 'Did you not come for trade?' He said: 'No.' He said: 'Did you not come for anything else?' He said: 'No.' He said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. The angels lower their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth prays for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the sea. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon above all other heavenly bodies. The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets did not leave behind a Dinar or Dirham, rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken a great share.'"

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said: "Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim, and he who imparts knowledge to those who do not deserve it, is like one who puts a necklace of jewels, pearls and gold around the neck of swines."

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever relieves a Muslim of some worldly distress, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever conceals (the faults of) a Muslim, Allah will conceal him (his faults) in this world and the Day of Resurrection. And whoever relives the burden from a destitute person, Allah will relieve him in this world and the next. Allah will help His slave so long as His slave helps his brother. Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make easy fro him a path to paradise. No people gather in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and teaching it to one another, but the angels will surround them, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will envelop them and Allah will mention them to those who are with Him. And whoever is hindered because of his bad deeds, his lineage will be of no avail to him.'"

It was narrated that Zirr bin Hubaish said: "I went to Safwan bin 'Assal Al-Muradi and he said: 'What brought you here?' I said: 'I am seeking knowledge.' He said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "There is no one who goes out of his house in order to seek knowledge, but the angels lower their wings in approval of his action.'"

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Whoever comes to this mosque of mine, and only comes for a good purpose, such as to learn or to teach, his status is like that of one who fights in Jihad in the cause of Allah. Whoever comes for any other purpose, his status is that of a man who is keeping an eye on other people's property.'"

It was narrated that Abu Umamah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'You must acquire this knowledge before it is taken away, and its taking away means that it will be lifted up.' He joined his middle finger and the one that next to the thumb like this, and said: 'The scholar and the seeker of knowledge will share the reward, and there is no good in the rest of the people.'"

It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin 'Amr said: "The Messenger of Allah came out of one of his apartments one day and entered the mosque, where he saw two circles, one reciting Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and the other learning and teaching. The Prophet said: 'Both of them are good. These people are reciting the Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and if He wills He will give them, and if He wills He will withhold from them. And these people are learning and teaching. Verily I have been sent as a teacher.' Then he sat down with them."

It was narrated from Zaid bin Thabit that: The Messenger of Allah said: "May Allah cause his face to shine, the man who hears what I say and conveys it (to others). There are those who have knowledge but no understanding, and there may be those who convey knowledge to those who have more understanding of it than they do.' " (One of the narrators) 'Ali bin Muhammed added to it: "There are three things because of which hatred does not enter the heart of a Muslim: Sincerity in doing an action for the sake of Allah; being sincere towards the rulers of the Muslims; and adhering to the Jama'ah (main body of the Muslims."

Muhammed bin Jubair bin Mut'im narrated that his father said: "The Messenger of Allah stood up at Khaif in Mina and said: 'May Allah cause his face to shine, the man who hears what I say and conveys it (to others). There are those who have knowledge but no understanding, and there may be those who convey knowledge to those who have more understanding of it than they do.'" (Hasan)Other chains with similar wording.

'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Abdullah narrated from his father that: The Prophet said: "May Allah cause his face to shine, the man who hears a Hadith from us and conveys it, for perhaps the one to whom it is conveyed may remember it better than the one who (first) hears it."

It was narrated that Abu Bakrah said: "The Messenger of Allah delivered a religious speech on the Day of Sacrifice and said: 'Let those who are present convey to those who are absent. For perhaps the one to whom it is conveyed will understand it better than the one who (first) hears it.'"

Bahz bin Hakim narrated from his father that his grandfather Mu'awiyah Al-Qushairi said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent.'"