Tribulations

It was narrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Abd Rabbil-Ka’bah said: “I came to ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘As when he was sitting inthe shade of the Ka’bah, and the people were gathered around him,and I heard him say: ‘While we were with the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) on a journey, he stopped to camp and some of us were pitchingtents, some were competing in shooting arrows and some were takingthe animals out to graze them. Then his caller called out: “As-SalatuJami’ah (prayer is about to begin).” So we gathered, and theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up and addressed us. He said: “Therehas never been a Prophet before me who was not obliged to tell hisnation of what he knew was good for them, and to warn against what heknew was bad for them. With regard to this nation of yours, soundness(of religious commitment) and well-being has been placed in itsearlier generations and the last of them will be afflicted withcalamities and things that you dislike. Then there will cometribulations which will make the earlier ones pale into significance,and the believer will say: ‘This will be the end of me,’ thenrelief will come. Then (more) tribulations will come and the believerwill say: ‘This will be the end of me,’ then relief will come.Whoever would like to be taken far away from Hell and admitted toParadise, let him die believing in Allah and the Last Day, and lethim treat people as he would like to be treated. Whoever gives hisoath of allegiance to a ruler and gives a sincere promise, let himobey him as much as he can, and if another comes and challenges him,let them strike the neck (i.e., kill) the second one.’” He the narrator said: “I raised my head among the people and said: 'I adjure you by Allah, did you hear that from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?' He ('Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As) pointed with his hand to his ears and said: I heard it directly from him and memorized it.'”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: “How will you be at a time that will soon come,when thegood people will pass away and only the worst ones will beleft, whowill break their promises and betray their trusts, and theywilldiffer while they were previously together like this,” – andheinterlaced his fingers. They said: “What should we do, OMessenger ofAllah, when that comes to pass?” He said: “Followthat which you knowis true, and leave that which you dislike. Takecare of your ownaffairs and turn away from the common folk.”

It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “What will you do, O Abu Dharr, when death overwhelms thepeopleto such an extent that a grave will be equal in value to aslave?” Isaid: “Whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me,or Allah andHis Messenger know best.” He said “Be patient.” Hesaid: ‘What willyou do when famine strikes the people so that youwill go to the placewhere you pray and will not be able to return toyour bed, or you willnot be able to get up from your bed to go tothe place where youpray?” He said: “I said: ‘Allah and HisMessenger know best, orwhatever Allah and His Messenger choose forme.” He said: “You mustrefrain from forbidden things.” Hesaid: “What will you do whenkilling befalls the people so thatHijaratuz-Zait*is covered withblood?” I said: “Whatever Allahand His Messenger choose for me.” Hesaid: “Stay with those whomyou belong to.” He said: “I said: ‘OMessenger of Allah, shouldI not take my sword and strike those who dothat?’” He said:“Then you will be just like the people. Rather enteryour house.”I said: “O Messenger of Allah, what if they enter myhouse?” Hesaid: “If you are afraid that the flashing of the swordwill dazzleyou, then put the edge of your garment over your face, andlet himcarry his own sin and your sin, and he will be one of thepeople ofthe Hellfire.”

Abu Musa narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “BeforetheHour comes there will be Harj.” I said: “O Messenger ofAllah, what isHarj?” He said: “Killing.” Some of the Muslimssaid: “O Messenger ofAllah, now we kill such and such a number ofidolaters in one year.”The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Thatwill not be like killing theidolaters, rather you will kill oneanother, until a man will kill hisneighbor and son of the cousin anda relative.” Some of the peoplesaid: “O Messenger of Allah, willwe be in our right minds that day?”The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “No, reason will be taken away frommost of the people atthat time, and there will be left theinsignificant people who haveno reason.”

‘Udaisah bint Uhban said: “When ‘Ali bin Abu Talib came toBasrah, heentered upon my father and said: ‘O Abu Muslim, will younot help meagainst these people?’ He said: ‘Of course.’ So hecalled a slavewoman of his and said: ‘O slave woman, bring me mysword.’ So shebrought it, and he unsheathed it a span, and (I sawthat) it was madeof wood. He said: ‘My close friend and yourcousin (ﷺ) advised me,if tribulation (Fitnah) arose among theMuslims, that I should take asword of wood. If you wish I will goout with you.’ He said: ‘I haveno need of you or of yoursword.’”

It was narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari that the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: “Before the Hour comes, there will be tribulationlikepieces of black night, when a man will wake up as a believer butbe adisbeliever by evening, or he will be a believer in the eveningbutwill be a disbeliever by morning. And the one who is sitting willbebetter than the one who is standing, and the one who is standingwillbe better than the one who is walking, and the one who iswalking willbe better than the one who is running. So break yourbows, cut theirstrings and strike your swords against rocks, and ifanyone entersupon anyone of you, let him be like the better of thetwo sons ofAdam. (i.e. the one killed, not the killer).”

It was narrated that Abu Burdah said: “I entered upon Muhammad binMaslamah and he said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Therewill be tribulation, division and dissension. When that comes, takeyour sword to Uhud and strike it until it breaks, then sit in yourhouse until there comes to you the hand of the evildoer (to kill you)or a predestined (natural) death.’”"And that came to pass, and I did as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said."

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There are no two Muslims who confront one another with theirswords,but both the killer and the slain will be in Hell.”

It was narrated from Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When two Muslims confront one another with their swords, both thekiller and the slain will be in Hell.” They said: “O Messenger ofAllah, (we understand about) this killer, but what is wrong with theone who is slain?” He said: “He wanted to kill his companion.’”

It was narrated from Abu Bakrah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whenone Muslim wields his weapon against his brother, both of them are atthe edge of Hell, and if one of them kills the other, they will bothenter it.”

It was narrated from Abu Umamah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Among the worst people in status before Allah on the Day ofResurrection will be a person who loses his Hereafter for the sake ofthis world.”

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: “There will be a tribulation which will utterlydestroythe Arabs, and those who are slain will be in Hell. At thattime thetongue will be worse than a blow of the sword.”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Beware of tribulations, for at that time the tongue will belike the blow of a sword.”

It was narrated that ‘Alqamah bin Waqqas said that a man passed byhim, who held a prominent position, and ‘Alqamah said to him: “Youhave kinship and rights, and I see you entering upon these rulers andspeaking to them as Allah wills you should speak. But i heard Bilalbin Harith Al-Muzani, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ),say that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘One of you may speak aword that pleases Allah, and not know how far it reaches, but Allahwill record for him as pleasure, until the Day of Resurrection due tothat word. And one of you may speak a word that angers Allah, and notknow how far it reaches, but Allah will record against him his anger,until the Day he meets Him due to that word.”'Alqamah said: "So look, woe to you, at what you say and what you speak about, for there is something that I wanted to say but I refrained because of what I heard from Bilal bin Harith."

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “A man may speak a word that angers Allah and not seeanythingwrong with it, but it will cause him to sink down in Hellthe depth ofseventy autumns.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him saysomething good, or else remain silent.”

Sufyan bin ‘Abdullah Thaqafi said: “I said: ‘O Messenger ofAllah,tell me of something that I can adhere to.’ He said: ‘Say:“Allah ismy Lord,” then stand straight (adhere steadfastly toIslam).’ He said:‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the thing thatyou fear most for me?’The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took hold ofhis own tongue, then hesaid: ‘This.’”

It was narrated that Mu’adh bin Jabal said: “I was with theMessengerof Allah (ﷺ) on a journey. One morning I drew close tohim when wewere on the move and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, tellme of an actionthat will gain me admittance to Paradise and keep mefar away fromHell.’ He said: ‘You have asked for somethinggreat, but it is easyfor the one for whom Allah makes it easy.Worship Allah and do notassociate anything in worship with Him,establish prayer, pay charity,fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to theHouse.’ Then he said: ‘Shall Inot tell you of the means ofgoodness? Fasting is a shield, andcharity extinguishes sin as waterextinguishes fire, and a man’sprayer in the middle of the night.’Then he recited: “Their sidesforsake their beds” until hereached: “As a reward for what they usedto do.”[32:16-17] Thenhe said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the head ofthe matter, and itspillar and pinnacle? (It is) Jihad.’ Then he said:‘Shall I nottell you of the basis of all that?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Hetook holdof his tongue then said: ‘Restrain this.’ I said: ‘O ProphetofAllah, will we be brought to account for what we say?’ He said:‘May your mother not found you, O Mu’adh! Are people thrown ontotheirfaces in Hell for anything other than the harvest of theirtongues?’”

It was narrated from Umm Habibah, the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ), thatthe Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The words of the son of Adam count againsthim, not for him, except what is good and forbidding what is evil,andremembering Allah.”

It was narrated that Abu Sha’tha said: “It was said to Ibn ‘Umar:‘Weenter upon our rulers and say one thing, and when we leave wesaysomething else.’ He said: ‘At the time of the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ), we used to regard that as hypocrisy.’”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Part of a person’s goodness in Islam is his leaving alonethatwhich does not concern him.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Thebest lifestyle is that of a man who holds onto the reins of his horsefor the sake of Allah, riding on its back. Every time he hears acommotion he rushes towards it, seeking death wherever he thinks hecan find it; and a man who tends sheep at the top of one of thesepeaks, or in the bottom of one of these valleys, establishing theprayer, paying the charity, and worshipping his Lord until theinevitable (death) comes to him and there is nothing between him andthe people except good.”

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that a man came to theProphet (ﷺ) and said: “Which of the people is best?” He said:“A manwho strives in Jihad in the cause of Allah with himself andhiswealth.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “A man in amountain pass whoworships Allah and leaves the people from hisevil.”

It was narrated from Hudhaifah bin Yaman that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: “There will be callers at the gates of Hell; whoeverresponds to them they throw them into it.” I said: “O MessengerofAllah, describe them to us.” He said: “They will be from ourpeople,speaking our language.” I said: “What do you command meto do, if Ilive to see that?” He said: “Adhere tothe main bodyof the Muslims andtheir leader. If there is no such body and noleader, then withdrawfrom all their groups, even if you bite ontothe trunk of a tree untildeath finds you in that state.”

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: “Soon the best wealth of a Muslim will be sheepwhich hefollows in the mountain peaks and places where rainfall isto befound, fleeing for the sake of his religion from tribulations.”

It was narrated from Hudhaifah bin Yaman that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: “There will be tribulations at the gates of which willbecallers (calling people) to Hell. Dying when you are biting ontothestump of a tree will be better for you than following anyone ofthem.”

Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Thebeliever should not be stung from the same hole twice.”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘The believer should not be stung from the same hole twice.’”

While on the pulpit, pointing with this fingers towards his ears,Nu’man bin Bashir said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)say:‘That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful isplain,and between them are matters that are not clear, about whichnot manypeople know. Thus he who guards against the unclear matters,he clearshimself with regard to his religion and his honor. But hewho fallsinto the unclear matters, he falls into that which isunlawful. Likethe shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all butgrazing therein.Every king has a sanctuary. And beware! Allah’ssanctuary is Hisprohibitions. Beware! In the body there is a pieceof flesh which, ifit is sound, the whole body will be sound, and ifit is corrupt, thewhole body will be corrupt. It is the heart.’”

It was narrated from Ma’qil bin Yasar that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: “Worship during the time of bloodshed is likeemigratingto me.”