Counsel In Sevens

[1] Abu Hurayrah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Seven [types of] people are shaded by Allah in the shade of His Throne, on the Day when there will be no shade but His Shade [i.e. on the Day of Judgement] - a just ruler, a young man who grew up in the worship of Allah, a person whose heart is attached to the mosque [and longs to return to it] from the moment he leaves it until he returns to it, two persons who love each other for the sake of Allah, meet for His sake and depart from each other for His sake, a person who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes well up with tears, a man whom an extremely beautiful and rich woman seduces, but he [rejecting her seduction] says, 'I fear Allah'; and a person who gives charity and conceals it [to such an extent] that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given."

[2] Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) said, "The miser will not escape one of seven things - either he will die and the one who will inherit his wealth will spend it in that which Allah the Exalted has forbidden, or Allah will empower over him a tyrant ruler who will take his wealth from him after humiliating him, or He will inflame in him a desire that will cause him to lose his wealth, or he will have the idea of constructing a building in an unsuitable piece of land and will thus waste his wealth, or one of the calamities of the dunya such as drowning, burning, theft or similar things will befall it, or he will be afflicted with permanent illness and he will spend all his wealth seeking a cure, or he will bury the wealth in a place which he will forget and thus will never find it again."

[3] Umar (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) said, "The one who laughs a lot will lose his respect; the one who makes mockery of people will be mocked by others; the one who is excessive in something will become known for it; the one who speaks a lot will make many blunders; the one who makes many blunders will lose his sense of shame; the one who loses his sense of shame will lose his God-consciousness; and the one who loses his God-consciousness will cause his heart to die."

[4] Uthman (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) said when discussing the saying of Allah the Exalted, "And beneath it was a treasure for them, and their father was righteous man", "the treasure is a gold tablet and on it were written seven lines: 'I am amazed at the one who knows death is coming yet laughs; I am amazed at the one who knows that all things are predestined yet becomes distressed over what he has missed; I am amazed at the one who knows about accountability and yet gathers wealth; I am amazed at the one who knows about the Hellfire yet sins; I am amazed at the one who believes in Allah with certainty yet remembers others beside Him; I am amazed at the one who believes in Paradise with certainty yet is at ease in the dunya; and I am amazed at the one who knows Satan is an enemy yet obeys him."

[5] Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) was asked, "What is heavier than the sky? What is wider than the earth? What is richer than the sea? What is harder than rock? What is hotter than fire? What is colder than ice? What is more bitter then poison? He replied, "Accusing the innocent is heavier than the sky; the Truth is wider than the earth; a content heart is richer than the sea; the heart of a hypocrite is harder than a rock; a tyrant ruler is hotter than fire; being in need of help from a scoundrel is colder than ice; and patience is more bitter than poison (and in another narration, backbiting is more bitter than poison)."

[6] The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, " The dunya is home for the one who has no home, and wealth for the one who has no wealth, only the one who has no intellect gathers for it; only the one who has no comprehension acts according to its desires; only the one who has no knowledge will be punished for it; only the one who has no intellect will become jealous for it; and only the one who has no conviction strives for it."

[7] Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Jibreel used to remind me of the rights of the neighbour to such an extent that I thought a neighbour will be given the right to inherit from his neighbour; he used to remind me of the rights of women to such an extent that I thought that divorcing them would be made forbidden; he used to remind me of the rights of slaves to such an extent that I thought there will be a time fixed when they will be freed; he used to remind me of the use of siwak (tooth-stick) to such an extent that I thought it would be made obligatory; he used to remind me of the importance of prayer in congregation to such an extent that I thought that Allah the Exalted will not accept prayer except in congregation; he used to remind me about standing up in the night and praying to such an extent that I thought that there will be no sleep during the night; and he used to remind me about the remembrance of Allah to such an extent that I thought there is no benefit in any speech except in it."

[8] The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "There are seven people whom the Creator will neither look at on the Day of Judgement nor will He purify them, and He will make them enter the Hellfire - the homosexual and his partner, the one who masturbates; and the one who engages in bestiality; and the one who has anal intercourse with a woman; a man who marries both a woman and her daughter; the one who fornicates with his neighbour's wife; and the one who hurts his neighbour to such a degree that he curses him."

[9] The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "The martyrs are seven apart from those killed in the way of Allah - the one who dies of an internal hemorrhage is a martyr, the one who dies from drowning is a martyr, pleurisy is a martyr, the one who dies in a fire is a martyr, the one who dies under a collapsed building is a martyr, and the woman who dies when giving birth is a martyr."

[10] Ibn Abbas (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) said, "It is a duty on an intelligent person to choose seven things over seven others - poverty over wealth, lowliness over honour, humility over arrogance, hunger over satiety, sadness over happiness, inferiority over superiority, and death over life."