Prophet Muhammad’s Teachings on Different Ways of Earning Allah’s Rewards (11/11)

Believing in the meanings of the 99 Names of Allah and Acting According to Islam:

Abu Hurairah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise; and Allah is Witr (one) and loves ‘the Witr’ (i.e., odd numbers).” (Reported by Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadeeth 419)

Asking Allah for Guidance:

Abu Dharr (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that Allah the Most High says, “My servants, all of you are astray except him whom I have guided, but if you ask Me for guidance I will guide you. All of you are poor except him whom I have enriched, but if you ask of Me I will give you provision. All of you are sinners except him whom I have preserved (from sin), but if any of you knows that I have power to pardon and ask my pardon I will pardon him, and I do not care. If the first and the last of you, the living and the dead among you, those of you who are fresh and those of you who are withered ¾ all had hearts as pious as the heart of the most pious of My servant¾ that would not add as much as a gnat’s wing to My dominion. If the first and last of you, the living and the dead among you, those of you who are fresh and those of you who are withered had all hearts as wretched as the heart of the most wretched of My servants; that would not diminish as much as a gnat’s wing from My dominion. If the first and last of you, the living and the dead among you, those of you who are fresh and those of you who are withered, were gathered in one plain, each one of you asking all he could hope for, and I were to grant the request of each of you who asked; that would cause no more diminution in My dominion; than if one of you passed by the sea and, after dipping a needle in it, took it out, that being because I am Generous and Glorious, doing what I wish. My giving is speech and my punishment is speech. My command to a thing when I want it is just to say to it ‘Be’ and it comes into being.” (Reported by Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 2344, Ahmad, and Ibn Majah)

Kindness to people and animals:

Abu Hurayrah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, ‘This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?” He replied, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate.” (Reported by Bukhari, Vol. 3, Hadeeth 551 and Vol. 8, Hadeeth 38)

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “‘Aishah verily Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it (kindness).” (Reported by Muslim, Hadeeth 6273)

Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “Every act of kindness is sadaqah (charity) and kindness includes meeting your brother with a cheerful face and pouring water from bucket into your brother’s vessel.” (Reported by Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 1910 and Ahmad)

‘Abdullah ibn Abbas narrated that Allah’s Messenger forbade inciting animals to fight with one another.” (Reported by Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 4103 and Abu Dawud)

Ali ibn Abu Talib narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “One Muslim should do six acts of kindness to another: He should salute him when he meets him; accept his invitation when he gives one; say ‘Allah have mercy on you’ when he sneezes; visit him when he is ill; follow his bier when he dies; and like for him what he likes for himself.” (Reported by Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 4643 and Darimi)

‘Abdullah ibn Umar (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “If anyone seeks protection in Allah’s name, grant him protection; if anyone begs in Allah’s name, give him something; if anyone gives you an invitation, accept it; and if anyone does you a kindness, recompense him; but if you have not the means to do so, pray for him until you feel that you have compensated him.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 1668)

Thawban narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “Only supplication averts the decree, only kindness prolongs life, and a man is deprived of provision for a fault he commits.” (Reported by Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 4925 and Ibn Majah)

All the above authentic Ahadeeth show how devoted servant of Allah the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is, and how he teaches us to render devotion to Allah the Almighty in order to attain His Mercy.  From his teachings, we learn how to establish firm belief in Tawheed (absolute Oneness of Allah). That is to sincerely adhere to the first pillar of Islam which is known as Shahadatain (Two Testimony of Faith in Islam) which is to testify that there is no god (worthy of true worship) but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) teaches us to worship Allah the Almighty sincerely, to love, fear, remember Him always, to supplicate to Him, seek His Forgiveness, and to dedicate our lives and everything in us to Him alone in order to seek His Mercy. He guides us to show kindness, sympathy, care, patience and brotherhood to others for the sake of Allah the Most Merciful. He encourages us to beautify or improve our manners and do good deeds in order to please Allah. He makes it clear to us the importance and benefits of reading, understanding and holding to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. He reminds us to convey the Message of Islam to others, to enjoin the rights and forbid evil deeds. All these virtuous teachings if done sincerely seeking the pleasure of Allah the Most Merciful will lead us to have peace with Allah the Most Merciful, who Alone can grant us peace within ourselves, with our families, relatives, neighbors, and the society as a whole. Non-Muslims who are ignorant of these Prophetic teachings (Ahadeeth) and Muslims who have neglected their duty to learn and implement these authentic Ahadeeth are invited to fonder and reflect upon them. They need to accept the enlightening teachings which Allah the Almighty has inspired on His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) as they are parts of His Mercy to mankind. Verily, Allah the Most Merciful has bestowed His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) both with the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If we really believe in all the teachings of the Qur’an as from the Only True God, Allah it becomes mandatory for us to believe in the authentic Ahadeeth or the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). Allah the All-Knowing, All Wise inspired His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) with the Sunnah so full of wisdom and guidance for us to attain Allah’s Mercy and therefore rewards of peace and success, especially in the eternal world to come.