١٣ - باب في بيان كثرة طرق الخير

The first: From Abū Dharr Jundub ibn Junādah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which deeds are best?’ He said, «Faith in Allah and jihad in His path.» I said, ‘Which slaves [to free] are best?’ He said, «Those most precious to their owners and highest in price.» I said, ‘But if I cannot do that?’ He said, «You help a craftsman, or make something for one who is unskilled.» I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what if I am too weak for some kinds of work?’ He said, «You restrain your harm from people; for that is a charity from you upon yourself.» Agreed upon. «al-ṣāniʿ» (the craftsman), with an undotted ṣād, is the well-known reading; it is also narrated as «ḍāʾiʿan» with a dotted ḍād, meaning one in a state of loss through poverty, dependants and the like. «al-akhraq» is the one who does not do well what he attempts to do.

The second: Also from Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: «Each morning a charity is due upon every joint of any one of you: every glorification (subḥān Allāh) is a charity, every praise (al-ḥamdu lillāh) is a charity, every declaration of His oneness (lā ilāha illá Allāh) is a charity, and every magnification (Allāhu akbar) is a charity; enjoining good is a charity, and forbidding wrong is a charity; and two units of prayer prayed in the forenoon suffice for [all of] that.» Narrated by Muslim. «al-sulāmā» — with a ḍammah on the undotted sīn, a light lām, and a fatḥah on the mīm — means a joint.

The third: From him [Abū Dharr], who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: «The deeds of my nation, its good ones and its bad ones, were shown to me. Among the best of its deeds I found the removal of a harmful thing from the road, and among the worst of its deeds I found phlegm left in the mosque, unburied.» Narrated by Muslim.

The fourth: From him: that some people said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have taken away the rewards: they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give charity from their surplus wealth.’ He said, «Has Allah not made for you [things] by which you may give charity? Indeed, every glorification (subḥān Allāh) is a charity, every magnification (Allāhu akbar) is a charity, every praise (al-ḥamdu lillāh) is a charity, every declaration of oneness (lā ilāha illá Allāh) is a charity, enjoining good is a charity, forbidding wrong is a charity, and in the intimacy of any one of you there is a charity.» They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, does one of us satisfy his desire and have a reward for it?’ He said, «Do you not see that if he were to put it in something forbidden he would bear a sin? So likewise, when he puts it in what is lawful, he has a reward.» Narrated by Muslim. «al-duthūr», with the three-dotted thāʾ, means wealth; its singular is ‘dathr’.

The fifth: From him, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: «Do not belittle any act of kindness, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.» Narrated by Muslim.

The sixth: From Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: «A charity is due from every joint of a person on every day on which the sun rises: to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount, hoisting him onto it or lifting his belongings onto it, is a charity; a good word is a charity; every step you take towards the prayer is a charity; and removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity.» Agreed upon. Muslim also narrated it through the report of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: «Every human being among the children of Adam was created with three hundred and sixty joints. So whoever magnifies Allah (Allāhu akbar), praises Allah (al-ḥamdu lillāh), declares His oneness (lā ilāha illá Allāh), glorifies Allah (subḥān Allāh), seeks Allah’s forgiveness, removes a stone from the people’s path, or a thorn, or a bone from the people’s path, or enjoins good, or forbids wrong — to the count of those three hundred and sixty — he ends that day having distanced himself from the Fire.»

The seventh: On his authority, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning or in the evening, Allah prepares for him a place of hospitality in Paradise every time he goes in the morning or in the evening." Agreed upon. *Al-nuzul* means sustenance, provision, and whatever is made ready for a guest.

The eighth: On his authority, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O Muslim women, let no neighbour look down upon (a gift to) her neighbour, even if it be the trotter of a sheep." Agreed upon. Al-Jawharī said: The *firsin* is to the camel as the hoof is to the riding beast. He said: and it is sometimes used figuratively for the sheep.

The ninth: On his authority, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Faith has seventy-odd — or sixty-odd — branches. The most excellent of them is the saying, 'There is no deity except Allah,' and the least of them is the removal of harm from the road; and modesty is a branch of faith." Agreed upon. *Al-biḍʿ* ranges from three to nine — pronounced with a kasrah on the bāʾ, though it may also be pronounced with a fatḥah. And *al-shuʿbah* means the portion.

The tenth: On his authority, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "While a man was walking along a road, severe thirst overcame him, so he found a well, descended into it, and drank. Then he came out, and there was a dog panting, eating the moist earth out of thirst. The man said: This dog has reached the same degree of thirst that had reached me. So he descended into the well, filled his leather sock with water, then held it in his mouth until he climbed up, and gave the dog to drink. So Allah was grateful to him and forgave him." They said: O Messenger of Allah, is there indeed a reward for us in (caring for) animals? He said: "In every living being with a moist liver there is a reward." Agreed upon. In a narration of al-Bukhārī: "So Allah was grateful to him, forgave him, and admitted him into Paradise." And in a narration of both: "While a dog was circling around a well, almost killed by thirst, a prostitute from among the prostitutes of the Children of Israel saw it, so she took off her leather sock, drew water with it for it, and gave it to drink; and she was forgiven on account of it." *Al-mūq* is the leather sock. And *yuṭīf* means he circles around. *Rakiyyah* is the well.

The eleventh: On his authority, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "I have certainly seen a man enjoying himself in Paradise on account of a tree he cut down from the middle of the road which used to harm the Muslims." Muslim narrated it. In a narration: "A man passed by the branch of a tree on the surface of a road and said: By Allah, I shall surely remove this from the Muslims so that it does not harm them; and he was admitted into Paradise." And in a narration of both: "While a man was walking along a road, he found a thorny branch on the road, so he put it aside; and Allah was grateful to him and forgave him."

The twelfth: On his authority, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever performs the ablution and does it well, then comes to the Friday prayer, listens, and remains silent, is forgiven what is between it and the (next) Friday, with an additional three days; and whoever touches the pebbles has engaged in idle conduct." Muslim narrated it.

The thirteenth: On his authority, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the Muslim — or believing — servant performs the ablution and washes his face, every sin at which he looked with his eyes comes out of his face with the water, or with the last drop of water. When he washes his hands, every sin that his hands committed comes out of his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water. And when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet walked comes out with the water, or with the last drop of water, until he emerges cleansed of sins." Muslim narrated it.

The fourteenth: On his authority, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: "The five prayers, one Friday prayer to the next, and one Ramadan to the next, are an expiation for what is between them, so long as the major sins are avoided." Muslim narrated it.

The fifteenth: On his authority, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Shall I not direct you to that by which Allah erases sins and raises ranks?" They said: Certainly, O Messenger of Allah. He said: "Performing the ablution thoroughly despite hardships, taking many steps to the mosques, and waiting for the (next) prayer after the prayer — that is the ribāṭ (guarding the frontier)." Muslim narrated it.

The sixteenth: On the authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever prays the two cool prayers will enter Paradise." Agreed upon. *Al-bardān* are the dawn (Fajr) and afternoon (ʿAṣr) prayers.

The seventeenth: On his authority, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the servant falls ill or travels, there is recorded for him the like of what he used to do while resident and healthy." Al-Bukhārī narrated it.

The eighteenth: On the authority of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Every act of kindness is a charity." Al-Bukhārī narrated it, and Muslim narrated it from the narration of Ḥudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him).

The nineteenth: From him (Anas), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is no Muslim who plants a plant but that whatever is eaten from it is a charity for him, whatever is stolen from it is a charity for him, and none diminishes it but that it is a charity for him.” Narrated by Muslim. In another of his narrations: “No Muslim plants a plant from which a human, an animal, or a bird then eats but that it is a charity for him until the Day of Resurrection.” In another of his narrations: “No Muslim plants a plant or sows a crop from which a human, an animal, or anything then eats but that it is a charity for him.” They both [al-Bukhārī and Muslim] reported it from the narration of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). His saying “yarzaʾuhu” means “he diminishes it.”

The twentieth: From him, who said: The Banū Salimah wished to move near the mosque. That reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he said to them: “It has reached me that you wish to move near the mosque?” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah, we have indeed intended that.” He said: “Banū Salimah! [Keep to] your dwellings—your footsteps are recorded; your dwellings—your footsteps are recorded.” Narrated by Muslim. In another narration: “Indeed, with every step there is a degree.” Narrated by Muslim. Al-Bukhārī also narrated it with the same meaning from the narration of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). “Banū Salimah,” with a kasrah on the lām, is a well-known tribe of the Anṣār (may Allah be pleased with them). “Āthāruhum” means their footsteps.

The twenty-first: On the authority of Abū al-Mundhir Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: There was a man—I do not know of any man farther from the mosque than him—and not a single prayer would he miss. It was said to him, or I said to him: “If only you would buy a donkey to ride in the darkness and in the scorching heat.” He said: “It would not please me that my house were beside the mosque; I want my walking to the mosque to be recorded for me, and my returning when I return to my family.” So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah has gathered all of that for you.” Narrated by Muslim. In another narration: “You shall have what you counted upon.” “Al-ramḍāʾ” is the ground struck by intense heat.

The twenty-second: On the authority of Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There are forty virtuous deeds, the highest of which is the lending of a she-goat. No one acts upon one of these deeds, hoping for its reward and believing in its promise, but that Allah admits him by it into Paradise.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī. “Al-manīḥah” is that one gives it [a she-goat] to him so that he may consume its milk and then return it to him.

The twenty-third: On the authority of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying: “Guard yourselves against the Fire, even with half a date.” Agreed upon. In a narration of them both from him, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is none among you but that his Lord will speak to him, with no interpreter between Him and him. He will look to his right and see nothing but what he has sent forward; he will look to his left and see nothing but what he has sent forward; and he will look before him and see nothing but the Fire facing him. So guard yourselves against the Fire, even with half a date; and whoever does not find [even that], then with a good word.”

The twenty-fourth: On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed Allah is well pleased with the servant who eats a meal and praises Him for it, or drinks a drink and praises Him for it.” Narrated by Muslim. “Al-aklah,” with a fatḥah on the hamzah, is the morning meal or the evening meal.

The twenty-fifth: On the authority of Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “Upon every Muslim there is a charity.” He said: “What do you think if he does not find [the means]?” He said: “He works with his hands, thereby benefiting himself and giving in charity.” He said: “What do you think if he is unable?” He said: “He helps one in need, the distressed.” He said: “What do you think if he is unable?” He said: “He enjoins what is right, or good.” He said: “What do you think if he does not do [that]?” He said: “He refrains from evil, for that is a charity.” Agreed upon.