Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 35 of Nawawi
Hadith number 35 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in faithful English translation.
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Updated on 07 October 2026 at 4:51 AM
📖 38 min readThis hadith belongs to the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), the most studied hadith compilation in the world: foundations of faith, worship and character, all authentic narrations.
And Abu Dawoud reports, "every Muslim," to the end. And the two reported it in the authentic collections, from the narration of al-'A'raj, from Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Be not envious of one another, practise not najach, hate not one another, turn not your backs; be the servants of Allah, brothers." And the two report it by other channels, from Abu Hourayra. And Imam Ahmad reports from the hadith of Wathila ibn al-Asqa', from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Every Muslim is sacred to the Muslim: his blood, his honour and his wealth. The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he wrongs him not, abandons him not and despises him not; and piety is here," and he pointed to his heart three times, "and it suffices a man to be in evil to despise his Muslim brother."
And Abu Dawoud reports the end only. And in the two authentic collections, from the hadith of Ibn 'Omar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he wrongs him not and betrays him not." And Imam Ahmad reports it, its wording being, "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he wrongs him not, abandons him not and despises him not, and it suffices a man to be in evil to despise his Muslim brother." And in the two authentic collections, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Hate not one another, be not envious of one another, turn not your backs; be the servants of Allah, brothers." And its sense is reported from the hadith of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, in raised form and stopped at the Companion.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "be not envious of one another," mean that none of you envy the other. Envy is implanted in human natures, being that a man detests anyone of his like surpassing him in some merit. Then the people divide into categories after that.
There is he who works at the vanishing of the benefit of the envied one, surpassing him by word and deed; then he who works at transferring it to himself; and he who works only at removing it from him, without transferring it to himself: that is the worst of the two and the most vicious of the two.
That is the blameworthy envy, that which is forbidden. It was the sin of Iblis: he envied Adam, upon him peace, when he saw him surpass the angels, Allah having created him of His hand, made His angels prostrate before him, taught him the names of everything, and made him dwell at His neighbourhood; and he ceased not working to expel him from Paradise, until he was expelled. It is reported from Ibn 'Omar that Iblis said to Nouh, "Two things by which I lose the sons of Adam: envy, and by envy I was cursed and made a stoned devil; and greed: Adam was permitted all Paradise, and my need was touched by greed." Ibn Abi ad-Dunya reports it.
Allah described the Jews by envy in places of His book, like His words,
"Many of the people of the Book would love to make you disbelievers again after your faith, out of envy of their souls, after the truth became clear to them."
Al-Baqara, 109
and His words,
"Or do they envy the people for what Allah gave them of His favour?"
An-Nisa, 54
Imam Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi report from the hadith of az-Zoubayr ibn al-'Awwam, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "There has come upon you the sickness of the nations that preceded you, envy and hatred, and hatred is the razor, the razor of religion, not the razor of hair. By Him who holds the soul of Mouhammad in His hand, you believe not until you love one another. Shall I inform you of a thing which, when you do it, you will love one another? Spread the salam among you." And Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Beware of envy, for envy devours good deeds as fire devours wood," or he said, "grass." And al-Hakim and others report from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "My community shall be touched by the sickness of the nations." They said, O prophet of Allah! And what is the sickness of the nations? He said, "Pride of wealth and progeny, rivalry in the low world, hatred and envy, until rebellion comes, then discord."
Another category of people: when he envies another, he acts not according to the requirement of his envy and does not transgress upon the envied one, neither by word nor deed. It is reported from al-Hasan that he sins not by that, and it is reported in raised form by weak channels. That is of two sorts: the first, that he cannot remove that envy from himself, being overwhelmed by it and sinning not by it; the second, whoever speaks thus to his soul by choice, returning to it and introducing it, finding rest in wishing the vanishing of the benefit of his brother: that one is like the decided resolution upon disobedience.
Upon the punishment of that the scholars diverge, and it may be mentioned elsewhere, Allah willing. But it is unlikely he escapes transgression upon the envied one by word: he sins by that.
And another category: he envies not to the point of wishing the vanishing of the benefit of the envied one, but works to acquire the equivalent of his merits and wishes to be like him. Were those merits of earthly order, there is no good in that, as Allah the Most High says,
"Those who desire the life of this world said, would that we had the like of what Qaroun was given!"
Az-Zoukhrouf, 33
and were they religious merits, it is good.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished for himself martyrdom in the path of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. And in the two authentic collections, from him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "There is no envy save in two things: a man to whom Allah gave wealth and who spends it night and day; and a man to whom Allah gave the Quran and who stands with it night and day." That is good emulation, and he named it envy by metaphor.
And another category: when he finds in himself envy, he strives to remove it, benefiting the envied one, invoking him in his prayers, spreading his merits, and removing from himself the envy found in his soul, until he replaces it with love that his Muslim brother be better than him and more complete. That is of the highest degrees of faith, its holder being the complete believer who loves for his brother what he loves for himself; the discussion thereof preceded in the explanation of the hadith, "None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and practise not najach": many scholars explained it by najach in sale, which is that a person not wanting to buy raises the price of the merchandise, either for the profit of the seller by the increase of price, or to harm the buyer by swelling the price upon him.
In the two authentic collections, from Ibn 'Omar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he forbade najach. And Ibn Abi 'Awfa said, "The najach is a eater of riba, a traitor." Al-Boukhari mentions it.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said, they agreed its doer disobeys Allah the Most High were he to know the prohibition. They diverged over the sale: one said it is void, that being a narration of Ahmad, chosen by part of his companions. Another said, if the najach is the seller or the accomplice of the seller in the najach, it is void, the prohibition returning here to the contracting party himself; otherwise it is not void, it returning to a third. And it is reported likewise from ach-Chafi'i that he founded the validity of the sale upon the seller not being the najach. And most of the jurists hold the sale valid in every state, the view of Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, of Malik, of ash-Chafi'i and of Ahmad in a narration of him.
But Malik and Ahmad granted the buyer the right of option were he not to know the situation and be deceived by a grave deception outside usage; Malik and part of the companions of Ahmad estimated it at a third of the price: were the buyer to choose rescission, he disposes of it; were he to want to keep the merchandise, the part of the price by which he was deceived is discounted for him. Our companions mention it.
One can also interpret the najach forbidden in this hadith by what is more general, for the root of najach in the language is stirring a thing by cunning, trickery and deception; from there the najach in sale is called najach, and the hunter in the language is called najach, because he rouses the game by his cunning against it and his deception. The sense would then be, deceive not one another, and let none of you treat the other by cunning and fraud, meaning by cunning and deception conveying evil to the Muslim, either by his own way or by attracting harm to him, resulting in the arrival of damage to him and entering upon him. The Most High says,
"And evil cunning encompasses only its own people."
Fatir, 43
And in the hadith of Ibn Mas'oud, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever deceives us is not of us, and cunning and deception are in the Fire." And we already mentioned the hadith of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, in raised form, "Cursed is whoever harms a Muslim or schemes against him." At-Tirmidhi reports it.
Enter therefore, upon this estimation, into the forbidden najach all the species of transactions by deception and the like, like hiding defects and concealing them, falsifying the good merchandise with the bad, and deceiving the naive buyer who knows not bargaining. And Allah the Most High described in His book the disbelievers and the hypocrites by scheming against the prophets and their followers. And how beautiful is the saying of Abu al-'Atahiya, "There is no low world without religion, and no religion without noble morals; cunning and deception are in the Fire, they are traits of the people of hypocrisy." Cunning is permitted only towards one towards whom conveying evil is permitted, the disbelievers and the people of war, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says, "War is deception."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and hate not one another": forbidding the Muslims to hate one another for other than Allah the Most High, but for the passions of souls; for Allah made the Muslims brothers, and brothers love one another and hate not. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "By Him who holds my soul in His hand, you shall not enter Paradise until you believe, and you believe not until you love one another. Shall I indicate you a thing which, when you do it, you will love one another? Spread the salam among you." Mouslim reports it, and we already mentioned hadiths on the prohibition of hatred and envy.
Allah forbade the believers that which casts between them enmity and hatred, as Allah the Most High says,
"The devil wants only to cast between you enmity and hatred by wine and gambling, and to turn you from the remembrance of Allah and the prayer: will you then cease?"
Al-Ma'ida, 91
And He granted grace to His servants by the unification of their hearts, as the Most High says,
"And remember the grace of Allah upon you: you were enemies, and He unified your hearts, and you became by His grace brothers."
Al 'Imran, 103
And He says,
"It is He who supported you by His succour and by the believers, and unified their hearts. Were you to spend all that is on earth, you would unify not their hearts, but Allah unified them."
Al-'Anfal, 62-63
For this sense tale-carrying was forbidden, for what it contains of casting enmity and hatred; and lying was permitted for reconciliation between people, Allah desiring reconciliation between them, as the Most High says,
"There is no good in much of their secret counsels, save whoever commands an alms, a good deed, or reconciliation between the people; and whoever does that seeking the satisfaction of Allah, We shall soon give him an immense reward."
An-Nisa, 114
And He says,
"And were two groups of believers to fight, reconcile them."
Al-Houjourat, 9
And He says,
"Fear Allah, and reform your mutual relations."
Al-'Anfal, 1
And Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawoud and at-Tirmidhi report from the hadith of Abu ad-Darda, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Shall I inform you of what is better than the degree of the prayer, the fast and the alms?" They said, yes, O Messenger of Allah! He said, "The reforming of mutual relations, and the corruption of mutual relations is the razor." And Imam Ahmad and others report from the hadith of 'Asma bint Yazid, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Shall I inform you of the worst of you?" They said, yes, O Messenger of Allah! He said, "Those who walk with tale-carrying, separating between the beloved, and wanting to find fault with the innocent."
As for hatred for Allah, it is of the firmest bonds of faith and enters not the prohibition, even were a man to see in his brother an evil and hate him for it, the man being then excused in the very matter. Whoever hates is rewarded, even were his brother excused. As 'Omar says, "We knew you while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was among us, revelation descending, Allah informing us of your news; but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) left us, and revelation ceased: we know you only by what you inform us; whoever of you shows us good, we think good of him and love him for what he is, and whoever shows us evil, we think evil of him and hate him for what he is; your secrets are between you and your Lord, the Most High." And ar-Rabi' ibn Khouthaym said, "Were you to see a man showing good and hiding evil, love him, may Allah reward you your love of good; were you to see a man showing evil and hiding good, hate him, may Allah reward you your hatred of evil."
When the divergence of people multiplied in questions of religion, and their scattering multiplied, their mutual hatred and their curses multiplied because of it, each showing he hates for Allah, while he may be excused in the very matter, or not be, following rather his passion, negligent in seeking knowledge of that upon which he hates, much of that hatred coming only from contradicting a followed imam believed to speak only truth, and that belief is certainly false, even were one to say he speaks the truth only in that which contradicts it.
That belief may err and errs, and what pushes to inclination may be only passion, familiarity or habit, all of that touching what this hatred being for Allah. It is therefore obligatory upon the believer to counsel himself and take the greatest precautions therein, and not enter what is obscure to him, fearing to fall into what is forbidden of illicit hatred.
There is here a hidden matter to which attention must be given: many imams of religion may say an opinion preferentially rejected, being in interpretive effort therein, rewarded for their effort, their error effaced; and whoever defends that opinion is not at the rank of that class, for he defends that saying only because his followed imam said it; were another imam of religion to have said it, he would not have accepted it, nor defended it, nor taken the side of whoever grants it, nor taken for enemy whoever contradicts it; yet he believes he defends only the truth for the rank of his followed imam, and it is not so: for the followed imam aimed only defending the truth, even were he to err in his effort; as for that follower, his defence of what he believes truth was tainted by the desire of the elevation of his imam, the triumph of his word, and of not being attached to error. Here is a manoeuvre touching the design of defending the truth, understand then that, for it is a great and important affair, and Allah guides to an upright way whom He wills.
His words, "and turn not your backs." Abu 'Obayd said, "Turnings of backs are rupture and boycott, drawn from that the man turns his back to his companion and turns from his face: that is rupture." And Mouslim reports from the hadith of Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Be not envious of one another, hate not one another, break not with one another; be the servants of Allah, brothers, as Allah the Most High commanded you." And he reports it also in this sense from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). And in the two authentic collections, from Abu 'Ayyoub, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "It is not lawful to the Muslim to boycott his brother more than three days, they meet, this one turning away and that one turning away, and the best of the two is whoever begins with the salam." And Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Abu Kharach as-Salami, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever boycotts his brother a year is like whoever sheds his blood." And all of that in rupture for worldly affairs.
As for rupture for religion, exceeding the three is permitted, Imam Ahmad stating it, resting upon the story of the three who stayed behind, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded their boycott, fearing their hypocrisy; and he permitted boycotting the people of great innovations and callers to passions. Al-Khattabi mentions that the boycott of the father of his son, of the husband of his wife, and what is in the sense of discipline, exceeding the three is permitted therein, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) boycotted his wives a month.
They diverged, does salam cut the boycott? Part said it cuts it, reported from al-Hasan, and from Malik in the narration of Ibn Wahb, and part of our companions says it. And Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "It is not lawful to the believer to boycott a believer more than three days; were three days to pass, let him meet him and greet him; were he to return the salam, they share the reward; were he not to return it to him, he bears the sin, and the Muslim comes out of the boycott." But that is when the other abstains from returning the salam. As for the case where he returns it, whereas before the boycott there was affection and they return not to it, that is disputable. Ahmad said, in the narration of al-'Athram, asked of salam cutting the boycott, "He may greet him, and he may have turned from him." Then he says, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "They meet, this one turning away and that one turning away": if therefore he is used to speak to him or shake his hand. And likewise reported from Malik that he said, "the boycott cuts not without the return of affection."
Certain distinguished between near kin and strangers, for strangers the boycott between them ceasing by the mere salam, unlike kin, saying that for the obligation of maintaining kinship.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and let none of you outbid the sale of another." The prohibitions multiplied thereon, in the two authentic collections, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The believer outbids not the sale of his brother, and proposes not upon the demand of his brother." And in a version of Mouslim, "The Muslim outbids not the sale of his brother, and proposes not upon his demand." And the two report from the hadith of Ibn 'Omar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The man outbids not the sale of his brother, and proposes not upon his demand, unless he give him permission." And its wording is that of Mouslim.
And Mouslim reports from the hadith of 'Oqba ibn 'Amir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The believer is the brother of the believer, it is therefore not lawful to the believer to buy upon the sale of his brother, nor propose upon his demand, so long as he leaves him not." That indicates it is a right of the Muslim over the Muslim; the disbeliever is therefore not equal to him therein, it being even permitted to the Muslim to buy upon the sale of the disbeliever and propose upon his demand, the view of al-'Awza'i and Ahmad, as the right of pre-emption is not established for the disbeliever over the Muslim with them.
Many jurists said the prohibition is general, towards Muslim and disbeliever, and they diverged, is the prohibition for the illicit or disapproval? Then they diverged over the nature of the prohibition, among our companions certain saying it is for disapproval, not illicit; and the correct, upon which the majority of the scholars agrees, is that it is for the illicit.
They diverged, are the sale upon the sale of the brother and the marriage upon his demand valid? Abu Hanifa, ash-Chafi'i and most of our companions say, they are valid. Malik said, of marriage, were he not to have consummated, they are separated; were he to have consummated, they are not separated. And Abu Bakr, of our companions, said of sale and marriage they are void in every state, and it is reported from Ahmad.
The sense of sale upon the sale of the brother is that he sold part of his wealth, and one offers the buyer his merchandise that he buy it and rescind the sale of the first. Is that specific to the case where the offer takes place during the period of option, the buyer being able to rescind therein, or is it general during the period of option and after? The scholars diverge. Imam Ahmad reported it in the narration of Harb, inclining to generality in both cases, the view of part of our companions; others restricted it to the period of option, the apparent of the saying of Ahmad in the narration of Ibn Mouhaych, and the explicit text of ash-Chafi'i. The first is the more apparent, for the buyer, even were he unable to rescind himself after the expiry of the period of option, were he to wish to return the first merchandise to its seller, would attain it by ways entailing its harm, were it only insisting in the demand, and everything leading to the harm of the Muslim is illicit. And Allah knows best.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and be the servants of Allah, brothers": the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentions it as explanation of what precedes, indicating that were they to leave envy, najach, hatred, turning of backs and the sale of one upon the sale of the other, they would be brothers.
[The ways of brotherhood:] Therein is a command of acquiring that by which the Muslims become brothers in the absolute, entering therein the performance of the rights of the Muslim over the Muslim: returning the salam, blessing the sneezer, visiting the sick, accompanying the funeral, answering the invitation, beginning with the salam at meeting, and counselling in secret.
In at-Tirmidhi, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Exchange gifts, for the gift removes rancour from the heart." Others report it, its wording being, "Exchange gifts, and you will love." And in the Mousnad of al-Bazzar, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Exchange gifts, for the gift dissolves rancour."
It is reported from 'Omar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, raising the hadith, "Shake hands, for that removes rancour, and exchange gifts." Al-Hasan said, "The handshake increases affection." And Moujahid said, it has reached me that when the two beloved meet, the one smiling at the other and they shake hands, their sins fall as the leaves of the tree fall. It was said to him, that is an easy deed. He said, "You say easy, and Allah says, were you to spend all that is on earth, you would unify not their hearts, but Allah unified them; He is the Mighty, the Wise."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he wrongs him not, abandons him not, lies not to him and despises him not." That is drawn from the words of the Most High,
"The believers are only brothers, reconcile then your two brothers."
Al-Houjourat, 10
The believers being brothers, they were commanded, between them, what requires the accord of hearts and their gathering, and forbidden what requires their repulsion and disunion, and that is of this.
[Conveying good and removing evil:] And moreover, the brother must convey to his brother the good and abstain towards him from evil, and the greatest of evils to be removed from the Muslim brother is injustice, that not being specific to the Muslim, it being illicit towards any person; the discussion of injustice preceded, developed, at the mention of the divine hadith of Abu Dhar, "O My servants! I forbade injustice to Myself and made it illicit between you, wrong not therefore one another."
Of that is the abandoning of the Muslim for his brother, for the believer is commanded to aid his brother, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says, "Aid your brother, oppressor or oppressed." It was said, O Messenger of Allah! I aid him oppressed, how aid him oppressor? He said, "You restrain him from injustice, that is your aid to him." Al-Boukhari reports it in this sense from the hadith of Anas, and Mouslim reports it in this sense from the hadith of Jabir.
Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Abu Talha al-'Ansari and Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "No Muslim man who abandons a Muslim man in a place where his inviolability is violated and his honour touched, but that Allah abandons him in a place he loves being aided; and no man who aids a Muslim in a place where his honour is touched and his inviolability violated, but that Allah aids him in a place he loves being aided." And Imam Ahmad reports from the hadith of Abu 'Oumama ibn Sahl, from his father, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever is humiliated before him a believer and aids him not, while able to aid him, Allah humiliates him upon the heads of creatures on the day of Resurrection." And al-Bazzar reports from the hadith of 'Imran ibn Houssayn, from the Prophet, peace upon him, "Whoever aids his brother in secret while able to aid him, Allah shall aid him in this low world and the Hereafter."
Of that also is the lying of the salam to the brother, it being not lawful to tell him deceiving him, but he tells him only with truth. In the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, from an-Nouwas ibn Sim'an, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Treachery is great, telling your brother a speech he believes you, and you be a liar."
Of that also is the contempt of the Muslim for his Muslim brother, born of pride, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says, "Pride is the rejection of truth and the contempt of people." Mouslim reports it from the hadith of Ibn Mas'oud. And Imam Ahmad reports it, and in a narration of him, "Pride is the foolishness of truth and the disdain of people." And in a narration, "and the contempt of people." And in a narration the addition, "he sees not the people."
The contempt of people is attacking them and slighting them. Allah, the Most High, says,
"O you who have believed! Let not a people mock another people, perhaps they are better than them; and let not women mock other women, perhaps they are better than them."
Al-Houjourat, 11
The proud one looks therefore at his own soul with the eye of perfection and at others with the eye of defect, despising and slighting them, seeing them not worthy he perform their rights, nor accepting from one of them the truth when they advance it against him.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "piety is here," and he pointed to his breast three times: therein is the indication that the nobility of creation with Allah is in piety, and many people whom people despise for their weakness and small share of the low world are greater in value with Allah the Most High than the one having rank in the low world; the people differentiate only by piety, as Allah the Most High says,
"The noblest of you with Allah is the most pious of you."
Al-Houjourat, 13
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked, who is the noblest of people? He said, "The most pious of them towards Allah the Most High." And in another hadith, "Nobility is piety." And piety has its root in the heart, as the Most High says,
"That, and whoever magnifies the rites of Allah, that issues from the piety of hearts."
Al-Hajj, 32
The mention of this sense preceded in the discussion of the divine hadith of Abu Dhar, at his words, "Were the first of you and the last, and your men and your jinn, upon the most pious heart of one man among you, that would increase nothing in My kingdom."
The root of piety being in hearts, none knows its reality but Allah the Most High, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says, "Allah looks not at your forms nor your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." There may therefore be many men whose form is beautiful, or wealth, or rank, or precedence in the low world, and whose heart is ruined of piety; and the man having nothing of all that may have the heart filled with piety, being then the noblest with Allah the Most High.
Moreover, that is the most frequent, as in the two authentic collections, from al-Haritha ibn Wahb, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Shall I inform you of the people of Paradise? Every man weak, despised, were he to swear upon Allah, He would answer him. Shall I inform you of the people of the Fire? Every man harsh, coarse, proud."
In the Mousnad, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "As for the people of Paradise, every man weak and despised, of unkempt hair, his two sandals worn, were he to swear upon Allah, He would answer him. As for the people of the Fire, every man grumbling, coarse, gathering and refusing, of trailing garments." And in the two authentic collections, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Paradise and the Fire disputed, and the Fire said, I was privileged with the proud and the haughty; and Paradise said, why enter me but the weak of people and their humble? Allah the Most High said to Paradise, you are My mercy, I have mercy by you upon whom I will of My servants; and He said to the Fire, you are My punishment, I punish by you whom I will of My servants."
And Imam Ahmad reports it from the hadith of Abu Sa'id, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Paradise and the Fire rivalled in pride, and the Fire said, Lord! Enter me the tyrants, the proud, the kings and the notables; and Paradise said, Lord! Enter me the weak, the poor and the miserable." He mentions the hadith.
In the Sahih of al-Boukhari, from Sahl ibn Sa'd, a man passed before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said to a man sitting near him, "What think you of this one?" He said, "A man of the notables of people, this one by Allah deserves, were he to ask in marriage, to be married, were he to intercede, to be answered, were he to speak, to be heard." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kept silent. Then another man passed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, "What think you of this one?" He said, "O Messenger of Allah! He is a man of the poor of the Muslims, this one deserves, were he to ask in marriage, not to be married, were he to intercede, not to be answered, were he to speak, not to be heard." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "This one is better than the filling of the earth with the like of that one." And Mouhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qouradhi said, of the words of the Most High,
"When the event comes, there is no lie in its occurrence: it abases and it raises."
Al-Waqi'a, 1-2
"It abases men who were, in the low world, elevated, and raises men who were, in the low world, abased."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "It suffices a man to be in evil to despise his Muslim brother": it suffices him, as evil, to despise his Muslim brother, for he despises him only by his pride over him, and pride is among the greatest traits of evil. In the Sahih of Mouslim, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he said, "None enters Paradise whoever has in his heart the weight of an ant of pride." And in the same collection also, from him, "Might is My wrap, and greatness My garment, whoever disputes Me in them, I punish him." The contestation of Allah the Most High in His attributes that suit not the creature suffices as evil.
In the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, from Fadala ibn 'Oubayd, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Three that are not questioned: a man who disputes with Allah His garment, His garment being greatness, and His wrap might; a man who doubts the command of Allah the Most High; and the despair of the mercy of Allah." And in the Sahih of Mouslim, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever says, the people are lost, he is the most lost of them." Malik said, were he to say that in the sadness of what he sees in the people, meaning in their religion, I see no evil; and were he to say it in self-sufficiency and contempt of people, that is the blameworthy of which it is forbidden. Abu Dawoud mentions it in his Sunan.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Every Muslim is sacred to the Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honour." That is part of what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) preached in the great assemblies, preaching with it at the farewell pilgrimage, on the day of sacrifice, the day of 'Arafat, and the second day of the days of Tachriq, saying, "Your bloods, your wealths and your honours are sacred to you, like the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this place of yours." And in a version of al-Boukhari and others, "and your skins." And in a version, "He repeated it several times, then raised his head and said, O Allah! Have I conveyed? O Allah! Have I conveyed?" And in a version, then he said, "Let the present convey to the absent." And in a version of al-Boukhari, "Allah forbade you your bloods, your wealths and your honours, save with their right."
And in a version, "Your bloods, your wealths and your honours are sacred to you, like this day, like this place, until the day of Resurrection." And in a version, he says, "The believer is sacred to the believer like the sacredness of this day: his flesh is sacred to him, that he eat it not nor backbite it in its absence; his honour is sacred to him, that he tear it not; his face is sacred to him, that he strike it not; his blood is sacred to him, that he shed it not; and it is sacred to him to push him a push making him unhappy."
And in the Sunan of Abu Dawoud, certain Companions walked with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), a man of them fell asleep, and some went to his cord and took it, and he startled. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "It is not lawful to the Muslim to frighten a Muslim." And Ahmad, Abu Dawoud and at-Tirmidhi report from as-Sa'ib ibn Yazid, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Let none of you take the stick of his brother in jest while he is serious." Abu 'Obayd says, meaning he takes his wealth not wanting to steal it, but only wanting to introduce anger into him, being a jester in the doctrine of theft, serious in the introduction of fright and harm upon him.
And in the two authentic collections, from Ibn Mas'oud, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "When you are three, let two not counsel in secret without the third, for that saddens him." And its wording is that of Mouslim. And at-Tabarani reports from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Let two not counsel in secret without the third, for that harms the believer, and Allah detests harming the believer." And Imam Ahmad reports, from the hadith of Thawban, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Harm not the servants of Allah, mock them not and seek not their dishonours, whoever seeks the dishonour of his Muslim brother, Allah shall seek his dishonour, until he cover him with shame in his own house."
And in the Sahih of Mouslim, from Abu Hourayra, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked of backbiting and said, "Your mentioning your brother by what he dislikes." It was said, see were what I say in him? He said, "Were what you say in him, you backbited him; and were it not in him, you slandered him."
All these texts contained therefore that the Muslim receives not lawfully harm, under any form whatsoever, of word or deed, without right. Allah the Most High said,
"Those who harm the believing men and believing women for other than what they earned bear slander and manifest sin."
Al-Ahzab, 58
Allah made the believers brothers that they compassionate and have mercy on one another. In the two authentic collections, from an-Nou'man ibn Bachir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The believers, in their mutual affection, their compassion and their mercy, are like the body, when a limb complains in it, the whole body is touched by fever and sleeplessness." And in a version of Mouslim, "The believers are like one man, when his head complains, the whole body is touched by fever and sleeplessness." And in a version of him also, "The Muslims are like one man, when his eye complains, all of him complains, and when his head complains, all of him complains." And in the two, from Abu Moussa, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The believer for the believer is like the building reinforcing one another."
And Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The believer is the mirror of the believer, the believer is the brother of the believer, he guards his wealth and protects him from behind." And at-Tirmidhi reports it, its wording being, "One of you is the mirror of his brother, were he to see in him an evil, let him remove it from him." A man said to 'Omar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, "Make the great of the Muslims with you a father, the small a son, and the middle a brother, which of them do you love to wrong?!" And of the words of Yahya ibn Mu'adh ar-Razi, "Let the share of the believer coming from you be of three things, were you not to profit him, harm him not; were you not to gladden him, sadden him not; were you not to praise him, blame him not."