Some Important Exhortations of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam

It is related by Abdullah Ibne Amr radhiyallahu anhu that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "Four things and habits are such that if you possess them then there is no harm if the world [and its blessings] are lost or do not come to [your] hand. [These are] :

  1. safe-keeping of trust;
  2. truthfulness in speech;
  3. good manners; and
  4. caution and abstinence in food."

Musnad-e-Ahmad and Bayhaqi

COMMENTARY:
The word 'trust' is used in a very wide sense in the terminology of Islaam. It includes the fulfillment of the rights of Allah and of men as well as the carrying out of covenants and promises. Thus, a person who is trustworthy, i.e. , who fulfills the rights of Allah as well as of men honestly and is truthful when he speaks and possess good manners and noble qualities of mind and character and exercises self-restraint in food and drink and does not over eat or partake of things that are forbidden or of a doubtful nature is, positively a very fine specimen of humanity. He is not only a perfect man in this world but in the never-ending life of the hereafter, too. Such exceptional favours will be conferred upon him that each one of them will be more valuable than all the blessings of the world put together. If a man like him remains poor in the earthly existence, he should not grieve for what he has is far superior to all that the world has to offer.

It is related by Abu Zarr Ghifaari radhiyallahu anhu that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said :

"He became fortunate and successful, whose heart Allah set aside for faith and made it safe and sound [i.e., whom He blessed with faith so pure and untainted that not an iota of doubt or hypocrisy could enter his heart and protected it against the spiritual maladies like envy and ill-will], and whose tongue He endowed with truthfulness, and in most self with serenity [i.e., whose soul was such that it derived solace from the remembrance of Allah and the things that were pleasing to Him], and whose natural disposition He put right and free from weaknesses [so that it did not tend towards sin], and whose ear He made fit to hear and eyes He made fit to see [i.e., who could hear the truthful word of Allah and see His signs and take warning and draw lessons from them]. Thus, the ear is like the funnel [through which things go into the heart as the liquid is poured into a bottle], and the eye is the conveyor and stabilizer of things which it entrusts to the heart. And blessed, indeed, is the man whose heart the Lord made capable of remembering. "

Musnad-e-Ahmad and Bayhaqi

COMMENTARY:
What has been said about the ears and eyes in the concluding part of the above Tradition is to underline the importance of the part the two organs play in the life of a man. Whatever reaches the heart which, so to speak, is the monarch in the human body, and affects it, is generally, through the ears and the eyes. Consequently, the success and salvation of the bondsman is dependant on the ability and fitness of his eyes and ears to see and hear.

The last sentence denotes that even though the things of success and good fortune reach a man's heart through the eyes and ears, salvation and felicity in the Hereafter cannot be attained unless the heart is capable of preserving and making proper use of them.

In the Qur'aan the three faculties of seeing, hearing and understanding have been mentioned, from place to place, in a way as if man's guidance and deliverance was contingent on their soundness.

Amr Ibne Maymoon Awdi reports that the Apostle of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to a man while he was admonishing him:

"Realize the value of five states before the other five states come to pass and make full use of them:

Tirmizi

COMMENTARY:
Man's circumstances do not always remain the same. They vary from time to time. It is, " therefore, proper that we make the aptest use of the conditions of ease and well-being that were available to us and did what ever we could for the attainment of the good pleasure of the Lord. Who knows what tomorrow will bring and whether we will be able to perform good deeds or not.

In fine, every moment of life should be regarded as a respite granted by Allah and no pains should be spared to make the best use of it.

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