Numerous ways of doing Good | Riyad-us-Saliheen

117 Abu Dharr (radiyallahu anhu) reported: I asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Which action is the best?” He ﷺ said, “Faith in Allah and Jihad in the way of Allah.” I asked: “Which neck (slave) is best (for emancipation)?” He said, “That which is dearest of them in price and most valuable of them to its masters”. I asked: “If I cannot afford (it)?” He said, “Then help a labourer or work for one who is disabled”. I asked: “If I cannot do (it)?” He said, “You should restrain yourself from doing wrong to people, because it (serves as) charity which you bestow upon yourself”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

118 Abu Dharr (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When you get up in the morning, charity is due from every one of your joints. There is charity in every ascription of glory to Allah; there is charity in every declaration of His Greatness; there is charity in every utterance of praise of Him; there is charity in every declaration that He is the only true God (worthy of worship); there is charity in enjoining good; there is charity in forbidding evil. Two Rak`ah of Duha (Forenoon prayer) is equal to all this (in reward)”.[Muslim].

119 Abu Dharr (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The deeds of my people, good and bad, were presented before me, and I found the removal of harmful objects from the road among their good deeds, and phlegm which might be in a mosque left unburied among their evil deeds”.[Muslim].

120 Abu Dharr (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Some people said to Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “O Messenger of Allah, the rich have taken away (all the) reward. They observe Salat (prayers) as we do; and give Sadaqah (charity) out of their surplus wealth.” Upon this he (the Prophet ﷺ) said, “Has Allah not prescribed for you (a course) following which you can (also) give Sadaqah? In every declaration of the glorification of Allah (i.e., saying Subhan Allah) there is a Sadaqah, and in every Takbir (i.e., saying Allahu Akbar) is a Sadaqah, and in every celebration of praise (saying Al-hamdu lillah) is a Sadaqah, and in every declaration that He is One (La ilaha illallah) is a Sadaqah, and in enjoining of good is a Sadaqah, and in forbidding evil is a Sadaqah, and in man’s sexual intercourse (with his wife) there is a Sadaqah.” They (the Companions) said: “O Messenger of Allah, is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual need among us?” He said, “You see, if he were to satisfy it with something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to satisfy it legally, he should be rewarded”.[Muslim].

121 Abu Dharr (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother (Muslim) with a cheerful face”.[Muslim].

122 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Every day the sun rises charity (Sadaqah) is due on every joint of a person: you administer justice between two men is a charity; and assisting a man to mount his beast, or helping him load his luggage on it is a charity; and a good word is a charity; and every step that you take (towards the mosque) for Salat (prayer) is a charity and removing harmful things from the road is a charity”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In Muslim, it is reported on the authority of `Aishah (radiyallahu anha) that Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Everyone of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah (i.e., saying Allahu Akbar), praises Allah (i.e., Al-hamdu lillah), declares Allah to be One (i.e., La ilaha illallah), glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah (i.e., Astaghfirullah), and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people’s path, and enjoins good and forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty, will walk that day having rescued himself from Hell”.

123 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “He who goes to the mosque at dawn or dusk (for Salat), Allah prepares a hospitable abode for him in Jannah, every time when he walks to it or comes back from it”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

124 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: O Muslim women, never belittle any gift you give your neighbour even if it is a hoof of a sheep”.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

125Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu): The Prophet ﷺ said, “Iman has over seventy branches, the uppermost of which is the declaration: `None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’; and the least of which is the removal of harmful object from the road, and modesty is a branch of Iman.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

126 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well, he went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself: `This dog is extremely thirsty as I was.’ So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins”. The Companions asked: “Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to the animals also?” He ﷺ said, “A reward is given in connection with every living creature”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In the narration of Al-Bukhari, the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: “Allah forgave him in appreciation of this act and admitted him to Jannah”.

Another narration says: “Once a dog was going round the well and was about to die out of thirst. A prostitute of Banu Israel happened to see it. So she took off her leather sock and lowered it into the well. She drew out some water and gave the dog to drink. She was forgiven on account of her action”.

127 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “I saw a man going about in Jannah (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims”.[Muslim].

Another narration says: “A man who passed by a branch of a tree leaning over a road and decided to remove it, saying to himself, `By Allah! I will remove from the way of Muslims so that it would not harm them.’ On account of this he was admitted to Jannah”.

According to the narration in Al-Bukhari and Muslim: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “While a man was walking, he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it and Allah appreciated his action and forgave him”.

128 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “He who performs his Wudu’ perfectly and comes to Jumu`ah prayer and listens (to the Khutbah) silently, the sins which he has committed since the previous Friday plus three more days (i.e., 10 days) will be forgiven for him. One who distracts himself with pebbles during the Khutbah will not get the (Jumu`ah) reward”.[Muslim].

129 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When a Muslim or a believer washes his face (in the course of Wudu’), every sin he has committed with his eyes is washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought is erased from 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 is washed away with water, or with the last drop of water, with the result that he comes out cleansed of all sins”.[Muslim].

130 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The five (daily) Salat (prayers), and from one Jumu`ah prayer to the (next) Jumu`ah prayer, and from Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals); provided the major sins are not committed”.[Muslim].

131 Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks.” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah”. He said, “Performing Wudu’ properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next Salat (prayer) after a Salat is over; indeed, that is Ar-Ribat”.[Muslim].

132 Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “He who observes the Fajr and `Asr (prayers) will enter Jannah.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

133 Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When a slave of Allah suffers from illness or sets on a journey, he is credited with the equal of whatever good works he used to do when he was healthy or at home”.[Al-Bukhari].

134 Jabir (radiyallahu anhu) reported that he heard Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, “Every good deed is charity”.[Al-Bukhari].

Muslim has reported the same on the authority of Hudhaifah (radiyallahu anhu).

135 Jabir (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When a Muslim plants a tree, whatever is eaten from it is charity from him and whatever is stolen is charity and whatever is subtracted from it is charity”.[Muslim].

Another narration says: “If a Muslim plants a tree, or sows a field and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity from him”.

136 Jabir (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The tribe Banu Salimah wanted to move nearer to the mosque. On learning this Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them, “I heard that you intend to move nearer to the mosque”. They said, “That is so, O Messenger of Allah, we do want to do that”. He said, “O Banu Salimah, keep to your homes, your steps (to the mosque) are recorded”.[Muslim].

Another narration says: “There is for every step (towards the mosque) a degree (of reward) for you“. [Muslim].

137 Ubayy bin Ka`b (radiyallahu anhu) reported: There was a man, and I do not know of any other man whose house was farther than his from the mosque, and he never missed Salat (in congregation). It was said to him (or I said to him): “If you buy a donkey you could ride it in the dark nights and in the burning sand.” He said: “I do not like my house to be by the side of the mosque, for I (eagerly) desire that my steps towards the mosque and back from it should be recorded when I return to my family.” Upon this Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah has granted you all the rewards for you”.[Muslim].

Another narration says: “You will get the reward for what you have anticipated“.

138 Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`as (radiyallahu anhuma) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There are forty kinds of virtue; the uppermost of them is to lend a (milch) she-goat (to someone in order to benefit from it and then return it). He who practices any of these virtues expecting its reward and relying on the truthfulness of the promise made for it, shall enter Jannah.”[Al-Bukhari].

139 `Adi bin Hatim (radiyallahu anhu) reported: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, “Protect yourself from (Hell) Fire, by giving of half of a date (in charity)”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In another narration `Adi bin Hatim (radiyallahu anhu) reported Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying: “Allah will surely speak with everyone of you without an interpreter. He (the man) will look at his right side and will see nothing but (the deeds) which he had done before, and he will look to his left side and will see nothing but (the deeds) which he had done before. Then he will look in front of him and will find nothing but Hell-fire facing him. So protect (yourselves) from (Hell) Fire, by giving in charity even half a date; and if he does not finds it, then with a kind word”.

140 Anas (radiyallahu anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah will be pleased with His slave who praises Him (i.e., says Al-hamdu lillah) when he eats and praises Him when he drinks”.[Muslim].

141 Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (radiyallahu anhu) reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Giving in charity is an obligation upon every Muslim”. It was said (to him): “What about one who does not find (the means) to do so?” He ﷺ said, “Let him work with his hands, thus doing benefit to himself and give in charity.” It was said to him: “What if he does not have (the means) to do so?” He ﷺ said, “Then let him assist the needy, the aggrieved.” It was said: “What about if he cannot even do this?” He ﷺ said, “Then he should enjoin good.” He was asked: “What if he cannot do that?” He (the Prophet ﷺ) said, “He should then abstain from evil, for verily, that is a charity from him”.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].