Friday (Jumuah) is considered by Muslims to be a day of special blessings, favour and mercy from Allah. To celebrate this we are going to have a weekly ‘Friday Message’ taken from our rich and beautiful history.
6th August 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah `Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, say,
“What I have forbidden to you, avoid; and what I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. It was only their excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their prophets that destroyed those who were before you.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim.)
30th July 2010
On the authority of the Mother of the Believers, Umm `Abd Allah `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said,
“He who innovates something in this matter of ours that is not of it will have it rejected.”
It was related by al-Bukhari and Muslim. In one version by Muslim it reads,
“He who does an act which our matter is not [in agreement] with will have it rejected.”
23rd July 2010
Abu Muhammad `Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said:
“None of you [truly] believes until his inclination is in accordance with what I have brought.”
It is an authentic hadith which we have related from [al-Maqdisi’s] Kitab al-Hujjah with an authentic line of transmission.
15th July 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that a man said to the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
‘Counsel me.’
He said, “Do not become angry.”
The man repeated [his request] several times.
He said, “Do not become angry.”
(Bukhari)
8th July 2010
On the authority of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him say:
“Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest of faith.”
(Muslim)
2nd July 2010
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him said:
“Allah has pardoned for me my people for [their] mistakes and [their] forgetfulness and for what they have done under duress.”
(A sound hadith related by Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi and others.)
25th June 2010
On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who was the servant of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, it is reported from the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, that he said:
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
18th June 2010
On the authority of Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said among that which he relayed from his Lord, glorified and exalted be He,
“Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones.” Then he explained it [by saying], “He who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as a single bad deed.”
(Related by al-Bukhari & Muslim in their Sahihs in these words. So see, my brother, (may Allah enable us and you) the great kindness of Allah Almighty! And reflect on these words: his saying: with Himself indicates His care for [the good deed], and his saying full is for emphasis and the intensity of His care with regard to it. With regard to the evil deed which one intended but then abandoned, he says: Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, and emphasises this by the word full (also); whereas if he performs it, He records it as a single bad deed, and so he emphasised its meagreness by (saying) single, and did not emphasise it with (the word) full. To Allah then be all praise and grace! Glory be to Him—we cannot enumerate the praise that is due to Him. And with Allah is success.)
11th June 2010
On the authority of Abu `Abd al-Rahman `Abd Allah, the son of `Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, say’,
“Islam has been built upon five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying zakah, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)
4th June 2010
On the authority of Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abi Taib, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him and his fragrant flower, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said, ‘I memorized from the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, the words,
“Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.”
It was related by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa’i, and al-Tirmidhi said, ‘It is a good and authentic Hadith.’
28th May 2010
On the authority of Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junadah and Abu `Abd al-Rahman Mu’adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with them both, from the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, that he said,
“Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out, and behave well towards people.”
(Al-Tirmidhi related it and said: It is a sound hadith. In some manuscripts it says: It is a sound and authentic hadith.)
21st May 2010
It was related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said,
“Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates (the lot of) a needy person, Allah will alleviate (his lot) in this world and the next. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, without tranquillity descending upon them, mercy enveloping them, the angels surrounding them, and Allah making mention of them amongst those who are with Him. Whosoever is slowed down by his actions will not be hastened forward by his lineage.”
(It was related by Muslim with this wording)
13th May 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said; The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said;
“Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the messengers, and the Almighty has said: O ye messengers! Eat of the good things and do right. And Allah the Almighty has said: O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you.”
Then he mentioned (the case of) a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky (saying), ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ – while his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered!”
(Muslim)
15th April 2010
Abu `Abd Allah Jabir ibn `Abd Allah al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that a man questioned the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, saying,
“Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in Ramadan, treat as lawful that which is lawful and treat as forbidden that which is forbidden, and do nothing further, I shall enter Paradise?”
He said, “Yes.”
(Muslim)
8th April 2010
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Tha`labah al-Khushani Jurthum ibn Nashir (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, that he said,
“Allah the Almighty has laid down religious duties, so do not neglect them. He has set boundaries, so do not over step them. He has prohibited some things, so do not violate them; about some things He was silent – out of compassion for you, not forgetfulness – so seek not after them.”
A sound hadith related by al-Daraqutni and others.
1st April 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said,’ The Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said,
“Allah the Almighty has said: Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.”
(Bukhari)
25th March 2010
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him said, ‘ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took hold of my shoulder and said,
“Be in the world as if you were a stranger or someone traversing a way.”
And Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him used to say, ‘When you enter upon the evening, do not expect the morning, and when you get up in the morning, do not await the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and from your life for your death.’
(Bukhari)
11th March 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said,
“Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
4th March 2010
On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him),
‘Some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards: they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give away in charity the superfluity of their wealth.’
He said, “Has not Allah made things for you to give away in charity? Every tasbihah is a charity, every takbirah is a charity, every tahmidah is a charity, and every tahlilah is a charity; to enjoin a good action is a charity, to forbid an evil action is a charity; and in the sexual act of each of you there is a charity.”
They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his sexual desire will he have some reward for that?’
He said, “Do you not think that were he to act upon it unlawfully he would be sinning? Likewise, if he has acted upon it lawfully he will have a reward.”
(Muslim)
25th February 2010
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said,
“Part of the perfection of someone’s Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him.”
(al-Tirmidhi)
18th February 2010
On the authority of Abu Mas`ud `Uqbah ibn `Amr al-Ansari al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said,
“Among the words people obtained from the First Prophecy are, ‘If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.’”
(Bukhari)
11th February 2010
On the authority of Abu al-`Abbas Sahl ibn Sa`d al-Sa`idi (may Allah be pleased with him), who said,
A man came to the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me.”
He said, “Renounce the world and Allah will love you, and renounce what people possess and people will love you.”
(A sound hadith related by Ibn Majah and others with good chains of transmission.)
5th February 2010
Al-Nawwas ibn Sam`an (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said,
“Righteousness is good morality, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike people finding out about.”
(Muslim)
And on the authority of Wabisah ibn Ma`bad (may Allah be pleased with him), who said,
‘I came to the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he said,’
“You have come to ask about righteousness?”
‘ I said, Yes. ‘
He said, “Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast even though people again and again have given you their legal opinion [in its favour].”
(A sound hadith which we have transmitted from the Musnads of the two Imams, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Darimi with a sound chain of transmission.)
28th January 2010
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
“Allah the Almighty has said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as its.”
(It was related by al-Tirmidhi, who said that it is a sound and authentic hadith.)
21st January 2010
From Abu Abd ar-Rahman Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he is the truthful, to whom the truth was told, narrated to us:
“Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s belly for forty days in the form of a seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath of life into him and who is commanded about four matters: to write down his provision, his life span, his actions, and whether wretched or blessed. By Allah, other than Whom there is no god, verily one of you behaves like the people of Paradise until there is but an arm’s length between him and it, when that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of Hell-fire and thus he enters it; and verily one of you behaves like the people of Hell-fire until there is but an arm’s length between him and it, when that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
14th January 2010
Tamim ibn Aws ad-Dari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said,
“The religion is sincerity.”
We said, “To whom?”
He said, “To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their community.”
(Muslim)
7th January 2010
Abu al-Abbas Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him reported, “One day I was behind the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said to me:
“O young man, I shall teach you some words (of advice): Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you (have need to) ask, ask of Allah; and if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that even if the Ummah (the whole community) were to gather together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you except with a thing which Allah has already written for you, and that if they gathered together to harm you with something, they would not be able to harm you except with a thing which Allah has already written against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages dried.”
(Tirmidhi)
In another narration it reads,
“..Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you; and that what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship.”
31st December 2009
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“Do not envy each other, do not inflate prices one against the other, do not hate each other, do not turn your backs on each other and do not undercut one another; but be you, slaves of Allah, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not oppress him, nor does he fail to assist him, he neither lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. Piety is here,” and he pointed to his chest three times. “It is enough as a sin for a man that he should hold his brother Muslim in contempt. The whole of a Muslim is sacred for a Muslim, his blood, his property and his honour.”
(Muslim)
24th December 2009
“Remember when the wife of Imran said ‘My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated offering. Accept it from me, Thou art the Hearer, the Knower.‘ And when she was delivered his wife said, ‘My Lord, I am delivered of a female’ – Allah knew best of what she was delivered – the male is not as the female. ‘And I have named her Mary and I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring, from Satan the outcast.’
And when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Allah has chosen thee and made thee pure and has preferred thee above all the women of creation. O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow in worship.‘
And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East. And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said, ‘I seek refuge in the Beneficient One from thee, if thou art God fearing.‘ He said, ‘I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.’
And remember when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. Illustrious in the world and the Hereafter and one of those brought near to Allah. He will speak to mankind in his cradle and in his manhood and he is of the righteous.‘ She said, ‘My Lord! How can I have a child when no man has touched me?‘ He said, ‘So it will be. Allah createth what He will. If He decree a thing He says unto it only, ‘Be!’ and it is.‘
We may make of him a revelation for mankind and mercy from Us and it is a thing ordained. And she conceived him and she withdrew with him to a far place.
Then she bought him to her own folk carrying him. They said, ‘O Mary! Thou has come with an amazing thing.’ Then she pointed to him. They said, ‘How can we talk to one who is in the cradle , a young boy?‘
He spoke: ‘I am the slave of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet. And has made me blessed wheresoever I may be and has enjoined upon me prayer and charity so long as I remain alive. And has made me dutiful toward her who bore me and has not made me arrogant unblessed.‘
Such was Jesus son of Mary. This is a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not the Majesty of Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decree a thing, He says unto it only Be and it is.
The Holy Quran Chapters 3 & 19
17th December 2009
Abu Malik al-Harith ibn Asim al-Ashari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“Purity is half of faith; ‘Al-hamdu lillah’ (“All praise is for Allah”) fills the scale; ‘Subhanallah wal-hamdu lillah’ (“Glory be to Allah and all praise is for Allah”) fill whatever is between the heaven and the earth; prayer is light; charity is proof; patience is radiance; and the Qur’an is an argument for or against you. Everybody goes out in the morning and sells his self, then he either sets it free or destroys it.”
(Muslim)
10th December 2009
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“Every part of every person owes charity each day the sun rises. To exercise justice between two people is charity; to help a man with his beast, to help him mount it or to lift his goods up to him when he is on it is charity; a good word is charity; every step with which you walk to prayer is charity; and to remove some harm from the road is charity.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
3rd December 2009
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) reported that Allah, the Majestic said,
“O My slaves, I have forbidden injustice unto Myself and have made it forbidden between you, therefore do not be unjust to each other. O My slaves, all of you are astray except for one whom I have guided, therefore seek guidance from Me and I will guide you. O My slaves, all of you are hungry except for one whom I have fed, therefore seek sustenance of Me and I will feed you. O My slaves, all of you are unclothed except for one whom I have clothed, therefore seek clothing from Me and I will clothe you. O My slaves, indeed you commit sins by night and day, and I forgive all sins; therefore, seek forgiveness from Me and I will forgive you. O My slaves, you can never reach harming Me so as to harm Me and you can never reach benefitting Me so as to benefit Me. O My slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, the men of you and the Jinn of you were as the most God fearing heart of any one man among you, that would not increase anything in My Kingdom. O My slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, the men of you and the Jinn of you were as the most wicked heart of any one man among you, that would not decrease anything from My Kingdom. Oh My slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, the men of you and the Jinn of you were to stand on one plain of land, and then to ask Me and I gave each one of them what he asked for, that would not decrease what I have anymore than the needle does when it is entered into the sea. O My slaves, it is but your actions which I enumerate for you, and then I repay you for them in full. So whoever finds good then let him praise Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him not blame anyone but himself.”
(Muslim)
27th November 2009
“Today I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you, as your religion, the religion of Islam.”
The Holy Quran – Surah 5 Verse 3
20th November 2009
It is narrated from Ibn Umar that the Prophet Muhammad (Blessings of Allah and Peace be upon him) said:
“There aren’t any days greater, nor any days in which deeds done in them are more beloved to Allah, the Most High, than these ten days (of Zul-Hijjah). So, increase in them the saying of Tahleel (La Ilaaha illa Allah), and Takbeer (Allah Akbar) and Tahmeed (al-Hamdu li-llah)”
(Imam Ahmad)
13th November 2009
Abu Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, “If anyone recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, they will avert harm from him.” (Related by Tirmidhi)
“The Messenger believes in that which has been revealed to him from his Lord and so do the believers. Each one believes in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers. We make no distinction between any of His messengers – and they say, ‘We hear and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord! Unto thee is the end of all journeys.’
Allah burdens not a soul beyond it’s scope. For it is only that which it has earned and against it only that which it has deserved. Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or miss the mark. Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as Thou did lay on those before us. Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear. Pardon us, absolve us and have mercy on us. Thou, our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk. “
(The Holy Quran Surah Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 verse 285- 286)
6th November 2009
Abu Abdullah an-Numan ibn Bashir, may Allah be pleased with him said,
“I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, “That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two are ambiguous matters which many people do not know of. Thus, he who guards himself against ambiguous matters has safeguarded his religion and his honour, and he who falls into ambiguous matters will fall into the unlawful. Like the shepherd who herds his flock around a forbidden sanctuary, he is sure to pasture his flock in it. Know well, every king has his forbidden sanctuary; and know well, Allah’s forbidden sanctuary is His unlawful. And know well, there is in the body a lump of flesh; when it is sound the whole body is sound, and when it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt. Know well, it is the heart.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
30th October 2009
“O you who believe! When the call is heard for the prayer of the day of congregation, hasten unto rememberance of Allah and leave your trading. That is better for you if ye did but know.”
(The Holy Quran Chapter 62 verse 9)
23rd October 2009
Umar ibn al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace say, “Actions are only by intentions and every man has only that which he intended. Thus, he whose emigration is for Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration is (indeed) for Allah and his Messenger. And he whose emigration is for some worldly gain that he seeks to acquire, or to a woman that he desires to marry, then his emigration is to that to which he emigrated.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
16th October 2009
Abdullah ibn Umar reported the following event from his father Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them all:
‘One day we were seated in the company of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes, his hair extremely black. There were no signs of journey upon him and none amongst us recognised him.
He sat down close to the Prophet so that his knees were touching his knees and he placed his two hands upon his thighs and said, “Muhammad, inform me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah said, “Islam is that you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish the prayer and you give the poor-due and you fast Ramadan and you perform the pilgrimage of the House if you are able to do so.”
He (the inquirer) said, “You have spoken the truth.” We were amazed at him for asking him the question and then affirming that he had spoken the truth.
He (the inquirer) then said, “Inform me about iman.” The Prophet said, “That you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and that you believe in the Destiny, the good of it and the bad of it.” He (the inquirer) said, “You have spoken the truth.”
He (the inquirer) said, “Inform me about ihsan.” The Holy Prophet replied, “To worship Allah as if you see him, for if you do not see Him, surely He sees you.”
He (the inquirer) said “Inform me about the Hour.” He (the Prophet) replied, “The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner.”
He (the inquirer) then said, “Then inform me about its signs.” The Prophet said, “That the slave girl will give birth to her mistress; and that you will see the poor, naked, barefoot shepherds competing in raising tall buildings.”
Then he went away and I remained with the Prophet for some time. Then the Messenger of Allah said, “Umar, do you know who the questioner was?” I said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “That was Gabriel; he came to you to teach you your religion.”
(al-Bukhari & Muslim)
