Riyad us Saliheen
Imam Nawawi

Chapter 67
Abomination of longing for Death

585. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “None of you should wish for death. If he is righteous, perhaps he may add to (his) good works, and if he is a sinner, possibly he may repent (in case he is given a longer life).”
[Al-Bukhari].

In Muslim, Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported : Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Let none of you wish for death, nor he ask for it before it comes to him, because when he dies, his actions will be terminated; certainly the age of a (true) believer does not add but good.”
(more…)

The Miracles of the Prophet Muhammad [salAllahu alayhi wa salam]
Imâm an-Nawawî
From ‘Life of the Messenger’

The Messenger of Allâh possesses many manifest miracles and signs demonstrating [his veracity], reaching thousands and they are well known.

From amongst them was the Qur’ân, the manifest and clear miracle and brilliant proof, falsehood cannot approach it from before it or behind it. It is a revelation from One Who is All-Wise and Praiseworthy. It incapacitated the most eloquent of people in the most eloquent of times to produce a single chapter than would be comparable to it, even if the whole of creation were to gather for that purpose. Allâh, the Exalted says,

“Say: if the whole of mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ân, they could not produce the like of it, even if they assisted each other.” [Al-Isrâ' (17):88]

It challenged them to this despite their large numbers, their eloquence and their severe enmity, and it challenges them to this day.

As for the other miracles, it is not possible to enumerate them all due to their huge number and renewing and increasing nature. I will mention some examples:

The splitting of the moon, water flowing from between his fingers, increasing the quantity of food and water, the glorification of the food, the palm tree yearning for him, stones greeting him, the talking of the poisoned leg [of roasted sheep], trees walking towards him, two trees that were far apart coming together and then parting again, the barren [and therefore dry] sheep giving milk, his returning the eye of Qatâdah bin an-Nu’mân to its place with his hand after it had slipped out, his splitting lightly into the eye of ‘Alî when it had become inflamed and its being cured almost immediately, his wiping the leg of ‘Abdullâh bin ‘Atîq whereupon he was immediately cured.

His informing of the places of death of the polytheists on the Day of Badr saying, ‘this is the place of such-and-such a person.’ His informing of his killing Ubayy ibn Khalaf, that a group of his nation would traverse an ocean and Umm Harâm would be amongst them and this occurred. That all was drawn together for him of the ends of the earth and displayed to him would be opened for his nation, that the treasures of Chosroes would be spend by his nation in the Way of Allâh, the Mighty and Magnificent. That he feared for his nation that they would be tempted by the wealth and allurement of this world and that the treasures of the Persians and Romans would be ours and that Surâqah bin Mâlik would wear the trousers of Chosroes.

(more…)

Signs of Allah’s love for His slaves and the efforts for its Achievement
Imam Nawawi

Chapter 47
From Riyadh ul Saleheen

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“Say (O Muhammad (PBUH) to mankind): `If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e., accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”’ (3:31)

“O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” (5:54)

386. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Allah, the Exalted, has said: `I will declare war against him who treats with hostility a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him”.
[Al-Bukhari]

(more…)

Chapter on Repentance
From Imam Nawawi’s Gardens of the Righteous

Scholars say that it is s a duty to repent of every wrong action. If it is disobedience which occurs between a person and Allah and does not involve the right of another human being, repentance has three preconditions:

The first is that one divest himself of disobedience.

The second is that he regret doing it.

The third is that he resolve not to ever return to it.

If one of the three is lacking, then his repentance is not sound.

If it involves to another human being, repentance has four preconditions: these three and that he discharges his duty to the other person. If it is money or the like, he pays it to him. If it is a hadd-punishment because of slander and the like it, he give shim power over him or seeks his pardon. If it is slander, he undoes it, He must repent of all wrong actions. If he repents of some of them, the people of truth say that his repentance of them is sound, but he still has the rest. There is much evidence in the Book, the Sunna and the consensus of the Community about the obligation to repent.

Allah Almighty says, “Turn towards Allah, O believers, every one of you, so that perhaps you will have success,” (24:31) and the Almighty says, “Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in repentance to Him,” (11:3) and the Almighty says, “O you who believe! Turn in sincere repentance to Allah.” (66:8)

(more…)

Helping a dying Person to Pronounce ‘La Ilaha Illahllah’
Imam Nawawi
917. Mu`adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “He whose last words are: `La ilaha illallah’ (There is no true god except Allah) will enter Jannah.”
[Abu Dawud].

Commentary:  This Hadith says that if a man’s tongue spontaneously starts uttering the basic testification of Islam: “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah” just before his death, he will undoubtedly enter Jannah. However, it is not definite whether he will go to Jannah in the first phase or will be admitted to it in the second phase after undergoing a purification process. This depends on the Will of Allah. Yet, admission to Jannah is subjected to his thorough understanding of monotheism and its conditions, that is to say, a complete abstinence from a polytheistic conduct of life. Otherwise, Jannah is likely to be denied to many of the so-called Muslims overtly indulging in polytheism.

918. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Exhort your dying men to recite: `La ilaha illallah’ (There is no true god except Allah).”
[Muslim].

Commentary:  This Hadith implies the Prophet’s instruction to his followers to recite the testification of Islam: La ilaha illallah (There is no true god except Allah) beside the dying people so that they may also recite it after hearing it. Yet, they should not be urged to recite it (i.e., by saying to the dying person: say it, say it) lest they refuse in embarrassment involving an affront to Faith. May Allah guard us against such a thing!