Al-Adab Al-Mufrad

It is related that Abu Musa was with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in one of the gardens of Madina. He said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a twig in his hand with which he was striking the water and mud. A man came and asked for the garden to be opened, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Open it for him and give him the good news of the Garden.' I went and it was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. I opened the gate for him and gave him the good news of the Garden. Then another man asked to be let in and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Open the door and give him the good news of the Garden.' It was 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and I let him in and gave him the good news of the Garden. Then yet another man asked to be let in. The Prophet had been reclining, but he then sat up and said, 'Open it for him and give him the good news of the Garden along with an affliction which will befall him ? or which will happen.' I went and it was 'Uthman, I opened the door and told him what the Prophet (ﷺ) had said. He said, 'Allah is the One who is asked for help. '"

Salama ibn Wardan said, "I saw Anas ibn Malik shake hands with some people and he asked me, 'And who are you?' I said, 'The mawla of the Banu Layth.' He stroked my head three times and said, 'May Allah bless you.'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "When the people of Yemen came, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The people of Yemen have arrived and they have gentler hearts than you. They are the first to offer the handshake.'"

Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib said, "Part of the full greeting is to shake your brother's hand."

Ibrahim ibn Marzuq ath-Thaqafi related that his father (who had belonged to Allah ibn az-Zubayr) told him, "'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr sent me to his mother, Asma' bint Abi Bakr and he told her how al-Hajjaj was treating them. She made supplication for me and stroked my head. I was a young boy at that time."

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said, "I purchased a camel and rode it hard for a month until I reached Syria. 'Abdullah ibn Unays was there, and I sent word to him, saying, 'Jabir is at the door.' The messenger returned and said, 'Jabir ibn 'Abdullah?' 'Yes,' I replied. So 'Abdullah came out and embraced me. I said, 'A hadith reached me which I had not heard before and I feared that one of us might die.'" He went on, "I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Allah will gather His slaves ? or people ? naked, uncircumcised, without anything.' We asked, 'What is meant by "without anything"?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'They will have nothing with them.' (The Prophet (ﷺ) went on,) 'They will be called by a voice that is heard from afar (and I think that he said, 'as if it was from close at hand'), saying, "I am the King. None of the people of the Garden will enter the Garden while any of the people of the Fire are seeking him for some injustice he did to him. None of the people of the Fire will enter the Fire while any of the people of the Garden are seeking him for an injustice he did to him."' I asked, 'How is this? We come to Allah naked and without any worldly goods?' He said, 'This applies to good actions and evil actions.'"

`A'isha, the Umm al-Mu'minin, said, "I did not see anyone who more resembled the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in manner of speaking than Fatima. When she came to him, he stood up for her, made her welcome, kissed her and had her sit in his place. When the Prophet came to her, she stood up for him, took his hand, made him welcome, kissed him, and made him sit in her place. She came to him during his final illness and he greeted her and kissed her."

Ibn 'Umar said, "We were on a raid and the people fled. We said, 'How can we meet the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when we have run away? It has been revealed, "unless he is withdrawing to rejoin the fight" (8:16)." We said, 'We will not go to Madina and then no one will see us.' Then we said, 'Perhaps we should go.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came from the Fajr prayer and we said, 'We fled.' He said, 'You are those rejoining the fight."' We kissed his hand. He said, 'I am your group.*'"

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Razin said, "We passed by az-Zubda and were told, 'There is Salama ibn al-Akwa'. I went to him and he greeted us. Then he brought out his hands and stated, 'With these two hands I offered allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.' He held out his palm which was as huge as a camel's foot, and we got up and kissed it."

Anas was asked, "Did you touch the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with your hand?" He replied, "Yes," so they kissed it.

Al-Wazi' ibn 'Amir said, "We came and were told, 'That is the Messenger of Allah.' We took his hands and feet and kissed them."

Suhayb said, "I saw 'Ali kiss the hands and feet of al-'Abbas."

Abu Mijaz said, "Mu'awiya came while 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir and 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr were seated. Ibn 'Amir got up while Ibn az-Zubayr remained seated, and he was weightier of the two. Mu'awiya said, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever likes to have the slaves of Allah stand up out of respect for him should take his place in the Fire."'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah created Adam, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his height was 60 spans. He said, 'Go and greet those (a group of angels who were sitting down) and listen to how they answer you. It is your greeting and the greeting of your descendants.' He said, 'Peace be upon you,' and they replied, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.' They added, 'and the mercy of Allah'. All who enter the Garden will have his form, but creation has continued to decline until now.'"

Al-Bara' reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Make the greeting common practice among you and you will be safe."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You will not enter the Garden until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you something the doing of which will give you love of one another?" "Yes, Messenger of Allah," they replied. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Make the greeting common practice among you."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Worship the All-Merciful and feed people. Make the greeting common practice among you and you will enter the Garden."

Bashir ibn Yasar said, "No one preceded ? or got ahead of ? Ibn 'Umar when giving the greeting."

Jabir said, " "Someone riding should greet someone walking, and someone walking should greet someone sitting down. When there are two people walking, the better of them is the one who gives the greeting first."

Ibn 'Umar said that al-Agharr (who was a man from Muzayna and had been a Companion of the Prophet) was owed some measures of dates by a man from the Banu 'Amr ibn 'Awf who came to him many times. He said, "I went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he sent Abu Bakr as-Siddiq with me." He continues, "Everyone we met greeted us. Abu Bakr said, 'Don't you know that when people give the greeting before us, they have the reward? Give the greeting before them and you will have the reward.'"

Abu Ayyub reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is not lawful for a Muslim man to separate himself from his brother for more than three days. When they meet, and one turns away and the other turns away, the better of them is the one who gives the greeting first."

Abu Hurayra reported that a man passed by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while hew as in an assembly and said, "Peace be upon you." "Ten good deeds," he said. Another man passed by and said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Twenty good deeds." Then yet another man passed by and said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessing," and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Thirty good deeds." Then a man in the gathering got up and did not give the greeting. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How quickly your companion forgets! When one of you comes to an assembly, he should give the greeting. If he thinks he should sit down, he sits down. When he stands up, he gives the greeting. Neither is a greater duty than the other."

'Umar said, "I was riding behind Abu Bakr and he passed by some people. He said, 'Peace be upon you.' They said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.' He said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.' They said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.' Abu Bakr said, 'Today the people have been very much better than us.'"

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Jews do not envy you for anything the way that they envy you for the salam and the Amin."

Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "As-Salam (peace) is one of the Names of Allah Almighty which Allah has placed in the earth. Therefore give the greeting among yourselves."

Ibn Mas'ud said, " They were doing the prayer with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and someone said, 'Peace be upon Allah.' When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, finished the prayer, he said, 'Who said "Peace be upon Allah"? Allah is Peace. Rather say, "Greetings belong to Allah and good words and prayers. Peace be upon you, O Prophet and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon all the right-acting slaves of Allah. I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger."'"

Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'The rights a Muslim has over another Muslim are six." He was asked, "What are they?" He replied, "When he meets him, he should greet him, When he gives him an invitation, he should accept. When he asks him for advice, he should give him good counsel. When he sneezes and praises Allah, he should wish him mercy. when he is ill, he should visit him. When he dies, he should accompany him."

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Shibl said that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The person riding should greet the person on foot. The person on foot should greet the person who is seated. The smaller group should greet the large. Whoever answers the greeting, that is for him. Whoever does not answer it, has nothing."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The person riding greets the person walking. The person walking greets the person sitting. The small group greets the large group."

Jabir said, "When two people walking meet, then the one who gives the greeting first is the better of them."

See 993.

Fadala reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The person riding greets the person sitting and the small group greets the larger."

Ash-Sha'bi said that he met a rider and gave the greeting first. I said, "Did you give the greeting first?" He said, "I saw Shurayh walking and he gave the greeting first."

See 996.

See 996.

See 993.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The young person greets the old person, the person walking greets the person sitting down, and the small group greets the large group."

(sic) Abu'z-Zinad said, "Kharija (ibn Zayd ibn Thabit) used to write on the letter of Zayd when he said the salam, 'Peace be upon you, Amir al-Mu'minin, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness and the best of His prayers."

Abu Qurra al-Khurasani said, "I saw Anas pass by us and he indicated to us with his hand that he was giving the greeting., The gesture made that clear. I saw al-Hasan using yellow dye while wearing a black turban. Asma' said, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, waved his hand to indicate the greeting to women."

Sa'd reported that he went with 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and al-Qasim ibn Muhammad. They stopped at place and 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr commanded and made a gesture of greeting to them and it was answered.

'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah said, "They used to dislike a greeting made with the hand," or he said, "He disliked greeting with the hand."

Thabit ibn 'Ubayd said, "I came to a group which included 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar who said, 'When you greet, make it clearly audible, for it is a greeting from Allah containing great blessing.:

At-Tufayl ibn Ubayy ibn Ka'b related that he used to visit 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and would go with him to the market. He said, "When we went to the market, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar did not pass by any rubbish collector nor merchant nor poor person nor anyone else without greeting them."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you comes to a gathering, he should give the greeting. If he leaves, he should give the greeting. Neither is more of a duty than the other."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When a man comes to a gathering, he should give the greeting. When he sits down and then thinks that he should leave before the gathering has broken up, he should give the greeting. Neither is more of a duty than the other."

Mu'awiya ibn Qurra said, "My father told me, 'If you sit in a gathering expecting good to come from, but then something occurs which makes you leave, say, 'Peace be upon you,' and you will share in any good that they obtain in that gathering. There are no people who sit in a gathering and then split up without Allah having been mentioned, but that it is as if they were leaving the corpse of a donkey.'"

Abu Hurayra said, "Whoever meets his brother should greet him. If a tree or wall comes between them and then he meets him, he should greet him on the other side."

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to gather and they would turn towards the tree and a group of them would go to the right and a group to its left. When they met again, they would greet one another.

It is reported by Thabit al-Bannani that Anas used to oil his hand with scented oil in the morning for the sake of shaking hands with his brothers.

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that a man said, "Messenger of Allah, which aspect of Islam is best?" He replied, "Feeding people and greeting those you know and those you do not know."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade people to sit in courtyards and roads. The Muslims said, "We will not be able to avoid it. We cannot undertake it." He said, "If not, then give it its due." They said, "What is it due?" He said, "Lower the eye, guide the traveller, wish for mercy on the person who sneezes when he praises Allah and return the greeting."

Abu Hurayra said, "The most miserly of people is the person who is miserly with the greeting. The one who is cheated of good is the one who does not return it. if a tree comes between you and your brother, and you are able to be the first to begin the greeting before the other person, then do it."

Salim, the mawla of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, said, "When Ibn 'Umar was greeted, he returned it with increase. I came upon him sitting down and said, 'Peace be upon you,' and he said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.' Then I came another time and said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah,; and he said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.' Then I came to him another time and said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,' and he said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and the bet of His prayers.'"

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'as said, "Do not greet anyone who drinks wine."

Al-Hasan said, "There should be not sense of respect between you and a deviant person."

'Ali ibn 'Abdullah was heard expressing his dislike for chess and said, "Do not greet someone who plays it. It is a kind of gambling."

'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, walked past some people who included a man who used khaluq perfume. He looked at them and gave them the greeting, but turns away from that man. The man asked, 'Have you turned away from me?' He replied, 'There is redness between your eyes.'"

Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah reported that a man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wearing a gold signet-ring on his finger. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned away from him. When the man saw his dislike of the gold, he threw the ring away. He made an iron ring and wore that. He came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said, "This is worse. This is the ornament of the people of the Fire." The man went away, threw it off and put on a silver ring and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not say anything about it."

Abu Sa'id said, "A man came from al-Bahrayn to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and greeted him, but the Prophet (ﷺ) did not answer him. The man was wearing a gold ring and a silk robe. The man went away in sorrow. He complained to his wife and she said, 'Perhaps the Messenger of Allah objects to your robe and your ring. Throw them away and then go back.; he did that and then the Prophet (ﷺ) returned his greeting. he said, 'I came to you yesterday and you turned away from me.' He said, 'You had a coal of the Fire on your hand.' He said, 'I came then with any coals.' He said, 'As for what you brought, there is no one who is free from dependence on these stones. But it is the enjoyment of the life of this world.' He said, 'What should I make a ring from?' 'From silver, brass, or iron,' he replied.

'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz asked Abu Bakr ibn Abi Hathama, "Why did Abu Bakr write, 'From Abu Bakr, the Khalifa (Successor) of the Messenger of Allah' and then 'Umar wrote after him, 'From 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, the khalifa (successor) of Abu Bakr'? Who was the first to write 'the Amir al-Mu'minin'?" He replied, "My grandmother, ash-Shifa', related to me, and she was one of the first to write 'the Amir al-Mu'minin'?" He said, "My grandfather, ash-Shifa' related to me, (and she was one of the first Muhajirun and when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab entered the market, he visited her), saying, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to the governor of Iraq requesting him to send him two trustworthy noble men so that he could question them about Iraq and its people. He sent him a master of Iraq, Labid ibn Rabi'a and also 'Adi ibn Hatim, and they came to Madina. They made their camels kneel in the courtyard of the mosque, entered it and found 'Amr ibn al-'As. They said to him, ''Amr, ask permission for us to visit the Amir al-Mu'minin, 'Umar.' 'Amr got up and went to 'Umar. He said, 'Peace be upon you, Amir al-Mu'minin.' 'Umar said to him, 'Ibn al-'As, what made you use this name? You have deviated from what you normally say.' He said, 'Yes, Labid ibn Rabi'a and 'Adi ibn Hatim came and said to me, "Ask permission for us to visit the Amir al-Mu'minin." I said, "You two, by Allah, have hit upon the correct name. He is the amir and we are the believers."' The title originated on that day."

'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah said, "Mu'awiya went on his first hajj when he was the khalifa and 'Uthman ibn Hanif al-Ansari came to him and said, 'Peace be upon you, Amir, and the mercy of Allah.' The people of Syria objected to that and said, 'Who is this hypocrite who shortens the greeting of the Amir al-Mu'minin!' 'Uthman made his camel kneel and said, 'Amir al-Mu'minin! These men object to something which you know better than them. By Allah, I used to this greeting for Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, and none of them objected to it.' Mu'awiya said to those of the people of Syria who had spoken, 'Take it easy! It was partly as he stated. But when the civil war engaged the people of Syria, they said, "Do not shorten the greeting of our khalifa in our presence (i.e. from Amir al-Mu'minin to Amir)." People of Madina, I will treat you as friends even though you use 'Amir" for a zakat collector.'"

Jabir said, "I visited al-Hajjaj and did not greet him."

Tamim ibn Hadhlam said, "I will mention the first to be greeted as 'Amir' in Kufa. Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba left by the Bab ar-Rahba and a man of Kinda came up to him. They claim that it was Abu Qurra al-Kindi. He greeted him and said, 'Peace be upon you, O Amir, and the mercy of Allah.' He disliked it. So the man said, 'Peace be upon you, O Amir, and the mercy of Allah. Peace be upon you. Am I one of you or not?'" Sammak ibn Salama ad-Dabi said, "After that it became an established practice."

Ziyad ibn 'Ubayd (ar-Ru'ayni) said, "We went to Ruwayfa', the Amir of Antabulis. A man came and greeted him, saying, 'Peace be upon the Amir.' From 'Abda, he said, 'Peace be upon the Amir.' Ruwayfa' said to him, 'If you had greeted us, we would have returned the greeting. But you greeted Maslama ibn Mukhallad (Maslama was in charge of Egypt). Go to him and he will return your greeting.'"

Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to come at night and would give the greeting in such a way that it would not awaken anyone asleep, but the person who was awake would hear it."

'Umar said to 'Adi ibn Hatim, "May Allah preserve you from recognition."

'A'isha said, "Fatima walked in the same manner that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, walked. He used to say to her, 'Welcome, my daughter!' Then he would have her sit down on his right or his left."

'Ali said, "'Ammar asked for permission to enter to visit the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Prophet (ﷺ) recognised his voice and said, 'Welcome with the best and purest greeting!'"

'Uqba ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr who said, "While we were sitting with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the shade of a tree while travelling between Makka and Madina, a bedouin, who was an example of the coarsest and fiercest kind of people came up and said, 'Peace be upon you,' and they said, 'And upon you.'"

Abu Jamra said, "I heard Ibn 'Abbas say when he was greeted, 'And upon you and the mercy of Allah.'"

Qayla reported that a mans aid, "Peace be upon you, may Allah bless him and grant him peace." He said, "And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah."

Abu Dharr said, "I came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he had finished his prayer. I was the first person to be greeted with the greeting of Islam. He said, 'And on you and the mercy of Allah. From where have you come?' I said, 'From Ghifar.'"

'A'isha reported, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ''A'ish! This is Jibril who sends you greetings.' I said, 'And peace be upon him and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. You see what I do not see." By that she meant the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Mu'awiya ibn Qurra said that his father said to him, "My son, when a man passes by you and says, 'Peace be upon you (plural).' Do not say, 'And on you (singular)' as if you were singling out that greeting out for him alone. Rather say, 'Peace be upon you (plural).'"

'Abdullah ibn as-Samit said, "I said to Abu Dharr, 'I passed by 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Umm al-Hakam and I greeted him and he did not answer me at all. He said, 'Nephew, what harm have suffered from that? Someone better than him answered you ? the angel on his right."

'Abdullah said, "Peace is one of the Names of Allah which Allah has placed on the earth. Extend it among you. When a man greets people and they answer him, then he has a higher degree than them because he reminds them of peace. If no one answers him, he will be answered by one who is better and more excellent.'"

Al-Hasan said, "Greeting is an act of obedience while the answer is a duty."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As said, "A liar is someone who lies in his oath. A miser is someone who is miserly with the greeting. A thief is someone who steals the prayer."

Abu Hurayra said, "The most miserly of people is the one who is miserly with the greeting. The most incapable of people of people is the one who is the most incapable of supplication."

Thabit al-Bannani reported that Anas ibn Malik walked by some children and greeted them. He said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do that."

'Anbas said, "I saw Ibn 'Umar greet children in the schools."

Umm Hani', the daughter of Abu Talib, said, "I went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was performing a major ablution. I greeted him and he asked, 'Who is this?' 'Umm Hani',' I replied. He said, 'Welcome.'"

Al-Hasan said, "Be women who greet men."

Asma' was heard to say that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a group of women sitting down in the mosque. He said to the salam with his hand and said, "Beware of the ingratitude of those with blessings. Beware of the ingratitude of those with blessings." One of them said, "We seek refuge with Prophet, Prophet of Allah, from ingratitude for the blessings of Allah." He said, "Yes. One of you women might have been without a husband for a long time (and then Allah provides her with one) and she becomes angry and says, 'By Allah, I have never seen a hour of good from you. That is ingratitude for the blessings of Allah. That is the ingratitude of those with blessings.'"

Asma', the daughter of Yazid al-Ansari, said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by me while I was with some young slavegirls belonging to me. He greeted us and said, 'Beware of the ingratitude of those with blessings.' I was the boldest of them in coming forward to question him and I said, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the ingratitude of those with blessings?' He replied, 'Perhaps one of them with remain unmarried for a long time with her parents and then Allah provides her with a husband and provides her with children from him and then she gets angry and is ungrateful and says, "I have never seen any good at all from you."'"

Tariq said, "We were sitting with 'Abdullah when his doorkeeper came and said, 'The iqama for the prayer has been given.' He got up and we got up as well and went to the mosque. He saw the people doing ruku' at the front of the mosque. He said the takbir, bowed, and we went and did the same thing that he had done. Then a man rushed past and said, 'Peace be upon you, Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman.' He said, 'Allah has spoken the truth and His Messenger conveyed the Message.' When we finished the prayer, he returned and went back to is people. We remained sitting in our places, waiting for him until he came out. We said to each other, 'Which of us will ask him?' Tariq said, 'I will ask him,' and he did so. 'Abdullah said, 'From the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said, "Before the Final Hour people will single out one individual for the greeting, commerce will increase until a woman helps her husband in business, people will sever their links with their relatives, knowledge will spread, false testimony will appear and true testimony will be concealed."'"

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that a man asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Which is the best of Islam?" He replied, "Feeding people and giving the greeting to those you know and those you do not know."