[Horne Introduction, (edited)]
The Sunan, or "traditions" of Muhammad, are now gathered in six books,
though two of these are more specifically called the Sahihs, or "sincere books."
These six works bear to Islam much the same relation as the Four Gospels do to
Christianity. That is to say, they are the accounts of the prophet's life as handed down
by his disciples. Of course to the Muslims the Sunan are not the main source of teaching.
That is the Qur'an, which as we have seen, is Muhammad's own book, dictated by the prophet
himself. Moreover, the Sunan do not approach Mohammad with anything like the same accuracy
and closeness with which the Gospels approach Jesus. The Sunan are slight and fragmentary
traditions, gathered from every possible source at an interval of more than two centuries
after their prophet's death. They have, however, been accepted as holy books of the Muslim
faith. Much of Islam today is founded on them; and they are taught in all the schools made
the basis of many a hair-splitting argument about right and wrong.
[Halsall note: Horne's comments above should be largely ignored.]
When God created the creation he wrote a book, which is near him upon the sovereign
throne; and what is written in it is this: "Verily my compassion overcometh my
wrath."
Say not, if people do good to us, we will do good to them, and if people oppress us, we
will oppress them: but resolve that if people do good to you, you will do good to them,
and if they oppress you, oppress them not again.
God saith: Whoso does one good act, for him are ten rewards, and I also give more to
whomsoever I will; and whoso does ill, its retaliation is equal to it, or else I forgive
him; and he who seeketh to approach me one cubit, I will seek to approach him two fathoms;
and he who walketh toward me, I will run toward him; and he who cometh before me with the
earth full of sins, but joins no partner to me, I will come before him with an equal front
of forgiveness.
There are seven people whom God will draw under his own shadow, on that day when there
will be no other shadow: one a just king; another, who hath employed himself in devotion
from his youth; the third, who fixes his heart on the mosque 'till he return to it; the
fourth, two men whose friendship is to please God, whether together or separate; the
fifth, a man who remembereth God when he is alone, and weeps; the sixth, a man who is
tempted by a rich and beautiful woman, and saith, Verily I fear God; the seventh, a man
who hath given alms and concealed it, so that his left hand knoweth not what his right
hand doeth.
The most excellent of all actions is to befriend anyone on God's account, and to be at
enmity with whosoever is the enemy of God.
Verily ye are in an age in which if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will be
ruined. After this a time will come when he who shall observe one-tenth of what is now
ordered will be redeemed.
Concerning Prayer
Angels come among you both night and day; then those of the night ascend to heaven, and
God asks them how they left his creatures: they say, We left them at prayer, and we found
them at prayer.
The rewards for the prayers which are performed by people assembled together are double
of those which are said at home.
Ye must not say your prayers at the rising or the setting of the sun: so when a limb of
the sun appeareth, leave your prayers until her whole orb is up: and when the sun begins
to set, quit your prayers until the whole orb hath disappeared; for, verily she riseth
between the two horns of the devil.
No neglect of duty is imputable during sleep; for neglect can only take place when one
is awake: therefore, when any of you forget your prayers, say them when ye recollect.
When any one of you goeth to sleep, the devil ties three knots upon his neck; and saith
over every knot, "The night is long, sleep." Therefore, if a servant awake and
remember God, it openeth one knot; and if he perform the ablution, it openeth another; and
if he say prayers, it openeth the other; and he riseth in the morning in gladness and
purity: otherwise he riseth in a lethargic state.
When a Muslim performs the ablution, it washes from his face those faults which he may
have cast his eyes upon; and when he washes his hands, it removes the faults they may have
committed, and when he washes his feet, it dispels the faults toward which they may have
carried him: so that he will rise up in purity from the place of ablution.
Of Charity
When God created the earth it began to shake and tremble; then God created mountains,
and put them upon the earth, and the land became firm and fixed; and the angels were
astonished at the hardness of the hills, and said, "O God, is there anything of thy
creation harder than hills?" and God said, "Yes, water is harder than the hills,
because it breaketh them." Then the angel said, "O Lord, is there anything of
thy creation harder than water?" He said, "Yes, wind overcometh water: it does
agitate it and put it in motion." They said, "O our Lord! is there anything of
thy creation harder than wind?" He said, "Yes, the children of Adam giving alms:
those who give with their right hand, and conceal from their left, overcome all."
The liberal man is near the pleasure of God and is near paradise, which he shall enter
into, and is near the hearts of men as a friend, and he is distant from hell; but the
niggard is far from God's pleasure and from paradise, and far from the hearts of men, and
near the fire; and verily a liberal ignorant man is more beloved by God than a niggardly
worshiper.
A man's giving in alms one piece of silver in his lifetime is better for him than
giving one hundred when about to die.
Think not that any good act is contemptible, though it be but your brother's coming to
you with an open countenance and good humor.
There is alms for a man's every joint, every day in which the sun riseth; doing justice
between two people is alms; and assisting a man upon his beast, and with his baggage, is
alms; and pure words, for which are rewards; and answering a questioner with mildness is
alms, and every step which is made toward prayer is alms, and removing that which is an
inconvenience to man, such as stones and thorns, is alms.
The people of the Prophet's house killed a goat, and the Prophet said, "What
remaineth of it?" They said, "Nothing but the shoulder; for they have sent the
whole to the poor and neighbors, except a shoulder which remaineth." The Prophet
said, "Nay, it is the whole goat that remaineth except its shoulder: that remaineth
which they have given away, the rewards of which will be eternal, and what remaineth in
the house is fleeting."
Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captive if he be unjustly bound.
Of Fasting
A keeper of fasts, who does not abandon lying and slandering, God cares not about his
leaving off eating and drinking.
Keep fast and eat also, stay awake at night and sleep also, because verily there is a
duty on you to your body, not to labor overmuch, so that ye may not get ill and destroy
yourselves; and verily there is a duty on you to your eyes, ye must sometimes sleep and
give them rest; and verily there is a duty on you to your wife, and to your visitors and
guests that come to see you; ye must talk to them; and nobody hath kept fast who fasted
always; the fast of three days in every month is equal to constant fasting: then keep
three days' fast in every month.
Of Reading the Qur'an
The state of a Muslim who reads the Qur'an is like the orange fruit, whose smell and
taste are pleasant; and that of a Muslim who does not read the Qur'an is like a date which
hath no smell, but a sweet taste; and the condition of any hypocrite who does not read the
Qur'an is like the colocynth which hath no smell, but a bitter taste; and the hypocrite
who reads the Qur'an is like the sweet bazil, whose smell is sweet, but taste bitter.
Read the Qur'an constantly; I swear by him in the hands of whose might is my life,
verily the Qur'an runneth away faster than a camel which is not tied by the leg.
Of Labor and Profit
Verily the best things which ye eat are those which ye earn yourselves or which your
children earn.
Verily it is better for one of you to take a rope and bring a bundle of wood upon his
back and sell it, in which case God guards his honor, than to beg of people, whether they
give him or not; if they do not give him, his reputation suffers and he returns
disappointed; and if they give him, it is worse than that, for it layeth him under
obligations.
A man came to the Prophet, begging of him something, and the Prophet said, "Have
you nothing at home?" He said, "Yes, there is a large carpet, with one part of
which I cover myself, and spread the other, and there is a wooden cup in which I drink
water." Then the Prophet said, "Bring me the carpet and the cup." And the
man brought them, and the Prophet took them in his hand, and said, "Who will buy
them?" A man said, "I will take them at one silver piece." He said,
"Who will give more?" This he repeated twice or thrice. Another man said,
"I will take them for two pieces of silver." Then the Prophet gave the carpet
and cup to that man, and took the two pieces of silver, and gave them to the helper, and
said, "Buy food with one of these pieces, and give it to your family, that they may
make it their sustenance for a few days; and buy a hatchet with the other piece and bring
it to me." And the man brought it; and the Prophet put a handle to it with his own
hands, and then said, "Go, cut wood, and sell it, and let me not see you for fifteen
days." Then the man went cutting wood, and selling it; and he came to the Prophet,
when verily he had got ten pieces of silver, and he bought a garment with part of it, and
food with part. Then the Prophet said, "This cutting and selling of wood, and making
your livelihood by it, is better for you than coming on the day of resurrection with black
marks on your face."
Acts of begging are scratches and wounds by which a man wounds his own face; then he
who wishes to guard his face from scratches and wounds must not beg, unless that a man
asks from his prince, or in an affair in which there is no remedy.
The Prophet hath cursed ten persons on account of wine: one, the first extractor of the
juice of the grape for others; the second, for himself; the third, the drinker of it; the
fourth, the bearer of it; the fifth, the person to whom it is brought; the sixth, the
waiter; the seventh, the seller of it; the eighth, the eater of its price; the ninth, the
buyer of it; the tenth, that person who hath purchased it for another.
Merchants shall be raised up liars on the day of resurrection, except he who abstains
from that which is unlawful, and does not swear falsely, but speaketh true in the price of
his goods.
The taker of interest and the giver of it, and the writer of its papers and the witness
to it, are equal in crime.
The holder of a monopoly is a sinner and offender.
The bringers of grain to the city to sell at a cheap rate gain immense advantage by it,
and he who keepeth back grain in order to sell at a high rate is cursed.
He who desireth that God should redeem him from the sorrows and difficulties of the day
of resurrection must delay in calling on poor debtors, or forgive the debt in part or
whole.
A martyr shall be pardoned every fault but debt.
Whosoever has a thing with which to discharge a debt, and refuseth to do it, it is
right to dishonor and punish him.
A bier was brought to the Prophet, to say prayers over it. He said, "Hath he left
any debts?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Hath he left anything to
discharge them?" They said, "No." The Prophet said, "Say ye prayers
over him; I shall not."
Give the laborer his wage before his perspiration be dry.
Of Fighting for the Faith
We came out with the Prophet, with a part of the army, and a man passed by a cavern in
which were water and verdure, and he said in his heart, "I shall stay here, and
retire from the world." Then he asked the Prophet's permission to live in the cavern;
but he said, "Verily I have not been sent on the Jewish religion, nor the Christian,
to quit the delights of society; but I have been sent on the religion inclining to truth,
and that which is easy, wherein is no difficulty or austerity. I swear by God, in whose
hand is my life, that marching about morning and evening to fight for religion is better
than the world and everything that is in it: and verily the standing of one of you in the
line of battle is better than supererogatory prayers performed in your house for sixty
years.
When the Prophet sent an army out to fight, he would say, March in the name of God and
by his aid and on the religion of the Messenger of God. Kill not the old man who can not
fight, nor young children nor women; and steal not the spoils of war, but put your spoils
together; and quarrel not among yourselves, but be good to one another, for God loveth the
doer of good.
Of Judgments
The first judgment that God will pass on man at the day of resurrection will be for
murder.
Whosoever throws himself from the top of a mountain and killeth himself is in hell fire
forever; and whosoever killeth himself with iron, his iron shall be in his hand, and he
will stab his belly with it in hell fire everlastingly.
No judge must decide between two persons whilst he is angry.
There is no judge who hath decided between men, whether just or unjust, but will come
to God's court on the day of resurrection held by the neck by an angel; and the angel will
raise his head toward the heavens and wait for God's orders; and if God orders to throw
him into hell, the angel will do it from a height of forty years' journey.
Verily there will come on a just judge at the day of resurrection such fear and horror,
that he will wish, Would to God that I had not decided between two persons in a trial for
a single date.
Of Women and Slaves
The world and all things in it are valuable, but the most valuable thing in the world
is a virtuous woman.
I have not left any calamity more hurtful to man than woman.
A Muslim can not obtain (after righteousness) anything better than a well-disposed,
beautiful wife: such a wife as, when ordered by her husband to do anything, obeys; and if
her husband look at her, is happy; and if her husband swear by her to do a thing, she does
it to make his oath true; and if he be absent from her, she wishes him well in her own
person by guarding herself from inchastity, and taketh care of his property.
Verily the best of women are those who are content with little.
Admonish your wives with kindness; for women were created out of a crooked rib of Adam,
therefore if ye wish to straighten it, ye will break it; and if ye let it alone, it will
be always crooked.
Every woman who dieth, and her husband is pleased with her, shall enter into paradise.
That which is lawful but disliked by God is divorce.
A woman may be married by four qualifications: one, on account of her money; another,
on account of the nobility of her pedigree; another, on account of her beauty; a fourth,
on account of her faith; therefore look out for religious women, but if ye do it from any
other consideration, may your hands be rubbed in dirt.
A widow shall not be married until she be consulted; nor shall a virgin be married
until her consent be asked, whose consent is by her silence.
When the Prophet was informed that the people of Persia had made the daughter of
Chosroes their queen, he said The tribe that constitutes a woman its ruler will not find
redemption.
Do not prevent your women from coming to the mosque; but their homes are better for
them.
O assembly of women, give alms, although it be of your gold and silver ornaments; for
verily ye are mostly of hell on the day of resurrection.
When ye return from a journey and enter your town at night, go not to your houses, so
that your wives may have time to comb their disheveled hair.
God has ordained that your brothers should be your slaves: therefore him whom God hath
ordained to be the slave of his brother, his brother must give him of the food which he
eateth himself, and of the clothes wherewith he clothes himself and not order him to do
anything beyond his power, and if he does order such a work, he must himself assist him in
doing it.
He who beats his slave without fault, or slaps him in the face, his atonement for this
is freeing him.
A man who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into paradise.
Forgive thy servant seventy times a day.
Of Dumb Animals
Bear God in respect of animals: ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off
when they are tired.
A man came before the Prophet with a carpet, and said, "O Prophet! I passed
through a wood, and heard the voices of the young of birds; and I took and put them into
my carpet; and their mother came fluttering round my head, and I uncovered the young, and
the mother fell down upon them, then I wrapped them up in my carpet; and there are the
young which I have." Then the Prophet said, "Put them down." And when he
did so, their mother joined them: and the Prophet said, "Do you wonder at the action
of the mother toward her young? I swear by him who hath sent me, verily God is more loving
to his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to the place from which
ye took them, and let their mother be with them."
Verily there are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water to
drink. An adulteress was forgiven who passed by a dog at a well; for the dog was holding
out his tongue from thirst, which was near killing him; and the woman took off her boot,
and tied it to the end of her garment, and drew water for the dog, and gave him to drink;
and she was forgiven for that act.
Of Hospitality
When a man cometh into his house and remembereth God and repeats his name at eating his
meals, the devil saith, to his followers, "Here is no place for you to stay in
tonight, nor is there any supper for you." And when a man cometh into his house
without remembering God's name, the devil saith to his followers, "You have got a
place to spend the night in."
Whosoever believeth in God and the day of resurrection must respect his guest, and the
time of being kind to him is one day and one night, and the period of entertaining him is
three days, and after that, if he does it longer, he benefits him more. It is not right
for a guest to stay in the house of the host so long as to inconvenience him.
I heard this, that God is pure, and loveth purity; and God is liberal, and loveth
liberality; God is munificent, and loveth munificence: then keep the courts of your house
clean, and do not be like Jews who do not clean the courts of their houses.
Of Government
Government is a trust from God, and verily government will be at the day of
resurrection a cause of inquiry, unless he who hath taken it be worthy of it and have
acted justly and done good.
Verily a king is God's shadow upon the earth; and every one oppressed turneth to him:
then when the king doeth justice, for him are rewards and gratitude from his subjects:
but, if the king oppresses, on him is his sin, and for the oppressed resignation.
That is the best of men who dislikes power. Beware! ye are all guardians; and ye will
be asked about your subjects: then the leader is the guardian of the subject, and he will
be asked respecting the subject; and a man is a shepherd to his own family, and will be
asked how they behaved, and his conduct to them; and a wife is guardian to her husband's
house and children, and will be interrogated about them; and a slave is a shepherd to his
master's property, and will be asked about it, whether he took good care of it or not.
There is no prince who oppresses the subject and dieth, but God forbids paradise to
him.
If a negro slave is appointed to rule over you, hear him, and obey him, though his head
should be like a dried grape.
There is no obedience due to sinful commands, nor to any other than what is lawful.
O Prophet of God, if we have princes over us, wanting our rights, and withholding our
rights from us, then what do you order us? He said, "Ye must hear them and obey their
orders: it is on them to be just and good, and on you to be obedient and submissive."
He is not strong or powerful who throws people down, but he is strong who withholds
himself from anger.
When one of you getteth angry, he must sit down, and if his anger goeth away from
sitting, so much the better; if not, let him lie down.
Of Vanities and Sundry Matters
The angels are not with the company with which is a dog, nor with the company with
which is a bell.
A bell is the devil's musical instrument.
The angels do not enter a house in which is a dog, nor that in which there are
pictures.
Every painter is in hell fire; and God will appoint a person at the day of resurrection
for every picture he shall have drawn, to punish him, and they will punish him in hell.
Then if you must make pictures, make them of trees and things without souls.
Whosoever shall tell a dream, not having dreamed, shall be put to the trouble at the
day of resurrection of joining two barleycorns; and he can by no means do it; and he will
be punished. And whosoever listens to others' conversation, who dislike to be heard by
him, and avoid him, boiling lead will be poured into his ears at the day of resurrection.
And whosoever draws a picture shall be punished by ordering him to breathe a spirit into
it, and this he can never do, and so he will be punished as long as God wills.
O servants of God, use medicine: because God hath not created a pain without a remedy
for it, to be the means of curing it, except age; for that is a pain without a remedy.
He who is not loving to God's creatures and to his own children, God will not be loving
to him.
The truest words spoken by any poet are those of Lebid, who said, "Know that
everything is vanity except God."
Verily he who believeth fights with his sword and tongue: I swear by God, verily abuse
of infidels in verse is worse to them than arrows.
Meekness and shame are two branches of faith, and vain talking and embellishing are two
branches of hypocrisy.
The calamity of knowledge is forgetfulness, and to lose knowledge is this, to speak of
it to the unworthy.
Who pursueth the road to knowledge, God will direct him to the road of paradise; and
verily the angels spread their arms to receive him who seeketh after knowledge; and
everything in heaven and earth will ask grace for him; and verily the superiority of a
learned man over a mere worshiper is like that of the full moon over all the stars.
Hearing is not like seeing: verily God acquainted Moses of his tribe's worshiping a
calf, but he did not throw down the tables; but when Moses went to his tribe, and saw with
his eyes the calf they had made, he threw down the tables and broke them.
Be not extravagant in praising me, as the Christians are in praising Jesus, Mary's Son,
by calling him God, and the Son of God; I am only the Lord's servant; then call me the
servant of God, and his messenger.
It was asked, "O Messenger of God, what relation is most worthy of doing good
to?" He said, "Your mother"; this he repeated thrice: "and after her
your father, and after him your other relations by propinquity."
God's pleasure is in a father's pleasure, and God's displeasure is a father's
displeasure.
Verily one of you is a mirror to his brother: Then if he see a vice in his brother he
must tell him to get rid of it.
The best person near God is the best among his friends; and the best of neighbors near
God is the best person in his own neighborhood.
Deliberation in undertaking is pleasing to God, and haste is pleasing to the devil.
The heart of the old is always young in two things: in love for the world, and length
of hope.
Of Death
Wish not for death any one of you; either a doer of good works, for peradventure he may
increase them by an increase of life; or an offender, for perhaps he may obtain the
forgiveness of God by repentance.
When the soul is taken from the body the eyes follow it, and look toward it: on this
account the eyes remain open.
When a believer is nearly dead, angels of mercy come, clothed in white silk garments,
and say to the soul of the dying man, "Come out, O thou who art satisfied with God,
and with whom he is satisfied; come out to rest, which is with God, and the sustenance of
God's mercy and compassion, and to the Lord, who is not angry." Then the soul cometh
out like the smell of the best musk, so that verily it is handed from one angel to
another, till they bring it to the doors of the celestial regions. Then the angels say,
"What a wonderful, pleasant smell this is which is come to you from the earth!"
Then they bring it to the souls of the faithful, and they are very happy at its coming;
more than ye are at the coming of one of your family after a long journey. And the souls
of the faithful ask it, "What hath such a one done, and such a one? how are
they?" and they mention the names of their friends who are left in the world. And
some of them say, "Let it alone; do not ask it, because it was grieved in the world,
and came from thence aggrieved; ask it when it is at rest." Then the soul saith when
it is at ease, "Verily such a one about whom ye ask is dead." And as they do not
see him among themselves, they say to one another, "Surely he was carried to his
mother, which is hell fire."
And verily when an infidel is near death, angels of punishment come to him, clothed in
sackcloth, and say to his soul, "Come out, thou discontented, and with whom God is
displeased; come to God's punishments." Then it cometh out with a disagreeable smell,
worse than the worst stench of a dead body, until they bring it upon the earth, and they
say, "What an extraordinarily bad smell this is"; 'till they bring it to the
souls of the infidels.
A bier was passing, and the Prophet stood up for it; and we stood with him and said,
"O Prophet! verily this bier is of a Jewish woman; we must not respect it." Then
the Prophet said, "Verily death is dreadful: therefore when ye see a bier, stand
up."
Do not abuse or speak ill of the dead, because they have arrived at what they sent
before them; they have received the rewards of their actions; if the reward is good, you
must not mention them as sinful; and if it is bad, perhaps they may be forgiven, but if
not, your mentioning their badness is of no use.
Sit not upon graves, nor say your prayers fronting them.
Whoso consoles one in misfortune, for him is a reward equal to that of the sufferer.
Whoso comforts a woman who has lost her child will be covered with a garment in
paradise.
The Prophet passed by graves in Medina, and turned his face toward them, and said,
"Peace be to you, O people of the graves. God forgive us and you! Ye have passed on
before us, and we are following you."
Of the State after Death
To whomsoever God giveth wealth, and he does not perform the charity due from it, his
wealth will be made into the shape of a serpent on the day of resurrection, which shall
not have any hair upon its head, and this is a sign of its poison and long life, and it
hath two black spots upon its eyes, and it will be twisted round his neck like a chain on
the day of resurrection; then the serpent will seize the man's jaw-bones, and will say,
"I am thy wealth, the charity for which thou didst not give, and I am thy treasure,
from which thou didst not separate any alms."
The Prophet asked us, "Did any one of you dream?" We said, "No." He
said, "But I did. Two men came to me and took hold of my hands, and carried me to a
pure land: and behold, there was a man sitting and another standing: the first had an iron
hook in his hand, and was hooking the other in the lip, and split it to the back of the
neck, and then did the same with the other lip. While this was doing the first healed, and
the man kept on from one lip to the other. I said, 'What is this?' They said, 'Move on,'
and we did so 'till we reached a man sleeping on his back, and another standing at his
head with a stone in his hand, with which he was breaking the other's head, and afterward
rolled the stone about and then followed it, and had not yet returned, when the man's head
was healed and well. Then he broke it again, and I said, 'What is this?' They said, 'Walk
on'; and we walked, 'till we came to a hole like an oven, with its top narrow and its
bottom wide, and fire was burning under it, and there were naked men and women in it; and
when the fire burned high the people mounted also, and when the fire subsided they
subsided also. Then I said, 'What is this?' They said, 'Move on'; and we went on 'till we
came to a river of blood, with a man standing in the middle of it, and another man on the
bank, with stones in his hands: and when the man in the river attempted to come out, the
other threw stones in his face, and made him return. And I said, 'What is this?' They
said, 'Advance'; and we moved forward, 'till we arrived at a green garden, in which was a
large tree, and an old man and children sitting on the roots of it, and near it was a man
lighting a fire. Then I was carried upon the tree, and put into a house which was in the
middle of it---a better house I have never seen: and there were old men, young men, women,
and children. After that they brought me out of the house and carried me to the top of the
tree, and put me into a better house, where were old men and young men. And I said to my
two conductors, 'Verily ye have shown me a great many things tonight, then inform me of
what I have seen.' They said, 'Yes: as to the man whom you saw with split lips, he was a
liar, and will be treated in that way 'till the day of resurrection; and the person you
saw getting his head broken is a man whom God taught the Qur'an, and he did not repeat it
in the night, nor practice what is in it by day, and he will be treated as you saw 'till
the day of resurrection; and the people you saw in the oven are adulterers; and those you
saw in the river are receivers of usury; and the old man you saw under the tree is
Abraham; and the children around them are the children of men: and the person who was
lighting the fire was Malik, the keeper of hell; and the first house you entered was for
the common believers; and as to the second house, it is for the martyrs: and we who
conducted you are one of us Gabriel, and the other Michael; then raise up your head'; and
I did so, and saw above it as it were a cloud: and they said, 'That is your dwelling.' I
said, 'Call it here, that I may enter it'; and they said, 'Verily your life remaineth, but
when you have completed it, you will come into your house.="
When God created paradise, he said to Gabriel, "Go and look at it"; then
Gabriel went and looked at it and at the things which God had prepared for the people of
it. After that Gabriel came and said, "O my Lord! I swear by thy glory no one will
hear a description of paradise but will be ambitious of entering it." After that God
surrounded paradise with distress and troubles, and said, "O Gabriel, go and look at
paradise." And he went and looked, and then returned and said, "O my Lord, I
fear that verily no one will enter it." And when God created hell fire he said to
Gabriel, "Go and take a look at it." And he went and looked at it, and returned
and said, "O my Lord, I swear by thy glory that no one who shall hear a description
of hell fire will wish to enter it." Then God surrounded it with sins, desires, and
vices; after that he said to Gabriel, "Go and look at hell fire," and he went
and looked at it, and said, "O my Lord, I swear by thy glory I am afraid that every
one will enter hell, because sins are so sweet that there is none but will incline to
them."
If ye knew what I know of the condition of the resurrection and futurity, verily ye
would weep much and laugh little.
Then I said, "O messenger of God! shall we perish while the virtuous are among
us?" He said, Yes, when the wickedness shall be excessive, verily there will be
tribes of my sects that will consider the wearing of silks and drinking liquor lawful, and
will listen to the lute: and there will be men with magnificent houses, and their
milch-animals will come to them in the evening, full of milk, and a man will come begging
a little and they will say, Come to-morrow. Then God will quickly send a punishment upon
them, and will change others into the shape of monkeys and swine, unto the day of
resurrection.
Verily among the signs of the resurrection will be the taking away of knowledge from
among men; and their being in great ignorance and much wickedness and much drinking of
liquor, and diminution of men, and there being many women; to such a degree that there
will be fifty women to one man, and he will work for a livelihood for the women.
How can I be happy, when Israel hath put the trumpet to his mouth to blow it, leaning
his ear toward the true God for orders, and hath already knit his brow, waiting in
expectation of orders to blow it?
Of Destiny
The hearts of men are at the disposal of God like unto one heart, and he turneth them
about in any way that he pleases. O Director of hearts, turn our hearts to obey thee.
The first thing which God created was a pen, and he said to it, "Write." It
said, "What shall I write?" And God said, "Write down the quantity of every
separate thing to be created." And it wrote all that was and all that will be to
eternity.
There is not one among you whose sitting-place is not written by God, whether in the
fire or in paradise. The companions said, "O Prophet! since God hath appointed our
place, may we confide in this and abandon our religious and moral duty?" He said,
"No, because the happy will do good works, and those who are of the miserable will do
bad works."
The Prophet of God said that Adam and Moses (in the world of spirits) maintained a
debate before God, and Adam got the better of Moses; who said, "Thou art that Adam
whom God created by the power of his hands, and breathed into thee from his own spirit,
and made the angels bow before thee, and gave thee an habitation in his own paradise:
after that thou threwest man upon the earth, from the fault which thou committed."
Adam said, "Thou art that Moses whom God elected for his prophecy, and to converse
with, and he gave to thee twelve tables, in which are explained everything, and God made
thee his confidant, and the bearer of his secrets: then how long was the Bible written
before was created?" Moses said, "Forty years." Then Adam said, "Didst
thou see in the Bible that Adam disobeyed God?" He said, "Yes." Adam said,
"Dost thou then reproach me on a matter which God wrote in the Bible forty years
before creating me?"
Ayesha relates that the Prophet said to her, "Do you know, O Ayesha! the
excellence of this night?" (the fifteenth of Ramadan). I said, "What is it, O
Prophet?" He said, "One thing in this night is, that all the children of Adam to
be born in the year are written down; and also those who are to die in it, and all the
actions of the children of Adam are carried up to heaven in this night; and their
allowances are sent down." Then I said, "O Prophet, do none enter Paradise
except by God's mercy?" He said, "No, none enter except by God's favor":
this he said thrice. I said, "You, also, O Prophet! will you not enter into paradise,
excepting by God's compassion?" Then the Prophet put his hand on his head, and said,
"I shall not enter, except God cover me with his mercy": this he said thrice.
A man asked the Prophet what was the mark whereby a man might know the reality of his
faith. He said, "If thou derive pleasure from the good which thou hast done, and be
grieved for the evil which thou hast committed, thou art a true believer." The man
said, "What does a fault really consist in?" He said, "When anything pricks
thy conscience, forsake it."
I am no more than man: when I order you anything with respect to religion, receive it;
and when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing more than man.
