AL ARBA’EEN

min ar-riwayati
UMMIL MU’MINEEN

Forty Traditions from the narration of the Mother of the Believers

 A GLIMPSE OF THE BRILLIACE I AA’ISHA
[May Allah be pleased with her]
(‫)رضى ﷲ عنھما‬
َ ‫عائشة بنت أبي بكر‬

‘Jibreel [Peace be upon Him] came with my portrait wrapped in green silk in the
dream of The Prophet and said “This is your wife in this world and in the next
world”’1

Her Virtues

The finest example for women in terms of great authority, knowledge, devoutness,
wisdom, sincerity, and above all, love for The Prophet of Allah [Peace and blessings
of Allah be upon Him], is undoubtedly the Mother of the Believers, Sayyeda Aa’isha
[May Allah be pleased with her]. She is proof that women can excel men in all fields
and her life answers the criticism of Islam’s regard for women. Her knowledge of
Prophetic traditions was exquisite and vast of it was attained at a young age.

Along with her exceptional beauty and memory, she was from the house of Abu Bakr
as-Siddique2 [May Allah be pleased with him], so she was inevitably overflowing with
piety and morality. She was very generous and gave whatever she could to the
needy. She was tender hearted and tears would easily flow from her eyes. Whenever
she received as much as 100,000 Dirham as gift, she would always spend it in the
path of Allah Ta’ala and give it away to the poor. She was so generous and loved
giving to charity, that she even sold her house and gave the entire money received as
Sadqah. She was modest and pure and one of the most exalted personalities of her
time.

She accepted Islam with her sister Asmaa [May Allah be pleased with her] and they
are both from the first generation Muslims. There are many Ayah3 of the Holy Qur’an

1
Jami’ Tirmidhi, narrated by Aa’isha [May Allah be pleased with her].
2
Abu Bakr as-Siddique is an exceptional character in Islam’s history. According to the beliefs of the Ahlus
Sunnah (followers of Sunnah), He is the best human after all the Prophets, simply because of His overwhelming
love and closeness to The Master of both worlds, Muhammad [Peace and blessings from be upon Him]. He was
the companion of The Prophet [Peace and blessings from be upon Him] during the migration to Madinah al-
Munawwarah and sacrificed his entire life for the Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings from be upon Him]. He
was the first Caliph of Islam and one of the ’Ashara Mubashara, the ten companions who were given the good
news of heaven. He is buried in Madinah al-Munawwarah next to His beloved. May Allah Ta’ala grant Him
peace and have mercy on His family.
3
Verses of the Holy Qur’an
 AL ARBA’EE

THE FORTY TRADITIOS

 Hadith number 1

Virtues of the Siwaak1

‫ قال رسول صلى‬: ‫عن أم المؤمنين عائشة رضي عنھا قالت‬

(‫ )السواك مطھرة للفم مرضاة للرب‬:‫عليه وسلم قال‬
The Mother of the Believers Aa’isha [May Allah be pleased with her] narrated
that the Holy Prophet of Allah [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him]
said: “The Siwaak purifies the mouth, which pleases the Lord.”
(Bukhari, !esa’i, ibn Khuzayma)

***

Elaboration: The using of a Siwaak is a much emphasised Sunnah2 and is recipient of

immense blessings. Our Beloved Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him]
used to use the Siwaak to such an extent that He [Peace and blessings of Allah be
upon Him] said: “I was insisted on using the Siwaak so much that I feared my teeth
would fall off.”3 The reward for using Siwaak after Salaah4 is so great that the Holy
Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him] said; “When a person stands for
prayer after having used the Siwaak, an angel draws near him and listens to his
recitation until his mouth becomes the worshipper’s mouth. Whatever he recites
from the Holy Qur’an fills the belly of the angel. So purify your mouths for sake of
the Qur’an!”5 And it is found in another Hadith; “The superiority of two units of
prayer with the use of Siwaak is seventy times than that of an ordinary prayer.”6
May Allah Ta'ala grant us the ability to follow in the footsteps of the Greatest of
Creation [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him] and use the Siwaak for His
pleasure alone.

1
Siwaak or Miswaak is the usage of a small stick from a bitter plant for cleansing the teeth. It should be one
span in length and thin like the baby finger.
2
Sunnah is also the word used to denote an act of our beloved Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
Him].
3
Imam Tabrani (Awsat). This Hadith is also narrated by Aa’isha [May Allah be pleased with her].
4
Salaah, or prayer, is the second pillar of Islam.
5
Bazzar and Ibn Maajah, narrated by Ali [May Allah be pleased with him].
6
Abu Nu’aym, narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas [May Allah be pleased with him].
 Hadith number 21

Avoiding arguments

‫ قال رسول صلى‬: ‫عن أم المؤمنين عائشة رضي عنھا قالت‬

(‫ )إن أبغض الرجال إلى األلد الخصم‬: ‫عليه وسلم‬

The Mother of the Believers Aa’isha [May Allah be pleased with her] narrated
that the Holy Prophet of Allah [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him]
said: “The most disliked of men to Allah Ta’ala are the quarrelsome among
them.”
(Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, !esa’i)
***

Elaboration: This hadith explains the severity of quarrelling and unnecessary

arguments. Allah Ta’ala dislikes those men who debate for worldly possessions and
those who dispute about which they themselves are not clear about and those who
dispute among themselves; the sternness can be understood from another hadith;
“There is no group who go astray after being guided, unless they disputed among
themselves.”1 The Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him] also
stated many rewards for those who abstain from such behaviour.

1
Tirmidhi, narrated by Abu Hurairah [May Allah be pleased with him]
 Hadith number 23

Humility in prayer

‫ )سألت رسول صلى‬: ‫عن أم المؤمنين عائشة رضي عنھا قالت‬

‫ إنما ھو اختالس‬:‫ فقال‬،‫ عليه وسلم عن التفات الرجل في الصالة‬
( ‫يختلسه الشيطان من صالة العبد‬
The Mother of the Believers Aa’isha [May Allah be pleased with her] narrated
that: I asked the Prophet of Allah about looking freely in Salah, He replied; “It
is the stealing of the prayer from the worshipper by the Shaytan1.”
(Bukhari, !esa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Khuzayma)

***

Elaboration: Praying without Khushoo’2 is an unfortunate and unwanted factor in our

prayers. This hadith implies that lack of attention in prayer receives no reward, rather
merely discharges ones’ obligation, so the worshipper is deprived of reward and
therefore robbed by the Shaytan. It could also mean that the Shaytan has prevented
him from performing his Salaah perfectly. Allah Ta'ala revealed in the Holy Qur’an;

َ ‫ص َالت ِِھ ْم َخاشِ ع‬

‫ُون‬ َ ‫ِين ُھ ْم فِي‬ َ ‫َق ْد أَ ْف َل َح ْالم ُْؤ ِم ُن‬
َ ‫ون الَّذ‬
“Indeed the successful are the believers. Those of them who are humble in their
prayers,”3

The performing of the prayer is the nearest a worshipper becomes to Allah Ta'ala and
we should have full concentration while praying as we our standing before our Creator
and He is attentive to us. If we fall short in this, The Holy Prophet [Peace and
blessings of Allah be upon Him] warned; “Allah does not stop to look the slave in
prayer, as long as

1
Shaytan is the Arabic term used for ‘devil’, however ‘the Shaytan’, in the definite form, refers to the arch-
devil Iblees.
2
Humility, complete awareness of Allah Ta’ala and focused in prayer.
3
Surah al-Mu’minoon, verses 1 & 2 (23:1-2)
 GLOSSARY

Ahlul Bait – The people of the household of the Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings of
Allah be upon Him]
Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah – The saved sect from the 73 sects which the Ummah
shall split into
Ahmedi – See Qadyani
‘Amal – actions, deeds which determine our hereafter
Amr bil Ma’roof – enjoining the good
Arba’een – a term used for a compilation of forty traditions
Ar-Rahmaan – The Merciful, one of the exalted and beautiful names from the 99
Names of Allah
As’hab al-Kisa’ – The four perfect women; Aasiyah who was the wife of Fir’awn,
Maryam who was the mother of ‘Isa, Khadija who was the first wife of The Holy
Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him] and the first Muslim, and
Fatimah who was the favourite daughter of the Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings of
Allah be upon Him]
As’hab as-Suffa – the companions of the Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah
be upon Him] who used to stay in the Masjid an-Nabawi
Auliya – (sing. Wali) the pious servants and friends of Allah Ta'ala
Ayah – verses of the Holy Qur’an
Basheer – a name of the Holy Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him]
meaning the Bearer of Glad Tidings
Bayt as-Sakha – A name of one of the houses of Paradise, meaning House of The
Generous
Bid’ah – an innovation which was not present during the time of The Holy Prophet
[Peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him]
Bid’ah Hasanah – an innovation which does not contravene the Holy Qur’an and
Prophetic Sunnah
Bid’ah Muharramah – a prohibited innovation
Bid’ah Makroohah – a disliked innovation
Bid’ah Mandoobah – a recommended innovation
Bid’ah Mubaahah – a permissible innovation
Bid’ah Sayyi’ah – an innovation which is against the Holy Qur’an and Prophetic
Sunnah
 PRIMARY SOURCES

The following is a list of the collections from which the Hadith used in this work
originate from.

Abu Dawood, Sulaiman ibn Ish’at (202-275 AH), as-Sunan

Abu u’aym al-Isbahani, Ahmad bin Abdullah ibn Ahmad (336-430 AH), Kitab
as-Siwaak, Hilyatul Awliyaa wa Tabaqaatul Asfiyaa
Abu Ya’la, Ahmad bin ‘Ali al-Moosali at-Tameemi (210-307 AH), al-Musnad
Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abu ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad (164-241 AH), al-Musnad
Baihaqi, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Hussain ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Musa (384-458
AH), Kitab az-Zuhd and Shu’b ul-Iman
Bazzar, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul Khaaliq (210-292 AH), al-
Musnad
al-Bukhari, Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad bin Isma’eel bin Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah
(194-256 AH), al-Jami’ as-Saheeh
Darimi, Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdur-Rahman (181-255 AH) as-Sunan
Haakim, Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad (321-405 AH),
al-Mustadrak ‘ala as-Saheehain
ibn Hibban, Abu Haatim Muhammad ibn Hibban ibn Ahmad ibn Hibban (270-254
AH), as-Saheeh
ibn Khuzayma, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Is’haq (223-311 AH), as-Saheeh
ibn Maajah, Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazeed (209-273 AH), as-Sunan
Malik ibn Anas (93-179 AH), al-Mu’atta
Muslim, ibn al-Hajjaaj al-Qushairi an-Nishapuri (206-261 AH), as-Saheeh
esa’i, Ahmad bin Shu’aib (215-303 AH), Sunan al-Kubra
Tabrani, Sulaiman bin Ahmad (260-360 AH) al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, al-Mu’jam
al-Awsat and al-Mu’jam as-Sagheer
Tirmidhi, Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa (210-279 AH), Jami’ at-Tirmidhi

May Allah Ta’ala shower His Mercy upon them

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