Words

Ibn 'Umar said, "Two men came from the east as orators in the timeof the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Theystood up, spoke and then sat down. Thabit ibn Qays, the orator of the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood up and spoke andthe people liked what he said. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, stood up and said, 'O people, say what you haveto say. seeking to present words is the best manner is from Shaytan.' Thenthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,'There is some magic in eloquence.'"

Anas said, "A man gave a speech in the presence of 'Umar and saida lot. 'Umar said, 'Too many words in orations comes from the skills ofshaytan.'"

Abu Yazid or Ma'n ibn Yazid reported that the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Gather in your mosques. When thepeople are gathered, come and tell me.' The first of those to whom he camewas us and he sat down. One of the speakers spoke and said, 'Praise beto Allah. No praise can be directed to anyone except Him nor is there anyescape without Him.' The Prophet got angry, stood up and we blamed oneanother. Then he went to another mosque and sat in it. We sent to him andspoke to him. He came with us and sat where he had been sitting or nearto it. Then he said, 'Praise be to Allah who puts whatever He wishes beforeHim and whatever He wishes behind Him. There is some magic in eloquence.'Then he commanded us and taught us."

'A'isha said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,was sleepless one night and said, 'Would that a man of righteous actionamong my Companions would come and guard me tonight!' Then he heard thesound of weapons. He asked, 'Who is it?' 'Sa'd,' came the answer. Sa'dsaid, 'Messenger of Allah, I have come to guard you.' The Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, slept and we heard himsnore."

Anas ibn Malik, "There was some alarm in Madina and the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, borrowed a horse belonging toAbu Talha called al-Mandub. He rode it, and when he returned he said, 'Wedid not see anything and he found the horse to be a sea."

Nafi' said, "Ibn 'Umar used to strike his son for making grammaticalmistakes."

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn 'Ajlan said, "'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allahbe pleased with him, passed by two men who were shooting. One man saidto another, 'Do hit it (using the letter seen instead of saad).''Umar observed, 'A bad grammatical mistake is worse than a bad shot.'"

'A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "People asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, about soothsayers. He told them, 'They are nothing.' They said,But, Messenger of Allah, they speak about things which are true!' The Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, responded, 'That is a word whichShaytan steals and then he mumbles it into the ear of his protegewith a sound like the clucking of a chicken. Then they mix a hundred lieswith it.'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, was on one of his journeys and the camel-drive waschanting (to make the camels move). The Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, 'Gently, Anjasha! Be careful with the glass vessels(meaning the women).'"

'Umar said, "A man is reckoned to be lying when he gives voiceto all that he hears." He said, "As for cases of indirect allusion, arethey enough to keep a Muslim from lying?"

Mutarrif ibn 'Imran ibn ash-Shakhir said, "I accompanied 'Imranibn Husayn to Basra. Every day he used to recite poetry to us and he said,'Indirect allusions give ample scope to avoid lying.'"

'Amr ibn al-'As said, "I am astonished at a man who flees fromfate when he is all the time attacking it and who sees the mote in hisbrother's eye and not the trunk in his own eye. He uncovers the rancourin his brother's heart and not the rancour in himself. I have never entrustedanyone with a secret of mine and then blamed him for divulging it. Howcould I blame him when I have given him something he is incapable of doing?"

'A'isha said, "A man suffering from an affliction passed by somewomen and they laughed together, mocking him, and so one of them got thatsame affliction."