It is narrated on the authority of one who said: I heard the messenger of God say: "Actions are judged by motives, so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration was to God and His Messenger, his migration is to God and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated."
Also on the authority of close companion to the messenger who said: While we were one day sitting with the messenger there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He sat down close by the messenger rested his knees against the knees of the messenger and placed his palms over his thighs, and said: "O messenger! Inform me about the way of submission." The messenger replied: "the way of submission is that you should testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except God and that the messenger is His Messenger, that you should perform ritual prayer, pay the obligatory charity, fast during the month of scorching heat, and perform pilgrimage to the House, if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it)." He said: "You have spoken the truth." We were astonished at his thus questioning him and then telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about faith." He (the messenger) answered, "It is that you believe in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate, both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have spoken the truth." Then the man said, "Inform me about perfection." He (the messenger) answered, "It is that you should serve God as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the messenger) said, "About that the one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about its signs." He said, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings." Thereupon the man went off. I waited a while, and then he (the messenger) said, "O close companion to the messenger, do you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "God and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was the mighty angel of God. He came to teach you your religion."
On the authority of one, the son of one of the companions of the messenger, who said: I heard the messenger say, "the way of submission has been built on five pillars: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except God and that the messenger is the messenger, establishing the ritual prayer, paying the obligatory charity, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in the month of scorching heat."
On the authority of one, who said: The messenger, and he is the truthful, the believed, narrated to us, "truly the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days in the form of a drop, then he becomes a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his sustenance, his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy, or rather whether or not he will enter Paradise. By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, truly one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and truly one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it."
On the authority of the mother of the faithful, wife of the messenger, who said: The messenger said, "He who innovates something in this matter of ours, rather, the way of submission, that is not of it will have it rejected by God." In another version in the way of submission reads: "He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it rejected by God."
On the authority of one, who said: I heard the messenger say, "That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters eventually falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly God's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of the body is diseased. Truly, it is the heart."
On the authority of one: The messenger said, "The religion is advice." We said, "To whom?" He said, "To God, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the ones who submit and their common folk."
On the authority of one: The messenger said, "I have been ordered to fight against the people until they testify that there is none worthy of worship except God and that the messenger is the messenger, and until they establish the ritual prayer and pay the obligatory charity. And if they do that then they will have gained protection from me for their lives and property, unless they commit acts that are punishable in the way of submission, and their reckoning will be with God."
On the authority of one: I heard the messenger say, "What I have forbidden for you, avoid. What I have ordered you to do, do as much of it as you can. For truly, it was only the excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their messengers that destroyed the nations who were before you."
On the authority of one: The messenger said, "God the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And truly God has commanded the believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said: "O (you) Messengers! Eat of the wholesome all kinds of legal foods, and perform righteous deeds." and the Almighty has said: "O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you." Then he mentioned the case of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky saying "O Lord! O Lord!," while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he has been nourished with unlawful, so how can his supplication be answered?
On the authority of one, the grandson of the messenger, and the one much loved by him, who said: I memorized from the messenger: "Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt." a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger said that it was a good and authentic thing the messenger said.
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "Part of the perfection of one's the way of submission is his leaving that which does not concern him." A good thing the messenger said which was related by a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger and others in this fashion.
On the authority of one — the servant of the messenger — that the messenger said: None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "It is not permissible to spill the blood of a person who submits except in three instances: the married person who commits adultery, a life for a life, and the one who forsakes his religion and separates from the community."
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: Let him who believes in God and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in God and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour; and let him who believes in God and the Last Day be generous to his guest.
On the authority of one: A man said to the messenger, "Counsel me," so he said, "Do not become angry." The man repeated his request for counsel several times, and each time he said, "Do not become angry."
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: truly God has prescribed perfection in all things. So if you kill then kill well; and if you slaughter, then slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters."
On the authority of one, and another, that the messenger said: Have fear of God wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people. It was related by a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger, who said it was a good thing the messenger said, and in some copies it is stated to be a good authentic thing the messenger said.
On the authority of one who said: One day I was behind the messenger riding on the same mount and he said, "O young man, I shall teach you some words of advice: Be mindful of God and God will protect you. Be mindful of God and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, then ask God alone; and if you seek help, then seek help from God alone. And know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what God had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what God had already prescribed against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried." It was related by a good compiler of what the messenger said, who said it was a good and sound thing the messenger said. Another narration, other than that of a famous compiler of the messengers sayings, reads: Be mindful of God, and you will find Him in front of you. Recognize and acknowledge God in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity. And know that what has passed you by and you have failed to attain was not going to befall you, and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and hardship with ease.
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "truly, from what was learnt by the people from the speech of the earliest prophecy is: If you feel no shame, then do as you wish."
On the authority of one who said: I said, "O messenger, tell me something about the way of submission which I can ask of no one but you." He said, "Say I believe in God — and then be steadfast."
On the authority of one that: A man questioned the messenger and said, "Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in the month of scorching heat, treat as lawful that which is lawful, and treat as forbidden that which is unlawful, and do not increase upon that in voluntary good deeds, then I shall enter Paradise?" He replied, "Yes."
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "Purity is half of faith. 'Praise be to God' fills the scales, and 'Glory be to God (how far is God from every imperfection) and 'Praise be to God' fill that which is between heaven and earth. And the ritual prayer is a light, and charity is a proof, and patience is illumination, and the recitation is a proof either for you or against you. Every person starts his day as a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or causing its ruin."
On the authority of one, from the messenger from his Lord, that He said: O My servants! I have forbidden oppression for Myself, and I have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided, so seek guidance from Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed, so seek food from Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except those whom I have clothed, so seek clothing from Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you commit sins by day and by night, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as pious as the most pious heart of any individual amongst you, then this would not increase My Kingdom an iota. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all as wicked as the most wicked heart of any individual amongst you, then this would not decrease My Kingdom an iota. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, and the humans of you and the jinn of you, were all to stand together in one place and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, then that would not decrease what I Possess, except what is decreased of the ocean when a needle is dipped into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I account for you, and then recompense you for. So he who finds good, let him praise God, and he who finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.
Also on the authority of one: Some people from amongst the Companions of the messenger said to the messenger, "O messenger, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give much in charity by virtue of their wealth." He said, "Has not God made things for you to give in charity? Truly every glorification of God is a charity, and every saying of the greatness of God is a charity, and every praise of God is a charity, and every proclamation of the one God is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the sexual act of each one of you there is a charity." They said, "O messenger, when one of us fulfills his carnal desire will he have some reward for that?" He said, "Do you not see that if he were to act upon it his desire in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner then he will be deserving of a reward."
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "Every joint of a person must perform a charity each day that the sun rises: to judge justly between two people is a charity. To help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it, is a charity. And the good word is a charity. And every step that you take towards the prayer is a charity, and removing a harmful object from the road is a charity."
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: Righteousness is in good character, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul, and which you dislike people finding out about. And on the authority of another who said: I came to the messenger and he said, "You have come to ask about righteousness." I said, "Yes." He said, "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels at ease and the heart feels tranquil. And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast, even though people have repeatedly given their legal opinion in its favour." A good thing the messenger said transmitted from the saying collections of the two leaders, with a good chain of authorities.
On the authority of one who said: The messenger gave us a sermon by which our hearts were filled with fear and tears came to our eyes. So we said, "O messenger! It is as though this is a farewell sermon, so counsel us." He said, "I counsel you to have fear of God, and to listen and obey your leader, even if a slave were to become your commander. truly he amongst you who lives long will see great controversy, so you must keep to my way and to the way of the rightly guided stewards, those who guide to the right way. Cling to it stubbornly . Beware of newly invented matters in the religion, for truly every innovation is misguidance." It was related by a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger, who said that it was a good and sound thing the messenger said.
On the authority of one who said: I said, "O messenger, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire." He said, "You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom God makes it easy: worship God, without associating any partners with Him; establish the prayer; pay the obligatory charity; fast in the month of scorching heat; and make the pilgrimage to the House." Then he said, "Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night." Then he recited: "Those who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend charity in God's cause out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." Then he said, "Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?" I said, "Yes, O messenger." He said, "The head of the matter is the way of submission, its pillar is the prayer and its peak is striving." Then he said, "Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?" I said, "Yes, O messenger." So he took hold of his tongue and said, "Restrain this." I said, "O messenger of God, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?" He said, "May your mother be bereaved of you, O one who seeks refuge in God! Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces — or: on their noses — except the harvests of their tongues?" It was related by a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger, who said it was a good and sound thing the messenger said.
On the authority of one — that the messenger said: truly God who is most high has laid down religious obligations, so do not neglect them; and He has set limits, so do not overstep them; and He has forbidden some things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about some things, out of compassion for you, not forgetfulness — so do not seek after them. A good thing the messenger said narrated some others.
On the authority of one who said: A man came to the messenger and said, "O messenger, direct me to an act which, if I do it, will cause God to love me and the people to love me." So he said, "Renounce the world and God will love you, and renounce what the people possess and the people will love you." A good thing the messenger said related some others with good chains of authorities.
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm. A good thing the messenger said related by some others as a supporting thing the messenger said. It was also related by another in sent form, from his father from the messenger, but leaving another from the chain. And it has other chains of narrations that strengthen one another.
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: Were people to be given everything that they claimed, men would unjustly claim the wealth and lives of other people. But, the onus of proof is upon the claimant, and the taking of an oath is upon him who denies. A good thing the messenger said narrated by others in this form, and part of it is in the two authentic things.
On the authority of one who said: I heard the messenger say, "Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith."
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "Do not envy one another, and do not inflate prices for one another, and do not hate one another, and do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade, but rather be slaves of God and brothers amongst yourselves. A person who submits is the brother of a person who submits: he does not oppress him, nor does he fail him, nor does he lie to him, nor does he hold him in contempt. fear is right here and he pointed to his chest three times. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother who submits in contempt. The whole of a person who submits is inviolable for another one who submits: his blood, his property, and his honor."
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, God will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, God will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever shields or hides the misdeeds of a person who submits, God will shield him in this world and the Hereafter. And God will aid His slave so long as he aids his brother. And whoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, God will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the Houses of God, reciting the Book of God and studying it amongst themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, and mercy envelops them, and the angels surround them, and God mentions them amongst those who are with Him. And whoever is slowed down by his actions, will not be hastened forward by his lineage.
On the authority of one, from the messenger, from what he has related from his Lord: truly God who is most high has written down the good deeds and the evil deeds, and then explained it by saying: "Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then God writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and then did perform it, then God writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then God writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended it , or rather the evil deed, and then performed it, then God writes it down as one evil deed."
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "truly God who is most high has said: 'Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. When I Love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask something of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.' "
On the authority of one, that the messenger said: truly God has pardoned or been lenient with for me my community: their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and that which they have been forced to do under duress. A good thing the messenger said related by some others.
On the authority of one, who said: The messenger took me by the shoulder and said, "Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer." And another used to say, "In the evening do not expect to live until the morning, and in the morning do not expect to live until the evening. Take advantage of your health before times of sickness, and take advantage of your life before your death."
On the authority of one who said: The messenger said, "None of you truly believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought." We have related it in the Book of Proof with an authentic chain of narrators.
On the authority of one who said: I heard the messenger say, "God the Almighty has said: 'O Son of the original man, as long as you invoke Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of the original man, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you. O Son of the original man, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the Earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it too.' " It was related by a renown compiler of the sayings of the messenger, who said that it was a good thing the messenger said.
This English version comes from Sunnah.com with the specific Arabic cultural names, terms, and references replaced with close English equivalents, so one can gain a basic understanding without getting lost in the unfamiliar language. For the exact English translation with Arabic terms, see in the links below. Also, all the phrases like ﷺ "May the peace and blessings of God be upon him" (a respectful honorific phrase when speaking of Muhammad) were removed, so as to focus on the different content.