On Prohibited Matters and the Major Sins

باب فی الامور المنہی عنہا والکبائر

بَابٌ فِي الْأُمُوْرِ الْمَنْهِيِّ عَنْهَا وَالْكَبَائِرِ — On the Matters That Have Been Forbidden, and On the Major Sins

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَّعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا ـ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَّأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيْهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوْهُ ـ

(al-Ḥujurāt 49:12)

Vocabulary: wa lā yaghtab baʿḍukum baʿḍan — and let no one speak ill of anyone behind his back, let no one backbite, let no one commit ghība (backbiting); a-yuḥibbu aḥadukum — does any of you wish, like?; an yaʾkula — that he should eat; laḥma akhīhi maytan — the flesh of his dead brother; fa-karihtumūhu — then this would seem hateful to you.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "And let none of you backbite anyone. Would you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother? Then you would find it hateful."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهٖ عِلْمٌ ـ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُوْلًا ـ

(Banī Isrāʾīl [al-Isrāʾ] 17:36)

Vocabulary: wa lā taqfu — and do not follow behind, do not pursue it. [Root forms:] qafā, yaqfū, qafwan — to follow behind, to go after, to pursue; qafā — the nape of the neck; qāfiya — the last word [of a verse, i.e. rhyme]; mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun — that of which you have no knowledge, whose circumstances you are not acquainted with; do not spread propaganda about what is contrary to the truth, and do not get involved in fault-finding and prying into people's affairs; inna'l-samʿa — indeed the ear, indeed hearing; wa'l-baṣara — and the eye, sight and vision; wa'l-fuʾāda — and the heart; kullu ulāʾika — each one of these; kāna ʿanhu masʾūlan — it will be called to account.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed the ear, the eye and the heart — each of these will be called to account."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُوْنَ ـ

(al-Muʾminūn 23:3)

Vocabulary: wa'lladhīna hum — and those people who; ʿani'l-laghwi — from idle talk (laghw), from pointless thoughts, from useless speech, from frivolous activity; muʿriḍūna — those who turn aside, who turn their faces away.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "And those people who turn away from idle talk and frivolity."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الَّذِيْنَ يَخُوْضُوْنَ فِيْٓ اٰيٰتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتّٰى يَخُوْضُوْا فِيْ حَدِيْثٍ غَيْرِهٖ ـ وَإِمَّا يُنْسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطٰنُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرٰى مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ ـ

(al-Anʿām 6:68)

Vocabulary: wa idhā raʾayta — and when you, O addressee, see; alladhīna — those people who; yakhūḍūna — talk, nit-pick, keep raising objections; fī āyātinā — about Our verses — they plunge into Our verses; khawḍ — to enter into water; fa-aʿriḍ ʿanhum — then turn away from them: pay them no attention, slip away from beside them; ḥattā yakhūḍū — until they enter, become occupied, get involved; fī ḥadīthin ghayrihi — in some other talk than this. That is, if they make false objections, do not even listen to their objections; wa immā yunsiyannaka'l-shayṭānu — and if Satan makes you forget, you fall into forgetfulness (nisyān), you fall into oversight; fa-lā taqʿud — then do not sit; baʿda'l-dhikrā — after remembering; maʿa'l-qawmi'l-ẓālimīna — with the wrongdoing people. That is, when the heedlessness has gone, do not sit with these wrongdoers.

Translation: "And when (O addressee) you see those people who nit-pick at Our verses (and pile up objections for no reason), then turn away from them (slip away from beside them) until they get involved in other talk. And if Satan casts you into forgetfulness (and heedlessness comes over you), then after remembering (and after being reminded) do not sit near these wrongdoers."

Friends! People are of two kinds: (1) those acquainted with religion and with the principles of the faith, who can distinguish truth from falsehood. If they meet people of other religions there is no harm in it. They should meet them and should convey (tablīgh) their religion, Islam, to them. And (2) those people who

are not acquainted with religion should guard themselves against these people of corrupt belief. Glib talk, eloquence and rhetoric, and the use of fallacies have a very great effect. "Inna mina'l-bayāni la-siḥran" — "Some speech is a kind of magic." The ignorant, unlearned person is not acquainted with his own religion; he goes and sits in the company of people of other religions and falls prey to their sophistry and their spellbinding talk. The state of the ignorant is that wherever they hear that there is a speech or a lecture or a sermon somewhere, they just go running there — whether it is a preacher or a lecturer who does nothing but raise objections against religion. Some understand something, but they do not have the moral courage to refute it. Why do you go to such a place at all? Slip away from such a place; get up from such a place. If you went on sitting there out of heedlessness, then when you remember, or someone reminds you, get up at that very moment from beside those wrongdoers. What ruin is this, that you yourself have no knowledge and no discernment between good and bad, and yet you go to these purveyors of sophistry and wreck your own religion! Sunni Muslims do not teach their own religion from childhood. Ignorant children go into the company of people of other religions, read their books and are influenced by them. People should ask some scholar (ʿālim) wherever some doubt arises, and have it removed. Nowadays a kind of ill-breeding has spread: the one who is taken for a scholar is he who talks nonsense, makes long-winded speeches, and speaks with fluency and boldness — even if what he is telling is just the tale of Amīr Ḥamza. Hours of speeches were listened to, sermons were heard; on getting up after listening, not a single point was remembered. There was cheering, clapping, "Bravo!", cries of "Wāh wāh!" — but all of it fruitless. Nothing useful was said or heard. What are the people of the Sunna (Ahl al-Sunna)? Every one of them falls prey to people of corrupt belief. The reason for this is that religious instruction is simply not given — and if it is given, it is a mere formality. The doubt is one thing and the answer given is something else. In short, worldly affairs are ruined and the affair of the Hereafter has lost its way. "Fa-wā asafāhu ʿala'l-ḥanīfati'l-bayḍāʾi min hāʾulāʾi'l-sufahāʾ" (Alas for the bright, pure path of single-minded faith, on account of these fools!).

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاجْتَنِبُوْا قَوْلَ الزُّوْرِ ـ

(al-Ḥajj 22:30)

Vocabulary: wa'jtanibū qawla'l-zūri — and keep well away from false speech. Idol-worship is false; sacrificing in the name of idols is false; considering these things permissible is false.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "And keep yourselves aloof from falsehood."

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: أَمْ يَحْسُدُوْنَ النَّاسَ عَلٰى مَآ اٰتٰىهُمُ اللهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهٖ ـ

(al-Nisāʾ 4:54)

Vocabulary: am yaḥsudūna'l-nāsa — do these people envy others? — are they jealous, do they burn with envy?; ʿalā mā ātāhumu'llāhu — at what Allah has honoured them with, has given, has bestowed; min faḍlihi — out of His bounty and generosity.

What is the result of envy (ḥasad)? Nothing is spoiled for the one who is envied; the envier himself burns up. Whether the envied one suffers harm or not, the envier is the wretched one, for he himself is bearing a torment.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "Do these people envy others for those (blessings) which Allah has given them out of His bounty and generosity?"

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّنْ قَوْمٍ عَسٰٓى أَنْ يَّكُوْنُوْا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌ مِّنْ نِّسَآءٍ عَسٰٓى أَنْ يَّكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ ۚ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوْٓا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوْا بِالْأَلْقَابِ ـ بِئْسَ الْاِسْمُ الْفُسُوْقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيْمَانِ ـ وَمَنْ لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولٰٓئِكَ هُمُ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ ـ

(al-Ḥujurāt 49:11)

Vocabulary: yā ayyuha'lladhīna āmanū — O you who believe!; lā yaskhar qawmun min qawmin — let not one people jest at another people, mock them, make fun of them; ʿasā an yakūnū khayran minhum — perhaps those who are laughed at are better than those who laugh; wa lā nisāʾun min nisāʾin — nor women mock women; ʿasā an yakunna khayran minhunna — perhaps, it is possible, what wonder is it, how unlikely is it, that those women who are laughed at are better than the women who laugh; wa lā talmizū anfusakum — and do not find fault with or taunt your own selves, that is, your relatives — for to speak ill of one's own relatives is to speak ill of oneself; wa lā tanābazū bi'l-alqābi — and do not call [one another] by bad names, do not give bad nicknames, do not defame them; biʾsa'l-ismu'l-fusūqu — wickedness (fisq) is what a bad name!; baʿda'l-īmāni — after faith; that is, to call a believer a "fāsiq" (open sinner) is to attach a bad name; you are believers, so you should not be designated by the name fāsiq; wa man lam yatub — and whoever does not repent of fault-finding and evil speech; fa-ulāʾika humu'l-ẓālimūna — then they are the wrongdoers, the unjust.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "O you who believe! Let not one group of you mock another group — how unlikely is it that they are better than them? And let women too not mock women or jest — how unlikely is it that they are better than them? And do not seek out faults in your own people, nor recall them by bad names. After faith, the name of wickedness is very bad. And those who do not repent — they are indeed the wrongdoers."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوْا كَثِيْرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ ـ

(al-Ḥujurāt 49:12)

Vocabulary: yā ayyuha'lladhīna āmanū — O you who believe!; ijtanibū — abstain, beware; kathīran mina'l-ẓanni — of much suspicion, of many surmises: do not harbour excessive suspicion about people; inna baʿḍa'l-ẓanni — indeed some suspicion; ithmun — is sin.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "O you who believe! Beware of every kind of suspicion. Some suspicions are sins."

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يُحِبُّوْنَ أَنْ تَشِيْعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيْمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْاٰخِرَةِ ـ

(al-Nūr 24:19)

Vocabulary: inna'lladhīna yuḥibbūna — those who wish, who hold it dear; an tashīʿa'l-fāḥishatu — that this shameless matter should become well known, that this obscene matter should be spread; fi'lladhīna āmanū — among the believers, among those people who have certainty in God and the Messenger; lahum ʿadhābun alīmun — for them is a painful punishment, a grievous penalty; fi'l-dunyā wa'l-ākhirati — in this world and in the Hereafter too.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "Indeed those who wish that this slander should be spread among the Muslims — for them is a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَأَوْفُوْا بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُوْلًا ـ

(Banī Isrāʾīl [al-Isrāʾ] 17:34)

Vocabulary: wa awfū bi'l-ʿahdi — and fulfil the covenant, keep your promise; inna'l-ʿahda kāna masʾūlan — indeed the covenant is answerable; it will be asked about.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "And whatever promise you make, fulfil it. Indeed there will be a reckoning concerning the promise."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تُبْطِلُوْا صَدَقٰتِكُمْ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذٰى كَالَّذِيْ يُنْفِقُ مَالَهٗ رِئَآءَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِ ـ

(al-Baqara 2:264)

Vocabulary: yā ayyuha'lladhīna āmanū — O you who believe!; lā tubṭilū — do not make void, do not ruin, do not let go to waste. [It is] a cognate accusative (mafʿūl muṭlaq), i.e. lā tubṭilū ibṭālan ka-ibṭāli'lladhī ["do not make void in the manner of the one who…"]; bāṭil — false, the opposite of truth, that which has no permanence or stability; ibṭāl — to spoil something or to annihilate and destroy it; ṣadaqātikum — your acts of charity (ṣadaqa), your alms; ṣadaqa — every good deed, whether it is zakāh or some other act; bi'l-manni wa'l-adhā — by reproaching [the recipient] with the favour, and by causing hurt; ka'lladhī — its example is like that of the person who; yunfiqu mālahu — spends his wealth, expends it, gives it; māl — anything towards which a person's heart is inclined; riʾāʾa'l-nāsi — to show people; [root forms:] rāʾā, yurāʾī, murāʾātan wa riʾāʾan — to make a show; wa lā yuʾminu bi'llāhi — and he does not believe in Allah; wa'l-yawmi'l-ākhiri — and in the Day of Resurrection: he neither regards God as the Giver of reward nor has he certainty of receiving a recompense in the Hereafter.

Translation: And Allah Most High said: "O you who believe! Do not ruin your good deeds (do not let them go to waste) by reproaching with your favours and causing hurt — like someone who gave charity for show, who has neither faith in God nor certainty of the Hereafter."

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: فَلَا تُزَكُّوْٓا أَنْفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقٰى ـ

(al-Najm 53:32) [reading uncertain]

Vocabulary: fa-lā tuzakkū anfusakum — do not parade your own purity, do not display your holiness, do not consider yourselves sinless; huwa aʿlamu bi-mani'ttaqā — He knows well the people of taqwā (God-consciousness); He knows well who has adopted abstinence.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "Do not parade your sinlessness and purity. He knows well who has adopted taqwā and abstinence."

وَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوْا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ـ

(al-Māʾida 5:2) [reading uncertain]

Vocabulary: wa lā taʿāwanū — and do not help one another, do not assist; ʿala'l-ithmi — in sin; wa'l-ʿudwāni — and in transgression and excess.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: "And do not help one another in sin and transgression (excess)."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّمَا النَّجْوٰى مِنَ الشَّيْطٰنِ ـ

(al-Mujādila 58:10)

Vocabulary: innama'l-najwā mina'l-shayṭāni — this whispering together is from the incitement of Satan.

Translation: And Allah Most High said: "All this whispering together is from Satan."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَأْكُلُوْنَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتٰمٰى ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُوْنَ فِيْ بُطُوْنِهِمْ نَارًا ـ وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيْرًا ـ

(al-Nisāʾ 4:10)

Vocabulary: inna'lladhīna — indeed those people who; yaʾkulūna — eat; amwāla'l-yatāmā — the property of orphans; ẓulman — wrongfully, unlawfully, by oppression; innamā yaʾkulūna — they eat nothing but; fī buṭūnihim — into their bellies; nāran — fire. To eat by oppression, to cause harm, is equivalent to eating fire; wa sa-yaṣlawna — and soon they will enter; saʿīran — a blazing fire; that is, they are people of Hell and will burn in Hell.

Translation: "Indeed those who wrongfully (unjustly, unlawfully) eat the property of orphans eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and soon they will fall into Hell (and burn fiercely)."

نَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُوْرِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّاٰتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ـ

[We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the evils of our deeds.]

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ! أَيُّ الذَّنْبِ أَكْبَرُ عِنْدَ اللهِ؟ قَالَ أَنْ تَدْعُوَ لِلّٰهِ نِدًّا وَّهُوَ خَلَقَكَ، قَالَ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟ قَالَ أَنْ تَقْتُلَ وَلَدَكَ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَّطْعَمَ مَعَكَ ـ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟ قَالَ أَنْ تُزَانِيَ حَلِيْلَةَ جَارِكَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ تَصْدِيْقَهَا ـ وَالَّذِيْنَ لَا يَدْعُوْنَ مَعَ اللهِ إِلٰهًا اٰخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُوْنَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِيْ حَرَّمَ اللهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُوْنَ ـ الْاٰيَةَ ـ

(Agreed upon — al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Vocabulary: ayyu'l-dhanbi — which sin?; niddan — an equal, a rival; khashyata — out of fear; ḥalīlata jārika — your neighbour's wife.

Translation: It is related from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: A man said, "O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the greatest in the sight of Allah?" He said, "That you make someone an equal to Allah, although He created you." He asked, "Then which?" He said, "That you kill your child out of fear that he will eat with you (that he will become a sharer in your provision)." He asked, "Then which?" He said, "That you commit fornication with your neighbour's wife." So Allah Most High sent down the confirmation of this: "And those who do not call upon any other object of worship along with God (do not pray to anyone other than Him), nor kill any person whose killing Allah has forbidden except by right (that is, they do not kill anyone unjustly), nor commit fornication" — [to the end of] the verse [al-Furqān 25:68].

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "اِجْتَنِبُوا السَّبْعَ الْمُوْبِقَاتِ" ـ قَالُوْا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ! وَمَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَ: اَلشِّرْكُ بِاللهِ وَالسِّحْرُ وَقَتْلُ النَّفْسِ الَّتِيْ حَرَّمَ اللهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَكْلُ الرِّبٰوا

وَأَكْلُ مَالِ الْيَتِيْمِ ـ وَالتَّوَلِّيْ يَوْمَ الزَّحْفِ وَقَذْفُ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ الْغَافِلَاتِ ـ

(Agreed upon — al-Bukhārī and Muslim; Mishkāt [al-Maṣābīḥ].)

Vocabulary: ijtanibū — abstain; al-mūbiqāt — the destroying [sins]; al-tawallī — turning one's back; yawma'l-zaḥfi — on the day of battle; qadhf — to make a false accusation [of unchastity].

Translation: It is related from Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Avoid the seven destroying things." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What are they?" He said: "(1) Associating partners with Allah (shirk); (2) magic; (3) killing, except by right, a soul whose killing Allah has forbidden; (4) consuming usury (ribā); (5) consuming an orphan's property; (6) running away on the day of battle; and (7) accusing chaste, believing, innocent women of misconduct and fornication."

عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ عَسَّالٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ يَهُوْدِيٌّ لِصَاحِبِهٖ اِذْهَبْ بِنَا إِلٰى هٰذَا النَّبِيِّ فَقَالَ صَاحِبُهُ لَا تَقُلْ "نَبِيٌّ" ! إِنَّهُ لَوْ سَمِعَكَ لَكَانَ لَهُ أَرْبَعُ أَعْيُنٍ فَأَتَيَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَأَلَاهُ عَنْ اٰيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا تُشْرِكُوْا بِاللهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا تَسْرِقُوْا وَلَا تَزْنُوْا وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِيْ حَرَّمَ اللهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تَمْشُوْا بِبَرِيْءٍ إِلٰى ذِيْ سُلْطَانٍ لِيَقْتُلَهُ وَلَا تَسْحَرُوْا وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبٰوا وَلَا تَقْذِفُوْا مُحْصَنَةً وَلَا تُوَلُّوْا لِلْفِرَارِ يَوْمَ الزَّحْفِ وَعَلَيْكُمْ خَاصَّةً الْيَهُوْدُ أَنْ لَّا تَعْتَدُوْا فِي السَّبْتِ قَالَ فَقَبَّلَا يَدَيْهِ وَرِجْلَيْهِ وَقَالَا نَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ نَبِيٌّ قَالَ فَمَا يَمْنَعُكُمْ أَنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنِيْ قَالَ إِنَّ دَاوٗدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ دَعَا رَبَّهٗ أَنْ لَّا يَزَالَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهٖ نَبِيٌّ وَإِنَّا نَخَافُ إِنْ تَبِعْنَاكَ أَنْ يَّقْتُلَنَا الْيَهُوْدُ ـ

(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī. — Mishkāt)

Vocabulary: idhhab binā — come along with us; la-kāna lahu arbaʿu aʿyunin — he would have four eyes, i.e. he would be extremely pleased; muḥṣana — a chaste woman, a married woman; fa-qabbalā yadayhi wa rijlayhi — the two of them kissed his hands and feet; fa-mā yamnaʿukum — then what thing stops you?

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A Jew said to his companion, "Come with me to this Prophet." His companion said, "Do not say 'Prophet,' for if he hears it he will have four eyes" (that is, he will be extremely pleased). Then the two of them came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about "the clear signs" (āyāt bayyināt). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do not make anyone a partner with Allah; do not steal; do not commit fornication; do not kill any soul except by right; do not take any innocent person to a ruler so that he may kill him; do not practise magic; do not consume usury; do not accuse a chaste woman; and do not flee from battle. And upon you in particular, O Jews, [it is binding] that you do not transgress concerning the Sabbath day." He (that is, the narrator) said: The two of them kissed the Prophet's ﷺ hands and feet and said, "We bear witness that you are a Prophet." He asked, "Then what thing has prevented you

from following me?" The two of them said, "Dāwūd (peace be upon him) prayed that there should always continue to be prophets among his descendants, and we fear that if we follow you, the Jews will kill us." (This was narrated by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, and it is also in the Mishkāt.)

عَنْ مُعَاذٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ أَوْصَانِيْ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِعَشْرِ كَلِمَاتٍ قَالَ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللهِ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ قُتِلْتَ وَحُرِّقْتَ وَلَا تَعُقَّنَّ وَالِدَيْكَ وَإِنْ أَمَرَاكَ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ وَلَا تَتْرُكَنَّ صَلٰوةً مَكْتُوْبَةً مُتَعَمِّدًا فَإِنَّ مَنْ تَرَكَ الصَّلٰوةَ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَقَدْ بَرِئَتْ مِنْهُ ذِمَّةُ اللهِ وَلَا تَشْرَبَنَّ الْخَمْرَ فَإِنَّهُ رَأْسُ كُلِّ فَاحِشَةٍ ـ وَإِيَّاكَ وَالْمَعْصِيَةَ فَإِنَّ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ حَلَّ سَخَطُ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ـ وَإِيَّاكَ وَالْفِرَارَ مِنَ الزَّحْفِ إِنْ هَلَكَ النَّاسُ وَإِذَا أَصَابَ النَّاسَ مَوْتٌ وَأَنْتَ فِيْهِمْ فَاثْبُتْ ـ وَأَنْفِقْ عَلٰى عِيَالِكَ مِنْ طَوْلِكَ وَلَا تَرْفَعْ عَنْهُمْ عَصَاكَ أَدَبًا ـ وَأَخِفْهُمْ فِي اللهِ ـ

(Reported by Aḥmad.)

Vocabulary: awṣānī — he enjoined me emphatically, gave me a solemn charge; bi-ʿashri kalimātin — with ten things; wa in qutilta wa ḥurriqta — even if you are killed, even if you are burned; wa lā taʿuqqanna — and never be disobedient [to parents]; ṣalātan maktūbatan — an obligatory prayer; ḥalla sakhaṭu'llāhi — one becomes deserving of God's wrath.

Translation: It is related from Ḥaḍrat Muʿādh (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me a charge of ten things. He said: "(1) Do not associate anyone with Allah, even if you are killed and burned. (2) Do not disobey your parents, even if the two of them order you to leave your home and your wealth. (3) Do not deliberately abandon an obligatory prayer, for whoever deliberately abandons the prayer, the protection (dhimma) of Allah Most High is withdrawn from him. (4) Do not drink wine, for it is the root of all evils. (5) Keep yourself away from sins, for because of sins the anger of Allah Most High descends. (6) Keep yourself from fleeing from battle, even if all the people perish. (7) When some kind of death strikes people and you too are among them, stand firm. (8) Spend on your family according to your means. (9) Strike them in order to teach them good manners (adab). (10) And keep them in fear regarding the matter of Allah."