When the Verse: 'It is those who believe and confuse
not their belief with wrong (i.e., worshipping others
besides Allah): (6.82) was revealed, it became very hard
on the companions of the Prophet and they said, "Who among
us has not confused his belief with wrong (oppression)?"
On that, Allah's Apostle said, "This is not meant (by the
Verse). Don't you listen to Luqman's statement: 'Verily!
Joining others in worship with Allah is a great wrong
indeed.' (31.13)
The Prophet. said, "The biggest of the great sins are:
To join others in worship with Allah, to be undutiful to
one's parents, and to give a false witness." He repeated
it thrice, or said, "....a false statement," and kept on
repeating that warning till we wished he would stop saying
it. (See Hadith No.7, Vol. 8)
A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's
Apostle! What are the biggest sins?: The Prophet said, "To
join others in worship with Allah." The bedouin said,
"What is next?" The Prophet said, "To be undutiful to
one's parents." The bedouin said "What is next?" The
Prophet said "To take an oath 'Al-Ghamus." The bedouin
said, "What is an oath 'Al-Ghamus'?" The Prophet said,
"The false oath through which one deprives a Muslim of his
property (unjustly)."
A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we be punished
for what we did in the Prelslamic Period of ignorance?"
The Prophet said, "Whoever does good in Islam will not be
punished for what he did in the Pre-lslamic Period of
ignorance and whoever does evil in Islam will be punished
for his former and later (bad deeds)."
Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to 'Ali and he
burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who
said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt
them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not
punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would
have killed them according to the statement of Allah's
Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill
him.'"
Abu Musa said, "I came to the Prophet along with two
men (from the tribe) of Ash'ariyin, one on my right and
the other on my left, while Allah's Apostle was brushing
his teeth (with a Siwak), and both men asked him for some
employment. The Prophet said, 'O Abu Musa (O 'Abdullah bin
Qais!).' I said, 'By Him Who sent you with the Truth,
these two men did not tell me what was in their hearts and
I did not feel (realize) that they were seeking
employment.' As if I were looking now at his Siwak being
drawn to a corner under his lips, and he said, 'We never
(or, we do not) appoint for our affairs anyone who seeks
to be employed. But O Abu Musa! (or 'Abdullah bin Qais!)
Go to Yemen.'" The Prophet then sent Mu'adh bin Jabal
after him and when Mu'adh reached him, he spread out a
cushion for him and requested him to get down (and sit on
the cushion). Behold: There was a fettered man beside Abu
Muisa. Mu'adh asked, "Who is this (man)?" Abu Muisa said,
"He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back
to Judaism." Then Abu Muisa requested Mu'adh to sit down
but Mu'adh said, "I will not sit down till he has been
killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Apostle (for
such cases) and repeated it thrice. Then Abu Musa ordered
that the man be killed, and he was killed. Abu Musa added,
"Then we discussed the night prayers and one of us said,
'I pray and sleep, and I hope that Allah will reward me
for my sleep as well as for my prayers.'"
When the Prophet died and Abu Bakr became his successor
and some of the Arabs reverted to disbelief, 'Umar said,
"O Abu Bakr! How can you fight these people although
Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the
people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped
but Allah, 'and whoever said, 'None has the right to be
worshipped but Allah', Allah will save his property and
his life from me, unless (he does something for which he
receives legal punishment) justly, and his account will be
with Allah?' "Abu Bakr said, "By Allah! I will fight
whoever differentiates between prayers and Zakat as Zakat
is the right to be taken from property (according to
Allah's Orders). By Allah! If they refused to pay me even
a kid they used to pay to Allah's Apostle, I would fight
with them for withholding it." 'Umar said, "By Allah: It
was nothing, but I noticed that Allah opened Abu Bakr's
chest towards the decision to fight, therefore I realized
that his decision was right."
A Jew passed by Allah's Apostle and said, "As-Samu 'Alaika."
Allah's Apostle said in reply, "We 'Alaika." Allah's
Apostle then said to his companions, "Do you know what he
(the Jew) has said? He said, 'As-Samu 'Alaika.'" They
said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we kill him?" The Prophet,
said, "No. When the people of the Book greet you, say: 'Wa
'Alaikum.'"
A group of Jews asked permission to visit the Prophet
(and when they were admitted) they said, "As-Samu 'Alaika
(Death be upon you)." I said (to them), "But death and the
curse of Allah be upon you!" The Prophet said, "O 'Aisha!
Allah is kind and lenient and likes that one should be
kind and lenient in all matters." I said, "Haven't you
heard what they said?" He said, "I said (to them), 'Wa 'Alaikum
(and upon you).
As if I am looking at the Prophet while he was speaking
about one of the prophets whose people have beaten and
wounded him, and he was wiping the blood off his face and
saying, "O Lord! Forgive my, people as they do not know."
Whenever I tell you a narration from Allah's Apostle,
by Allah, I would rather fall down from the sky than
ascribe a false statement to him, but if I tell you
something between me and you (not a Hadith) then it was
indeed a trick (i.e., I may say things just to cheat my
enemy). No doubt I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "During
the last days there will appear some young foolish people
who will say the best words but their faith will not go
beyond their throats (i.e. they will have no faith) and
will go out from (leave) their religion as an arrow goes
out of the game. So, where-ever you find them, kill them,
for who-ever kills them shall have reward on the Day of
Resurrection."
That they visited Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri and asked him
about Al-Harauriyya, a special unorthodox religious sect,
"Did you hear the Prophet saying anything about them?" Abu
Sa'id said, "I do not know what Al-Harauriyya is, but I
heard the Prophet saying, "There will appear in this
nation---- he did not say: From this nation ---- a group
of people so pious apparently that you will consider your
prayers inferior to their prayers, but they will recite
the Quran, the teachings of which will not go beyond their
throats and will go out of their religion as an arrow
darts through the game, whereupon the archer may look at
his arrow, its Nasl at its Risaf and its Fuqa to see
whether it is blood-stained or not (i.e. they will have
not even a trace of Islam in them)."
While the Prophet was distributing (something,
'Abdullah bin Dhil Khawaisira At-Tamimi came and said, "Be
just, O Allah's Apostle!" The Prophet said, "Woe to you !
Who would be just if I were not?" 'Umar bin Al-Khattab
said, "Allow me to cut off his neck ! " The Prophet said,
" Leave him, for he has companions, and if you compare
your prayers with their prayers and your fasting with
theirs, you will look down upon your prayers and fasting,
in comparison to theirs. Yet they will go out of the
religion as an arrow darts through the game's body in
which case, if the Qudhadh of the arrow is examined,
nothing will be found on it, and when its Nasl is
examined, nothing will be found on it; and then its Nadiyi
is examined, nothing will be found on it. The arrow has
been too fast to be smeared by dung and blood. The sign by
which these people will be recognized will be a man whose
one hand (or breast) will be like the breast of a woman
(or like a moving piece of flesh). These people will
appear when there will be differences among the people
(Muslims)." Abu Sa'id added: I testify that I heard this
from the Prophet and also testify that 'Ali killed those
people while I was with him. The man with the description
given by the Prophet was brought to 'Ali. The following
Verses were revealed in connection with that very person
(i.e., 'Abdullah bin Dhil-Khawaisira At-Tarnimi): 'And
among them are men who accuse you (O Muhammad) in the
matter of (the distribution of) the alms.' (9.58)
I asked Sahl bin Hunaif, "Did you hear the Prophet
saying anything about Al-Khawarij?" He said, "I heard him
saying while pointing his hand towards Iraq. "There will
appear in it (i.e, Iraq) some people who will recite the
Quran but it will not go beyond their throats, and they
will go out from (leave) Islam as an arrow darts through
the game's body.' "