Key Points:

• Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said : “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allāh than the weak believer, and in both there is good. So guard after that which benefits you and don’t lose the chance to benefit and seek the assistance of Allāh and don’t lose the opportunity, and if an evil thing befalls you then do not say had I done such and such , rather say This is what Allāh has ordained and he does what he pleases.” (Sahīh Muslim, Ibn Mājah, and Aḥmad)

• Īman is statement, actions, and belief.
  • It increases with the obedience of Allāh and it decreases with the disobedience to Allāh
    • This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah in opposition to devient sects such as the Murjīʿah and the Khawārij.

• The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said : “Fear Allāh wherever you are and follow up a bad deed wiith a good deed, it will wipe it out.”

• Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: ” Īman has sixty or seventy some branches. The highest and most virtuous branch is the statement Lā Ilāha Illa Allāh (Statement), and the lowest branch is to remove a harmful thing from the way of the people (Action). And shyness (action of the heart) is a branch of Īman.

• Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) reported: I was riding behind the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said to me, “O young man, I will teach you some words. Be mindful of Allāh and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allāh and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask from Allāh. If you seek help, seek help from Allāh. Know that if the nations gathered together to benefit you, they will not benefit you unless Allāh has decreed it for you. And if the nations gathered together to harm you, they will not harm you unless Allāh has decreed it for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.” (Tirmidhī)
  • Whatever hardship has befallen the people with regards to their wealth, their security, individuals or societies, it is all due to their sins and their neglect of the commands of Allāh, and his prescribed laws and their seeing judgement of the people by other than these laws.
    • Allāh the Mighty and Majestic says
      • “And whatever Misfortune has befallen you it is because of what your own hands have earned.” (سورة الشورى, 30)
      • “Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allāh, but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself. And We have sent you ( Muḥammad ﷺ ) as a Messenger to mankind, and Allāh is Sufficient as a Witness. (سورة النساء,79)

•  Imām Muslim reported in his ṣaḥīḥ from Saʿd ibn Abū Waqqās (ضي الله عنه) who said
  • “We were with the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) when we came to a Masjid from Bani Muāwiyyah, Allāh’s messnger entered it and prayed two rakāts so we prayed along with him. He called upon Allāh for a long time the he said “I asked my lord for three things. I asked him that he should not destroy my nation with a sudden destruction, and he granted me that. I asked him that he should not destroy my Nation with famine, and he granted me that. And I asked him that they should not fight amongst themselves but he refused that.”

• In another ḥadīth, Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) spent the whole night in prayer until it was fajr and when the Messenger of Allāh(ﷺ) finished his prayer the companions said
  • “O Messnger of Allāh you have prayed a prayer this night the likes of which i have never seen you pray.” Allāh’s Messenger said “It was a prayer of hope and fear and in it I asked my Lord the Mighty and Majestic for three thing and he granted me two of them and refused one. I asked my Lord the Mighty and Majestic that he should not destroy us with that which h destroyed the nations before us, and he granted it to me. I asked my Lord the Mighty and Majestic that he should not overwhelm us with an enemy from other than us, and he granted it to me. And I asked my Lord the Mighty and Majestic that he should not cause us to divide into seperate groups, each attacking others but he refused me that.”