SigPhi · Hadith

The Speeches and Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad (Lane-Poole)

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Believe in God and His apostle, and give alms of what He hath made you to inherit; for to those of you who believe and give alms shall be a great reward. What aileth you that ye do not believe in God and His Apostle who calleth you to believe in your Lord? He hath already accepted your covenant if ye believe. It is He who hath sent down to His servant manifest signs to lead you from darkness into light: for God is indeed kind and merciful towards you. And what aileth you that ye give not alms in the path of God, when God’s is the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Those of you who give before the victory, and fight, shall not be deemed equal,--they are of nobler degree than those who give afterwards and fight. Yet to all hath God promised the beauteous reward; and God knoweth what ye do. Who is he who will lend God a good loan?--He will double it for him, and his shall be a noble recompense.

The day ye shall see the faithful, men and women, their light running in front and on their right hand--“Glad tidings for you this day!--gardens whereunder rivers flow, to abide therein for ever:” that is the great prize! The day when the hypocrites, men and women, will say to those who believe, “Stay for us, that we may kindle our light from yours.” It shall be said, “Go back and find a light.” And there shall be set up between them a wall, with a gate in it; and inside, within it, shall be Mercy, and outside, in front of it, Torment! They shall cry out, “Were we not with you?” The others shall say, “Yea! but ye fell into temptation, and waited, and doubted, and your desires deceived you, till the behest of God came,--and the arch-tempter beguiled you from God.” And on that day no ransom shall be accepted from you, nor from those who disbelieved--your goal is the Fire, which is your master; and evil is the journey thereto. Hath not the Hour come to those who believe, to humble their hearts to the warning of God and the truth which He hath sent down? and that they may not be like those who received the Scripture aforetime, whose lives were prolonged, but their hearts were hardened, and many of them were disobedient. Know that God quickeneth the earth after its death: now have we made clear to you the signs,--haply ye have wits!

Verily the charitable, both men and women, and they who lend God a good loan, it shall be doubled to them, and theirs shall be a noble recompense. And they who believe in God and His Apostle, these are the truth-tellers and the witnesses before their Lord: they have their reward and their light. And they who disbelieve and deny our signs--these are the inmates of Hell! Know that the life of this world is but a game and pastime and show and boast among you; and multiplying riches and children is like rain, whose vegetation delighteth the infidels--then they wither away, and thou seest them all yellow, and they become chaff. And in the life to come is grievous torment, Or else forgiveness from God and His approval: but the life of this world is naught but a delusive joy. Strive together for forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise, whose width is as the width of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in God and in His Apostle. That is the grace of God! who giveth it to whom He pleaseth; and God is the fount of boundless grace. There happeneth no misfortune on the earth or to yourselves, but it is written in the Book before we created it: verily that is easy to God!-- That ye may not grieve over what is beyond you, nor exult over what cometh to you; for God loveth not any presumptuous boasters, Who are covetous and commend covetousness to men. But whoso turneth away,--verily God is Rich and worthy to be praised. We sent Our Apostles with manifestations, and We sent down by them the Book and the Balance, that men might stand upright in equity, and We sent down IRON, wherein is great strength and uses for men,--and that God might know who would help Him and His Apostles in secret: verily God is strong and mighty. And we sent Noah and Abraham, and we gave their seed prophecy in the Scripture: and some of them are guided, but many are disobedient. Then we sent our apostles in their footsteps, and we sent Jesus the Son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel, and put in the hearts of those that follow him kindness and pitifulness; but monkery, they invented it themselves! We prescribed it not to them--save only to seek the approval of God, but they did not observe this with due observance. Yet we gave their reward to those of them that believed, but many of them were transgressors. O ye who believe, fear God and believe in His Apostle; He will give you a double portion of His mercy, and will set you a light to walk by, and will forgive you: for God is forgiving and merciful:-- That the People of the Scripture may know that they have not power over aught of God’s grace; and that grace is in the hands of God alone, who giveth to whom He pleaseth: and God is the fount of boundless grace.

(lvii.)

THE VICTORY.

_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ Verily we have won for thee a clear VICTORY-- That God may forgive thee thy former and latter sins, and fulfil His grace to thee, and guide thee on the straight way, And that God may help thee mightily. He it is who sent down peace into the hearts of the faithful, to strengthen their faith with faith, (for God’s are the armies of the heavens and the earth, and God is All-knowing and Wise:) To bring the faithful, men and women, into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever, and to take away their offences; and that is the great prize with God: And to torment the hypocrites and the idolaters, men and women, who think of God an evil thought; there shall come upon them a turn of evil, and God is wroth with them and hath cursed them, and hath prepared Hell for them, and evil shall be their journey. God’s are the armies of the heavens and the earth, and God is Mighty and Wise!

Verily we have sent thee as a witness and a herald of gladness and a warner, That ye may believe in God and in His Apostle; and may revere Him, and honour Him, and magnify Him morning and evening. In truth, they who swear fealty to thee, do but swear fealty to God: the hand of God is upon their hands! Whosoever therefore breaketh it, breaketh it only to his own hurt; but whosoever is true to what he hath covenanted with God, He will give him a great reward.

The Arabs of the desert who were left behind will say to thee, “Our property and our families employed us; so ask pardon for us.” They speak with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say: But who can obtain aught for you from God, if He design for you harm, or design for you benefit? Nay, God is acquainted with what ye do! Nay, ye thought that the Apostles and the faithful would not come back to their families any more, and that seemed good in your hearts, and ye thought an evil thought, and ye are a lost people. And whosoever believeth not in God and His Apostle...verily we have made ready a flame for the unbelievers! And God’s is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth; He forgiveth whom He will, and He tormenteth whom He will: and God is Forgiving, Merciful! They who were left behind will say when ye go forth to the spoil to take it, “Let us follow you.” They would fain change the Word of God. Say: Ye shall by no means follow us; thus hath God said already. Then they will say, “Nay, ye are jealous of us.” Nay, they are men of but little understanding. Say to those who were left behind of the Arabs of the desert, Ye shall be called out against a people of mighty valour; ye shall fight with them, or they shall profess Islam. If, therefore, ye obey, God will bring you a goodly reward; but if ye turn your backs as ye turned your backs before, He will torment you with aching torment. For the blind it is no crime, and for the lame no crime, and for the sick no crime [to turn the back.] And whoso obeyeth God and His Apostle He shall bring him into gardens whereunder rivers flow: but whoso turneth his back, He will torment him with aching torment.

Well-pleased was God with the believers, when they sware fealty to thee under the tree; and He knew what was in their hearts: therefore did He send down tranquillity upon them, and rewarded them with a victory near at hand, And many spoils to take, for God is Mighty and Wise! God promised you many spoils to take, and sped this for you; (and He held back men’s hands from you, that it might be a sign to the faithful, and that He might guide you on the straight way;) And other spoils which ye could not take: but now hath God compassed it, for God is powerful over all. If the unbelievers had fought against you, they would assuredly have turned their backs; then would they have met with no protector or helper. This is God’s way which prevailed before: and no changing wilt thou find in God’s way. And He it was who held back their hands from you, and your hands from them, in the valley of Mekka, after that He had given you the victory over them; for God ever seeth what ye do. These are they who believed not, and kept you away from the Sacred Mosque, as well as the offering, which was prevented from reaching its destination. And but for the faithful men and women, whom ye did not know and might have trampled, so that guilt might have lighted on you on their account without your knowledge, that God might bring whom He pleased into His mercy; had they been separate, we had surely punished the unbelievers among them with a grievous torment. When the unbelievers had put disdain in their hearts,--the disdain of ignorance,--God sent down His tranquillity on His Apostle and the faithful, and fixed firmly in them the word of piety, for they were most worthy and fit for it, and God well knoweth all things. Now hath God spoken truth to His Apostle in the night vision: “Ye shall surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if God please, safe, with shaven heads, or hair cut; ye shall not fear, for He knoweth what ye do not know; and He hath ordained you, besides that, a victory near at hand.” It is He who hath sent his Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth, to make it triumph over every religion; and God is witness enough!

Mohammad is the Apostle of God, and those of his party are vehement against the infidels, but compassionate to one another. Thou mayest see them bowing down, worshipping, seeking grace from God, and His approval; their tokens are on their faces--the traces of their prostrations. This is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel, like a seed which putteth forth its stalk, and strengtheneth it, and it groweth stout, and standeth up upon its stem, rejoicing the sowers--to anger unbelievers thereby. To those among them who believe, and do the things that are right, God hath promised forgiveness and a mighty reward.

(xlviii.)

HELP.

_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ When the HELP of God and victory come, And thou seest the people entering the religion of God in troops; Then magnify the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him; verily He is ever relenting.

(cx.)

THE LAW GIVEN AT MEDINA RELIGIOUS LAW.

It is not righteousness that ye turn your face towards the east or the west, but righteousness is [in] him who believeth in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Scripture, and the Prophets, and who giveth wealth for the love of God to his kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the son of the road and them that ask and for the freeing of slaves, and who is instant in prayer, and giveth the alms; and those who fulfil their covenant when they covenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in time of violence, these are they who are true, and these are they who fear God.--ii. 172.

Say: We believe in God, and what hath been sent down to thee, and what was sent down to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and what was given to Moses, and to Jesus, and the prophets from their Lord,--we make no distinction between any of them,--and to Him are we resigned: and whoso desireth other than Resignation [Islām] for a religion, it shall certainly not be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the losers.--iii. 78, 79.

Observe the prayers, and the middle prayer, and stand instant before God. And if ye fear, then afoot or mounted; but when ye are safe remember God, how he taught you what ye did not know.--ii. 239, 240.

When the call to prayer soundeth on the Day of Congregation (Friday), then hasten to remember God, and abandon business; that is better for you if ye only knew: and when prayer is done, disperse in the land and seek of the bounty of God.--lxii. 9, 10.

Turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque; wherever ye be, turn your faces thitherwards.--ii. 139.

Give alms on the path of God, and let not your hands cast you into destruction; but do good, for God loveth those who do good; and accomplish the pilgrimage and the visit to God: but if ye be besieged, then [send] what is easiest as an offering.--ii. 191.

They will ask thee what it is they must give in alms. Say: Let what good ye give be for parents, and kinsfolk, and the orphan, and the needy, and the son of the road; and what good ye do, verily God knoweth it.--ii. 211.

They will ask thee what they shall expend in alms; say, The surplus.--ii. 216.

If ye give alms openly, it is well; but if ye conceal it, and give it to the poor, it is better for you, and will take away from you some of your sins: and God knoweth what ye do.--ii. 273.

O ye who believe, make not your alms of no effect by taunts and vexation, like him who spendeth what he hath to be seen of men, and believeth not in God and the Last Day: for his likeness is as the likeness of a stone with earth upon it, and a heavy rain falleth upon it and leaveth it bare; they accomplish nothing with what they earn, for God guideth not the people that disbelieve. And the likeness of those who expend their wealth for the sake of pleasing God and for the certainty of their souls is as the likeness of a garden on a hill: a heavy rain falleth on it and it bringeth forth its fruit twofold; and if no heavy rain falleth on it, then the dew falleth; and God seeth what ye do.--ii. 266, 267.

Kind speech and forgiveness is better than alms which vexation followeth; and God is rich and ruthful.--ii. 265.

O ye who believe, there is prescribed for you the fast as it was prescribed for those before you; maybe ye will fear God for a certain number of days, but he amongst you who is sick or on a journey may fast a [like] number of other days. And for those who are able to fast [and do not], the expiation is feeding a poor man; but he who voluntarily doeth a good act, it is better for him; and to fast is better for you, if ye only knew. The month of Ramadān, wherein the Korān was sent down for guidance to men, and for proofs of the guidance, and the distinguishing [of good and evil]; whoso amongst you seeth this month, let him fast it; but he who is sick or on a journey, a [like] number of other days:--God wisheth for you what is easy, and wisheth not for you what is difficult--that ye may fulfil the number, and magnify God, in that He hath guided you;--and maybe ye will be thankful.--ii. 179-181.

Proclaim among the people a Pilgrimage: let them come to thee on foot and on every fleet camel, coming by every deep pass, to be present at its benefits to them, and to make mention of God’s name at the appointed days over the beasts with which He hath provided them: then eat thereof, and feed the poor and needy; then let them end the neglect of their persons, and pay their vows, and make the circuit of the ancient House.--xxii. 28-30.

He only shall visit the Mosques of God who believeth in God and the Last Day, and is instant in prayer, and payeth the alms, and feareth God only.--ix. 18.

Do ye place the giving drink to the pilgrims, and the visiting of the Sacred Mosque, on the same level with him who believeth in God and the Last Day, and fighteth on the path of God? They are not equal in the sight of God.--ix. 19.

Fight in the path of God with those who fight with you;--but exceed not; verily God loveth not those who exceed.--And kill them wheresoever ye find them, and thrust them out from whence they thrust you out; for dissent is worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they fight you there: but if they fight you, then kill them: such is the reward of the infidels! But if they desist, then verily God is forgiving and merciful.--But fight them till there be no dissent, and the worship be only to God;--but, if they desist, then let there be no hostility save against the transgressors.--ii. 186-189.

They will ask thee of the sacred month, and fighting therein; say, Fighting therein is a great sin; but turning people away from God’s path, and disbelief in Him and in the Sacred Mosque, and turning His people out therefrom, is a greater in God’s sight, and dissent is a greater sin than slaughter.--ii. 214.

Forbidden to you is that which dieth of itself, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which is dedicated to other than God, and what is strangled, and what is killed by a blow, or by falling, and what is gored, and what wild beasts have preyed on--except what ye kill in time--and what is sacrificed to idols; and to divide by [the divination of] arrows, that is transgression in you.--v. 4.

Make not God the butt of your oaths, that ye will be pious and fear God, and make peace among men, for God heareth and knoweth.--ii. 224.

O ye who believe, verily wine and gambling and statues and divining arrows are only an abomination of the devil’s making: avoid them then; haply ye may prosper.--v. 92.

CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW.

It is not for a believer to kill a believer, but by mistake; and whoso killeth a believer by mistake must free a believing slave; and the blood-wit must be paid to his family, unless they remit it in alms; but if he be of a people hostile to you, and yet a believer, then let him only free a believing slave, and if it be a tribe between whom and you there is an alliance, then let the blood-wit be paid to his family, and let him free a believing slave; but if he cannot find the means, then let him fast for two consecutive months--a penance from God: for God is all-knowing and wise. And whoso killeth a believer on purpose, his reward is Hell, to abide therein for ever, and God will be wroth with him, and curse him, and prepare for him a mighty torment.--iv. 94, 95.

O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you for the slain: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman, yet for him who is remitted aught by his brother, shall be prosecution in reason, and payment in generosity.--ii. 173.

He who slayeth a soul, unless it be for another soul, or for wickedness in the land, is as though he had slain all mankind; and he who saveth a soul alive is as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.--v. 35.

The reward of those who war against God and His apostle, and work evil in the earth, is but that they shall be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet shall be cut off alternately, or that they shall be banished from the land--that is their disgrace in this world, and in the next they shall have a mighty torment.--v. 37.

The man thief and the woman thief, cut off the hands of both in requital for what they have done; an example from God, for God is mighty and wise.--v. 42.

They who devour usury shall not rise again, save as he riseth whom the Devil hath smitten with his touch; that is because they say, “Selling is only like usury:” but God hath allowed selling, and forbidden usury.--ii. 276.

If ye fear that ye cannot do justice between orphans, then marry such women as are lawful to you, by twos or threes or fours; and if ye fear ye cannot be equitable, then only one, or what [slaves] your right hands possess: that is the chief thing--that ye be not unfair.--iv. 3.

Marry those of you who are single, and the good among your servants, and your handmaidens. If they be poor, God of his bounty will enrich them, and God is liberal, wise. And let those who cannot find a match, live in chastity, till God of His bounty shall enrich them.--xxiv. 32.

Wed not idolatrous women until they believe, for surely a believing handmaiden is better than an idolatress, although she captivate you. And wed not idolaters until they believe, for a believing slave is better than an idolater, although he charm you.--ii. 220.

Divorce may be twice: then take them in reason or let them go with kindness. It is not lawful for you to take from them aught of what ye have given them, unless both fear that they cannot keep God’s bounds. But if he divorce her [a third time], she is not lawful to him afterwards, until she marry another husband; but if he also divorce her, it is no crime in them both to come together again.--ii. 229, 230.

And for the divorced there should be a maintenance in reason, a duty this on those who fear God.--ii. 242.

Against those of your women who commit adultery, summon witnesses four in number from among you; and if these bear witness [to the crime], then keep the women in houses till death release them, or God make a way for them.--iv. 19.

They who slander chaste women, and bring not four witnesses, scourge them with fourscore stripes, and receive not their testimony for ever, for these are the transgressors:--save those who afterwards repent and do what is right--for God is forgiving, merciful.--xxiv. 4.

It is prescribed for you that, when one of you is at the point of death, if he leave property, the legacy is to his parents and to his kindred in reason--a duty upon those that fear God.--ii. 176.

God ordereth you concerning your children: for a male, the equal of the portion of two females, and if there be more than two women, let them have two-thirds of what [the deceased] hath left; and if there be only one, then let her have the half; and for the parents, for each of them a sixth of what he hath left, if he hath issue; but if he hath no issue, and his parents inherit, then let his mother have a third; and if he hath brethren, let his mother have a sixth, after payment of any bequest he may have bequeathed, or debts. Your parents and your children, ye know not which is the more helpful to you. An ordinance from God: verily God is all-knowing and wise! And yours is half of what your wives leave, if they have no issue; but if they have issue, then ye shall have a fourth of what they leave, after payment of any bequests they may bequeath, or their debts; and they shall have a fourth of what ye leave, if ye have no issue; but if ye have issue, then let them have an eighth of what ye leave, after paying of any bequest ye may bequeath, or debts. And if the man’s or the woman’s heir be a collateral kinsman, and he (or she) have a brother or a sister, then let each of these two have a sixth; but if they are more than that, let them share a third, after payment of any bequests he may bequeath, or debts, without prejudice; an ordinance from God, and God is wise and clement!

These are God’s statutes, and whoso obeyeth God and the Apostle, He will bring him into gardens, whereunder rivers flow, to abide therein for aye,--that is the great prize! But whoso rebelleth against God and his Apostle, and transgresseth His statutes, He will bring him into fire, to dwell therein for aye; and his shall be a shameful torment.--iv. 12-18.

Those of you who die and leave wives, should leave their wives maintenance for a year, without driving them out [from their homes]: but if they go out, there is no crime in you for what they do for themselves in reason; and God is mighty and wise.--ii. 241.

If a man perish and leave no issue, but leave a sister, then hers is half of what he leaves, and he shall be her heir, if she have no issue; but if there be two sisters, let them have two-thirds of what he leaves, and if there be brethren, both men and women, let the male have the equal of the portion of two females. God maketh this plain to you, lest ye err; and God knoweth all things.--iv. 176.

O ye who believe! stand fast by justice, bearing witness before God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kindred, whether it be rich or poor; for God is worthier than they.--iv. 134.

To those of your slaves who desire a deed [for buying their freedom], write it for them, if ye know good in them, and give them a portion of the wealth of God which He hath given you.--xxiv. 33.

If any of the idolaters seek refuge with thee, grant him refuge, that he may hear the word of God; then let him reach his place in safety.--ix. 6.

God wisheth to make it light for you, for man was created weak.--iv. 32.

If ye shun great sins which ye are forbidden, we will cover your offences, and make you enter Paradise with a noble entrance.--iv. 35.

THE TABLE-TALK OF MOHAMMAD.

When God created the creation He wrote a book, which is near him upon the sovran Throne; and what is written in it is this: _Verily my compassion overcometh my wrath_.

* * * * * Say not, if people do good to us, we will do good to them, and if people oppress us, we will oppress them: but resolve that if people do good to you, you will do good to them, and if they oppress you, oppress them not again.

* * * * * God saith: Whoso doth one good act, for him are ten rewards, and I also give more to whomsoever I will; and whoso doth ill, its retaliation is equal to it, or else I forgive him; and he who seeketh to approach me one cubit, I will seek to approach him two fathoms; and he who walketh towards me, I will run towards him; and he who cometh before me with the earth full of sins, but joineth no Partner to me, I will come before him with an equal front of forgiveness.

* * * * * There are seven people whom God will draw under His own shadow, on that Day when there will be no other shadow: one a just king; another, who hath employed himself in devotion from his youth; the third, who fixeth his heart on the Mosque till he return to it; the fourth, two men whose friendship is to please God, whether together or separate; the fifth, a man who remembereth God when he is alone, and weepeth; the sixth, a man who is tempted by a rich and beautiful woman, and saith, Verily I fear God! the seventh, a man who hath given alms and concealed it, so that his left hand knoweth not what his right hand doeth.

* * * * * * * * * * The most excellent of all actions is to befriend any one on God’s account, and to be at enmity with whosoever is the enemy of God.

* * * * * Verily ye are in an age in which if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will be ruined. After this a time will come when he who shall observe one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.

* * * * * Angels come amongst you both night and day; then those of the night ascend to heaven, and God asketh them how they left His creatures: they say, We left them at prayer, and we found them at prayer.

* * * * * The rewards for the prayers which are performed by people assembled together are double of those which are said at home.

* * * * * Ye must not say your prayers at the rising or the setting of the sun: so when a limb of the sun appeareth, leave your prayers until her whole orb is up: and when the sun beginneth to set, quit your prayers until the whole orb hath disappeared; for, verily she riseth between the two horns of the Devil.

* * * * * No neglect of duty is imputable during sleep; for neglect can only take place when one is awake: therefore, when any of you forget your prayers, say them when ye recollect.

* * * * * When any one of you goeth to sleep, the Devil tieth three knots upon his neck; and saith over every knot, “The night is long, sleep.” Therefore, if a servant awake and remember God, it openeth one knot, and if he perform the ablution, it openeth another; and if he say prayers it openeth the other; and he riseth in the morning in gladness and purity:--otherwise he riseth in a lethargic state.

* * * * * When a Muslim performeth the ablution, it washeth from his face those faults which he may have cast his eyes upon; and when he washeth his hands, it removeth the faults they may have committed, and when he washeth his feet, it dispelleth the faults towards which they may have carried him: so that he will rise up in purity from the place of ablution.

* * * * * _Of Charity._ When God created the earth, it began to shake and tremble; then God created mountains, and put them upon the earth, and the land became firm and fixed; and the angels were astonished at the hardness of the hills, and said, “O God, is there anything of thy creation harder than hills?” and God said, “Yes, water is harder than the hills, because it breaketh them.” Then the angel said, “O Lord, is there anything of thy creation harder than water?” He said, “Yes, wind overcometh water: it doth agitate it and put it in motion.” They said, “O our Lord! is there anything of thy creation harder than wind?” He said, “Yes, the children of Adam giving alms: those who give with their right hand, and conceal from their left, overcome all.”

* * * * * The liberal man is near the pleasure of God and is near Paradise, which he shall enter into, and is near the hearts of men as a friend, and he is distant from hell; but the niggard is far from God’s pleasure and from paradise, and far from the hearts of men, and near the Fire; and verily a liberal ignorant man is more beloved by God than a niggardly worshipper.

* * * * * A man’s giving in alms one piece of silver in his lifetime is better for him than giving one hundred when about to die.

* * * * * Think not that any good act is contemptible, though it be but your brother’s coming to you with an open countenance and good humour.

* * * * * There is alms for a man’s every joint, every day in which the sun riseth; doing justice between two people is alms; and assisting a man upon his beast, and his baggage, is alms; and pure words, for which are rewards; and answering a questioner with mildness is alms, and every step which is made toward prayer is alms, and removing that which is an inconvenience to man, such as stones and thorns, is alms.

* * * * * The people of the Prophet’s house killed a goat, and the Prophet said, “What remaineth of it?” They said, “Nothing but the shoulder; for they have sent the whole to the poor and neighbours, except a shoulder which remaineth.” The Prophet said, “Nay, it is the whole goat that remaineth except its shoulder: that remaineth which they have given away, the rewards of which will be eternal, and what remaineth in the house is fleeting.”

* * * * * Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captive if he be unjustly bound.