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Sunan An-Nabi

A Collection of Narrations on The Conduct and Customs of The Noble Prophet Muhammad (S)

This book presents a collection of narrations on the conduct, customs, and actions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S), those that he always performed and those that describe his way of life.

Author(s): Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn at-Tabataba'i

Translator(s): Tahir Ridha Jaffer

Miscellaneous information:

ISBN: 978-0-9733622-7-5 Copyright 2007 ∙ Islamic Publishing House First Published in 2007 by: Islamic Publishing House #1008 - 37 Vanier Drive ∙ Kitchener, Ontario ∙ Canada, N2C 2P6 www.iph.ca ∙ iph@iph.ca In Co-Operation with: Islamic Humanitarian Service 81 Hollinger Crescent ∙ Kitchener, Ontario ∙ Canada, N2K 2Y8 Tel: 519-576-7111 ∙ Fax: 519-576-8378 ihs@primus.ca ∙ www.al-haqq.com Mohsin & Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, Inc All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations quoted in articles or reviews. Printed in Canada By Friesens Corporation - www.friesens.com

Table of Contents

Publisher’s Preface 5

Translator’s Preface 8

Author’s Preface 9

References 10

Introduction. 11

References 20

Biography of the Author 21

Chapter 1: The Character and Moral Traits of the Holy Prophet 24

References 36

Chapter 2: On His (S) relationship with the people 38

Addendum to this Chapter 42

References 55

Chapter 3: On Cleanliness and the Rules of Beautification  59

Addendum to this Chapter 61

References 65

Chapter 4: On Travelling and its Adab  67

Addendum to this Chapter 68

References 71

Chapter 5: On The Adab of clothing and anything pertaining to it 72

Addendum to this Chapter 75

References 77

Chapter 6: His Sunnah in the dwellings 78

Addendum to this Chapter 78

References 80

Chapter 7: On the Adab of sleeping and the bedside 81

Addendum to this Chapter 81

References 83

Chapter 8: On the Adab of marriage and children  84

Addendum to this Chapter 84

References 89

Chapter 9: On Foods, Drinks and Table Manners 90

Addendum to this Chapter 95

References 101

Chapter 10: On the Adab of the Lavatory  104

Addendum to this Chapter 105

References 106

Chapter 11: On the Dead and anything related (to Death) 107

Addendum to this Chapter 108

References 112

Chapter 12: On the Adab of Medication  113

Addendum to this Chapter 113

References 115

Chapter 13: Siwak (brushing teeth) 116

Addendum to this Chapter 116

References 117

Chapter 14: The Adab of Wud'u. 118

Addendum to this Chapter 119

References 120

Chapter 15: The Adab of Ghusl 121

Addendum to this Chapter 121

References 123

Chapter 16: The Adab of Salat (Ritual Prayer) 124

Addendum to this Chapter 133

References 143

Chapter 17: The Adab of Sawm (Fasting) 147

Addendum to this Chapter 149

References 151

Chapter 18: The Adab of I’tikaf 152

References 153

Chapter 19: The Adab of giving Charity  154

Addendum to this Chapter 154

References 155

Chapter 20: The Adab of recitation of the Glorious Qur’an  156

Addendum to this Chapter 157

References 159

Chapter 21: Supplication (Du’a) and its Adab  160

His Du’a when he looked in the mirror 160

His Du’a when sitting on his mount 160

His Du’a in the night while travelling. 161

His Du’a when he wore new clothes 161

His Du’a when he stood up from where he was sitting. 162

His Du’a when entering and leaving the masjid. 162

His Du’a when he retired to his bed. 162

His Du’a when the table-spread is laid out 163

His Du’a when he touched the food. 163

His Du’a when the table-spread was picked up. 163

His Du’a when eating and drinking milk. 163

His Du’a when he saw fresh fruit 164

His Du’a when he entered the washroom. 164

His Du’a when he passed by the graves 165

His Du’a when visiting the graves 165

His Du’a in the event of something pleasing or distressing coming upon him. 165

His Du’a when he saw what he liked. 165

His Dhikr when he heard the Adhan. 166

His Dhikr at the end of the Maghrib Prayer 166

His Dhikr and Du’a in the Qunut of the Witr Prayer 166

His Du’a when opening the Fast 167

His Du’a after the Prayer 167

His Du’a after the Nafilah of the Fajr Prayer 168

His Du’a after the Fajr Prayer 168

His Dhikr after the Fajr Prayer 169

His Du’a after the Dhuhr Prayer 169

His Du’a in his Sujud (Prostration) 170

His Du’a when he wanted to leave (after completing) his Prayer 170

His Du’a after the Prayer 170

His Salah and Du’a at the beginning of the New Year 171

His Du’a on the night of Fifteenth of Sha’ban. 171

His Du’a upon seeing the New-Moon. 173

His Du’a upon seeing the New-Moon of the month of Ramadhan. 173

His Daily Dhikr 174

His Dhikr in the Morning and Evening. 174

His remedy for Headache 175

His seeking protection from fever and other ailments 175

His invocation for protection from fever 175

His invocation for protection from magic 176

Another one of his invocations 176

His Du’a when Distressed or Troubled. 176

His Du’a for memorizing the Holy Qur’an. 177

His Covering. 177

Addendum to this Chapter 178

His Du’a in the Morning. 179

His Invocation. 179

His invocation when in difficulty or great distress 180

His Du’a when something made him sad. 180

His Du’a when he saw the New Moon. 181

His Du’a at the time of the New Moon of Rajab and other Months 182

His Du’a after the Dhuhr Prayer 182

His Du’a after every Two Rak’ahs of the Nafilah of Dhuhr 183

His Du’a after the Fajr Prayer 186

His Du’a on the first Night of Ramadhan. 186

His Du’a in the Morning and Evening. 187

His Du’a at Sunrise 187

From his common supplications 187

His Veil 195

His Du’a when Burning Insence 197

His Daily Dhikr 197

References 199

Chapter 22: The Hajj 202

Addendum to this Chapter 202

References 204

Addendum on the Uncommon Narrations 205

References 207

Addendum to Chapter 1: On his Character and Moral Traits 208

References 217

Publisher’s Preface

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The more science and technology advances, the greater the need for the implementation of the teachings of divinely sent prophets throughout human societies, as science and technology provide only machines and instruments - they do not provide the means to prevent their misuse by humans. The rise in murders, felonies, cases of individual and corporate corruption and other crimes clearly point to this fact.

If morality, which forms a significant part of the teachings of the divinely appointed prophets does not prevail and govern over human society, not only will the advanced science and technology fail to ensure human peace and prosperity, but they will actually add to the problems and miseries.

Indeed, the only factor which can halter man’s restive soul and control his stormy instincts and passions, permitting him to utilize science and technology for prosperity and success in life is morality, which originates in faith in Allah (God).

The moral teachings and precepts of the divinely ordained prophets and their own moral conduct are the best means of leading humanity to their ideal life. It goes without saying that in both personal and social life, the observance of moral principles is required of everyone - however this requirement is much greater for those who must lead societies and guide the people, since:

First: The one who is the instructor of society must himself be a model of supreme moral behavior and excellent human characteristics so that he may be able to wipe out moral decay from the people’s hearts and minds. Obviously if he himself is lacking in morality, he will fail to lead the people to the path of humanity and virtue.

Secondly: The responsibility of leading the human society is so great and crucial that no one can successfully perform it unless he himself has perfect morals.

For this reason, Allah (God) selected His prophets from amongst those who possessed exalted spirits, great tolerance, extraordinary patience, and other excellent moral characteristics. It was with the weapon of morality that the divinely commissioned prophets overturned the debased societies which were plunged in corruption and through which they led the ignorant people who had gone astray, back to the path of virtue and salvation.

In the Noble Qur’an, Allah (SWT) has addressed the Prophet Muhammad (S):

“Thus it is due to the mercy from Allah that you deal with the people gently, and had you been rough and hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you.” (3:159)

The sublime celestial morals of the Prophet Muhammad (S) brought about the waves of the revolution of Islam - first in the ‘Arabian society and afterwards throughout the world.

In the light of this all-embracing spiritual and intellectual resurrection, dispersion turned into unity; unchastity into chastity and virtue; idleness into hard work and industry; selfishness to altruism; and ‘Arab arrogance to modesty and affection. Men and women were trained to become models of

good moral behavior and to possess altruistic manners. Indeed, the morals of the Prophet (S) were so sublime and praiseworthy that Allah (SWT) has regarded them as great by saying:

“ And truly you (Muhammad) possess great morals.” (68:4)

The Noble Prophet of Islam (S) possessed the magnificent status of prophecy and divinely-granted leadership - but his manners in dealing with the people and his way of life were so simple and gentle that when he was among the people and a newcomer wanted to know about him, he had to ask,“Which one of you is the Prophet?”

The Prophet (S) treated everyone with great respect and considered nobility and honor to be owing to faith, piety, and good behavior. He was not interested in wealth or status, nor did he revere anybody for his riches or position.

The Noble Prophet (S) never attempted to retaliate against the insults not did he disrespect anyone - rather, he forgave people’s mistakes or their misconduct. His reaction to the torment and disregard of the ignorant people was forgiveness and tolerance..

The Prophet of Islam (S) was fond of scent and spent more money on buying perfume than on food. In addition, he used to brush his teeth frequently and washed his blessed hands both before and after meals.

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (S) was about to leave his house, he would look into a mirror or into water to ensure he looked presentable - he always left home with a clean, pleasant appearance.

The final Prophet (S) had great love for ritual prayers such that during the night, he would get up several times, brush his teeth, and then offer the most devoted prayers. He would stand worshipping Allah (SWT), talking sincerely to the Almighty Creator for such a long period that his legs became swollen.

The Noble Prophet (S) took lessons from watching the sky, moon, sun, and every other thing in nature - and these phenomena attracted him to their creator more than to themselves.

In short, the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) was a perfect model of all excellent virtues and sublime human qualities.

In such a small book, it is not possible to describe all his praise­worthy manners and morals. In fact, this work contains merely a pale reflection of his celestial, resplendent portrait so that people all over the world can make his morals and conduct their own model of behavior and learn divinely inspired and taught morality and the correct program for life from him.

We would like to sincerely thank Tahir Ridha Jaffer for rendering this important work of the late ‘Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Taba’taba’i into a fluent and easy to read English and pray that Allah (SWT) rewards him in full for his painstaking efforts to bring to light the Prophetic teachings as conveyed by the immaculate Ahlul Bayt (as) and that this work serves to guide all of us as we strive to perfect our morals and character.

We would also like to thank all of those people who have contributed towards the publication of this book - especiallyThe Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, Inc. - your reward is with Allah and his Noble Prophet

(S). Without the support of everyone involved, the publication of this important work would not have materialized.

May Allah’s greetings be upon the one who was the selected Prophet and the best of pious human beings and may the greetings of the Angels be upon the faithful.

May the Almighty Allah (God) help all of us to follow the blessed footsteps of the Noble Prophet (S), whose path is sure to lead us into eternal salvation and paradise.

Islamic Publishing House

22nd of August, 2006 ce

27th of Rajab, 1427 ah

Translator’s Preface

Due to the untiring efforts of our past scholars, we are in possession of vast collections of hadith literature, some of which have been systematically arranged subject wise, mostly in sections pertaining to different legal topics, while other compilations tackle only one subject or make up the hadith that were narrated from one particular person, infallible or otherwise. This book falls in the latter category.

Though it cannot be said that everything contained in this book is recommended practice, it does serve a two-fold purpose. One is that, indeed, many of the actions practiced by our great Prophet (S), as highlighted in the traditions, should be emulated by us and this cannot be overlooked. However, the second and more important purpose served by this book is to give us a better and more complete picture about the life of our beloved Prophet (S).

As has been noted by many, translating classical texts is always a daunting task. Many times I would come across a hadith that was simply incomprehensible. It was at these moments that I realized the true value of my teachers in the hawza. I would take the source to them and at times have lengthy sittings in an effort to break down the meanings of some hadith. The common classical dictionaries and lexicons had also become an invaluable asset for me during the translation.

I have tried to make this translation as simple as possible in order to benefit a wider audience. I have, admittedly, not paid due attention to the names of different narrators as I felt this was secondary to the purpose. It would therefore be likely to come across a mis transliterated name. Unfortunately, even in the hawza, there is no set standard when it comes to names and it is common to find scholars disagreeing between ‘Qatada’ and ‘Qutada’, for example.

At this juncture, I would like to express my appreciation firstly to Allah (SWT) (who always comes before all else), for giving me the ability to complete this translation, then to my beloved Prophet, for being such a wonderful role model for all of humanity. I also wish to thank my parents, without whom I would not be where I am today. Lastly, but most importantly, I wish to thank Shaykh Saleem Bhimji for adding the ‘Arabic text and transliteration characters, proofreading, typesetting and including a brief biography of the late ‘Allamah Taba’taba’i.

In conclusion, I pray to Allah to grant us all the ability to follow in the footsteps of our great Prophet - May Allah send His unending blessings on him and his progeny.

Tahir Ridha Jaffer

Qum, Iran

12th of May, 2006 ce

Author’s Preface

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the universe, and blessings and salutations upon our master Muhammad (S) and his pure progeny.

Said Muhammad Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad Husayn al-Hasani al-Husayni - may Allah forgive his transgressions: This is what Allah (SWT) made possible for us to compile from some of the narrations of the Muslim narrators, of the practices of our master, the Prophet (S), in the limited time and restricted period available. We ask the Almighty (SWT) to grant us the ability to follow these practices as much as possible.

The Almighty (SWT) has said:

“In the Apostle of Allah there is certainly for you a good exemplar ” (Surat al-Ahzab (33), 21)

And the Noble Prophet (S) said in his advice to ‘Ali (as): “...And sixth is to follow mysunnah in my prayers and my fasting and my giving of charity.”1

And Imam ‘Ali (as) said: “Whoever disciplines himself with the character that Allah wants his servants to have, will be granted everlasting prosperity.”2 In addition, Imam al-Sadiq (as) said: “I would hate for a person to die before having adopted any one attribute from the attributes of the Holy Prophet (S).”3

Indeed, following in his footsteps and adopting his traits is the true perfection and final goal and it is with this that one can achieve success in this world and the next.

We have left out the mention of Makruhat (abominable actions), as it is part of our beliefs that the Noble Prophet (S) never performed any Makruh or Mubah action in a way deemed Makruh or Mubah, and this has been proven by rational and scriptural proofs.

We decided to delete the chains of narrators of the narrations for the sake of brevity, however we have mentioned the names of the books and their authors, and we have differentiated between the narrations with complete and incomplete chains so that anyone who wants to find the source of the narration can easily do so.

We have also mentioned his (S) nature because of its auspiciousness and because it relates to his moral character even though it does not fall under the topic of this book. We have not mentioned specific details of events but have instead concentrated on the general aspects and from Allah do we seek help.

Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Taba’taba’i

References

1. al-Mahasin: 17, al-Kafi 8:66, al-Faqih 4:188, Majmu’at Warram 2:91, Da`aim al-Islam 2:347

2. The Tafsir attributed to Imam al-’Askari (as): 17, Adabu Qira`ati al-Qur`an: no. 3, Bihar al-Anwar 92:214

3. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 39