The House in which the Quran is Recited

It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b. Mas’ûd – Allâh be pleased with him – said:

The house in which the Qur’ân is not recited is like a derelict house that has no one to maintain it.

It is also reported that he said:

Verily the emptiest of houses are those that are empty of the Book of Allâh.

It is reported that Abû Hurayrah – Allâh be pleased with him – used to say about the house in which the Qur’ân is recited:

It becomes spacious for its inhabitants, the good of it becomes plentiful, the angels come to it and the devils leave it. And the house in which the Qur’ân is not recited becomes cramped for its inhabitants, has little good in it, and the devils come to it.

Ibn Abî Shaybah, Al-Musannaf articles 30645, 30647 and 30650.

The Braying Drunkard

Al-’Awâm b. Hawshab (148H) – Allâh have mercy on him – said:

I once came to an area in one part of which was a graveyard. After ‘asr, one of the graves split open and a man with the head of a donkey and the body of a human came up from it and brayed three times, after which the grave closed back up on him. I then saw an old woman weaving fleece or wool, and a woman said, “Do you see that old woman?” I said, “What about her?” She replied, “That is the mother of this [dead] man.” I asked, “What was his story?” She replied, “He used to drink wine, and whenever he would go out his mother would say, ‘O my son, fear Allâh; until when will you keep drinking wine?’ He would reply, ‘You bray like a donkey.’” The woman said, “He then died after ‘asr, so every day after ‘asr the grave opens up and he brays a few times, then the grave closes up on him again.”

Al-Hâfidh Abul-Qâsim Al-Asbahânî, Al-Targhîb wa Al-Tarhîb article 471.

Shaykh Nâsir Al-Dîn Al-Albânî graded this narration hasan in his edition of Al-Mundhirî’s Al-Targhîb wa Al-Tarhîb. See Sahîh Al-Targhîb wa Al-Tarhîb hadîth 2517.

Al-Mundhirî quotes Al-Asbahânî as saying:
This [story] was narrated by Abul-’Abbâs Al-Asam in a dictation at Naysâbûr, in the presence of great preservers [of traditions] and people of knowledge, and they did not reject it.

The best thing after Iman and the worst thing after Kufr [women]

It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattâb – Allâh be pleased with him – once addressed the people and said:

No man can have anything better after faith (îmân) than a woman of righteous character, loving and child-bearing. And no man can have anything worse after unbelief (kufr) than a sharp-tongued woman of bad character.

Al-Hâfidh Abul-Qâsim Al-Asbahânî, Al-Targhîb wa Al-Tarhîb article 1528. Also recorded in other sources with a slight variation in wording.

10 Days to Marry

It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b. Mas’ûd – Allâh be pleased with him – said:

If I had ten days left to live, and I knew I would die by the end of them, and I had enough time to get married, I would get married for fear of temptation (fitnah).

Sa’îd b. Mansûr, Al-Sunan article 493.

The Blessings of Marriage according to the Sunnah

Yahyâ b. Yahyâ Al-NaysâbûrÎ reports:

I was once with Sufyân b. ‘Uyainah – Allah have mercy on him, when a man came to him and said, “O Abû Muhammad, I complain to you of so-and-so”, meaning his wife, “I am the lowest and most despicable thing to her.” [Sufyân] lowered his head for a few moments, then said, “Perhaps you wanted her in order to better your status.” The man said, “Indeed, o Abû Muhammad.” Sufyân said, “Whoever goes for glory will be tried with ignominy, whoever goes for wealth will be tried with poverty, but whoever goes for religiousness, Allah will bring together for him glory and wealth with the religion.” He then started to narrate to him:

We were four brothers: Muhammad, ‘Umrân, IbrâhÎm and I. Muhammad was the eldest, ‘Umrân was the youngest, and I was in the middle. When Muhammad wanted to marry, he desired status and married a woman of higher standing, so Allah tried him with ignominy. ‘Umrân desired wealth, so he married a richer woman and Allah tried him with poverty: [her family] took everything from him and gave him nothing.

I pondered their situation. Mu’ammar b. Râshid once came to us so I consulted him on the situation and told him the story of my brothers. He reminded me of the hadÎth of Yahyâ b. Ja’dah and the hadÎth of ‘Â`ishah. The hadÎth of Yahyâ b. Ja’dah states that the Prophet – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – said, “A woman is married for four things: her religion, her status (lineage), her wealth or her beauty; so take the religious one and be successful.” The hadÎth of ‘Â`ishah states that the Prophet – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – said, “The most blessed woman is she who is easiest to maintain.”

Thus, I chose [to marry a woman of] religion and modest dowry, in accordance with the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and Allah gave me status and wealth along with the religion.

Abû Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyâ` 7:289, 290.

Note
The first hadÎth is recorded by Al-BukhârÎ and Muslim. The second is found in Al-Nasâ`Î and other collections but has been graded weak by scholars including Shaykh Al-AlbânÎ. However, scholars point out there is another narration that supports and adds to its meaning. This hadÎth states:
It is from the blessing in a woman that she has an easy dowry, an easy proposal [via her guardian] and an easy womb (i.e. she is fertile and bares children without difficulty). One of the reporters of this narration, ‘Urwah, said “And I say from myself, one of the first signs of evil from a woman is for her to have a high dowry.”
This hadÎth is recorded by Imâm Ahmad and others and is graded hasan by Shaykh Al-AlbânÎ.

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