Limits & Punishments (Al-Hudud)

Narrated `Abdullah: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), the truthful and truly-inspired, said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an angel and orders him to write four things, i.e., his provision, his age, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed (in the Hereafter). Then the soul is breathed into him. And by Allah, a person among you (or a man) may do deeds of the people of the Fire till there is only a cubit or an arm-breadth distance between him and the Fire, but then that writing (which Allah has ordered the angel to write) precedes, and he does the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters it; and a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise till there is only a cubit or two between him and Paradise, and then that writing precedes and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it."

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah puts an angel in charge of the uterus and the angel says, 'O Lord, (it is) semen! O Lord, (it is now ) a clot! O Lord, (it is now) a piece of flesh.' And then, if Allah wishes to complete its creation, the angel asks, 'O Lord, (will it be) a male or a female? A wretched (an evil doer) or a blessed (doer of good)? How much will his provisions be? What will his age be?' So all that is written while the creature is still in the mother's womb."

Narrated `Imran bin Husain: A man said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Can the people of Paradise be known (differentiated) from the people of the Fire; The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "Yes." The man said, "Why do people (try to) do (good) deeds?" The Prophet said, "Everyone will do the deeds for which he has been created to do or he will do those deeds which will be made easy for him to do." (i.e. everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created).

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) ; was asked about the offspring of the pagans. He said, "Allah knows what they would have done (were they to live).

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was asked about the offspring of the pagans. He said, "Allah knows what they would have done (were they to live)."

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "No child is born but has the Islamic Faith, but its parents turn it into a Jew or a Christian. It is as you help the animals give birth. Do you find among their offspring a mutilated one before you mutilate them yourself?" The people said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! What do you think about those (of them) who die young?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah knows what they would have done (were they to live)."

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "No woman should ask for the divorce of her sister (Muslim) so as to take her place, but she should marry the man (without compelling him to divorce his other wife), for she will have nothing but what Allah has written for her."

Narrated Usama: Once while I was with the Prophet (ﷺ) and Sa`d, Ubai bin Ka`b and Mu`adh were also sitting with him, there came to him a messenger from one of his daughters, telling him that her child was on the verge of death. The Prophet (ﷺ) told the messenger to tell her, "It is for Allah what He takes, and it is for Allah what He gives, and everything has its fixed time (limit). So (she should) be patient and look for Allah's reward."

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri: That while he was sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) a man from the Ansar came and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We get slave girls from the war captives and we love property; what do you think about coitus interruptus?" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Do you do that? It is better for you not to do it, for there is no soul which Allah has ordained to come into existence but will be created."

Narrated Hudhaifa: The Prophet (ﷺ) once delivered a speech in front of us wherein he left nothing but mentioned (about) everything that would happen till the Hour. Some of us stored that our minds and some forgot it. (After that speech) I used to see events taking place (which had been referred to in that speech) but I had forgotten them (before their occurrence). Then I would recognize such events as a man recognizes another man who has been absent and then sees and recognizes him.

Narrated `Ali: While we were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) who had a stick with which he was scraping the earth, he lowered his head and said, "There is none of you but has his place assigned either in the Fire or in Paradise." Thereupon a man from the people said, "Shall we not depend upon this, O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No, but carry on and do your deeds, for everybody finds it easy to do such deeds (as will lead him to his place)." The Prophet (ﷺ) then recited the Verse: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah..' (92.5)

Narrated Abu Huraira: We witnessed along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) the Khaibar (campaign). Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) told his companions about a man who claimed to be a Muslim, "This man is from the people of the Fire." When the battle started, the man fought very bravely and received a great number of wounds and got crippled. On that, a man from among the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you know what the man you described as of the people of the Fire has done? He has fought very bravely for Allah's Cause and he has received many wounds." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "But he is indeed one of the people of the Fire." Some of the Muslims were about to have some doubt about that statement. So while the man was in that state, the pain caused by the wounds troubled him so much that he put his hand into his quiver and took out an arrow and committed suicide with it. Off went some men from among the Muslims to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Allah has made your statement true. So-and-so has committed suicide." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "O Bilal! Get up and announce in public: None will enter Paradise but a believer, and Allah may support this religion (Islam) with a wicked man."

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d: There was a man who fought most bravely of all the Muslims on behalf of the Muslims in a battle (Ghazwa) in the company of the Prophet. The Prophet (ﷺ) looked at him and said. "If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, let him look at this (brave man)." On that, a man from the People (Muslims) followed him, and he was in that state i.e., fighting fiercely against the pagans till he was wounded, and then he hastened to end his life by placing his sword between his breasts (and pressed it with great force) till it came out between his shoulders. Then the man (who was watching that person) went quickly to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "I testify that you are Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)!" The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, "Why do you say that?" He said, "You said about so-and-so, 'If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, he should look at him.' He fought most bravely of all of us on behalf of the Muslims and I knew that he would not die as a Muslim (Martyr). So when he got wounded, he hastened to die and committed suicide." There-upon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A man may do the deeds of the people of the Fire while in fact he is one of the people of Paradise, and he may do the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact he belongs to the people of Fire, and verily, (the rewards of) the deeds are decided by the last actions (deeds)".

Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade vowing and said, "In fact, vowing does not prevent anything, but it makes a miser to spend his property."

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said (that Allah said), "Vowing does not bring to the son of Adam anything I have not already written in his fate, but vowing is imposed on him by way of fore ordainment. Through vowing I make a miser spend of his wealth."

Narrated Abu Musa: While we were with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in a holy battle, we never went up a hill or reached its peak or went down a valley but raised our voices with Takbir. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came close to us and said, "O people! Don't exert yourselves, for you do not call a deaf or an absent one, but you call the All- Listener, the All-Seer." The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, "O `Abdullah bin Qais! Shall I teach you a sentence which is from the treasures of Paradise? ( It is): 'La haula wala quwata illa billah. (There is neither might nor power except with Allah).

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri: That the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No Caliph is appointed but has two groups of advisors: One group advises him to do good and urges him to adopt it, and the other group advises him to do bad and urges him to adopt it; and the protected is the one whom Allah protects."

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: I did not see anything so resembling minor sins as what Abu Huraira said from the Prophet, who said, "Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not: The adultery of the eye is the looking (at something which is sinful to look at), and the adultery of the tongue is to utter (what it is unlawful to utter), and the innerself wishes and longs for (adultery) and the private parts turn that into reality or refrain from submitting to the temptation."

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: (regarding the Verse) "And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens "Miraj") which We showed you (O Muhammad as an actual eye witness) but as a trial for mankind.' (17.60): Allah's Apostle actually saw with his own eyes the vision (all the things which were shown to him) on the night of his Night Journey to Jerusalem (and then to the heavens). The cursed tree which is mentioned in the Qur'an is the tree of Az-Zaqqum.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Adam and Moses argued with each other. Moses said to Adam. 'O Adam! You are our father who disappointed us and turned us out of Paradise.' Then Adam said to him, 'O Moses! Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for action which Allah had written in my fate forty years before my creation?' So Adam confuted Moses, Adam confuted Moses," the Prophet (ﷺ) added, repeating the Statement three times.

Narrated Warrad: (the freed slave of Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba) Muawiya wrote to Mughira. 'Write to me what you heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying after his prayer.' So Al-Mughira dictated to me and said, "I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying after the prayer, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partner. O Allah! No-one can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold, and the fortune of a man of means is useless before You (i.e., only good deeds are of value).

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Take refuge with Allah from the difficulties of severe calamities, from having an evil end and a bad fate and from the malicious joy of your enemies."

Narrated `Abdullah: When taking an oath, the Prophet (ﷺ) very often used to say, "No, by Him Who turns the hearts."

Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said to Ibn Saiyad, "I have kept for you a secret." Ibn Saiyad said, "Ad-Dukh." The Prophet said, "Keep quiet, for you cannot go beyond your limits (or you cannot exceed what has been foreordained for you)." On that, `Umar said (to the Prophet (ﷺ) ), "Allow me to chop off his neck!" The Prophet said, "Leave him, for if he is he (i.e., Ad-Dajjal), then you will not be able to overcome him, and if he is not, then you gain no good by killing him."

Narrated `Aisha: I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about the plague. He said, "That was a means of torture which Allah used to send upon whom-so-ever He wished, but He made it a source of mercy for the believers, for anyone who is residing in a town in which this disease is present, and remains there and does not leave that town, but has patience and hopes for Allah's reward, and knows that nothing will befall him except what Allah has written for him, then he will get such reward as that of a martyr."

Narrated Al-Bara' bin `Azib: I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) on the Day of (the battle of) Al-Khandaq, carrying earth with us and saying, "By Allah, without Allah we would not have been guided, neither would we have fasted, nor would we have prayed. O Allah! Send down Sakina (calmness) upon us and make our feet firm when we meet (the enemy). The pagans have rebelled against us, but if they want to put us in affliction (i.e., fight us) we refuse (to flee)." (See Hadith No. 430, Vol. 5).