Good Hadith

To fast forward to the list of Good Hadith, skip the next four paragraphs.

Table of Contents

Matn Matters

Good Hadith illustrate the Latent Principles of the Quran, by offering examples of Prophetic actions. In contrast, Dark Hadith are those that, despite their presence in the best of the Sahih Haith books, do not clarify the Latent Principles (even if mutawatir) since their matn or content contradicts the LPs or the Inside Pillars.

“Any Hadith that you see contradicting reason or fundamental principles, know that it is forged”, said a famous scholar of Traditional Sunni Islam, al-Jawzi (d. 1201). That guidance is often ignored by Traditionalists today. BioIslam’s method of validating Hadith is content criticism, which was initially employed starting around 500 AH / 1100 CE. Prior to this period, there was a heavy reliance on the isnad method of Traditionalists like Imam Bukhari and Muslim, who were at intellectual odds with the rationalist Mutazilite scholars. The latter emphasized reason and not isnad as the basis for Hadith verification. Once the weight of the Abbasid state shifted to support the Traditionalists, and when the Mutazilites were consequently marginalized, the Traditionalists felt comfortable reinstating the role of reason after around 500 AH / 1100 CE. But since this move came about 200 years after the canonization of the Sahih Sittah collection of Hadith books. The later critical works could never fully stand up to their canonized predecessors, and thus have less impact today than they should.

Matn criticism based on reason rather than isnad has pedigree. The scholars who employed it wrote mawduat books include al-Maqdisi (d. 1113), al-Jawzi (d. 1201), ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), al-Suyuti (d. 1505), al-Shawkani (d. 1834) and al-Laknawi (d. 1886) (Brown, J.A.C., Hadith, 99). But why stop there? If they could apply the powers of reason that were available to them in their era, so should we. Also, given the vast progress in analytical philosophy in the past century, we are able to apply a higher capacity of reason than prior generations, and perhaps the same will be said by future generations. If this is the basis for abolition of slavery in Islam, why should it not apply in all matters?

Iterations Improve

The ex post process of selecting Good Hadith depends on which LPs are extracted from the Quran. If we are being intellectually honest, it is in itself is a subjective quest. However, as seen in discussion of eisegesis vs exegesis in Induction & Illustration, such subjectivity has characterized all prior Traditionalist interpretations too. Also, this process is an iterative quest – future generations might argue for a somewhat different set of Good Hadith motivated by a different set of LPs. If human powers of reason grow over time, thanks to revelations through science, then we will benefit from better LPs, and consequently better hadith selection from the vast corpus. If this method had been applied a millennium ago, the ulama would have developed higher powers of reason and might have bravely led the world in banning slavery (and other evils), echoing the early efforts of the Prophet ﷺ.

Given BioIslam’s skeptical stance on post-Quranic canonical books, there is no certainty that the Good Hadith listed below were true sayings of the Prophet ﷺ. But the likelihood is high, given their compatibility with the LPs. Most of these Good Hadith below are sourced from the sahih hadith books, and some are in an abbreviated form. We have not compiled an exhaustive list — just enough to make the point, with the pithier ones listed first.

Good Hadith Examples

I am a treasure unknown, come find Me (Hadith of the Hidden Treasure).
The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets.
The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.
Whoever pursues knowledge, Allah will pave a path to paradise.
Those who cheat are not of us.
A believer does not have meanness and bad morals.
Allah does not look at your faces and wealth, but at your hearts and deeds.
There is no giving of harm to others nor retaliating harm with harm.
None of you will have true faith till he wishes for his brother what he likes for himself.
One whose neighbor is not safe from his evil will not enter paradise.
Account to yourself before you are called to account.
Those people who show no mercy will receive no mercy from Allah.
Whoever is not merciful (to the creation) will not be shown mercy by Allah.
Give workers their wages before their tears (on their foreheads) have dried.
No father has ever given a child a gift that is superior to good manners.
As long as the heart is not honest, the faith cannot be sincere. As long as the tongue is not sincere, the heart cannot be sincere.
None of you will enter Paradise unless you have faith, and none of you truly have faith, unless you love each other.
Allah does not look at your appearance or your possessions; but He looks at your heart and your deeds.
Whoever sees something evil should change it with his hands (unless by doing this it creates a bigger evil). If he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot do even that, then in his heart, which is the weakest degree of faith.
Those who are the means for good deeds are the same as those who perform good deeds.
Whoever opens a way to a charitable deed is like the one that has done this good deed.
Every person makes mistakes. The most blessed of those who make errors is he who repents.
Wherever you may be, do not oppose Allah; if you perform an evil action, perform a good one afterwards to cancel the evil out; act towards people as required by good morals.
No one has ever eaten anything more blessed than that which is from what they have earned.
The best amongst you is he who pays his debts in the most handsome manner.
Adhere to righteousness even though you will not be able to do all acts of virtue.
One who distances themselves from idle deeds is the most beautiful of Muslims.
No one should judge between two people when they are angry.
Whoever carried weapons against us is not from among us and whoever cheated us is not from among us.
Beware of suspicion for it is the most untruthful type of speech.
He who is not merciful to our young (people) and who shows no respect to our elderly is not one of us.
You cannot enter heaven until you believe, and you will not truly believe until you truly love one another.
He who abandons that which does not concern him is a good Muslim.
There are two blessings, and most people evaluate these blessings incorrectly: Health and free time.
Fear Allah wherever you are. Do good immediately after a sinful act to erase it, and always be well-mannered in your relationship with people.
Allah is pleased with your doing your jobs, deeds and tasks well and soundly.
You will not enter paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Should I direct you to that which will cause you to love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves.
Never belittle a good act, even if it is nothing more than smiling at a fellow Muslim!
Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity; enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is charity; your guiding a man that has lost his way is charity; and your removing of stones, thorns, and bones from people’s paths is charity for you.
Every Muslim’s blood, wealth, and honor are forbidden for other Muslims to violate.
Do not quarrel with your brothers. Do not make them such jokes as they will not like. Do not make promises to them that you will not keep.
Do not shun each other; do not ignore one another; do not hate one another; and do not envy one another; and be brothers with one another.
No Muslim is allowed to shun his brother for more than 3 days.
It is incumbent upon you to be always truthful, for truthfulness guides to absolute piety and piety leads to Paradise.
A man who always tells the truth and pursues the truth is written with Allah as a truthful one. Refrain from lying, for lying guides to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to Hellfire.
Allah’s Pleasure lies in the pleasure of one’s parents; while His Wrath too lies in the wrath of theirs.
A man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Who among the people has the most right to my good company?” He replied, “Your mother.” The man said, “Then who?” He replied, “Your mother.” The man said, “Then who?” He replied, “Your mother.” The man said, “Then who?” He replied, “Then your father.”
Three prayers are answered without doubt: A prayer by a person suffering injustice, and a prayer by a traveller, and a prayer by a father for his children.
The best among you are those who give the best treatment to their wives.
Whoever does not show affection to the young and respect to the old is not one of us.
Making a motion of his index and middle fingers our Prophet said, ‘Whoever supports an orphan from among his own or any other family will be as close to me in Heaven as these fingers are close to each other.
Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet.
Jibrail kept on recommending me about treating the neighbors in a kind and polite manner, so much so that I thought that he would order (me) to make them (my) heirs.
The one who helps widows and poor people is like a warrior fighting for Allah’s Cause or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all the night.
In everybody there is a piece of flesh, if it is healthy, the whole body is healthy, and if it is sick, the whole body is sick. Beware! It is the heart!
The one who looks after a widow or poor person is like the one who strives in the cause of Allah.
No fatigue, illness, worry, sorrow, harm, grief, or even the prick of a thorn afflicts a Muslim except that Allah expiates some of his sins by it.
The Prophet would never find fault with food. If he desired it, he would eat. If he disliked it, he would leave it.
The fire is surrounded by unlawful desires and paradise by difficulties.
If you said to your companion on Friday during Jumuah prayer, “Listen!”, while the imaam is giving the sermon, then you’ve erred by engaging in idle talk.
Whenever someone goes to the mosque in the morning or evening, Allah prepares for him a place in paradise.
The signs of a hypocrite are three. When he speaks, he lies. When he’s trusted, he betrays. When he promises, he breaks it.
Allah is more joyous with the repentance of one of you than you are when you find your lost animal.
One who does not behave gently is considered to have been deprived of all their good deeds.
When a person dies, then all his deeds come to an end except for three. A continuous charity, sadaqa jariyah. Knowledge he left behind being benefited from. A righteous child who prays for him.
Charity does not decrease wealth, Allah increases the honor of the slave who pardons others, and whoever humbles himself for Allah’s sake, He will raise him in status.
The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents.
The best Jihad is the word of Justice in front of the oppressive Sultan.
Make things easier, do not make things more difficult, spread the glad tidings, do not hate.
The most blessed house among Muslims is the one in which an orphan is cared for. The worst house among Muslims is the one in which an orphan is treated badly.
O Allah! I seek protection with You from helplessness, idleness, cowardice, from becoming old and having to beg and from miserliness.
The believer possesses cordiality. There is no goodness in the person who is not cordial (who does not socialize with people) and does not permit cordiality (allows others to socialize with them).
If you see there to be danger with the truth, do not deviate from it. For salvation is only with the truth.
The Messenger of Allah said, “Do you know what is backbiting?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “When you mention your brother in a way that he dislikes.” It was said, “What if that which I mention exists in my brother?” He replied, “If what you mention exists in him, then you committed backbiting against him. If what you mention does not exist in him, then you have slandered him.”
Whoever called others to guidance, then he will receive a reward similar to whoever followed him without it decreasing from either of them. Whoever called others to misguidance, then he will receive a sin similar to whoever followed him without it decreasing from either of them.
Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings, the nights.