The Top 10... | Bringing Joy to a Believer | The Classroom of the Sahaba

The Classroom of the Sahaba — Session 1: Bringing Joy to a Believer

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَنُصَلِّي عَلَى رَسُولِ الكَرِيمِ، أَمَّا بَعْد

Welcome everyone to our last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan, in the series that we will be having throughout the last 10 nights — as we did last year — which is titled The Top 10. I know all of us have been benefiting greatly, immensely, from the Ramadan Immersion Program with the many mashayikh that are teaching, and also benefiting greatly from Shaykh Abdullah and Mufti Abdul Rahim's "Moments with the Qur'an" program. So this is something that we just added to the last 10 nights — hopefully a cherry on top of the cake.

It's late — it's 12am Eastern Time. Please stay with us, the program will not be longer than 40–45 minutes, insha'Allah it won't be too long.

Introduction: The Top 10 — This Year's Series

Last year we did our Top 10 program, and the Top 10 program consisted of top 10 qualities. Every day we spoke about one quality — we spoke about honesty, generosity, truthfulness, humility, all of those different qualities. This year we're doing something a little different. It's still the Top 10, but if you saw the name of the series, it's called The Classroom of the Sahaba, because we will be speaking about 10 different questions that were answered by the Prophet ﷺ — questions that had to do with the best of something.

"O Prophet of Allah, tell us the best amal." "O Prophet of Allah, tell us the best type of salah." "O Prophet of Allah, tell us the best du'a." "O Prophet of Allah, tell us the best charity." So when they asked, "Tell us the best of whatever it was," we will try our best to talk about the answer that the Prophet ﷺ gave. In different moments in his life, to different people, he would give different answers based upon the situation.

May Allah bless Shaykh Muhammad Masmuri for helping us choose this topic. It's called The Classroom of the Sahaba, where we will go through some of the Q&A that the Sahaba had with the Prophet ﷺ.

The Miracle of the Sahaba

A lot of people don't realize that among the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ, of course, the miracle that we focus on most — especially during this time of year — is the Qur'an. But after the Qur'an, a lot of scholars are of the opinion that the Sahaba, radi Allahu anhum jami'an, they are really the miracle of the Prophet ﷺ. When you think about who these men and women were, where they came from, and what they became, radi Allahu anhum jami'an, it's really miraculous.

So this interplay between the companions and the Prophet ﷺ is something that should be of great concern to us. They were guides to us — not only in how to be, but also in what to ask. They did not waste any of their time with the Prophet ﷺ. When Allah says:

"Truly, you have in the Messenger of Allah a good example" — we have the Sahaba to thank for taking that seriously. They did not ask for the sake of trivia, not to just keep a sheet with answers to share with each other. They only asked for the sake of implementation. They asked the Prophet ﷺ a question, and when he gave them an answer, they always put into practice what he gave them.

As Imam al-Ghazali says in the Ihya', one of the greatest miracles of the Prophet ﷺ was that he was able to create these Sahaba — that he was able to mold these personalities that came from different parts of the world. They came with different baggage, with their own personalities, but the Prophet ﷺ made each and every one of them strong enough and powerful enough to lead the entire nation. He brought out the best in them.

And I think when we read the stories of the Sahaba, it's very easy to forget that these were real people — regular people — who had baggage, had bad habits, but through their adherence to the way of the Prophet ﷺ, they became guides for the entire nation across time and space. Sometimes I look at the way we name our children — I can't tell you how many children I've met named Umar, named Uthman, named Bilal, named Zayd. These were regular people, but now they are people after whom we name our children. They've become exemplars, and it's all because they were open to being transformed by the Prophet ﷺ.

The Age of "Just Sunnah"

One of our teachers said that we live in a time of "just sunnah" — wa 'ayyadhu billah. We live at a time when a person proves to you that something is sunnah so as to say, "You don't have to do this — it's just sunnah." Whereas the Sahaba lived at a time where proving that something was sunnah was incentive to do it. Proving that this was a practice done by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was something that motivated and inspired you to do it. But we live at a time where if we say it's sunnah, we're saying, "Okay, you don't really have to do that." The islah of our community — the renewal, the tajdid of our iman — will not be complete until we get rid of this idea of "just sunnah."

The Classroom of the Sahaba: Every Student on the Honor Roll

This classroom is the greatest classroom, regardless of any classroom in this world — regardless of methodology of teaching, regardless of how great the teachers are, regardless of how prestigious the universities are. Every classroom will have two types of students: the ones that are on the honor roll, and those who are just getting through or failing or having to repeat the class again. It doesn't matter if you're sitting in Yale or Macomb Community College — you're going to have both types of students; that's what makes a classroom.

There was only one classroom in which every single student was an honor roll student, was an A-plus student — and that was the classroom of the Sahaba, radi Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajma'in wa kullan wa'adallahu al-husna. They were all honor roll students. When they asked a question, they were asking to bring it right into their lives — not to just put it to the side and say, "In five years I will implement it."

Today's Hadith: The Best of Actions

The Prophet ﷺ was one day sitting with his companions and he spoke about inna afdal al-a'mal — or inna ahabbal a'mali ilallah — that one of the greatest actions a person can do is to bring happiness to someone's life, to bring a smile on someone's face. The hadith we will be covering today is:

(Reported by Ibn Abi al-Dunya in Qada' al-Hawa'ij; referenced in various collections on the virtue of bringing joy to a believer)

"Verily, the most beloved of actions to Allah is that you bring joy into the heart of your Muslim brother."

The Prophet ﷺ is telling the companions: this act of being able to make someone feel good, feel happy, feel at ease — this is one of the best actions.

Why Ibn Umar Narrates This Hadith

The first thing that jumps out when you read this hadith is that it was narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar, who himself was known for his shidda — for being very strict. Among the Sahaba, radi Allahu anhum jami'an, you had three distinct companions in terms of their legal opinions. Ibn Mas'ud was known for being very peculiar and unique — he had opinions that other people didn't share. Ibn Abbas was known for inclining toward tasheel — making things easy for people, for tatabbu' al-rukhas. And Abdullah ibn Umar was known for shidda — for being very, very strict.

So the fact that he is narrating this hadith — some scholars suggest that in the presence of certain individuals, the Prophet ﷺ would say things to balance them out. If your natural inclination is toward a kind of strictness, then the Prophet ﷺ might say something to help you acquire some balance. The Prophet ﷺ is always completing us — he's always giving us that which we need.

Being Someone That People Like

Dr. Sherman Jackson said something very profound: "If you don't know any Muslims that you like — not that you respect them or admire them, but just Muslims that you like — then you don't know an Islam that you like." And so, to be someone that your brothers and sisters like — meaning not simply, "This is my Muslim brother and I respect him, he has rights upon me," — but just: I like this person. If they're around, I'm happy. If they called me and asked me to come over for iftar, I would gladly accept the invitation because I like being around them. That's what this hadith is talking about — bringing joy to someone's heart.

And I think those of us who are religious sometimes have to own up to something: if you are from the Ahl al-Taqwa, if you are from the Ahl al-Fajr — the people who pray Fajr in jama'ah in the masjid — you have to work on being someone that other Muslims like. It's not good enough for people to say, "We respect the brother, but no one likes him." No, no. If you are from the people of taqwa, you have to work on being someone that other Muslims like.

This connects to another hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:

(Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad and al-Tabarani; authenticated by al-Albani)

"A believer is sociable by nature, and there is no good in one who neither befriends others nor is befriended." And further:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4032; also reported by al-Tirmidhi)

"The believer who mixes with people and bears their harm patiently is better than the one who does not mix with people and does not bear their harm patiently."

How You Make a Person Feel — Not Just What You Say

This hadith has more to do with how you make a person feel than what you say in front of a person. In today's time, we are experts on knowing what to say. We know the words. We can say the right words. We say more words of comfort and kindness than anyone else prior to this time, probably. But yet, the words do not result in those feelings that the individual needs to feel.

As they say in Arabic:

"The word that comes out of the heart enters into the heart." And also:

"The tongue of your state is more eloquent than the tongue of your words" — actions speak louder than words. You can say all the right things, but if your state, your actions, your presence don't back it up, the words fall short.

The Prophet ﷺ: Smiling Through Hardship

When we reflect on the Prophet ﷺ, one of the most beautiful descriptions in the Shama'il of Imam al-Tirmidhi is that he is described both as dahhak — the one who was always laughing — and bassam — the one who was always smiling — and at the same time as mutawasilul ahzan — someone who was always inwardly sad, downcast, and melancholy. The commentary explains that these two descriptions do not contradict each other. One described the Prophet ﷺ in public — smiling, laughing, putting other people at ease, bringing joy to their hearts. But when the Prophet ﷺ was in private, he was very, very serious — given to reflection, to contemplation, to tafakkur and tadabbur.

They say the problem with our community now is we do the opposite. When we're alone, we're on our phones, we're laughing, joking around — and then we pretend to be serious Muslims when we get with other people. We're supposed to be easy-going with people — putting people at ease, helping them feel comfortable — and when we're alone, shut off the telephone, turn off the television, sit quietly in seclusion, read from the mushaf, make dhikr, think about death, think about meeting Allah. There is a time for those serious things, and a social setting is not that time.

Allah refers to this tension in human nature:

"Indeed, the human being was created anxious — when adversity touches him, he is distressed, and when good touches him, he withholds — except for those who pray." The DNA that we have is: when something goes wrong, everyone needs to know, and when something goes right, we start holding back. That's not the quality of the believers. The believers' complaints are only in front of Allah:

"I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah." But with people, they're able to put on a good face. Just like — regardless of how difficult the father's day is, regardless of what happens to him at work — when he walks inside his home, he has these kids who think the world of him, and he puts a smile on his face to make them feel happy. Every father will do it out of love for his children, and the kids will never know how difficult the father's day was.

'Amr ibn al-'As: Was I Loved, or Just Favored?

One of the most moving stories in the seerah that illustrates this point is that of 'Amr ibn al-'As. He was so convinced that the Prophet ﷺ loved him more than anyone else that he actually approached the Prophet and asked: man ahabbu al-nasi ilayk — "Who is the most beloved of the people to you, O Messenger of Allah?" And the Prophet ﷺ replied: "A'ishah." Now what is interesting about this hadith is that 'Amr ibn al-'As had spent a long time fighting against the Muslims before his Islam. This was the person who, when the Quraysh sent someone to Abyssinia to take the Muslims captive and bring them to justice before the Negus — they sent 'Amr ibn al-'As. And yet the Prophet ﷺ was so full of goodness to him, so endearing, that 'Amr ibn al-'As thought he was the most beloved of all the people to the Prophet ﷺ. That is character.

And when 'Amr ibn al-'As was dying, someone said to him, "Come on, the Prophet loved you and he chose you to do so many things — he favored you." And 'Amr ibn al-'As said: "Did he love me, or was he just being considerate of me?" Because sometimes you give leverage to someone just to keep them motivated, and you favor them because you don't want them to feel discouraged. And sometimes you motivate and promote someone because you actually love them. He said, "I'm not sure if he loved me, or he was just doing ta'lif al-qulub." But we know the Prophet loved him — and yet he still felt: "I have to earn my Jannah."

That is the only downside of being friends with someone who has very good character — the minute you think, "I'm really special to them," you realize that everybody feels that way. That's the one upside to being friends with somebody who treats everybody badly: this person is mean to everybody but they're nice to me.

The Prophet ﷺ and the Young Man Who Lost His Bird

How the Prophet ﷺ could put a smile on a child who lost his bird — a young boy who had a small parrot that died — and the Prophet ﷺ knew that bird's name. They say one of the best ways to win the heart of a person is to learn the names of their pets. The Prophet ﷺ was a natural at this.

And that hadith — the Prophet calling this young man by a kunya: Ya Aba 'Umayr, even though he had no children — just to soften the young man's heart. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6203; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2150)

Ali and Fatimah: The Prophet's Wisdom as an In-Law

There is a beautiful story that took place during the time of the Battle of the Trench — one of the most difficult times in the Prophet's life — where Ali and Fatimah got into a marital dispute. Ali left the house upset. The Prophet ﷺ came to his daughter's home, asked where Ali was. The Sahaba found him lying down in the masjid, dust on his face. The Prophet ﷺ went to him, called him:

"O Abu Turab — get up!" — calling him by the association to how he looked, with dirt on his face — and gave him a hug. That was the end of the dispute.

The Prophet ﷺ did not take sides. He didn't say, "I stand with my daughter." He just came to Ali, was informal with him — because he only taps people with his foot when he's comfortable with them — and embraced him. Dispute resolved. Now think about how hard that is. If something like this happens today and you get the shaykh involved, the lawyer involved, the counselor, the therapist — the Prophet ﷺ did it in one word.

And what's profound about when this story took place: it was during the Battle of the Trench — the most difficult time in the Prophet's life — with 10,000 people on the opposite side of the trench ready to take their lives. In this difficulty, the Prophet ﷺ did not forget his prophetic responsibility. Even though he was going through so much, he still made sure that this young man felt comfortable. Circumstances do not define how we should act with people. Circumstances can define how we are with Allah — we can be sad with Allah, we can complain to Allah — but with people, your personality should still have the same connection.

A Statement of Abdullah ibn Umar on Piety

Abdullah ibn Umar has a beautiful statement where he says:

"Piety is something very simple: a face that is at ease, and words that are soft." If a person has these two things, that means they have piety in their heart.

And someone asked Abdullah ibn Umar: hal kana ashabu al-nabiyyi ﷺ yadhakoon? — "Did the companions of the Prophet ﷺ used to laugh?" He said: Na'am, hum yadhakoon wa al-imanu fee qulubihim kal-jibal — "Yes, they would laugh, but the iman in their hearts was like mountains."

That also teaches us something very important: laughing should not take away from our piety or our spirituality. We need to find that balance. It doesn't mean that every time someone is sad we enter the room and try to make them laugh. The Prophet ﷺ was not insensitive to people's difficulties — the woman who was standing at the grave of her child, crying, the Prophet ﷺ didn't go to her and start making her laugh. He went, said a few words, and left. Timing is everything when it comes to how you make a person feel. This sunnah must be taken into our lives with maturity.

The Other Dimensions of the Hadith: Relieving Debt and Feeding

We should also look at the other aspects of this hadith — and to relieve his debt, and to feed him. Sometimes we forget these other two dimensions.

This idea — we don't realize that almost everybody in our community is overcome with debt. Sometimes teachers say: what is preventing Allah from answering our du'a? Sometimes they say: riba and debt. We're all drowning in riba and debt. And as a community, if Muslims have the resources that they do in the United States of America and have not collectively figured out how to really help people stay out of riba and debt — they're neglecting the fard kifaya. We should be thinking about this beyond just the individual level. As a community, how can we help people facilitate life in a way that they can avoid these pitfalls?

Sponsoring someone through college, helping someone with their marriage, helping someone through a very difficult cause — and sometimes you make someone happy and help them in a big way, and you're expecting a bigger reaction. They don't seem appreciative enough. That's okay — you did it for the sake of Allah. And as a Muslim community, the more educated we are, the more talented, the more resourceful and united — the greater the impression of Islam in the West. And it can't happen if we're segregated and divided.

And the last part of the hadith — just to feed people. Feeding is the easy part. Knowing that your brother needs to be fed — that is where you have to display some vigilance. You have to know your brother's condition well enough to know that he needs to be fed.

Allah refers to this in the Qur'an — that an ignorant person might think a certain person to be wealthy because of their ta'affuf, their dignified restraint from asking:

"The ignorant one thinks them rich because of their dignified restraint." There are some people who move with such iffah — such dignified restraint — that you wouldn't even know they had any needs, just because they carry themselves with dignity. But Allah says that if you make your charity reach those people who cannot articulate their needs, Allah gives that charity maximum merit.

You Have to Be Involved with the People

Part of being able to bring happiness to someone is that you have to be involved with the people. You can't be locked up in a classroom, locked up in a library, locked up in your room writing a book. You have to be involved with the people. When you write a book, give a speech, sit with people — be relatable. Sometimes I hear people speaking about things and I think: these people need to go interact with real life. They're not aware of the actual challenges of the youth, the sisters, the brothers.

Not only do we take knowledge through text, resources, and transmission — we also need to soak in the opportunity of observation. Being able to bring happiness to someone requires you to first know their reality.

Closing

To the entire audience — this was the first session, and we spoke about the first hadith. The best of actions is the action of bringing happiness to someone. If someone is taking notes, please share the notes, tag us, send it to our email. Stay tuned for tomorrow — we have another guest joining us and another best action that we can bring into our lives, insha'Allah.

May Allah bless you all. JazakAllah khair. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.