(the mother of the faithful believers) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur. "

That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct (i.e. agrees with Allah and His Apostle's verdict) he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, (i.e. against that of Allah and His Apostle) even then he will get a reward ."

(That she said), "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed. Should we not fight in Allah's Cause?" He said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj-Mabrur (i.e. Hajj which is done according to the Prophet's tradition and is accepted by Allah).

That Allah's Apostle said, "There are forty virtuous deeds and the best of them is the Maniha of a shegoat, and anyone who does one of these virtuous deeds hoping for Allah's reward with firm confidence that he will get it, then Allah will make him enter Paradise because of Hassan (a subnarrator) said, "We tried to count those good deeds below the Maniha; we mentioned replying to the sneezer, removing harmful things from the road, etc., but we failed to count even fifteen."

I asked the Prophet, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause." I then asked, "What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?" He replied, "The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master." I said, "If I cannot afford to do that?" He said, "Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself." I said, "If I cannot do that?" He said, "Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good."

While the Prophet was in a funeral procession, he took a small stick and started scraping the earth with it and said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him, either in the Hell Fire or in Paradise." They (the people) said, "Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend on this (and leave work)?" He replied. "Carry on doing (good deeds), for everybody will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to his destined place." The Prophet then recited:-- 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the Best Reward.'.....(92.5-10)

The Prophet used to construct a loom with a Hasir at night m order to pray therein, and during the day he used to spread it out and sit on it. The people started coming to the Prophet at night to offer the prayer behind him When their number increased, the Prophet faced them and said. O people! Do only those good deeds which you can do, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) till you get tired, and the best deeds to Allah are the incessant ones though they were few.

Once the Prophet came while a woman was sitting with me. He said, "Who is she?" I replied, "She is so and so," and told him about her (excessive) praying. He said disapprovingly, "Do (good) deeds which is within your capacity (without being overtaxed) as Allah does not get tired (of giving rewards) but (surely) you will get tired and the best deed (act of Worship) in the sight of Allah is that which is done regularly."

We were in the company of the Prophet and he said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him, either in Paradise or in the Hell-Fire." We said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend (on this fact and give up work)?" He replied, "No! Carry on doing good deeds, for everybody will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to his destined place." Then the Prophet recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the Best reward. We will make smooth for him the path of ease....the path for evil.' (92.5-10)

A man asked the Prophet "What deeds are the best?" The Prophet said: "(1) To perform the (daily compulsory) prayers at their (early) stated fixed times, (2) to be good and dutiful to one's own parents, (3) and to participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause."

While the Prophet was in a funeral procession. he picked up something and started scraping the ground with it, and said, "There is none among you but has his place written for him either in the Hell Fire or in Paradise." They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we not depend upon what has been written for us and give up deeds? He said, "Carry on doing (good) deeds, for everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created. So he who is destined to be among the happy (in the Hereafter), will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of such people, while he who is destined to be among the miserable ones, will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of such people." Then he recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and fears Allah, and believes in the best....' (92.5-10)

The Prophet was asked, "Which is the best deed?" He said, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle." He was then asked, "Which is the next (in goodness)?" He said, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." He was then asked, "Which is the next?" He said, "To perform Hajj-Mabrur. "

" We were accompanying a funeral procession in Baqi-I-Gharqad. The Prophet came to us and sat and we sat around him. He had a small stick in his hand then he bent his head and started scraping the ground with it. He then said, "There is none among you, and not a created soul, but has place either in Paradise or in Hell assigned for him and it is also determined for him whether he will be among the blessed or wretched." A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Should we not depend on what has been written for us and leave the deeds as whoever amongst us is blessed will do the deeds of a blessed person and whoever amongst us will be wretched, will do the deeds of a wretched person?" The Prophet said, "The good deeds are made easy for the blessed, and bad deeds are made easy for the wretched." Then he recited the Verses:-- "As for him who gives (in charity) and is Allah-fearing And believes in the Best reward from Allah. " (92.5-6)

Once `Umar (bin Al-Khattab) said to the companions of the Prophet "What do you think about this Verse:--"Does any of you wish that he should have a garden?" They replied, "Allah knows best." `Umar became angry and said, "Either say that you know or say that you do not know!" On that Ibn `Abbas said, "O chief of the believers! I have something in my mind to say about it." `Umar said, "O son of my brother! Say, and do not under estimate yourself." Ibn `Abbas said, "This Verse has been set up as an example for deeds." `Umar said, "What kind of deeds?" Ibn `Abbas said, "For deeds." `Umar said, "This is an example for a rich man who does goods out of obedience of Allah and then Allah sends him Satan whereupon he commits sins till all his good deeds are lost."

We were in the company of the Prophet in a funeral procession at Baqi Al-Gharqad. He said, "There is none of you but has his place written for him in Paradise or in the Hell- Fire." They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend (on this fact and give up work)?" He said, "Carry on doing (good deeds), for every body will find it easy to do (what will lead him to his destined place)." Then he recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the Best reward from Allah (i.e. Allah will compensate him for what he will spend in Allah's way). So, We will make smooth for him the path of ease. But he who is a greedy miser....for him, the path for evil.' (92.5-10)

While we were in a funeral procession in Baqi Al-Gharqad, Allah's Apostle came and sat down, and we sat around him. He had a small stick in his hand and he bent his head and started scraping the ground with it. He then said, "There is none among you, and no created soul but has his place written for him either in Paradise or in the Hell-Fire, and also has his happy or miserable fate (in the Hereafter) written for him." A man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we depend upon what is written for us and give up doing (good) deeds? For whoever among us is destined to be fortunate (in the Hereafter), will join the fortunate peoples and whoever among us is destined to be miserable will do such deeds as are characteristic of the people who are destined to misery." The Prophet said, "Those who are destined to be happy (in the Hereafter) will find it easy and pleasant to do the deeds characteristic of those destined to happiness, while those who are to be among the miserable (in the Hereafter), will find it easy to do the deeds characteristic of those destined to misery." Then he recited: 'As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and believes in the Best reward from Allah,' (92.5-6)

At the time of the Fajr prayer the Prophet asked Bilal, "Tell me of the best deed you did after embracing Islam, for I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise." Bilal replied, "I did not do anything worth mentioning except that whenever I performed ablution during the day or night, I prayed after that ablution as much as was written for me."

The Prophet (saws) was asked: which is the best action? He replied: To stand in prayer for a long time.

Somebody said to Usama, "Will you go to so-and-so (i.e. `Uthman) and talk to him (i.e. advise him regarding ruling the country)?" He said, "You see that I don't talk to him. Really I talk to (advise) him secretly without opening a gate (of affliction), for neither do I want to be the first to open it (i.e. rebellion), nor will I say to a man who is my ruler that he is the best of all the people after I have heard something from Allah s Apostle ." They said, What have you heard him saying? He said, "I have heard him saying, "A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown in the (Hell) Fire, so that his intestines will come out, and he will go around like a donkey goes around a millstone. The people of (Hell) Fire will gather around him and say: O so-and-so! What is wrong with you? Didn't you use to order us to do good deeds and forbid us to do bad deeds? He will reply: Yes, I used to order you to do good deeds, but I did not do them myself, and I used to forbid you to do bad deeds, yet I used to do them myself."

Allah's Apostle said "Three persons will have a double reward:

1. A Person from the people of the scriptures who believed in his prophet (Jesus or Moses) and then believed in the Prophet Muhammad (i .e. has embraced Islam).

2. A slave who discharges his duties to Allah and his master.

3. A master of a woman-slave who teaches her good manners and educates her in the best possible way (the religion) and manumits her and then marries her."

Allah's Apostle was informed that I had taken an oath to fast daily and to pray (every night) all the night throughout my life (so Allah's Apostle came to me and asked whether it was correct): I replied, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you! I said so." The Prophet said, "You can not do that. So, fast for few days and give it up for few days, offer Salat (prayer) and sleep. Fast three days a month as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to one year of fasting." The Prophet said to me, "Fast one day and give up fasting for two days." I replied, "I can do better than that." The Prophet said to me, "Fast one day and give up fasting for a day and that is the fasting of Prophet David and that is the best fasting." I said, "I have the power to fast better (more) than that." The Prophet said, "There is no better fasting than that."

Allah's Apostle was asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, "What is the next (in goodness)? He replied, "To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's Cause." The questioner again asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To perform Hajj (Pilgrim age to Mecca) 'Mubrur, (which is accepted by Allah and is performed with the intention of seeking Allah's pleasure only and not to show off and without committing a sin and in accordance with the traditions of the Prophet)."

I asked Allah's Apostle, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the best deed?" He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is next in goodness?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I further asked, what is next in goodness?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." I did not ask Allah's Apostle anymore and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more.

I participated in the Ghazwa of Tabuk along with Allah's Apostle and I gave a young camel to be ridden in Jihad and that was, to me, one of my best deeds. Then I employed a laborer who quarrelled with another person. One of them bit the hand of the other and the latter drew his hand from the mouth of the former pulling out his front tooth. Then the former instituted a suit against the latter before the Prophet who rejected that suit saying, "Do you expect him to put out his hand for you to snap as a male camel snaps (vegetation)?"

"The Messenger of Allah (saws) was asked: 'Which deed is the most virtuos ? And which deed is the best ?' He (saws) said: 'Faith in Allah and His Messenger.' It was said: 'Then what ?' He said: 'Jihad is the hump (the most prominent) of the deeds.' Then what O Messenger of Allah ? He said: 'Then Hajj Mabrur.'"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih, it has been reported through other routes from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (saws).