One day, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) delivered a very effective speech, as a result, eyes shed tears and hearts became softened. A man said: "O Prophet of Allah! It sounds as if this is a farewell speech, so advise us." He (PBUH) said, "I admonish you to fear Allah, and to listen and obey even if a black slave has been appointed as your leader. For whoever among you lives after me will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold fast to them. Beware of Bid'ah (in religion) because every Bid'ah is a misguidance."

[At-Tirmidhi].

"The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'Allah will not accept any fasting, prayer, charity, Hajj, 'Umrah, Jihad, or any other obligatory or voluntary action from a person who follows innovation (Bid'ah). He comes out of Islam like a hair pulled out of dough."

"My father told me narrating from my grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever revives a Sunnah of mine, which people then act upon, will have a reward equivalent to that of those who act upon it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. And whoever introduces an innovation (Bid'ah) that is acted upon, will have a burden of sins equivalent to that of those who act upon it, withot that detracting from the burden of those who act upon it in the slightest.'"

"I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Whoever revives a Sunnah of mine that dies out after I am gone, he will have a reward equivalent to that of those among the people who act upon it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. Whoever introduces an innovation (Bid'ah) with which Allah and his Messenger are not pleased, he will have a (burden of) sin equivalent to that of those among the people who act upon it, without that detracting from their sins in the slightest.'"

"When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) delivered a sermon, his eyes would turn red, he would raise his voice and he would speak with intensity, as if he were warning of an (enemy) army, saying, 'They will surely attack you in the morning, or they will surely attack you in the evening!' He would say: 'I and the Hour have been sent like these two,' and he would hold his index and middle finger. Then he would say: 'The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil matters are those that are newly-invented, and every innovation (Bid'ah) is a going astray.' And he used to say: 'Whoever dies and leaves behind some wealth, it is for his family, and whoever leaves behind a debt or dependent children, then they are both my responsibility.'"

One day Messenger of Allah (PBUH) delivered us a very eloquent Khutbah on account of which eyes shed tears and hearts were full of tears. A man said: "O Prophet of Allah, this is as if it were a parting advice. So advise us". He (PBUH) said, "I admonish you to fear Allah, to listen and obey even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed as your leader. Because whosoever among you shall live after me, will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the examples of the Rightly- Guided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold to it fast. Beware of new things (in Deen) because every Bid'ah is a misguidance".

[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi, who categorized it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Verily there are two things - words and guidance. The best words are the words of Allah, and the best guidance in the guidance of Muhammad. Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation (Bid'ah) and every innovation is a going-stray. Do not let the desire for a long life causes your hearts to grow hard. That which is bound to happen is close to you, and the only thing that is far away is that which is not going to happen. The one who is doomed to Hell is doomed from his mother's womb, and the one who is destined for Paradise is the one who learns from the lessons of others. Killing a believer constitutes disbelief (Kufr) and verbally abusing him is immorality (Fusuq). It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days. Beware of lying, for lying is never good, whether it is done seriously or in jest. A man should not make a promise to a child that he will not keep. Lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hell. Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. It will be said of the truthful person: 'He spoke the truth and was righteous', and it will be said of the liar, 'He told lies and was immoral.' "For a person continues to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a liar."

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) delivered a Khutbah, his eyes would become red, his tone loud and he showed anger as if he were warning us against an army. He (PBUH) would say, "The enemy is about to attack you in the morning and the enemy is advancing against you in the evening". He would further say, "I am sent with the final Hour like these two fingers of mine." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) held up his index finger and the middle finger together to illustrate. He used to add: "To proceed, the best speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (PBUH), the worst practice is the introduction of new practices in Islam and every Bid'ah is a misguidance". He would also say, "I am, in respect of rights, nearer to every believer than his own self. He who leaves an estate, it belongs to his heirs, and he who leaves a debt, it is my responsibility to pay it off." [Muslim].

Same Hadith as reported by 'Irbad bin Sariyah (May Allah be pleased with him) has already been recorded in the previous chapter regarding safeguarding the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).(See Hadith number 158)