"One day the Prophet (SAW) appeared among the people. A man came to him and said: 'O messenger of Allah, what is Iman (faith)?' He said: 'To believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers and the meeting with, and to believe in the Final Resurrection.' He said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?' He said: 'To worship Allah (alone) and not to associate anything with Him; to establish the prescribed prayers, to pay the obligatory Zakat, and to fast Ramadan.' He said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is Ihsan? He said: 'To worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you do not see Him, He sees you.' He said: "O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be?' He said: 'The one who is being asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking. But I will tell you about its signs. When the slave woman gives birth to her mistress that is one of its signs. When the shepherds compete in constructing tall buildings that is one of its signs. And there are five things which no one knows except Allah.' Then the Messenger of Allah (SAW) recited the Verse: "Verily, Allah, with Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things)."

"We were sitting with the Prophet (SAW) when a man came to him whose clothes were intensely white and whose hair was intensely black; no signs of travel could be seen upon him, and none of us recognized him. He sat down facing the Prophet (SAW), with his knees touching his, and he put his hands on his thighs, and said: 'O Muhammad, what is Islam?' He said: 'To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah, to establish regular prayer, to pay Zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to the House (the Ka'bah).' He said: 'You have spoken the truth.' We were amazed by him: He asked a question, then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: 'O Muhammad, what is Iman faith? He said: 'To believe in Allah, His angels, His Messengers, His books, the Last day, and the Divine Decree (Qadar), both the good of it and the bad of it.' He said' You have spoken the truth.' We were amazed by him. He asked a question, then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: 'O Muhammad, what is Ihsan (right action, goodness, sincerity)? He said: 'To worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you do not see Him, He sees you.' He asked: "When will the Hour be?' He said: 'The one who is being asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking.' He asked: 'Then what are its signs?' he said: 'When the slave woman gives birth to her mistress' (Waki' said: This means when non-Arabs will give birth to Arabs") 'and when you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings.' The Prophet (SAW) met me three days later and asked me: 'Do you know who that man was? I said" 'Allah and his Messenger know best.' He said: 'That was Jibril, who came to you to teach you your religion.'"

"Umar bin Al-Khattab told me: 'While we were with the Messenger of Allah [SAW] one day, a man appeared before us whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black. We could see no signs of travel on him, but none of us knew him. He came and sat before the Messenger of Allah [SAW], putting his knees against his, and placing his hands on his thighs, then he said: "O Muhammad, tell me about Islam." He said: "It is to bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah [SWT] and that Muhammad [SAW] is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the Salah, to give Zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able to bear the journey." He said: "You have spoken the truth." And we were amazed by his asking him, and then saying, "You have spoken the truth". Then he said: "Tell me about Faith." He said: "It is to believe in Allah [SWT] , His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and in the Divine Decree, its good and its bad." He said: "You have spoken the truth." He said: "Tell me about Al-Ihsan." He said: "It is to worship Allah [SWT] as if you can see Him, for although you cannot see Him, He can see you." He said: "Tell me about the Hour." He said: "The one who is asked about it does not know more about it than the one who is asking." He said: "Then tell me about its signs." He said: "When a slave woman gives birth to her mistress, when you see the barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in making tall buildings.'" 'Umar said: 'Three (days) passed, then the Messenger of Allah [SAW] said to me: "O 'Umar, do you know who the questioner was?" I said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "That was Jibril, peace be upon him, who came to you to teach you your religion."

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] would sit among his Companions and if a stranger came, he would not know which of them was he (the Prophet [SAW]) until he asked. So we suggested to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] that we should make a dais for him so that any stranger would know him if he came to him. So we built for him a bench made of clay on which he used to sit. (One day) we were sitting and the Messenger of Allah [SAW] was sitting in his spot, when a man came along who was the most handsome and good-smelling of all people, and it was as if no dirt had ever touched his garments. He came near the edge of the rug and greeted him, saying: 'Peace be upon you, O Muhammad!' He returned the greeting, and he said: 'Shall I come closer, O Muhammad?' He came a little closer, and he kept telling him to come closer, until he put his hands on the knees of the Messenger of Allah [SAW]. He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is Islam?' He said: 'Islam means to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him; to establish Salah, to pay Zakah, to perform Hajj to the House, and to fast Ramadan.' He said: 'If I do that, will I have submitted (be a Muslim)?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth,' we found it odd. He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is faith?' He said: 'To believe in Allah [SWT], His Angels, the Book, the Prophets, and to believe in the Divine Decree.' He said: 'If I do that, will I have believed?' The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'Yes.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth.' He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me, what is Al-Ihsan?' He said: 'To worship Allah [SWT] as if you can see Him, for although you cannot see Him, He can see you.' He said: 'You have spoken the truth.' He said: 'O Muhammad, tell me about the Hour.' He lowered his head and did not answer. Then he repeated the question, and he did not answer. Then he repeated the question (a third time) and he did not answer. Then he raised his head and said: 'The one who is being asked does not know more than the one who is asking. But it has signs, by which it may be known. When you see the herdsmen competing in building tall buildings, when you see the barefoot and naked ruling the Earth, when you see a woman giving birth to her mistress. Five things which no one knows except Allah [SWT]. Verily, Allah, with Him (alone) is the knowledge of the Hour up to His saying: 'Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).' Then he said: 'No, by the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, with guidance and glad tidings, I did not know him more than any man among you. That was Jibril, peace be upon you, who came down in the form of Dihyah Al-Kalbi.'"