Ibn Kathir Quotes

Learn about intentions, for their importance is greater than the importance of the actions

The Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "Never think ill of the word that comes out of your believing brother's mouth, as long as you can find a good excuse for it.

It has been recorded in a Hadith that the Prophet said, (Do not hold back (your wealth) or else Allah will hold back from you.)

In Sahih Muslim, it is recorded that `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said: (There is no one among you who performs Wudu' and does it well, or -- amply --, then he says: "I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, '' but the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him and he will enter through whichever one he wishes.)

So set you (O Muhammad) your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism Hanifan (worship none but Allah Alone) Allah's Fitrah (Allah's Islamic Monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in khalqillah (the Religion of Allah--Islamic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most men know not." (Ch 30:30 Quran).

The Messenger of Allah recited this Surah to Ubayy Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah said to Ubayy bin Ka`b, (Verily, Allah has commanded me to recite to you (Those who disbelieve from among the People of the Scripture.)) Ubayy said, "He (Allah) mentioned me by name to you'' The Prophet replied, (Yes.) So he (Ubayy) cried. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i all recorded this Hadith from Shu`bah.

Al-Bukhari collected this Hadith in a shorter form. Allah's statement, (and whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will make his matter easy for him.) means, Allah will make his matters lenient for him and will soon bring forth relief and a quick way out,

It has been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said, "Do not scatter the (recitation of) Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the chapter.'' This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi. Al-Bukhari recorded from Abi Wa'il that he said, "A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.' Ibn Mas`ud said, `This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "A man came to Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and said to him: `O Abu Al-`Abbas, Allah says, (And the heavens and the earth wept not for them, nor were they given respite) -- do the heavens and the earth weep for anybody' He, may Allah be pleased with him, said, `Yes, there is no one who does not have a gate in the heavens through which his provision comes down and his good deeds ascend. When the believer dies, that gate is closed; it misses him and weeps for him, and the place of prayer on earth where he used to pray and remember Allah also weeps for him.

Imam Ahmad recorded from `Abdullah bin `Amr that he said, "I asked the Prophet , `O Messenger of Allah! Do you feel anything when revelation comes (to you)' The Messenger of Allah replied, (I hear a ringing and then I remain quiet when that occurs. There has not been a single time that revelation has come to me except that I thought that my soul was about to be taken (death).)

(And be patient for the sake of your Lord!) meaning, make your patience with their harms be for the Face of your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. This was stated by Mujahid. Ibrahim An-Nakha`i said, "Be patient in your giving for the sake of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

(and whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will expiate from him his sins, and will increase his reward.) means, Allah will prevent what he fears and multiply his reward even for the little good he does.

In a Hadith recorded in the Sahih, the Messenger of Allah said, (Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most lying speech.)

Koran 3:28 is one of the primary verses that sanction taqiyya: “Let believers [Muslims] not take infidels [non-Muslims] for friends and allies instead of believers. Whoever does this shall have no relationship left with Allah—except when taking precaution against them in prudence.” Al-Tabari (d. 923), author of a mainstream Koran commentary, offers the following exegesis of 3:28: “If you [Muslims] are under their [non-Muslims’] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them with your tongue while harboring inner animosity for them… [know that] Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels rather than other believers—except when infidels are above them [in authority]. Should that be the case, let them act friendly towards them while preserving their religion.” Another mainstream authority on the Koran, Ibn al-Kathir (d. 1373) writes of 3:28, “Whoever at any time or place fears… evil [from non-Muslims] may protect himself through outward show.” As proof, he quotes Muhammad’s close companion Abu Darda: “Let us grin in the face of some people while our hearts curse them.” Another companion said, “Doing taqiyya is acceptable till the Day of Judgment [i.e., in perpetuity]” (Ibrahim 2010, 3–13). For more, see Raymond Ibrahim, “How Taqiyya Alters Islam’s Rules of War,” Middle East Quarterly 17:1 (2010): 3–13.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "If people conceal their good deeds, Allah will conceal for them what no eye has seen and what has never crossed the mind of man. It

نزلَ

surah which is followed by two numbers, the first indicating the surah, and the second indicating the verse,: Al-Araf 7: 206; Al-Raad 13: 15; Al-Nahl 16: 50; Al-Isra 17: 109; Maryam 19: 58; Al-Hajj 22: 18 & 22: 77; Al-Furqan 25: 60; Al-Naml 27: 26; Al-Sajdah 32: 15; Saad 38: 25; Fussilat 41: 38; Al-Najm 53: 62; Al-Inshiqaq 84: 21 and Al-Alaq 96: 19. If you do not perform a prostration when you read or listen to any of these verses, you have done badly because you miss out on the reward of performing a prostration for God. You incur no sin and violate no divine order.

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Fudayl said concerning the Ayah: (Work you, O family of Dawud, with thanks!) Dawud said, "O Lord! How can I thank you when thanks itself is a blessing from You'' He said: "Now you have truly given thanks to Me, for you have realized that it is a blessing from Me.'' But few of My servants are grateful. This is a reflection of reality.

Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "One of the rabbis came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put the heavens on one finger, the earths on one finger, the trees on one finger, the water and dust on one finger, and the rest of creation on one finger, then He will say: I am the King.' The Messenger of Allah smiled so broadly that his molars could be seen, in confirmation of what the rabbi had said. Then the Messenger of Allah recited: (They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand).

(And the Trumpet will be blown and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allah wills.) This will be the second trumpet-blast, which will cause people to die. By this trumpet-blast, everyone who is alive in the heavens and on earth will be caused to die, except for him whom Allah wills. Then the souls of the remaining creatures will be taken, until the last one to die will be the Angel of Death, and there will be left only the Ever Living, Eternal One, Who was there in the beginning and will be at the end, forever.

(Verily, you all will see your Lord with your own eyes.) The

But even if that were true, the key phrase “begin not hostilities” doesn’t necessarily mean what many Westerners assume or hope it means. The command to fight until “there prevail justice and faith in Allah” suggests there is an aspect to the warfare that is not purely defensive: Muslims must continue the war until Allah’s law prevails over the world, which implies a conflict without end. The passage concludes, “And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah” (2:193). Ibn Ishaq explains that this means that Muslims must fight against unbelievers “until God alone is worshipped.”11 Ibn Kathir also contends that the verse instructs Muslims to fight “so that the religion of Allah becomes dominant above all other religions.”12 Bulandshahri puts it in starker terms: “The worst of sins are Infidelity (Kufr) and Polytheism (shirk) which constitute rebellion against Allah, The Creator. To eradicate these, Muslims are required to wage war until there exists none of it in the world, and the only religion is that of Allah.”13 That bears repeating. “The worst of sins are Infidelity (Kufr) and Polytheism (shirk) which constitute rebellion against Allah, The Creator. To eradicate these, Muslims are required to wage war until there exists none of it in the world, and the only religion is that of Allah.” That’s an open-ended declaration of war against every non-Muslim, in all times and in all places.

But . . . but . . . my Muslim friends tell me Islam is peaceful! Your Muslim friends may indeed be peaceful and reject these teachings. Or they may not know about them, because their teachers did not emphasize them. Or, they may be lying. It’s unfortunate, but true: Islam is the only major religion with a developed doctrine of deception. Many believe this doctrine, called taqiyya, is exclusively Shi’ite, but actually it is founded upon Koranic passages. Chief among these is this one: “Let not the believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers. If any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah; except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them” (3:28). Ibn Kathir explains that in this verse, “Allah prohibited His believing servants from becoming supporters of the disbelievers, or to take them as comrades with whom they develop friendships, rather than the believers.” However, exempted from this rule were            those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’ said, “We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.” Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, “The Tuqyah [taqiyyah] is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.

I was sitting with Abu Darda' in the mosque of Damascus. A man came to him and said: Abu Darda, I have come to you from the town of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for a tradition that I have heard you relate from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I have come for no other purpose. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.

If I were to marry a beautiful woman whom I love, or if I were given the good news of having a newborn son, it is less beloved and dear to my heart then to be, in a cold icy night, in an army waiting to meet the enemy the next morning.