Fatima DOyen - In the Prophets Garden: A Selection of Ahadith for the Young

In the

Prophets Garden

A selection of ahadith for the young

Compiled by

Fatima M DOyen and Abdelkader Chachi

THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

In the Prophet Garden

Published by

THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

Markfield Conference Centre
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Copyright The Islamic Foundation, 2002/1423 H
Reprint 2009/1430 H; 2011/1432 H 2011/1432 H and 2013/1434 H

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
DOyen, Fatima M.; In the Prophets Garden:
a selection of ahadith for the young
1. Hadith - Juvenile literature. Ummah (Islam)
I. Title II. Chachi, Abdelkader
III. Islamic Foundation
297. 124

ISBN 978 0 86037 372 X
eISBN 978 0 86037 666 8

Cover/Book design & typeset: Nasir Cadir

Notes

This book uses the name Allah throughout
when referring to the One Eternal God,
Lord and Creator of the Universe,
Glorified is He!

Allah is the proper name of God for all native
Arabic-speakers, regardless of religion,
and it is the name Muslims prefer to use for God.

In conformity with Islamic tradition, the following calligraphic symbols have been used to indicate respect:

Contents

All thanks and praise is due to Allah Most High, who guides whomever He wills to the path of eternal happiness through the wonderful example of His beloved Prophet Muhammad whom He entrusted with His Message.

Many worthy collections of hadith (plural ahadith: sayings and deeds) of the Prophet Muhammad have been compiled and translated into English. Very few, however, have been compiled specifically for children and young people, and this collection is intended to fill that gap. In the Prophets Garden presents two hundred authentic ahadith that will appeal to all ages but are especially suitable for young people, taking into consideration their vocabulary, needs and interests. We have therefore selected ahadith that are fairly self-explanatory, and have kept notes to a bare minimum. Where only part of a hadith relates to the chapter topic only the relevant part has been included; also, the name of the narrator has not been given except when needed for clarification (although the authority for each hadith is named, e.g. Bukhari). The selected ahadith have been taken from a wide range of authentic sources: the collections of Imams Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Bayhaqi, Malik and al-Darimi.

While we have remained close to the literal meaning of the original texts, some Arabic expressions have been paraphrased to make them easier to understand. The Arabic texts are included for ease of reference, although we assume that anyone who wishes to study them in-depth or memorise them will do so under the guidance of a scholar. Finally, transliteration marks have not been used for Arabic letters except to represent ayn () and hamza (), in order to keep things simple.

This small book has been the collaborative effort of many. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Manazir Ahsan and Dr. Muhammad Isa Waley for their help with revising the translations, seeking alternative ahadith, and offering their encouragement and support, and to Dr. A. R. Kidwai and Sarah Nakhoodah for their helpful editorial suggestions. We would also like to thank brothers Anwar Cara and Nasir Cadir for the lovely layout and design.

It is our hope that In the Prophets Garden will serve as a useful introduction to the timeless wisdom of the last Prophet of Islam both at home and in the classroom, and we pray that on the Last Day it will atone for some of our sins. We ask our Lords forgiveness and readers indulgence for any faults or omissions, welcome any suggestions for improvement.

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

What is a Hadith?

In the Arabic language the word hadith (plural ahadith, or hadiths) means news; it also means saying, report, speech or story. In the context of Islam, when we speak of hadith we mean the Prophet Muhammads sayings, deeds, advice, and the actions approved in his presence, as recorded by his Companions. Ahadith are sometimes referred to as Traditions. A related word is Sunnah, which means way of life. It is used to mean the Way of the Prophet . We learn about his Sunnah from ahadith, as well as from the customs and rulings of his pious Companions, who modelled their lives after his.

Why are Ahadith important?

After the Quran itself Gods Last Testament and revelation to mankind the Sunnah is the second source of Islam. The Quran lays down basic principles, while the Sunnah clarifies those principles and explains how to put them into practice. For instance, Allah states in the Quran that Muslims must pray, give charity, fast and make pilgrimage, but the details of how to fulfil those essential obligations were taught by the Prophet Muhammad . It would be impossible to practise Islam correctly without knowledge of the Prophets Sunnah. The importance of the Prophets role as a teacher, advisor and lawgiver is emphasised in the Quran in many verses. Allah says: