Du'a is the Essence of Worship

The Prophet (ﷺ) was present at the pool of Banu Ghifar, Gabriel came to him and said: "Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in one harf. He (the Prophet) said: 'I beg Allah His pardon and forgiveness; my community has not strength to do so'. He then came for the second time and told him the same thing till he reached up to seven harfs. Finally, he said: 'Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in seven harfs; in whichever mode they read, that will be correct.

Ibn Sa'd said: My father (Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas) heard me say: O Allah, I ask You for Paradise, its blessings, its pleasure and such-and-such, and such-and-such; I seek refuge in You from Hell, from its chains, from its collars, and from such-and-such, and from such-and-such. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: There will be people who will exaggerate in supplication. You should not be one of them. If you are granted Paradise, you will be granted all what is good therein; if you are protected from Hell, you will be protected from what is evil therein.

"I was asked about those who were involved in the case of Li'an and if they are to be separated, during the leadership of Mus'ab bin Az-Zubair. I did not know what to say. So I went to the house of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar and I sought permission to enter. I was told he was taking a nap, but he heard me taking and he said: 'Is it Ibn Jubair? Enter. You would not have come except for a need.'" He said: "So I entered and found him laying on a saddlecloth from his mount. I said: 'O Abu 'Abdur-Rahman! Are those involved in Li'an separated?' He said: 'Glorious is Allah! Yes. The first who asked about hat was so-and-so the son of so-and-so. He came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said "O Messenger of Allah! If one of us saw his wife committing adultery, what should he do? If he were to say anything, his statement would be a horrible matter, and if he were to remain silent, his silence about the matter would be horrible." He said: 'So the Prophet (ﷺ) remained silent and did not answer him. Afterwards he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: "The one who asked you about it has been tried by it." So Allah revealed these Ayat from Surat An-Nur: 'And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies by Allah (24:6-10)' - until the end of those Ayat. He said: 'So he called for the man and recited the Ayat to him and admonished him, reminded him, and he told him: "Indeed the punishment of the world is less than the punishment of the Hereafter." So he said: "Nay! By the One Who sent you with the Truth! I did not lie about her." Then he (ﷺ) did the same with the woman, admonishing her and reminding her and he told her: "Indeed the punishment of the world is less than the punishment of the Hereafter." She said: "Nay! By the One Who sent you with the Truth! He is not telling the truth.'" "He said: 'So he started with the man: He testified four times, by Allah that he is one of the truthful, and the fifth time that the curse of Allah be upon him if he was one of the liars. Then the same with the woman: She testified four times by Allah, that he was one of the liars, and the fifth time that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he was one of the truthful. Then he separated the two of them.'"

"Hilal bin Umayyah went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and accused his wife of committing illegal sexual intercourse with Sharik bin Sahma. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Either you produce proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back.'" He said: "Hilal said: 'O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! If one of us saw a man over his wife, should he go and search for witnesses?' The Prophet (ﷺ) kept on saying: 'Either you produce proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back.'" He said: "Hilal then said, 'By Him Who sent you with the Truth and Allah will reveal to you what will save my back from the legal punishment.' Then (the following) was revealed: And for those who accuse their wives, but have not witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies by Allah that he is one of those who speak the truth (24:6-9). He recited it until he reached: 'And the fifth; should be that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he speaks the truth.' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) was saying: 'Allah knows that one of you is a liar, so, will either of you repent?' Then the woman got up and took the oaths, and when she was about to take the fifth one; That the wrath of Allah be upon her if he speaks the truth', the people stopped her and said to her: 'It will definitely bring about Allah's curse upon you (if you are guilty).'" Ibn 'Abbas said 'So she hesitated, and recoiled so much so, that we thought that she would withdraw her denial. But she said: 'I will not dishonor my family for the rest of their days.' The Prophet (ﷺ) then said: 'Watch her, if she delivers a child with eyes that appear to have Kuhl on them, big hips, and fat shins then it is Sharik bin Sahma's child.' (Later) she gave birth to a child fitting that description. So the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'If it had not been settled in the Book of Allah [the Mighty and Sublime], I would punish her severely.'"

"What was said about me had been said, and I myself was unaware of it, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) got up and addressed the people. He recited the Tashahhud and after praising and expressing gratitude to Allah, as He deserved, he said: 'To proceed: O people! Give me your opinion regarding those people who made a forged story against my wife. By Allah, I do not know anything bad about her at all. By Allah, they accused her of being with a man about whom I have never known anything bad, and he never entered my house unless I was present there, and whenever I went on a journey, he went with me.' Sa'd bin Mu'adh [may Allah be pleased with him] got up and said: 'O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! Allow me to chop their heads off!' Then a man from Al-Khazraj, to whom the mother of Hassan bin Thabit was a relative, got up and said (to Sa'd): 'You have told a lie! By Allah, if those persons were from Al-Aws, you would not like to chop their heads.' It was probable that some evil would take place between Aws and Khazraj in the Masjid while I was unaware of that. In the evening of that day, I went out for some of my needs, and Umm Mistah was accompanying me. On our return, Umm Mistah stumbled and said: 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said to her, 'O mother! Why do you abuse your son?' On that Umm Mistah became silent for a while, and stumbling again, she said: 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said to her: 'O mother! Why do you abuse your son?' She stumbled for the third time and said: 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said to her: 'O mother! Why do you abuse your son?' Upon that she said: 'By Allah! I do not abuse him except because of you.' I asked her: 'Concerning what of my affairs?' So she disclosed the whole story to me. I said: 'Has this really happened?' She replied: 'Yes, by Allah!' I returned to my house, so astonished, that I did not know for what purpose I had gone out. Then I became sick and said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 'Send me to my father's house.' So he sent a servant with me, and when I entered the house, I found Umm Ruman downstairs, while Abu Bakr was reciting something upstairs. My mother asked: 'What has brought you, O daughter?' She said: "I informed her and mentioned the whole story to her, but she did not feel as I did about it. She said: 'O my daughter! Do not worry much about this matter, for there is never a charming lady loved by her husband who has other wives, but that they feel jealous of her and speak badly of her.' But she did not feel the same about it as I did. I asked her: 'Does my father know about it?' She said 'Yes.' I asked: 'Does the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) know about it too?' She said 'Yes, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) also knows about it.' Tears filled my eyes and I wept. Abu Bakr, who was reading upstairs, heard my voice, and came down asking my mother: 'What is the matter with her?' She said: 'She has heard what has been said about her.' On that Abu Bakr wept and said: 'I beseech you, by Allah, O my daughter, to go back to your home.' I went back to my home, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had come to my house asking my maid-servant about me. The maid-servant said: 'By Allah! I do not know of any fault or defect in her character except that she sleeps and lets the sheep enter and eat her dough.' On that, some of the Prophet's Companions spoke harshly to her and said: 'Tell the truth to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' Finally, they told her of the slander and she said: 'Subhan Allah! By Allah, I know nothing against her except what a goldsmith knows about a piece of pure gold.' Then this news reached the man who was accused, and he said: 'Subhan Allah! By Allah, I have never uncovered the private parts of any woman.' Later, that man was martyred in Allah's Cause. Then the next morning, my parents came to pay me a visit and they stayed with me until the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to me, after he performed the 'Asr prayer. He came to me and while my parents were sitting around me on my right and my left. The Prophet (ﷺ) said the Tashahhud, praised and glorified Allah and said: 'Now then, O 'Aishah! If you have committed a bad deed, or you have wronged (yourself), then repent to Allah, as Allah accepts the repentance from His worshipers.' An Ansari woman had come and was sitting near the gate. I said to the Prophet (ﷺ): 'Isn't it improper that you speak in such a way in the presence of this lady?' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then gave a piece of advice and I turned to my father and requested him to reply to him. My father said: 'What should I say?' Then I turned to my mother and asked her to answer him. She said: 'What should I say?' When my parents did not reply to the Prophet (ﷺ), I said the Tashahhud, praised and glorified Allah as His due, and I said: 'Then, by Allah! If I were to tell you that I have not done (this) and Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, is witness that I am telling the truth, that would not be of any use to me on your part, because you (people) have spoken about it and your hearts have absorbed it (as truth); and if I were to tell you that I have done this sin, and Allah knows that I have not done it, then you will say: 'She has confessed her guilt.' By Allah! I do not see a suitable example for me and you except the example of - and I could not remember Ya'qbus name - Yusuf's father when he said: So patience is most fitting. And it is Allah Whose help can be sought against that which you describe (12:18). She said: "It was at that time that Revelation came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we remained silent. Then the Revelation was over, and I noticed the signs of happiness on his face while he was wiping (the sweat) from his forehead, and saying: 'Have the good tidings O 'Aishah! Allah has revealed your innocence.' At that time I was extremely angry. My parents said to me: 'Get up and go to him.' I said: 'By Allah, I will not do it,and will not thank him nor either of you, but I will thank Allah, Who has revealed my innocence. You have heard (this story) but neither of you have denied it, nor have you changed it (to defend me).'" 'Aishah used to say: "But as regards to Zainab bint Jahsh, Allah protected her because of her piety. She did not say anything except good (about me). But her sister, Hamnah was ruined among those who were ruined. Those who used to speak evil about me were Mistah, Hassan bin Thabit, and the hypocrite 'Abdullah bin Ubayy [bin Salul] and [it is he who] used to spread that news and tempt others to speak of it, and it was he and Hamnah who had the greater share therein. Abu Bakr took an oath that he would never do any favor for Mistah at all. Then Allah, Most High, revealed this Ayah: 'Let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth' [until the end of the Ayah] referring to Abu Bakr: 'to give their kinsmen, the poor, and those who left their homes for Allah's Cause.' - meaning Mistah - up to His saying: Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (24:22).' On that, Abu Bakr said: 'Yes, by Allah! O our Lord! We wish that You forgive us.' So he returned to what he had been doing."

"By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread (the greeting of) peace among yourselves.'"

"Our Prophet (ﷺ) commanded us to spread (the greeting of) peace."

That he said: “I hope that my ummah will not be impatient before my Lord when they are delayed for half a day." It was said to Sa’d: “How much is half a day?” He said: “Five hundred years.”

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “If less than a fingernail sized piece of what is in Paradise could appear, it would adorn everything in all directions between heaven and Earth. And if a man from among the people of Paradise were to look out and his bracelets were to appear, their light would outshine the light of the sun as the light of the sun outshines the light of the stars."