From the Benefits of Saying “Al-ḥamdulillāh”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

From the benefits of praising Allah is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is pleased with the servant when he eats a meal and praises Him for it, and when he drinks a drink and praises Him for it. So what is meant by “a meal”? Is it the whole meal, or is every morsel that a person puts into his mouth considered a “meal”? The hadith carries both possibilities.

Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may Allah have mercy upon him, would, every time he ate a morsel, say: “All praise is for Allah” (Al-ḥamdulillāh). So it was said to him: O Abā ʿAbdillāh, what is this? He said: “Eating and praising is better than eating and remaining silent.” It is as though Imām Aḥmad, may Allah have mercy upon him, held the view that a “meal” refers to each morsel. Based on this, a person’s praise upon his food would be frequent.

However, most of the scholars say that a “meal” refers to the whole sitting—meaning: you sit for the food, and when you are satisfied, you say: “All praise is for Allah” (Al-ḥamdulillāh). And praising Allah is good. So from the benefits of praising Allah is that when a person praises Him upon his eating and drinking, it becomes a cause for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, being pleased with him.

We ask Allah to grant us and you His pleasure. Indeed, He is over all things capable.

📚Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn (4/133)

Innovations Are Greater Than All Major Sins—Even If They Are All Combined: The Dark Hidden Meaning and the Silent Accusation Within Them!

Shaykh Abdurrahman Al-Umaysan حفظه الله

Explanation of the Hadith: “Two Words That Are Light upon the Tongue…”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Two words, light upon the tongue, heavy upon the scale, beloved to the Most Merciful: ‘Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him’ (Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdih), ‘Glory be to Allah the Magnificent’ (Subḥānallāh al-ʿAẓīm).”

Two words, as the Prophet ﷺ said, are light upon the tongue, and they are also heavy upon the scale. When it is the Day of Resurrection and the deeds are weighed, and these two words are placed in the scale, they will be heavy within it.

And the third: they are beloved to the Most Merciful, and this is the greatest of the two rewards—that Allah, the Most High, loves them. And when Allah loves a deed, He loves the one who performs it. So these two words are from the causes of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, loving His servant.

And the meaning of “Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him” (Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdih) is that you declare Allah free from every imperfection and deficiency, and that He is perfect in every way, Exalted and Most High, while coupling this glorification with praise which indicates the perfection of His bestowal and His goodness to His creation, Exalted and Most High, and the perfection of His wisdom, His knowledge, and other than that from His perfections.

And “Glory be to Allah, the Magnificent” (Subḥānallāh al-ʿAẓīm) means: the One possessing greatness and majesty. There is nothing greater than Allah in authority, nothing greater in rank, nothing greater in wisdom, and nothing greater in knowledge. So He is great in His essence and great in His attributes, Exalted and Most High.

“Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him” (Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdih), “Glory be to Allah the Magnificent” (Subḥānallāh al-ʿAẓīm).

📚Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn (4/154)

Six of the Noblest Remembrances After the Book of Allah: A Dhikr That Requires No Effort—Yet Magnificent in Its Reward!

Shaykh Sulayman Ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله

“Shall I Not Guide You to a Treasure from the Treasures of Paradise?”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

As for the hadith of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I not guide you to a treasure from the treasures of Paradise?”—this question is for the purpose of arousing eagerness, meaning that the Messenger ﷺ is stirring his desire to listen to what he will say.

I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: “There is no might nor power except with Allah” (Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh). Because this statement contains declaring oneself free from all might and power except by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. A person has no might and no power—he cannot move from one state to another, nor have the ability to do so, except by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

So it is a statement of seeking aid. If something overwhelms you and you are unable to do it, then say: “There is no might nor power except with Allah” (Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh), for indeed Allah, the Most High, will aid you upon it.

And this statement is not the statement said when a calamity occurs, as many people do—when it is said to him: such-and-such calamity has occurred, he says: “There is no might nor power except with Allah.” (Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh) Rather, the statement said when a calamity occurs is that you say: “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return” (Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn).

As for this, then it is a statement of seeking aid. So if you want Allah to aid you upon something, then say: “There is no might nor power except with Allah” (Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh).

📚Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn (4/188)

A Message to the Youth Lost in Doubts: You Exhausted Yourself with Philosophy—but Neglected the Qur’an: The Root of Modern Deviation!

Shaykh Salih Āl al-Shaykh حفظه الله

Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ruḥaylī, may Allah preserve him, said:

The Salafi, with his clear religion and his upright methodology, says what he knows, and builds his positions upon the legislative principles, and loves security, stability, and happiness for every land from the lands of the Muslims, and he supplicates for that for all the lands of the Muslims, and he rejoices at every news in which there is stability and goodness for any Muslim land, and at the exposure of the criminals and the traitors and their unveiling, and he asks Allah to protect the lands of the Muslims from the evils of tribulations and those who cause tribulations.

https://t.me/PearlsofRuhayli

The Tremendous Virtue of Reciting Surah Al-Kahf on Friday: A Light in This World and Protection from the Dajjal!

Shaykh Sulayman Ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله

From the Causes of Increasing Faith

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

If someone were to say: Do people differ in certainty?

The answer: Yes, they differ in certainty. Even a person himself may at times be more certain and stronger in faith than at other times.

Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him, said:

﴿ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِ الْمَوْتَى قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنُ قَالَ بَلَى وَلَٰكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي ﴾
“My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.” He (Allah) said: “Do you not believe?” He (Ibrāhīm) said: “Yes (I believe), but to be stronger in Faith.” [Al-Baqarah: 260]

And whenever a person increases in knowledge of Allah and His signs, his faith increases without doubt.

Allah, the Most High, said:

﴿ وَإِذَا مَا أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهُ هَٰذِهِ إِيمَانًا فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَزَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ ﴾
“And whenever there comes down a Sūrah (chapter from the Qur’ān), some of them (hypocrites) say: ‘Which of you has had his Faith increased by it?’ As for those who believe, it has increased their Faith, and they rejoice.” [At-Tawbah: 124]

For this reason, if you want your faith to increase:

Then increase in reflecting upon the legislative signs of Allah and His universal signs, for that increases faith.

And also increase in righteous deeds with humility and presence of heart.

And be keen to accompany people of goodness who guide you if you go astray, direct you if you are misguided, remind you if you forget, and teach you if you are ignorant. All of these are from the causes of increasing faith.

📚Taʿlīq ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/94)

The Scarcity of Food in the Home of the Prophet ﷺ

ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said to ʿUrwah:

O son of my sister! We would see the crescent, then the crescent, then the crescent—three crescents in two months—and no fire would be lit in the houses of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I said: O my aunt! What used to sustain you? She said: The two black things: dates and water—except that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had neighbours from the Anṣār who had milking animals, and they would give the Messenger of Allah ﷺ some of their milk, and he would give us to drink.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

By Allah, we are not better than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Allah did not withhold these blessings from His Messenger and store them for us because we are better than him. We light fires in our homes at least three times a day, while the Messenger ﷺ would remain for three crescents—seen over two months—without a fire being lit in his house. Rather, their food was the two black things: dates and water.

Then despite that, when the fire is lit and food is presented, we find on the table various cooked dishes and various uncooked foods. If a person, when his meal is placed before him, were to reflect and consider that the Messenger ﷺ would remain for two months—and enter into the third—while he would eat nothing but dates and water, then we ask Allah not to make this an entrapment for us, for indeed we fear these abundant and plentiful blessings.

📚Taʿlīq ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (7/609)

A Piercing Warning Against a Deviated Criterion: When Duʿā’ for the Rulers Is Branded a “Crime”—and Rebellion Against Them Is Glorified as “Courage”!

Shaykh Abdurrahman Al-Umaysan حفظه الله

Encouragement to Increase in Seeking Forgiveness

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The Prophet ﷺ said, as narrated by al-Agharr al-Muzanī, may Allah be pleased with him: “Indeed, there comes over my heart something”—meaning that something occurs to it, such as a slight covering, tightness, or distress and the like—“and indeed I seek forgiveness from Allah one hundred times a day.”

He says: “I seek forgiveness from Allah” (Astaghfirullāh) one hundred times a day—while he is the Prophet ﷺ whose past and future sins have been forgiven! So what about us?

However, our hearts are hard and lifeless. They are not affected by the abundance of sins, nor does one of us care about what he has done. For this reason, you find a person unconcerned about such matters, and he is limited in seeking forgiveness.

What is befitting for a person is that he takes the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as an excellent example and increases in seeking forgiveness.

As Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: “We used to count for the Prophet ﷺ in a single sitting one hundred times or more: ‘My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance; indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful’” (Rabbi ighfir lī wa tub ʿalayya innaka anta at-Tawwāb ar-Raḥīm).

📚Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn (4/931)

The More Truthful the Servant Is and the More He Fears His Lord, the More Allah Raises His Mention

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The statement of Allah, Blessed and Exalted:

﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ ﴾
“O you who believe! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in speech as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds become nullified while you perceive not.” [Al-Ḥujurāt: 2]

When this verse was revealed—and Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, may Allah be pleased with him, had a loud voice—he remained confined in his house, weeping, and was unable to come out to the people. This was because he feared that his deeds would become nullified while he did not realise, since he had a loud voice.

The Prophet ﷺ asked about him, and it was said that ever since the verse was revealed, he had remained in his house, weeping, fearing that his deeds would become nullified while he did not realise. So he sent to him, saying: “Are you not pleased that you will live praised, be killed as a martyr, and enter Paradise?”

So look at the fruit of this fear! And it is comparable to the fruit of truthfulness which occurred for Kaʿb ibn Mālik and his two companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

So the more a person is truthful, the more Allah raises his mention, and the more he fears, the more Allah grants him safety.

The Prophet ﷺ gave him glad tidings of three things: that he would live praised, be killed as a martyr, and enter Paradise—and this indeed occurred. He lived praised, was killed as a martyr at al-Yamāmah, and we testify that he will enter Paradise based on the testimony of the Prophet ﷺ.

📚Taʿlīq ʿalā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (1/161)

A Principled Refutation: The Decisive Criterion That Distinguishes True Worship from Innovation!

Shaykh Muhammad bin Ramzan Al-Hajiri حفظه الله