"When I thrust my spear through him, he uttered, 'By Allah, I have triumphed' and to my amazement I saw his body lifted upwards towards the sky. I made enquiries later on as to what was the triumph that 'Amir bin Fuhairah (ra) meant when he uttered, 'By Allah, I have triumphed.' I was told that it was that of entering into Paradise. This made me embrace Islam."
-Jabbar bin Salmi
"Whosoever does not mind his mother lamenting him, his wife becoming a widow and his children being rendered orphans, he may come out of Mecca and face me."
-Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab (ra)
"O, people! What a beautiful place is Paradise. And how happy is its approach! How fine and how cool is its water. The Romans' doom is at hand, I must finish them all."
-Hazrat Ja'far bin Abi Talib (ra) at the Battle of Mutah
Hazrat Mus'ab bin 'Umair (ra) was a youth from a well-to-do family in Mecca when he heard the message of the Holy Prophet (saw) and accepted Islam. Prior to this, he was quite spoiled both materially and with affection from his parents, who bought him pretty much everything (so he's probably one of the Sahabas most relatable to for us). After he converted, his parents tied him down in the house to prevent him from meeting with the Muslims. He escaped and fled to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). When he returned, he emigrated to Medina on the orders of the Prophet(saw) where he taught and preached Islam and helped convert a sizable number of people there to Islam so by the time the Prophet(saw) made his Hijrah, a lot of the city was already Muslim. It was the first Tabligh being carried out. Once the Prophet (saw) was sitting and he walked by, wearing a single cloth sheet full of patches and nothing else. The Prophet (saw) with tears in his eyes, mentioned Mus'ab's life of luxury before Islam. He was charged with holding the flag of the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud. Despite the tide of battle turning against the Muslims, he held the flag and stood at his position like a rock. He was overcome by the enemy who cut off his hand that held the flag. He immediately grabbed the flag with his other arm. That too was cut off. So he grabbed it with the bloody stumps that remained of his limbs and held it to his bosom until he was felled by arrows. When they buried him, they didn't even have a cloth sheet big enough so they wrapped his feet in leaves.
Hazrat Ja'far bin Abi Talib (ra) met a similar end at the Battle of Mutah with the Romans, he held the flag inbetween his teeth until his torso was cut in two. They counted 90 wounds on his body, all from the front. He was the second of three in the chain of command appointed by the Prophet (saw). A Jew who had heard the Prophet(saw)'s orders remarked that all three men mentioned by name must die, as that was how the previous prophets used to prophesy. After he and his appointed successor died, the Muslims appointed Khalid bin Walid (ra) to be their leader who salvaged the battle by reshuffling the troops at the rear and ordering the cavalry to raise lots of dust at the flanks so as to make it appear that reinforcements were constantly arriving. The Romans, seeing this, disengaged rather than fight on. It was about 3,000 Muslims vs. 100,000 Romans backed up later by another 100,000 Romans under the command of Heraclius himself. Khalid bin Walid, who led the pagans at the Battle of Uhud (their only 'success' against the Muslims), began a remarkable series of victories with this and became one of the most successful commanders in history.
Although all the Sahaba, along with their engagement in Jihad and propagation of faith, were devoted to acquiring and further spreading of knowledge, yet there was a panel of Sahaba who were exclusively entrusted with Fatwa, even during the lifetime of the Prophet (saw). The panel comprised the following Sahaba:
Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abdur Rahman bin 'Auf, Ubayy bin Kaab, Abdullah bin Mas'ood, Ma'az bin Jabal, Ammar bin Yaasir, Huzaifah, Salman Farsi, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Musa, Abu Darda (Radhiyallahoanhum)
To give Fatwa during the lifetime of the Prophet(saw) was a big privilege for these Sahaba, and speaks of their deep and dependable knowledge.
Prophet(saw): 'Allah has commanded me to recite the Qur'an to you.'
'Ubay bin Ka'ab(ra): 'O, Prophet of Allah! Did Allah mention me by name?'
Prophet(saw): 'Yes, He mentioned you by your name.'
'Ubay bin Ka'ab started crying with joy upon hearing that. He was also the one to correct the Prophet(saw) once during Salaat when he missed one verse.
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'O you dwellers of the graves! O you who live amongst ruins! O you who live in the wilderness and solitude! How fare you in the other world? How has it gone with you there? The news from our side is that all you did leave of the wealth and riches here, has long since been distributed; your children are orphans; your widows have long since remarried. Now let us hear about you! ... ... O Kumail! If they could speak, they would have informed us that the best provision for the Hereafter is Taqwa.'
-Hazrat Ali (ra)
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Hazrat 'Utbah bin Abi Farqad (ra) visited the Amir ul Mumineen, Hazrat Umar (ra) one day and he was invited in to share in his food. He started eating but the bread was so coarse, he couldn't even swallow it.
'Utbah: Why don't you use fine flour for your bread, Umar?
'Umar: Can every Muslim afford fine flour for his bread?
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"All things fear a person who fears Allah, while everything is a source of fear to him who fears somebody other than Allah."
~Prophet Muhammad (saw)
"The face that gets wet with the smallest drop of tear from the fear of Allah is safe from entrance into the fire of Hell."
~Prophet Muhammad (saw)
"When a Muslim shivers with the fear of Allah, his sins fall away from him like the falling leaves of a tree."
~Prophet Muhammad (saw)
Hazrat A'ishah (ra) once inquired of the Prophet (saw), 'Is there anybody among your followers who will go to Paradise without reckoning?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'the person who often cries over their sins.'
"One who can weep should do so, and one who cannot should make the appearance of a weeping person."
-Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)
"Fear of Allah is the root of all wisdom."
~Prophet Muhammad (saw)
Hazrat Ibn 'Umar (ra) used to weep so much with the fear of Allah that he lost his eyesight. He said to somebody watching him:
"You wonder at my weeping. Even the sun weeps with the fear of Allah."
Hazrat Abdullah bin Rawahah (ra) (the last of the 3 appointed commanders to die at the Battle of Mutah) was once weeping. His wife also began to weep on seeing him in this condition. He inquired of her:
"Why are you weeping?"
She replied: "Whatever makes you weep makes me weep too."
He said: "The idea that I have to cross the bridge of Siraat across Hell makes me weep. I don't know whether I shall be able to cross over or fall into Hell."
When he took command at the Battle of Mutah, he was hesitant to charge into battle and then scolded himself that perhaps he loved his wife too much. So he declared his divorce, freed his slaves, ordered his gardens to be given as Sadaqa, and charged ahead, whereupon he was martyred.
Zurarah bin Aufa was leading the Salaat in a Masjid when he recited the verse: 'For when the Trumpet shall sound; Surely that day will be a day of anguish!' (LXXIV:8&9)
He fell down and expired. People carried his body to his house.
Khulaid was saying his Salaat. During his Qirat, when he reached the verse: 'Every soul shall taste of death' (III:185), he began to repeat it over and over. He heard a voice from the corner of the room saying: 'How often are you going to repeat this verse? Your recitation has already caused the death of four Djinns.'
Umar (ra) would often hold a straw in his hand and say: 'I wish I were a straw like this.'
Sometimes he would say: 'I wish my mother had not given birth to me.'
Once Hazrat Umar (ra) was going on his usual round towards Harrah (a suburb of Medina) with his slave, Aslam, when he saw a distant fire in the desert. He said: 'There seems to be a camp. Perhaps it is a caravan that could not enter the town due to nightfall. Let's go and look after them and arrange for their protection during the night.'
When he reached there, he found a woman and some children. The children were crying. The woman had a pan of water over the fire. Hazrat Umar (ra) greeted her with salaam and, with her permission, went near her.
Umar: Why are these children crying?
Woman: Because they are hungry.
Umar: What is in the pan?
Woman: Only water to soothe the children, so that they may go to sleep in the belief that food is being prepared for them. Ah! Allah will judge between Umar and me, on the Day of Judgement, for neglecting me in my distress.
Umar: May Allah have mercy on you! How can Umar know of your distress?
Woman: When he is our Amir, he must keep himself informed about us.
Hazrat Umar (ra) returned to the town and straightaway went to the Baitul-Mal to fill a sack with flour, dates, fat and clothes, and also drew some money. When the sack was ready, he said to Aslam: 'Now put this sack on my back, Aslam.'
Aslam: No please, aamirulmo'mineen! I shall carry this sack.
'Umar refused to listen to Aslam, even on his persistant requests to allow him to carry the sack, and remarked: 'What! Will you carry my load on the Day of Judgement? I must carry this bag, for it is I who would be questioned (in the Hereafter) about this woman.'
Aslam most reluctantly placed the bag on Umar's (ra) back, who carried it with a swift pace right to the woman's tent. He put a little flour and some dates and fat in the pan and began to stir. He blew into the fire to kindle it.
Aslam says: I saw the smoke passing through his thick beard.
After some time, the pottage was ready. He himself served it to the family. When they had eaten to their fill, he made over to them the little that was left for their next meal. The children were very happy after their meal and began to play about merrily. The woman felt very grateful and remarked: 'May Allah reward you for your kindness! In fact you deserve to take the place of the Caliph instead of Umar.'
'Umar consoled her and said: 'When you come to see the Caliph, you will find me there.'
He sat for a while at a place close by and kept on watching the children. He then returned to Medina. He told Aslam he sat there because 'I had seen them [the children] weeping in distress; I liked to see them laughing and happy for some time.'
It is said that Hazrat Umar (ra) while leading Fajr Salaat used to recite 'Kahf', 'Taha' and other such Surahs in his Salaat, and would weep so much that his crying could be heard back several rows. Once he was reciting Surah 'Yusuf' in Fajr. When he came to the verse 'I only plead for my distress and anguish unto Allah,' (XII:86), he wept so much that he could not recite any further. In Tahajjud, he would sometimes fall to the ground and would get indisposed with excessive weeping.
Such was the fear of Allah in Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab (ra) whose name struck terror in the hearts of the mightest monarchs of the time.
"May I tell you about people whom Allah holds in high esteem? These are those whom His fear has driven to absolute silence, even though they are neither helpless nor dumb. Rather they are possessors of eloquence and have power to speak and sense to understand. But constant glorification of Allah's name has so overpowered their wits that their hearts are overawed and their lips sealed. When they get established in this state, they hasten towards righteousness. Wither have you people deviated from this course?"
-Abdullah bin Abbas (ra)
"I recite Istighfar 12000 times daily."
-Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra)
"I have heard the Prophet(saw) saying, 'Allah eases the way to Paradise for one who traverses some distance to seek knowledge. The angels spread their wings under his feet, and all things in heaven and earth (even the fish in the water) pray for his forgiveness. The superiority of a person possessing knowledge over a person doing worship is as the superiority of the moon over the stars. The Ulama are the inheritors of the Prophet(saw). The legacy of the Prophets (as) is neither gold nor silver. Their legacy is knowledge. A person who acquires knowledge acquires a great wealth."
-Hazrat Abu Darda (ra)
"I love death, so that I may meet Allah. I love destitution, so that I may be meek. I love sickness, so that I may be pardoned my sins."
-Hazrat Abu Darda (ra)
"I am a slave to the person who has taught me even a single word. He may sell me or set me free."
-Hazrat Ali (ra)
(everytime I quote the Prophet(saw), I am relating something that he has been reported to have said, or something like that. Perhaps less or more. I am not attributing it to him directly myself)
btw, keep in mind that you are reading Hadith and all this stuff while sitting at home on the computer. People had to travel across Arabia and the Middle East for even less important things.
i've got a few more awesome ones i'll post later. most are from: 'Faza Il-e-Aamal' by Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya Khandhalvi.
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