The Prophet - peace and blessing of God be upon him - said, "A good dream coming from a pious man is one forty-sixth fraction of Prophethood. If one of you should see in his dream what he dislikes, let him spit three times on his left when he wakes up and say, "O God, verily, I take refuge in You from the evil of what I saw in my dream, lest it should harm me in my religion and my worldly affairs".
If one yawns, let him place his hand over his mouth. And if one sneezes, let him say, "Praise be to God". And it is the duty of those who hear him praising God to say to him, "May Allah have mercy on you". The person who sneezes then says in reply, "May Allah forgive us and you". Or he should say, "May Allah guide you and increase you in excellence".
It is not permissible to play backgammon or chess. But there is no harm in saying "Peace be upon you" when you come upon those playing the games. It is considered reprehensible to sit and watch those playing these games.
However there is no harm in horse or camel-racing or in a shooting competition. If the participants should fix a prize for the winner, that shall be lawful. The person who offered the prize shall take it away if he wins the race, but if someone else wins the race then the winner takes the prize. That is the view of Ibn al-Musayyib. But Malik was of the view that it is lawful for a competitor to set a prize and if someone other than the man who set the prize wins the race he takes it. But if the person who set the prize wins, the prize is given to the spectators.
A tradition has been reported in respect of snakes which appeared in Medina, that such snakes are requested to leave three times. It is also good if such a request is made to snakes elsewhere. However, snakes appearing in the bush should be killed immediately and no requests are made to them. It is reprehensible to destroy lice and bedbugs by throwing them in fire. But there is no harm in killing ants when they are harmful and cannot be tolerated, but sparing them is preferable to us. A gecko should be killed, but it is reprehensible to kill frogs.
The Prophet - peace and blessing of God be upon him - has said, "Verily God has expelled from you the folly of pre-Islamic time, and taking pride in ancestors. Whether a man happens to be a pious believer or a dissolute scoundrel, you are all from Adam and Adam is created of dust".
The Prophet - peace be upon him - said to a man who learned people's genealogy, "That is a knowledge which has no benefit; the ignorance of it does no harm". Umar (ibn al-Khattab) said, "Know enough of your genealogy to enable you to discharge your duties of your relations". Malik (ibn Anas) said he detested going back in genealogy beyond the Islamic period.
A good dream is one forty-sixth fraction of prophethood. And if a person should see in his dream something he detests, let him spit three times on his left and take refuge from the evil of what he saw. It is not proper for a person who has no knowledge of dreams to interpret them. A man must not interpret his dream to mean something advantageous to him, while in fact he dislikes it.
There is no harm in reciting poetry in a singsong manner, and when a Muslim comes to choose poetry let him choose the light-hearted type. But even in this, a person is not expected to read too much of it, to the extent that it becomes a calling for him.
The best of education and the most virtuous and closest to God Most High, is the knowledge of His religion and His law, which teaches His commandments and His prohibitions; and besides, those rules which He called upon people to accept and encouraged obedience to them in His Book, through the tongue of His Messenger. Also, the best of knowledge includes a knowledge of His Book, understanding it and being alert in preserving it and applying the knowledge thus gained.
Besides, learning is the best act of worship. And the closest to God of learned men and most acceptable to Him is one who fears Him most and hopes to get that which is in God's possession. Learning is the means through which prosperity is attained. It also leads to it.
Taking refuge in the Book of God - Mighty and Exalted be He - the sunnah of the Prophet and following the path of pious men as well as the paths of the best of generations created from amongst men, are all paths to success. Security consists of taking refuge in that. Again, following the path of early pious Muslims leads to success also. They are the models upon whom we should base our lives. They are the leaders in interpreting that which they interpreted. They are also to be emulated in evolving rules and regulations to govern the lives of Muslims. Although they differ, their differences do not carry them away from coming to agreement.
Praise be to god who guided us to produce this. We would not have gone straight, but for His guidance.
Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Zaid said:
"We have now brought those things which we stipulated to bring in this book of ours. They consist of those things which its reader will find useful, especially children. Adults who need it will also find it useful. Besides, one can find in it those things which will enlighten an ignorant person, with respect to those things he is to believe in as a Muslim, and with respect to one's duties as a Muslim. The book also enlightens much about sources of Islamic jurisprudence and its branches. It also enlightens about the Sunnah of the Prophet - P.B.U.H. - works of supererogation and of an ethical nature".
"I pray God - Mighty and Exalted be He - to enable us and you to benefit by those things He taught us, and help us and you to serve Him and perform the duties He allotted to us. There is no power and might save in Allah, the Exalted and the Mighty. May Allah bless our Leader Muhammad, His Prophet, and bless his family, and his companions and give them much peace".