As if I saw the Prophet ﷺ talking about one of the prophets whose nation had beaten him and caused him to bleed, while he was cleaning the blood off his face and saying, "O Allah! Forgive my nation, for they have no knowledge."  

كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ يَحْكِي نَبِيًّا مِنَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ: ضَرَبَهُ قَوْمُهُ فَأَدْمَوْهُ، وَهْوَ يَمْسَحُ الدَّمَ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ وَيَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ۔»  

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "(1) He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of this world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection, (2) and he who makes things easy for the hard-pressed, Allah would make things easy for him in the Hereafter, (3) and he who conceals ˹the faults˺ of a Muslim, Allah would conceal ˹his faults˺ in the world and in the Hereafter. (4) Allah is at the aid of a servant so long as the servant is at the aid of his brother."

"(5) and he who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah will make the path to Paradise easy for him through it, (6) and those who assemble in a house among the houses of Allah (mosques), and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Quran to each other, there would descend upon them sakīnah (tranquility) and mercy would envelop them, and the angels would surround them, and Allah mentions them in the presence of those near Him, (7) and one who is held back in doing ˹good˺ deeds, his ˹noble˺ lineage will not make him go ahead."  

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «(١) مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا، نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ۔ (٢) وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ، يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ۔ (٣) وَمَنْ سَتَرَ مُسْلِمًا، سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ۔ (٤) وَاللَّهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَوْنِ أَخِيهِ۔»

«(٥) وَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا، سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ۔ (٦) وَمَا اجْتَمَعَ قَوْمٌ فِي بَيْتٍ مِنْ بُيُوتِ اللَّهِ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَيَتَدَارَسُونَهُ بَيْنَهُمْ، إِلاَّ نَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّكِينَةُ، وَغَشِيَتْهُمُ الرَّحْمَةُ، وَحَفَّتْهُمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ، وَذَكَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِيمَنْ عِنْدَهُ۔ (٧) وَمَنْ بَطَّأَ بِهِ عَمَلُهُ لَمْ يُسْرِعْ بِهِ نَسَبُهُ۔»  

“I came to Ṣafwān b ʿAssāl al-Murādī to ask him about wiping over the socks, so he asked: ‘What has brought you, O Zirr?’ So I said: ‘The desire for knowledge.’ So he said: ‘Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure with what he is seeking.’

So I said: ‘Indeed there is some doubt in my chest concerning wiping over the socks after defecation and urination, and you were a man from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, so I came to you to ask you: Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, he ﷺ used to order us, that when we were travelers’ - or - ‘in travel, to not remove our socks for three days and nights except, from sexual impurity, but not from defecation, urination, and sleep.’”

He said: “Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning love?” He said: “Yes. We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey when a Bedouin with a loud voice called upon him (saying): ‘O Muhammad!’ So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded to him with a voice similar to him (saying): ‘Come.’ So we said to him: ‘Woe to you! Lower your voice for you are with the Prophet ﷺ, and you have been prohibited from this.’ He said: ‘By Allah, I will not lower (my voice).’ The Bedouin said: ‘Can a person love a people and yet not catch up to them ˹in terms of good deeds˺?’ He ﷺ said: ‘A person is with whomever he loves on the Day of Judgement.’”

So ˹the Prophet ﷺ˺ kept on talking to us until he mentioned a gate in the direction of the west with the width of seventy years journey - or a rider would travel its width - for forty or seventy years.” Sufyan added: “In the direction of Shām, Allah created it the day He created the heavens and the earth, being open – that is, for repentance – and it shall not be shut until the sun rises ˹from that direction˺ (on the Last Day).”  

أَتَيْتُ صَفْوَانَ بْنَ عَسَّالٍ الْمُرَادِيَّ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فَقَالَ: مَا جَاءَ بِكَ يَا زِرُّ؟ فَقُلْتُ: ابْتِغَاءَ الْعِلْمِ۔ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ رِضًا بِمَا يَطْلُبُ۔

قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ حَكَّ فِي صَدْرِي الْمَسْحُ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ بَعْدَ الْغَائِطِ وَالْبَوْلِ وَكُنْتَ امْرَأً مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَجِئْتُ أَسْأَلُكَ هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كَانَ يَأْمُرُنَا إِذَا كُنَّا سَفَرًا أَوْ مُسَافِرِيِنَ أَنْ لاَ نَنْزِعَ خِفَافَنَا ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ وَلَيَالِيَهُنَّ إِلاَّ مِنْ جَنَابَةٍ، لَكِنْ مِنْ غَائِطٍ وَبَوْلٍ وَنَوْمٍ۔

فَقُلْتُ: هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي الْهَوَى شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فِي سَفَرٍ فَبَيْنَا نَحْنُ عِنْدَهُ إِذْ نَادَاهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ بِصَوْتٍ لَهُ جَهْوَرِيٍّ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ! فَأَجَابَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَلَى نَحْوٍ مِنْ صَوْتِهِ: «هَاؤُمُ۔» وَقُلْنَا لَهُ: وَيْحَكَ اغْضُضْ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ فَإِنَّكَ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَقَدْ نُهِيتَ عَنْ هَذَا۔ فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لاَ أَغْضُضُ۔ قَالَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ: الْمَرْءُ يُحِبُّ الْقَوْمَ وَلَمَّا يَلْحَقْ بِهِمْ؟ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ۔»

فَمَا زَالَ يُحَدِّثُنَا حَتَّى ذَكَرَ بَابًا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَغْرِبِ مَسِيرَةُ عَرْضِهِ أَوْ يَسِيرُ الرَّاكِبُ فِي عَرْضِهِ أَرْبَعِينَ أَوْ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا۔ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: قِبَلَ الشَّامِ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ مَفْتُوحًا - يَعْنِي لِلتَّوْبَةِ - لاَ يُغْلَقُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْهُ۔  

“When death comes while ones in seeking knowledge there is but one rank between him and the Prophets: the rank of Prophethood.”  

«مَنْ أَتَاهُ الموْتُ وهُو يَطلُبُ العِلمَ، كَانَ بَيْنَهُ وبَينَ الأنْبِياءِ دَرَجَةٌ واحِدَةٌ: درَجَةُ النُّبوَّ.»