فضل الصحابة رضي الله عنهم
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were sitting around the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) were also there. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got up and left, and he was too late in coming back. We feared that he might have been attacked by some enemy when we were not with him. Being alarmed, we got up. I was the first to be alarmed, so I went out to look for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and came to a garden belonging to the Ansāri tribe of Banu An-Najjār. I went around it looking for a gate, but failed to find one. Seeing a streamlet flowing into the garden from a well outside, I drew myself together like a fox, and slunk into (the place) where the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was. He said: "Is that you Abu Hurayrah?" I replied: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "What is the matter with you?" I replied: "You were among us but got up and went away and were late, so fearing that you might have been attacked by some enemy when we were not with you, so we were alarmed. I was the first to be alarmed. So when I came to this garden, I drew myself together as a fox does, and these people are following me." He said: "O Abu Hurayrah!" and gave me his sandals and said: "Take these sandals of mine, and when you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." Then he mentioned the Hadīth in full.
عن أبي هريرة -رضي الله عنه- قال: كنا قعودا حول رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- ومعنا أبو بكر وعمر -رضي الله عنهما- في نفر، فقام رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- من بين أظهرنا فأبطأ علينا، وخشينَا أَنْ يُقْتَطَعَ دوننا وفزعنا فقمنا، فكنت أول من فزع، فخرجت أبتغي رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- حتى أتيت حائطا للأنصار لبني النجار، فَدُرْتُ به هل أجد له بابا؟ فلم أجد! فإذا ربيع يدخل في جوف حائط من بئر خارجه - والربيع: الجدول الصغير - فاحتفرت، فدخلت على رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- فقال: «أبو هريرة؟» فقلت: نعم، يا رسول الله، قال: «ما شأنك؟» قلت: كنت بين أَظْهُرِنَا فقمت فأبطأت علينا، فخشينا أنْ تُقْتَطَعَ دُونَنَا، ففزعنا، فكنت أول من فزع، فأتيت هذا الحائط، فاحتفرت كما يحتفر الثعلب، وهؤلاء الناس ورائي. فقال: «يا أبا هريرة» وأعطاني نعليه، فقال: «اذهب بِنَعْلَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ، فمن لقيت من وراء هذا الحائط يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله مُسْتَيْقِنًا بها قلبه، فبَشِّرْهُ بالجنة...وذكر الحديث بطوله
شرح الحديث :
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among a small group of his Companions, along with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. He got up and was late in returning back, so they feared that someone might have taken him while he was alone and harmed him, as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was wanted by the hypocrites as well as by the enemies of Islam. So, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) got up in a state of panic, and the first one was Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him. He came to a garden belonging to Banu An-Najjār and began circling around it looking for an open door, but he did not find any. However, he did find a small opening in the wall, through which water was entering the garden. He squeezed his body through it and found the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) whereupon he said: "Is that you Abu Hurayrah?" to which he replied in the affirmative. he then gave him his sandals, as a sign and an indication that the information he was to convey (from the Prophet) was true, and said: "Take these sandals of mine, and when you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise." This is because whoever makes this declaration with certainty in his heart must abide by the commands of Allah and avoid His prohibitions, since he actually says: "There is no god but Allah." Since this is the meaning of this magnificent statement, then it is a must that the Muslim worships Allah, the Almighty, alone and without a partner. Whoever says it with his tongue without certainty in his heart, then it does not benefit him.