Amir—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: “We were responsible for tending the camels. When my turn came, I brought them back toward evening [that is, I returned them to their resting place at the end of the day]. I then came upon the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—standing and addressing the people, and I heard him say: ‘Whenever a Muslim performs ablution and performs it well, then stands and prays two units of prayer with his heart and face fully directed to the prayer, Paradise is assured for him.’ I said, ‘How excellent this is!’ Suddenly, someone in front of me said, ‘What came before it is even better.’ I looked and saw that it was Umar—may Allah be pleased with him. He said, ‘I saw you when you arrived a moment ago. He had said: “No one among you performs ablution, completing—or performing thoroughly—his ablution, and then says, ‘I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and that Muhammad is Allah’s servant and Messenger,’ without the eight gates of Paradise being opened for him, so that he may enter through whichever one he wishes.”’”1.

Al-Tirmidhī also reported it, adding: “O Allah, make me among those who constantly repent, and make me among those who purify themselves.”2 This is an authentically established addition, as the scholars have explained.

In this hadith, Uqbah ibn Amir—may Allah be pleased with him—describes how carefully the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—used their time and how they cooperated in a manner that benefited everyone. One example was that they took turns tending their camels. A group of them would gather their camels into a single herd, and one of them would tend them each day. This made matters easier for them, allowing the others to attend to their affairs and needs and giving them a greater opportunity to benefit from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and attend his gatherings. When it was Uqbah’s turn, he returned the camels to their resting place at the end of the day and finished tending to them. He then came to the gathering of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—to gain some of its benefits and drink deeply from his blessed fountain. There he gained a tremendous benefit and rejoiced