It has also been established through several chains of transmission that he said:
“The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe, and the believer is the one whom people trust with their lives and property.”
Clearly, anyone trusted with lives and property is someone from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe. Were they not safe from him, they would not trust him. The same is found in the hadith narrated by Ubayd ibn Umayr from Amr ibn Abasah, and also in the hadith narrated by Abd Allāh ibn Ubayd ibn Umayr, from his father, from his grandfather:
“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was asked, ‘What is Islam?’
He replied, ‘Feeding others and speaking kindly.’
He was asked, ‘What, then, is faith?’
He replied, ‘Generosity and patience.’
He was asked, ‘Which Muslim is best in his Islam?’
He replied, ‘The one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.’
He was asked, ‘Which believer is best in his faith?’
He replied, ‘The one with the best character.’
He was asked, ‘What is the best migration?’
He replied, ‘That of someone who abandons what Allah has forbidden him.’
The questioner asked, ‘Which prayer is best?’
He replied, ‘Prolonged standing.’
He asked, ‘Which charity is best?’
He replied, ‘Giving what one can despite having little.’
He asked, ‘Which jihad is best?’
He replied, ‘That you strive with your wealth and your life, so that your steed is struck down and your blood is shed.’
He asked, ‘Which time is best?’
He replied, ‘The depths of the remaining night.’”
Clearly, all these are ranks, some higher than others; a migrant must in any case be a believer, as must one who strives in jihad. Hence he said:
“Faith is generosity and patience.”
And of Islam he said:
“Feeding others and speaking kindly.”
The former entails the latter: someone whose character is marked by generosity will do these things. The converse, however, does not hold, for a person may do them by deliberately adopting such behaviour without generosity and patience being part of his character.
He likewise said:
“The best of Muslims