Hadith 13: This World Is A Prison For The Believer And Paradise For The Non-Believer.

This World Is A Prison For The Believer And Paradise For The Non-Believer

This world is like a prison for the believer, meaning that the way a prisoner isn't free and is bound by rules, the affair of a believer is the same, this world is not one of freedom for them but one of rules and obligations towards Allah.
The believer at all times keeps these rules and obligations in front of him.

The way a prisoner doesn't make his home the prison the believer is the same, where by he never sees this world as his home, but as a temporary dwelling full of trials until he reaches his final home of Jannah.

For a disbeliever the matter is on the complete other end of the scale, he sees the life of this world as jannah and does whatever his heart desires. He sees this world as his final home and acts accordingly to it, he pays no heed to the warnings that are given to him and does not submit to the will and obligations of Allah.
He sees this world as his for the taking and makes it his goal to acquire as much as he can and to derive pleasure from it, due to this he sees this world as a place of reward and becomes blind to the reality of its evil and hereafter.

Dawah Note:
When thinking about it, many non-believers do not understand how muslims can devote a life to a higher being, how we as muslims can easily put on hold our lives for the sake of Allah.
At times explaining to a non-believer seems futile, but patience is critical in these matters, remember that to this day; religion to them has always been a side dish, where as islam is the full 7 course meal.
Islam governs our lives, and we are happy for it to do so. As, if our lives were left within our own hearts desires we would truly be lost.

We see this life as temporary and our belief enables us to give up desires for a higher cause, for we know we will be rewarded.
Many times it takes a lot of time and tonnes of patience in order to be able to make a non-believer see this.
We need to continuously make dua to Allah to guide those whom we try to call to Islam and make dua that Allah instill in us the correct a'dab to be able to do dawah of His deen.

Ameen

PS: Sorry for not putting up the arabic, technical issues, inshaAllah will do so as soon as I can.
Ma'assalam

Hadith 12: The One Who Initiates Salam Is Free From Pride

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

اَلْبادِئُ بِالسَّلامِ بَرِئٌ مِنْ الْكِبَرِ
The One Who Initiates Salaam Is Free From Pride

When two people are together, whether walking, sitting, or riding, the one who says salam first is free from pride, or the meaning could be taken that Allah will take the pride out of his heart.

Pride is to think of someone as inferior, to think ones self as having all the perfect qualites and that no one else has such qualities.
This type of person cares for no one and doesn't care to make salam first thinking himself is superior.
As in the hadith the one who initiates the salaam is free from pride as he does not think himself above saying salam to anyone first.

The warnings against pride are extensive within the Quraan and ahadeeth.
In the Quran we see that pride has been the downfall of many great nations and men, for example Firown (Pharaoh Ramses II) and his kingdom.

In a hadith Muhammad Sallalahu alayhi wassalam states:

"The one who possesses even a mustard seed (size) of pride will not enter jannah (paradise)"

In another hadith (a hadith qudsi) Allah states:

"Greatness and Pride is my cloak (My qualities) whoever claims to have these, I will enter him into the fire of hell"

Pride is one of the greatest sins and in order to cleanse the heart from it, regular repentance must be established for its forgiveness.
Pride is a disease seeking Allah's forgivness is the cure for it, and as mentioned in the hadith one way of freeing the heart from pride is to be the first to say salam.

May Allah (subhanahu wa ta'alaa) free our hearts from pride.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته