*   What religious and worldly benefits do we derive from these gatherings?

*   What are the teachings of Islam regarding religious gatherings?

We will have the blessing of listening to these and other matters in today’s speech. First, let us first mention a blessed religious gathering of our beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

The Mention of a Remarkable Islamic Gathering

In the renowned book of Hadith, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is narrated that in al-Masjid al-Nabawī, the greatest orator among the Prophets, the Imam of the Prophets, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, was present with the noble Companions رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُم, and a gathering of learning and remembrance was taking place.

(سُـبْحٰـنَ الـلّٰــه! What a beautiful, unique, love-filled, and faith-enhancing scene it must have been!)

The narrator says:

The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was sitting with the people in the Masjid when three individuals approached. One of the three continued on his way, but the other two went towards the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and stood. As for one, he saw a vacant space in the gathering and sat there, while the other sat behind the people.

When the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم completed his discourse, he said, "Shall I not tell you about these three individuals? As for one of them, he sought refuge in Allah, so Allah granted him refuge. As for the second, he felt shy, so Allah showed him mercy and did not punish him. As for the other, he turned away, so