There are few sayings of The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, that I do not clearly understand. I was hoping you could elaborate on them.
They are:
* Leave the birds alone secure in their nests.
* Entertain people according to their standing.
*Beware of the cry of the oppresses one, for there is no bar between it and Allaah.
* He who does not feel shy of people does not feel shy of Allaah. Is this true?
Thanks and take care. May Allaah bless you and your family.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The first Hadeeth which is the saying of the Prophet : "Leave the birds alone secure in their nests" is an authentic Hadeeth reported by Abu Daawood.

Al-Shaafi'ee interpreted the Hadeeth saying: 'In the period before Islam when a man intended to do something, he would go to the bird in its nest and would cause it to fly, if it flew to the right side, he would proceed with it, and if it flew to the left side, he would feel pessimistic and would abstain.' [Al-Bayhaqi]

The second Hadeeth is reported by Abu Daawood as well, and some of the people of knowledge said that it is a weak Hadeeth. The meaning of this Hadeeth is illustrated in the story about 'Aa'ishah . Abu Daawood reported that 'a man passed by 'Aa'ishah and she gave him bread; another man well dressed and honourably looking passed by her, she told him to sit down and provided him food. They asked her why she distinguished between the two men. She replied: "The Prophet said: "Treat people according to their status."

The third Hadeeth is extracted from the Hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas regarding sending Mu'aath to Yemen. The Hadeeth states: ".....Beware of the supplication of the oppressed one, as there is no bar between it and Allaah (meaning it is responded to)." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The meaning of the Hadeeth is that the supplication of an oppressed person against the person who wronged him is accepted.

As regards the fourth and the last Hadeeth, it is a weak Hadeeth reported by Al-Tabraani. He reported that Anas was welcomed by some people who came back from Friday prayer. He entered a house and said: "I heard the Prophet saying: "He who is not bashful of people, will not be bashful of Allaah."

Note: Weak Hadeeth may be cited as examples of right behavior only. They are not to be used to institute religious practices. More importantly they are not to be attributed to the Prophet .

Allaah knows best.