*!* The Forty Sayings- by An Nawawi *!*

[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

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Hadeeth # 1

Actions are but by Intentions

On the authority of Ameer ul-Mu'mineen (the Commander of the Faithful), Aboo Hafs `Umar ibn al-Khattaab radiAllaahu anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam say:

"Actions are but by intentions and every man shall have only that which he intended. Thus he whose migration (Hijrah to Madeenah from Makkah) was for Allaah and His Messenger, his migration was for Allaah and His Messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated."

It is related by the two Imaams of the scholars of Hadeeth, Aboo `Abdillaah Muhammad ibn Ismaa`eel ibn Ibraheem ibn al-Mugheera ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhaaree and Aboo-l-Husain Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj ibn Muslim al-Qushairee an-Naisaabooree, in their two Saheehs, which are the soundest of compiled books [i.e. the most truthful books after the Book of Allaah, since the Qur'aan is not 'compiled'].

Explanation of Hadeeth 1


This is a saheeh hadeeth that has been agreed upon by the scholars, and is collected in both the collections of al-Bukhaaree (Hadeeth No. 1) and Muslim (Hadeeth No. 1907). This hadeeth is great in its benefit and importance, and it has been said that the religion of al-Islaam revolves around it. Some of the scholars have said that it is 1/3rd of Knowledge, because the actions of man involve his heart, his tongue and his limbs, and hence the intention in the heart is 1/3rd of that. Other scholars have said that the whole religion is encompassed in three hadeeth - this one, the hadeeth "The Halaal is clear, the Haraam is clear and between them are doubtful matters...", and the hadeeth "Whoever innovates in this religion that which is not from it will have his actions rejected [by Allaah]".
[Note: These other hadeeth will be covered later in shaa' Allaah]
Some of the scholars have said that this hadeeth should be mentioned at the beginning of every book, in order to establish that the seeking of knowledge is for the sake of Allaah alone, and not for anyone else.
In the hadeeth, when the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) says "actions are but by intention" then the 'by' here means that the acceptance and correctness of any action depends upon the intention behind it. An action which is apparently good, such as giving money in charity, will be rejected if the intention behind it is wrong, for example: to show off. Indeed, the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) has narrated from Allaah that if a person performs an act for Allaah's sake and also for the sake of someone else, then Allaah will reject the deed entirely and leave the whole of it for the partner that the person made. This shows us how grave the sin of shirk is - it is the only sin that Allaah will never forgive.
In the hadeeth, the words "shall have" means that the person will be rewarded for only that which he intended. So, as mentioned in the hadeeth, if a person performed the Hijrah, but did it with the wrong intention then he would not be rewarded for that action of Hijrah.
The word "actions" refers to those actions which are part of the Sharee'ah of Islaam. Thus, any action of the Sharee'ah - such as making wudoo', or ghusl, or making tayammum, or the prayer, or zakaat, or fasting, or the Hajj, or i'tikaaf in the masjid, or any other act of worship - will not be accepted and rewarded unless it is performed with the correct intention.

Summary

Everything we do has to be intended to be for Allaah, i.e., for anything we do we want to make sure that it will be acceptable to Him and will not in any way interfere with the upholding of His Deen. A good action with the wrong intention will not get us any reward in the Hereafter.

Source.





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[Khayal]

Hadeeth # 2
An Explanation of Islaam, Eemaan and Ihsaan

Also on the authority of `Umar (radi Allaahu 'anhu), who said:
One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journey were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down in front of the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), with his knees touching against the Prophet's (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs he said:
“O Muhammad, tell me about Islaam.”
The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Islaam is to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allaah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, to perform prayers, to give zakaah, to fast in Ramadaan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so.”
He said: “You have spoken rightly”; and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly.
He (the man) said: “Tell me about Eemaan.”
He (the Prophet, sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“It is to believe in Allaah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine destiny (qadr), both the good and the evil of it.”
He said: “You have spoken rightly.”
He (the man) said: “Then tell me about Ihsaan.”
He (the Prophet, sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “It is to worship Allaah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (knowing that) truly He sees you.”
He said: “Then tell me about the Hour.”
He said: “The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner.”
He said: “Then tell me about its signs.”
He said: “That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, and that you will see barefooted, naked destitute shepherds competing in constructing lofty buildings.”

Then he (the man) left, and I stayed for a time. The he (the Prophet, sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “O `Umar, do you know who the questioner was?”
I said: “Allaah and His Messenger know best.”
He said: “It was Jibreel, who came to teach you your religion.”
It was related by Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth 2


This is no doubt a great hadeeth, in that it includes within it all the outwardly apparent and inwardly actions, and all the Sciences of the Sharee'ah return back towards it due to its encompassing all the Knowledge of the Sunnah. Hence some of the scholars have termed this hadeeth the Mother/Core of the Sunnah (Umm as-Sunnah), just as soorah al-Faatihah has been termed the Mother/Core of the Qur'aan (Umm al-Qur'aan), due to its succintly containing all of the Message of the Qur'aan.
And in this hadeeth (from the mention of the white dress and black hair) is evidence for the beautification of ones appearance when entering upon the scholars, the pious and the kings, as Jibreel (alayhi as-salaam) came to teach the people by his appearance, his statements and his actions.
The fact that the 'man' had no sign of travel upon him, and yet no one had ever seen him before surprised the Sahaabah, as if he did not live amongst them then how did he just appear from 'nowhere'. In this way, Jibreel (alayhi as-salaam) was able to attract their attention to what he was to say next. His statement 'O Muhammad' rather than the respectful 'O Messenger of Allaah' that was obligatory upon the Sahaabah, also helped to attain the full attention of the Sahaabah.
His questions regarding Islaam, Eemaan and Ihsaan show us that these are three distinct levels, with the level of Ihsaan being the highest. It is important to note here that these terms when used together indicate specific meanings, whereas when used on their own they may encompass the meanings of the other terms. What this means will be explained in more detail below in shaa' Allaah.
The term 'Islaam' in its specific meaning refers to the outwardly apparent actions - such as the Shahaadah, the Prayer, paying the Zakaat etc. If a person has the basic amount of eemaan required of him and then performs these major outward actions then he is at the level of 'Islaam'.

The term 'Eemaan' in its specific meaning refers to the inward beliefs of the heart, and for a person to enter the fold of Islaam he must adhere to the basic beliefs mentioned in this hadeeth. However, in a more general sense the word Eemaan denotes the beliefs and actions in the heart (eg aqeedah and fear of Allaah), the statements of the tongue (e.g. dhikr of Allaah) and actions of the limbs (e.g. fighting jihaad in Allaah's cause). If a person achieves the basic outward actions of Islaam, and then increases upon that in terms of his belief and his other actions, then he rises to the level of Eemaan.

Having eemaan in Allaah means the attestation that Allaah - Glory be to Him - exists, and is described with the Lofty and Perfect Attributes, and is free from all deficient characteristics. And it includes the belief that He is One, The Truth, The Independent, and He is the Only Creator of all that exists, and He changes the creation as He wishes and He acts within His Kingdom whatever He wishes.
And eemaan in the Angels means attesting that they are His honoured slaves, and that they do not act except according to Allaah's command.
And eemaan in the Messengers involves attesting that they are Truthful in all that they have conveyed about Allaah, and that they were aided by Allaah in the miracles that they performed to prove their truthfulness, and that they conveyed and explained the Message of what Allaah has ordered us with. Also, we must respect and honour them all, and we must not differentiate between them.
And eemaan in the Last Day involves the attestation that we shall be brought back to life again after our death, and shall be collected together on the Day of Judgement, and on that Day will be the Accounting of our deeds, and the weighing in the Meezaan (Scales), and the crossing of the Siraat (Bridge), and finally the entry to either Paradise or Hellfire. And the belief that Paradise is the place for rewarding the doers of good, while Hellfire is the place for retribution for the doers of evil.
And eemaan in Qadr (Divine Preordainment) includes the belief that Allaah knows all that has happened and all that will happen, and that He has written this down in the Protected Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfooz) which is with Him, and that nothing can happen except by Allaah's Will and Permission.
And the way of the Salaf and the Imaams of the later times has been that whomsoever attests to and believes in these matters with a firm conviction having no doubt in them, then he will be counted amongst true Believers, whether he arrived at these beliefs through detailed study of the intellectual proofs or not.
The term 'Ihsaan' refers to the third and highest level, and is attained as mentioned in the hadeeth when the person worships Allaah as though he sees Him, and if he does not see Allaah, then he worships Him knowing that Allaah sees him. The scholars have mentioned that the higher level of worshipping Allaah as though one sees him is the level of mushaahadah. This implies that the person worships Allaah seeing the effect of Allaah's Names and Attributes in all the things around him. For example, when he sees mercy shown by an animal to its young he sees this as the effect of the Mercy of Allaah upon His Creation, and so on and so forth. Thus whatever the slave sees around him he is reminded of the Perfect Attributes of Allaah 'azza wa jall. It does not mean that the slave sees Allaah with his eyes, as this ru'yaa (Seeing) is only for the Believers on the Day of Resurrection. The second and lower level of Ihsaan is where the slave is constantly aware of Allaah watching him at all times.
The statement of the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that "the one questioned knows no better than the questioner" shows that even the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam had no knowledge of when the Last Hour shall be. This knowledge is with Allaah, and Allaah alone. Regarding the Signs of the Day of Judgement, then two are mentioned in this hadeeth.
The first states that a slave-girl shall give birth to her master. Some of the scholars have suggested that this could mean that the people will degenerate to the extent that they will sell their women slaves, from whom they have already had children. These children may then unwittingly buy their mothers as slaves, and thus become their masters. Others have suggested that it means that children will become so bad mannered and insolent towards their parents that they treat their parents as though they were their slaves - and this is what we see in todays society.
The second sign is that the poor, destitute shepherds will compete with one another in building tall buildings. We only have to look to the Arabian Peninsula to see how people who were desert bedouins only a few decades ago are now literally competing with one another in constructing lofty sky scrapers. And there are some ahaadeeth from the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam indicating that constructing tall buildings is hated, if there is no genuine need for doing so.
So this hadeeth contains an explanation of Islaam, Eemaan and Ihsaan. It has been narrated from the scholars of the past, such as Imaam Aboo al-Husain ibn Bataal al-Maalikee that Ahl-us-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa'ah are united upon understanding Eemaan to consist of Beliefs, Speech and Action, and that Eemaan increases with the obedience of Allaah and decreases with His disobedience. This is contrary to the statement of some of the deviant sects that Eemaan is fixed or constant, and a person either has it or does not. So different people have different levels of Eemaan, and we are not all equal in this respect. Rather, we know from the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam that the Eemaan of Abu Bakr radiAllaahu anhu was greater than the eemaan of the rest of the people combined (excluding Allaah's Messenger, of course).
And we also learn from this hadeeth that the person who attests to the shahaadataan and displays the major outward aspects of Islaam is considered a Muslim, while the one who goes further than that and increases in actions and beliefs is called a Mu'min. Thus the Mu'min is at a higher station than the Muslim. And the one who achieves the level of Ihsaan is the best of the three and is called a Muhsin - may Allaah 'azza wa jall make us of them.

Summary

• That the Angel Jibreel himself came to teach the fundamentals of the Faith to the Companions by asking questions to the Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam).
• That one can teach others by asking about that which he already knows.
• That if someone wants to know about Islaam generally, then he should be made aware of the pillars which constitute it.
• That Islaam is built on the five pillars which have to be acted upon with eemaan and ihsaan. Denying any one of these pillars and not wishing to fulfill any one of them makes one a non-Muslim.
• That belief in what Allaah has destined for us, whether it is perceived to be good, or bad, is part of eemaan, and without believing in it, our eemaan is incomplete and defective.
• That one must accept the Messengers sent by Allaah.
• That one must develop ihsaan in all that he does so that he is as much aware as he can be that Allaah is indeed watching every move that he makes.
• That as part of the Islaamic manner the teacher should be ready to accept and say that he does not know the answer or that he does not know it better than the enquirer.
• That the signs of the Last Hour are real and cocern how we live and behave.
• That although the Companions were the best of the people and were the most knowledgeable, they did not interrupt with their own answers, nor did they show impatience at the questioner. Therefore as part of the Islaamic manners, if someone asks a question to the teacher in a group, then the others in the group should keep quiet until one of them is asked for help.
• It is not permissible to say that there is a certain length of time left before the end of the world, for none knows but Allaah, not even the Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam).

Source.

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 3
The Pillars of Islaam

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On the authority of Aboo `Abd ir-Rahmaan `Abdullaah, the son of `Umar ibn al-Khattab radiAllaahu 'anhumaa, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) say:
Islaam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, establishing the salaah (prayer), paying the zakaah (obligatory charity), making the Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadaan. [related by al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

Explanation of Hadeeth 3

Aboo al-'Abbaas al-Qurtubee (rahimahu Allaahu) has said that this hadeeth means that these five matters are the foundation and basic principles upon which the religion of al-Islaam is built. With these five matters does Islaam make itself apparent. And the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam particularised these five matters and did not mention Jihaad along with them (even though it is through Jihaad that Islaam is made uppermost and the resistance of the Disbelievers is belittled) because these five matters are obligatory at all times upon all Muslims, whereas Jihaad is a Fard Kifaayah which may not be required during certain times. [Note: a Fard Kifaayah is an obligation that is required of the Muslims such that if a group of them fulfill it then the obligation is lifted from the community as a whole].
And in some of the narrations of this hadeeth (such as the one quoted above), mention of the Hajj is made before mention of the Fasting in Ramadaan. However, and Allaah knows best, the correct form is the placing of the Fasting before the Hajj, as is narrated from Ibn 'Umar that he corrected a narrator who changed the order and said "This is how I have heard it from the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam)". This incident shows us the precision of the Sahaabah and the scholars of Hadeeth after them in preserving the words of the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, and how can this not be when Allaah 'azza wa jall has said:
"Verily We have sent down the Dhikr and We shall preserve it"
and the Dhikr or Wahee sent down to the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam includes both the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, as Allaah has said:
"Nor does he speak of (his own) desire; It is only an Inspiration that is inspired."
And it is also narrated from Ibn 'Umar radiAllaahu 'anhu that the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:
"Islaam is built upon that you worship Allaah (alone) and disbelieve in (the worship of) all that is other than Him, and the establishment of the Prayer, ...(till the end of the hadeeth)"
And in the hadeeth occurs the phrase 'establishment' of the prayer (iqaam as-salaah), as opposed to 'performance' of the prayer. The scholars have mentioned how this indicates that the Prayer must be performed in the most perfect manner, after having completed the wudoo' in the most perfect manner, and in the Masjid with the jamaa'ah for the men, and so on and so forth. That is, simply performing the motions of the Prayer in the most minimal fashion is not what is desired from us - but rather we should exert ourselves in this affair, bearing in mind that the Prayer is the first matter that will be judged on the Day of Resurrection - if it is accepted then the rest of our actions will be accepted, and if it is rejected then the rest of our actions will also be rejected.

Summary

That Islaam is indeed built on the five principles of:
1) Witnessing that Allaah is our only deity and Muhammad (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) is His Messenger to show us how to fulfill our existence on this earth as Muslims,
2) Prayer,
3) Zakaah,
4) Fasting and
5) Hajj
So one must strive to fulfill these pillars with the utmost care, concern and priority, and one must do so normally before one gets involved with other aspects of the Deen.

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[Khayal]

.The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 4
Deeds are by their Final Actions

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On the authority of Aboo `Abd ir-Rahmaan `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radiAllaahu anhu), who said: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) and he is the Truthful, the Believed, narrated to us:
Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an 'alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e. whether or not he will enter Paradise). By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.
[Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.]

Explanation of Hadeeth 4

The statement of ibn Mas'ood that the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam was "the Truthful, the Believed" means that he was Truthful in his speech and that he was Believed in whatever he came with of the the Wahee (inspiration).
Regarding the statement that "the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days ..." then some of the scholars have commented that this means that the sperm and egg are initially separate within the mother's womb, and it is Allaah who brings them together (to form the zygote) and they remain in this 'basic' state for a period of forty days. [Please note that this comment was made before the 8th Century Hijree, showing the knowledge of the 'Ulemaa at that time - and further evidence of the Truthfulness of what the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam came with]
The further description of the embryo in the various stages of 'alaqah and mudghah are also incredibly accurate - and in our times Dr Keith Moore has described this in detail in his books on Human Development.
The angel that is sent to the embryo is the angel who is deputised with the Responsibility of the Womb.
Regarding the statement "verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise ..." then we understand that this means that a person may perform good actions correctly until he is an arms length away from Paradise, but then what has been previously written about him (i.e. his Qadar) will override that and he will perform evil deeds and thus enter the Hellfire. And this is in conformance to the hadeeth that "Deeds are by their final actions".
And it is understood and seen that the changing of a person from good to evil is rare and is not the norm, whereas the changing of a person from evil to good is far more common - and this is from the Kindness and Mercy of Allaah subhaanahu, the One whose Mercy knows no bounds, and we thank and praise Him for that. And we know from the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam that Allaah has said: "Verily My Mercy precedes My Anger" and in another narration "Verily My Mercy overcomes my Anger".
And in this hadeeth is the establishment of the Belief in Qadar, and this is the belief of Ahl-us-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa'ah. We believe that all occurrences are by the Pre-ordainment of Allaah (i.e. everything that occurs has already been decreed by Allaah) and everything that happens is only by His Will - both the good of it and the evil of it. Allaah 'azza wa jall has said concerning Himself in His Noble Book:
"He is not asked about His Actions, but they (the creation) are asked"
[Soorah al-Anbiyaa', aayah 23]

Allaah Acts as He Wishes in His Kingdom, and no one else may act except by His Will.
Imaam as-Sam'aanee said:
The path to understanding this subject [of Qadaa' and Qadar] is through the guidance of the Qur'aan and Sunnah, and not through analogy and bare intellect. So whoever turns away from the guidance of these two [the Qur'aan and Sunnah] then he is misguided and astray in a sphere of confusion, and he does not achieve the purification of the soul, nor does he attain that which contents the heart. [This is] because al-Qadar is something Hidden from amongst the Hidden Secrets of Allaah ta'aalaa, which He has kept for Himself only, and has veiled from the minds and understanding of the creation. And Allaah ta'aalaa has veiled the knowledge of al-Qadar from all of creation, so that not even the angels or the Messengers comprehend it. And it has been said that the secrets of al-Qadar will be revealed to them when they enter Paradise, but not before that.
And in other ahaadeeth it is established that a person should not leave performing good actions, depending upon what has already been written for him in his Qadar, but rather he should act according to whatever has been prescribed for him in the Sharee'ah. For whoever is of the People of Bliss then Allaah will make easy for him the actions of the People of Bliss, whereas whoever is of the People of Sadness then Allaah will make easy for him the actions of the People of Sadness, as is mentioned in the hadeeth. And also there is the saying of Allaah 'azza wa jall in His Noble Book:
"And We shall make easy for him [the righteous one] the path of Good ... And We shall make easy for him [the wicked one] the path of Evil"
[Soorah al-Lail].

Some of the Scholars have said : It is obligatory to have eemaan [faith] in the Book of Allaah, and the Lawh (Protected Tablet) and His Pen [which was ordered to write down everything in the Lawh], but as for the precise nature of these and their modality or 'howness' (kayfiyyah) then this knowledge is with Allaah alone, and no one attains any of His knowledge except what He wishes, and Allaah knows best.

Summary

• That the angel of life blows the soul into the foetus after it is 120 days old, so without doubt, terminating the life of a foetus when it is over 4 months old is definitely murder.
• That each child which is born has its sustenance, how long it will live, what it will do and how it will fare, recorded before birth since Allaah knows the past and the future and allows the child to be what it will be.
• That since life, sustenance, ability and existence is in the Hands of Allaah and taken care of by Him, one who knows this will not become deceitful or desperate about these things, but worship Allaah constantly and patiently.
• That the results are in the Hands of Allaah and one must do what one knows is best according to His Deen.
• That one never knows how a person will change, either for the good or the bad, so one should not give up trying.
• It is permissible to say "By Allaah" to emphasise something.
• One should seek refuge with Allaah from lapsing into evil.

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth # 5

Rejection of Evil Deeds and Innovations

On the authority of the Mother of the Faithful, Umm `Abdillaah `Aaishah (radi Allaahu 'anhaa) , who said: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaau alayhi wa sallam) said:
“He who innovates something in this matter of ours [i.e. Islaam] that is not of it will have it rejected [by Allaah]”. [Related by al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
In one version by Muslim it reads:
He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it rejected [by Allaah].

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 5

This hadeeth is a Great Principle from amongst the Principles of the Religion, and it is an example of the Perfect and Concise Speech of the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam, as in it is found a clear rejection of every innovation (bid'ah) and every innovator. And this hadeeth is also used as a proof of the invalidity of every contract prohibited by the Sharee'ah, and also by some of the scholars of Usool ul-Fiqh when they say that a prohibition implies the invalidity of that action.
And in the second narration which states that "He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it rejected" there is a clear and unequivocal command to leave all things which are newly introduced into the religion, whether the person invents that action himself or whether he follows someone else who has preceeded him. For verily some of the obstinate innovators give as a proof for their innovation the fact that they themselves have not introduced the innovation, but rather they are following the action of someone else - and they use the first hadeeth above to show that they are then not blameworthy.
And this hadeeth should be acted upon meticulously in all our affairs, and it should be preserved and spread amongst the people and used as an evidence to show the invalidity of all innovations and evil actions, for verily it includes in its meaning all of that.
However, as for the Furoo' (branches) of knowledge which are established from the Usool (basic principles) and which do not depart from the Sunnah, then these are not referred to by this hadeeth. For example, the writing down of the Qur'aan as a Mus-haf by 'Uthmaan (radiAllaauh 'anhu), or the establishment of the various madhhabs in Fiqh (Schools of Jurisprudence), which are from the understanding of the Mujtahid scholars of Fiqh, those who built the matters of Furoo' upon the Usool (which are the statements of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam). And also, from amongst the matters not included in this hadeeth is the writing of books on subjects such as Grammar, or Arithmetic, or the Laws of Inheritance, and other than that from the sciences that are built upon the statements and commands of the Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam.

Summary

• That anything new introduced in the matter of worship, which has not already been given sanction from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah will not be accepted by Allaah.
• That anything new incorporated into the Deen must be thrown away and rejected by the Muslims.

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth # 6
Lawful (Halaal) is The Clear and the (Unlawful) Haraam is Clear

On the authority of Aboo `Abdillaah an-Nu`maan the son of Basheer (radiAllaahu 'anhumaa), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) say:

That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allaah's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased. Truly, it is the heart.

[Related by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.]

Explanation of Hadeeth 6

This hadeeth is a great Principle from the Principles of the Sharee'ah, such that the well known Muhaddith Aboo Dawood as-Sijistaanee said, "al-Islaam revolves around four ahaadeeth" , and he then mentioned this hadeeth amongst them. And there is consensus amongst the People of Knowledge upon the great status of this hadeeth and its immense benefits.

The statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam "That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters" implies that matters are of three types.




Whatever Allaah has established to be permissible in a text, then it is the 'clear' Halaal, such as the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa:

"Made lawful to you this day are At­Tayyibaat [all kinds of lawful foods, such as meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk, vegetables and fruits, etc.] The food of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you and yours is lawful to them."

[al-Maa'idah 5:5]

And whatever Allaah has established to be forbidden in a text, then that is the 'clear' Haraam, such as the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa:

"Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters ..."

[an-Nisaa 4:23]

And also such as the forbiddance of fawaahish (evil lusts and desires), that which is apparent of it and also that which is hidden of it. And every matter concerning which Allaah has established upon it a limit or associated with it a punishment or a threat, then that matter is also included amongst the 'clear' haraam.
As for the the 'doubtful matters' then they are those issues in which there appears (to the layman) to be opposing evidences from the Book and the Sunnah, and so in this case restraint from them is from piety.
And the scholars have differed regarding the ruling upon the doubtful matters mentioned by the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam in this hadeeth.
So one opinion is that they are all Haraam, due the saying of the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam "[he] clears himself in regard to his religion and his honour", as whoever does safeguard his religion and his honour has definitely fallen into the Haraam.
Another opinion is that they are Halaal, due the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam "like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary", so this indicates that these actions are permissible, but leaving them is from piety.
And a third opinion is that we make no ruling regarding the doubtful matters, and do not say that they are Halaal nor that they are Haraam, as the Prophet sallAllaahu alayi wa salaam placed them between the clear Halaal and the clear Haraam. Hence it is required that we refrain from passing judgement and this too is from piety.




And in the hadeeth from 'Adiyy ibn Haatim that he said to the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam:

"O Messenger of Allaah! [Sometimes] I send my hunting dog after game, after pronouncing 'bismillaah' upon it, but when I reach the catch I find another dog there too (upon which I had not pronounced the name of Allaah)." So the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam replied: "Do not eat from it (the catch), for verily you pronounced the name of Allaah upon your dog, but not upon the other dog."

So the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam gave a verdict based upon a doubt, fearing that the dog which killed the game was the other dog upon which the name of Allaah had not been pronounced, hence making the kill slaughtered for other than Allaah. And Allaah has said about this:

"Eat not of that (meat) on which Allaah's Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering), for surely it is Fisq (a sin and disobedience of Allaah)."

[al-An'aam 6:121]

So this verdict contains evidence for taking care regarding those actions or events that involve some judgement regarding what is Halaal or Haraam, due to the similarity between the different situations. And this is encompassed in the meaning of the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam: "Leave that which causes you doubt, for that which does not cause you doubt."
[narrated by an-Nasaa'ee]
And some of the scholars have said the doubtful matters can be divided into three types:
1) That affair which a person knows to be Haraam, but which he then doubts as to whether its forbiddance still continues or not. For example, a person cannot eat from an animal until he is sure that is has been slaughtered Islaamically, and so if he has doubts about this then the forbiddance to eat continues until certainty of the correct slaughtering is achieved. And the origin of this is in the hadeeth of 'Adiyy mentioned above. [Note: this is referring to a situation similar to when 'Adiyy came upon the dogs next to the kill - and not when your butcher says the meat is Halaal and you doubt it!]
2) The opposite of this, where the affair is originally Halaal, and the person has doubts regarding whether it has become Haraam. And whatever is of this type then it is considered permissible until its forbiddance is clearly established. And the origin of this is the hadeeth of Abdullaah bin Zayd, regarding the doubt in ones wudoo' if one is sure that previously he had made wudoo'. [i.e. one continues upon the assumption of being with wudoo' until it becomes clear that the wudoo' has broken]
3) The third type is where one has doubts about a matter and one does not know whether it is Halaal or Haraam, and the matter could be of either of the two, and there is no clear evidence to establish either ruling. Then in this situation the best course of action is restraint. For example, once the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam found a date in his house, but did not eat it for he feared that it may have been from that given as sadaqah (as the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam was forbidden from taking of sadaqah).
However, if a person chooses the opposite of what is clearly apparent due to an imaginary doubt which has no evidence, then restraint in such a situation is foolishness, and is from the whisperings of shaytaan. For example, a person may restrain from praying in a place which has no visible traces of filth, simply out of a fear that maybe some urine had fallen there and since dried. Or a person may wash a dress simply out of a fear that some filth (najaasah) came upon it but which he did not actually see upon it. So in all such situations where there is no 'real' doubt then it is required that one does not leave the action.
And the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam "about which many people do not know" means that many people do not know the shar'ee ruling upon these matters. However, the People of Knowledge may be able to associate such matters with other principles that they must follow, and thus achieve a ruling upon them as to whether they are Halaal or Haraam, and thus they cease to be doubtful matters.
As for the statement "but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that which is unlawful" then this is from two angles:
1) The one who does not fear Allaah and indulges in doubtful matters, eventually begins to practise the Forbidden actions too, and becomes lenient in these affairs. And this is as some of the 'ulemaa have said that minor sins lead to major sins and major sins lead to kufr.
2) The one who often indulges in doubtful matters oppresses himself as his heart is deprived of the Light of Knowledge and the Light of Piety, so he ends up falling into the Haraam and does not realise it.
And just as a King has a sanctuary, which the shepherds must keep their sheep away from, so too has Allaah specified certain things as Forbidden for his slaves, which they must refrain from - such as murder, interest (ribaa), theft, drinking alcohol, backbiting and tale-carrying, and other such things, all of which we should keep well away from for fear of falling into them.
As for the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam "Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole ... ":




Allaah ta'aalaa has blessed only man and the animals with this special organ - the heart - and through it we find that even the animals recognize that which benefits them and that which harms them. Then, Allaah has singled out al-Insaan from amongst all the animals with the faculty of the intellect, and additional faculties within the heart. Allah says:

"Have they not travelled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear?"

[al-Hajj 22:46]

And the various limbs of the body are subservient to the heart, so whatever the heart decides upon, that action appears upon the limbs. So if the heart is good then the actions of the limbs are good, and if the heart is corrupt then the actions of the limbs are also corrupt. And if this fact is understood then the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam "if it be whole, all the body is whole, and if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased" becomes clear.

We ask Allaah the Majestic to cleanse the corruption of our hearts. O Changer of Hearts, establish our hearts upon Your Deen! O Controller of Hearts, turn our hearts towards Your obedience!

InshaAllaah $Aameen!

Summary

• That those things which are Haraam are clear and need clear evidence.
• That one who does doubtful things may well be doing what is Haraam.
• That it is difficult to live honorably when doing the doubtful.
• That Allaah is the King; The King of kings.
• That it is understandable that Allaah should have things prohibited for us.
• That the sanctuary of Allaah which we must not enter is all those things which He has made Haraam for us. Thus we must know what is Haraam and definitely avoid them.
• That doing the doubtful or what is forbidden adversely affects the heart.
• That it is important to make and keep the heart pure, since it affects the rest of us. Thus we should look for ways to purify and preserve our hearts from being stained.

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 7

The Religion is Naseehah (Sincere Advice)

On the authority of Abu Ruqayya Tameem ibn Aus ad-Daaree (radi Allaahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:


'The Deen (religion) is naseehah (advice/sincerity)'. We said 'To whom?' He said 'To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.'
[Related by Muslim]

Explanation of Hadeeth 7

This is the only hadeeth narrated by Tameem ad-Daaree (radi Allaahu 'anhu). And 'Naseehah' is a comprehensive word, whose meaning implies the desire for all possible good for the one being advised. And this word 'an-naseehah' is most concise in speech, and there is no other single word in the Arabic language that completetly and precisely explains its meaning, just as it is said that regarding the word 'al-Falaah' (the success) that there is no other word in the Arabic language that more precisely and succinctly describes the good of both this world and the next. And the meaning of his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "The Deen is Naseehah" is that the main pillar of the Religion and its Straightness lies in this concept of Naseehah. And this is similar to the Prophet's sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam statement "The Hajj is 'Arafah", meaning the main pillar of the Hajj is the standing in the Plain of 'Arafah.
As for the detailed explanation of Naseehah then al-Khattaabee (rahimhu Allaah) and others from amongst the 'ulemaa have said:


Naseehah to Allaah ta'aalaa refers to belief in Him and the negation of all shirk, and leaving heresy and disbelief in His Attributes, rather describing Him with the Perfect and Complete Attributes, all of them, and freeing Him of all deficiencies. And it further implies being firm upon His obedience and keeping away from sin, and loving for His sake and hating for His sake, and waging Jihaad against those who disbelieve in Him. And recognising His favours and thanking Him for that, and having sincerity for Him in all our affairs, and supplicating to Him with all of His Names and Attributes that He has mentioned, and encouraging others upon that, and courteous behaviour with the people. al-Khattaabee also said:


And the reality of these characteristics return back to the slave himself, in his advising himself, for verily Allaah subhaanahu wa ta'aalaa is in no need of any advice/counsel from His slaves. And as for the Naseehah to His Book, then this is by believing it to be the Speech of Allaah ta'aala, and what He has sent down as Revelation, and that there is no similarity between the Speech of Allaah and the speech of mankind. And that no one from amongst the creation is able to produce anything like it. And further, glorification of His Book and reciting it as it should be recited and fulfilling its Rights, beautifying the recitation and having khushoo' (humility, submissiveness) while doing so, and establishing the correct pronunciation of its letters. And also, defending the Qur'aan from the false interpretations of the innovators, and having faith in all that is in it, and understanding its sciences and examples, and accepting its mutashaabih (hidden, unclear), and making du'aa by it.
And as for the Naseehah to His Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) then this involves believing in his Messengership, and having faith in all that he came with, and obeying him in all that he ordered or forbade, and helping him both in his life and after his death, and having enmity with all those who have enmity with him, and having allegiance to all those who have allegiance with him, and fulfilling his Rights, and honouring him, and reviving his manner and Sunnah, and responding to his da'wah, and spreading his Sunnah, and understanding its meanings and sciences, and calling towards it, and being eager in studying it, and showing respect when it is mentioned, and refraining from speaking about it without knowledge, and mixing amongst the people of the Sunnah, and behaving with the character taught by the Sunnah, and showing love towards the members of the Prophet's sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam Household, and his Companions, and keeping away from those who innovate in his Sunnah or those who reject/oppose any one of his Companions, or anything like that.
And as for the Naseehah to the leaders of the Muslims, then this involves helping them in the Truth, and obeying them, and ordering them with the Truth, and reminding them of it with kindness and gentle words, and notifying/advising them of that which they have neglected, and informing them of the Rights of the Muslims, and not rebelling against them with the sword, and gathering the hearts of the people upon obeying them, and praying behind them, and fighting in Jihaad along with them, and making supplication for their correction.
And as for the Naseehah to the common folk of the Muslims, and they are those who are other than the rulers, then it involves guiding them towards that which will correct their affairs of both this life and the next, and helping them in that. And it involves protecting them from harm, and helping them in times of need, and acquiring what is beneficial for them, and ordering them with al-Ma'roof (good) and forbidding them from al-Munkar (evil) with kindness and sincerity, and showing mercy towards them. And it involves honouring and respecting their elders, and showing kindness to their youngsters, and supporting them with good advice. And leaving cheating them or having jealousy of them, and that one loves for them what one loves for oneself of goodness, and that one hates for them what one hates for oneself of evil, and protecting their wealth and honour, and other than that from speech and action. And it also involves encouraging them upon all that we have mentioned above of the various types of Naseehah, and Allaah knows best.
And giving Naseehah (advice) is a Fardh Kifaayah, such that if a sufficient number of people perform it then the obligation is lifted from the community as a whole, and it is obligatory according to the ability of the individual.
And in the arabic language 'naseehah' means 'purification/clarification', as it is said: "I purified (nasahtu) the honey", and it is said that it means other than that. And Allaah knows best.

Summary

That one cannot worship Allah sincerely without being sincere to what He has revealed, and to the people according to their station in life. Also one has to respect and honour His Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), which is to respect and honour what he said, did, approved of or recommended, and to love him for who he was and what he was.

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 8

Sanctity of a Muslim

On the authority of the son of 'Umar (radi Allaahu 'anhumaa) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

I have been ordered to fight against the people until they testify that there is none worthy of Worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, and until they establish the Salaah and pay the Zakaah. And if they do that then they will have gained protection from me for their lives and property, unless [they commit acts that are punishable] in Islaam, and their Reckoning will be with Allaah.
[Related by Bukhaaree and Muslim]

Explanation of Hadeeth 8

This is a Great Hadeeth and a Principle from amongst the Principles of the Religion. It has also been narrated by Anas (radi Allaahu 'anhu) whose version mentions:

"Until they testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and accept our Qiblah, and eat from what we slaughter, and and pray our Salaah. And if they do all that, then their blood and wealth is Protected except from the Rights of Islaam. And for them is what is for the Muslims and upon them is what is upon the Muslims."

And it has come in Saheeh Muslim from the narration of Abu Hurayrah (radiAllaahu 'anhu):

"Until they testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and believe in me and in what I have come with"

and this has the same meaning as what Ibn 'Umar narrated.
As for the meaning of this hadeeth, then the scholars of seerah have said:

After the death of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq radiAllaahu 'anhu became the Khaleefah, and some of the Arab tribes apostasized, so Abu Bakr prepared to fight them. And amongst them were those who refused to pay the Zakaah, but who had not explicitly apostasized. So 'Umar radiAllaahu 'anhu said to Abu Bakr: "How can you fight a people who have said 'laa ilaaha illaa Allaah' and the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said 'I have been ordered to fight the people until they say 'laa ilaaha illaa Allaah'?" So Abu Bakr radiAllaahu 'anhu replied : "By Allaah! If they refuse to pay (in Zakaah) a young goat that they used to pay the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, I will fight them."

And 'Umar radiAllaahu 'anhu followed him in doing this.
Regarding the statement of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa salaam "I have been ordered to fight the people until they say 'laa ilaahaa illaa Allaah' ..." al-Khattaabee rahimahu Allaah and others said:

The people referred to here are the idol worshippers and the mushriks of the Arabs, and those who do not believe apart from the People of the Book. And whoever approves of Tawheed from his own religion of Kufr, then his statement of 'laa ilaaha illaa Allaah' is not enough to protect his blood and wealth, as has come in other narrations that mention that one must also believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, and establish the Salaah, and pay the Zakaah.

And Shaykh Muyee ad-Deen an-Nawawee said:

"And it is necessary that he believes along with this in all that the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam came with, as is mentioned in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah : 'until they testify that none is worthy of worship except Allaah, and believe in me and in all that I come with'".

And the meaning of his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "and their Reckoning will be with Allaah" refers to those matters which they hide from the people, i.e. those things other than that which is outwardly apparent from the compulsory actions. Al-Khattaabee mentions this and then says:

"And from this is that the one who outwardly shows Islaam but secretly maintains Kufr, then his Islaam is accepted outwardly by the people, and this is the opinion of most of the People of Knowledge."

And in his (sallAllaahu alayi wa sallam) statement: "I have been ordered to fight the people until they testify that none is worthy of worship except Allaah, and believe in me and in all that I come with" is a clear proof for the position of the People of Truth and the vast majority of the Salaf and the Khalaf, that it is enough for a person to believe in the Religion of Islaam with a firm, unwavering belief, without it being necessary for him to understand the proofs of the Mutakallimoon (people of Theological Rhetoric) regarding the 'recognition' of Allaah through the intellect. And this opposite to the statement of those people that it is an obligatory condition for the correctness of ones eemaan. And this is clear from the fact the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned only at-Tasdeeq (belief, affirmation) and did not lay any condition for it through intellectual recognition. And this hadeeth appears a number of times in the Saheeh, and together they reach the rank of mutawaatir, without doubt yielding definite knowledge, and Allaah knows best.

Summary

• That the disbelieving people are fought until Islaam triumphs.
• That it is an order from Allaah and thus waajib.
• That the Ameer of the Muslims enforces protection of the lives and the properties of the Muslims.
• That if a Muslim does something which deserves a punishment according to the Rulings of Islaam, then the Ameer of the Muslims must enforce that too.
• That the punishments must be given, regardless of what Allaah will Judge for them (i.e. Allaah may punish them or forgive them).

.

[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 9

Obligations are according to Ability

On the authority of Abu Hurairah 'Abd-ur-Rahmaan ibn Sakhr (radiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayi wa sallam) say:

"What I have forbidden for you, avoid. What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. For verily, it was only the excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed [the nations] who were before you".

[Related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]

Explanation of Hadeeth 9

The wording of this hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim, from Abu Hurairah radiAllaah 'anhu, states: The Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu alayi wa sallam addressed us and said:

"O People! Hajj has been made obligatory upon you, so perform the Hajj." So a man asked: "Is that every year, O Messenger of Allaah?" So the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam remained silent until the man repeated his question three times. Then he said: "If I had said 'yes' then it would have become obligatory upon you [i.e. every year], and you would not have been able to do so. Do not ask me about that which I have left [unspecified], for verily the nations before you were destroyed by their excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets. So if I order you with something then do as much of it as you are able, and if I forbid you from something then keep away from it."

And the Scholars of Usool (i.e. in Fiqh) have differed over the issue of the Command to perform an action - does it imply repetition? That is, if we are ordered to do something then does that automatically imply that we must do it repeatedly? Or does it mean that doing it once is sufficient unless otherwise specified? For example, we are commanded with Hajj but that is just once in a lifetime, but we are also commanded with Salaah and that is every day. So most of the Fuqahaa (jurists) have decided that a command does not automatically imply repetition. Others have said that we do not rule that it implies repetition nor do we rule that it does not imply repetition, except with a further evidence that indicates one or the other. And this hadeeth is a proof for those who have the latter opinion. For if there were an automatically implied ruling of either repetition or no repetition then the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam would not have replied "If I had said yes then it would have become obligatory, and you would not have been able to do that." Rather, if there had been an automatic implication of repetition or otherwise, then the man would not have asked the question in the first place.
And as for his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "Do not ask me about that which I have left [unspecified]" then this apparently indicates that a command does not imply repetition, and also that the origin of all affairs is that they are not waajib, until the Sharee'ah specifies them as being waajib. And this is the correct position according to the majority of the Scholars of Usool.
And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "If I had said yes it would have become obligaotory upon you" is an evidence that he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) would make ijtihaad in rulings, and that it was not binding upon him that all rulings be made by Revelation.

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can" is an important Principle of Islaam, and is from his Concise speech. And based upon this principle are countless other rulings - such as the Prayer of one who is unable to complete some of its pillars or conditions, then he performs what he is able to from that which remains. And the one who cannot wash all the necessary limbs of wudoo', washes that which he is able to. And in the case of removing evil, then if one is not able to remove it entirely then one removes what one is able to. And many other affairs like these, as are well known from the Books of Fiqh. And this hadeeth is similar to the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa:

"And have taqwaa of Allaah, as much as you are able"

[at-Taghaabun, 16]

And as for His statement

"O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He should be feared"

[aal 'Imraan, 102]

then it has been said that this is abrogated by the aayah "And have taqwaa of Allaah, as much as you are able". However, what is correct is that it is not abrogated, but rather the first aayah is an explanation of this aayah, and makes clear what is intended by it. And it has been said that "fearing Allaah as He should be feared" means obeying Him all in that He has commanded, and staying away from all that He has forbidden, and Allaah subhaanahu does not order us except with that which we are able to do, as verily Allaah has said:

"Allaah does not burden a soul more than it can bear"

[al-Baqarah, 286] "

and [Allaah] has not laid upon you in religion any hardship"

[al-Hajj, 78]

And as for his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "and what I have forbidden you from then avoid it" then this is to be taken to apply generally in all situations, except if one has a necessity, such as eating meat from an animal which has not been correctly slaughtered if one's life is in danger or what is similar to that, then that is not considered to be forbidden. However, in all conditions other than that of ncessity the individual is not considered to have fulfilled this forbiddance of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam until he leaves all those things which the Sharee'ah forbids. So he does not fulfill the forbiddance if he continues to practise even one of the forbidden things. This is in opposition to what has been commanded to do, for in terms of the commands we must do whatever we are able.
And in his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "verily the nations before you were destroyed due to their excessive questioning and disagreeing with their Prophets", then this was mentioned after his saying "Do not ask me about that which I have left [unspecified]". And this implies that we should not be excessive in questioning, as then we would be similar to the Banoo Israa'eel when it was said to them: "Sacrifice a cow". So if they had taken these words upon their apparent meaning and sacrificed any cow they would have fulfilled the command. But because they insisted on asking many questions regarding its colour, its appearance, its work etc, the matter became difficult for them, until they were able to find a suitable cow only after a great search and paying a large sum of money. So they were blameworthy for this, and our Prophet Muhammad sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam feared the same for his Ummah.

Summary

• That what is Haraam must be avoided
• That one must make sure that one has a satisfactory plea to present to Allaah for not doing what the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam has ordered
• That one must not ask too many questions. Ideally, one only wants to know what Islaam says [about a thing] and do that
• That asking too many questions and disagreeing with the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam can cause our destruction. If it happened to the people before us it can happen to us too

.

[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 10

Restricting oneself to the Pleasant Halaal

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
Allaah the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And verily Allaah has commanded the Believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said:
"O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibaat [all kinds of Halaal (legal) foods], and perform righteous deeds."
[23:51]
and the Almighty has said: "O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you"
[2:172]
Then he mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky saying "O Lord! O Lord!", while his food is Haraam (unlawful), his drink is Haraam, his clothing is Haraam, and he has been nourished with Haraam, so how can [his supplication] be answered ?!
[Narrated by Muslim.]



Explanation of Hadeeth 10

And this is one of those ahaadeeth upon which the Principles and Rulings of Islaam are built. And in it is encouragement towards spending upon that which is Halaal, and forbiddance from spending upon that which is other than that. And that what is eaten, and what is drunk and what is worn, and all such similar things should be purely Halaal, without any doubt in them. And that whosoever wishes to supplicate to Allaah should humble and submit himself before his Lord with that which is Halaal. And from the hadeeth we also understand that when the slave spends upon the good, Halaal things then these things purify him and bring him prosperity. And that delicious and tasty food which is not permissible to eat will instead be a source of evil and punishment, and the actions of the slave will then not be acceptable by Allaah.

And His (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "Then he mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty ..." then its meaning is best known by Allaah. But we know from other ahaadeeth that the supplication of the traveller is more readily acceptable to Allaah, and a 'long journey' could be from amongst the actions of worship, such as the Hajj or Jihaad or other than that from the pious actions. And even in this case his supplication is still not accepted because his food, drink and clothing are Haraam. So how about the case of the one who is travelling for some purpose of the dunyaa, or for oppressing the people, or those who are ignorant of the various types of worship and goodness.
And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "who spreads out his hands to the sky" means that he raises his hands in supplication to Allaah 'azza wa jall, while at the same time he is opposing His commands and is sinning. And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "so how can [his supplication] be answered ?!" and in another narration "so how can he be answered because of that ?!", means that there cannot be an answer for the one who possesses such characteristics. Such a person cannot be amongst those whose supplication will be answered, unless Allaah the Almighty does so out of His infinite Grace and Kindness and Generosity, and Allaah knows best.

Summary

• That Allaah accepts only that which is good

That every believer is obliged to do that which the Messengers were obliged to do (except what is specifically exempted)

That every Muslim must eat only Halaal and must take great care that he has avoided eating whatever he knew to be Haraam or suspicious
That performing righteous deeds is waajib for every one of us
That frequently we turn to Allaah for help while we do not try to eat, drink, maintain ourselves and earn in a pure way
That if we do not take care of the above then our prayers will not be effective

That it is correct to raise ones hands while asking Allaah for something

[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 11
Being Cautious of the Doubtful

On the authority of Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn 'Alee ibn Abee Taalib (radiAllaahu 'anhumaa), the grandson of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), and the one much loved by him, who said: I memorised from the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam):

Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.
[It was related by at-Tirmidhee and an-Nasaa'ee, with at-Tirmidhee saying that it was a good and sound (hasan saheeh) hadeeth.]

Explanation of Hadeeth 11
Its meaning returns back to what has already been said regarding the meaning of Hadeeth 6, that is "The Halaal is Clear, and the Haraam is Clear, and between them are Doubtful matters". And it has been narrated in another hadeeth that the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:
"The slave will never be able to attain the ranks of the Muttaqoon (pious ones) until he leaves those things which do not seem to have any harm in them, fearing that they may indeed be harmful/unlawful."

And this would be a higher station than that indicated by the first hadeeth.
And Allaah knows best.

Summary

• That it is essential to leave the doubtful things
• That one cannot continue doing the doubtful when one knows of an alternative with certainty

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[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 12

Leaving that which does not concern a Muslim

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On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
Part of the perfection of one's Islaam is his leaving that which does not concern him.
A Hasan (Good) Hadeeth which was related by at-Tirmidhee and others in this
fashion.
Explanation of Hadeeth And this hadeeth has also been narrated by Qurrah bin 'Abd-ir-Rahmaan from [the great Muhaddith] az-Zuhree, from Abee Salamah from Abee Hurairah, and he considered its chains of narration Saheeh (Authentic), and then he said regarding the hadeeth that it is from the Comprehensive speech that contains many significant meanings, and all this in very few words. And similar to this [hadeeth] is the statement of Abu Dharr (radiAllaahu anhu) in some of his narrations from the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that he said:
"And whoever accounts his speech by his actions, then his speech will be very little except in that which concerns him".
And Imaam Maalik mentioned that it reached him that it was said to Luqmaan: "What has enabled you to attain what we see in you of Grace and Blessing ?" to which he replied:
"Speaking the Truth, returning the Trusts, and leaving that which does not concern me."
And it has been narrated from Hasan [al-Basree] that he said:
"From the signs that Allaah ta'aalaa has turned away from the slave is that he finds himself continually engaged in those matters which are not of his concern."
And Abu Daawood as-Sijistaanee said:
"The basic principles of the Sunnah in each branch of learning are based upon four ahaadeeth"
and he mentioned among them this hadeeth.
Summary
That prying and interfering in others affairs is a sign of not being a good Muslim

.

[Khayal]

The Fourty Sayings- by An Nawawi

Hadeeth 13
Loves for his Brother that which he Loves for Himself!

On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas bin Maalik (radiAllaahu anhu) - the servant of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) - that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.

It was related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 13

This hadeeth has been narrated thus in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree as "for his brother" without any doubt on the part of the narrator, while in Saheeh Muslim the narrator mentions that the wording may have been "for his brother" or "for his neighbour".

The 'ulamaa have said that the meaning of the hadeeth is that the one who does not have this characteristic has not believed with the complete and perfect eemaan, while he has already achieved the basic level of eemaan.
And the intented meaning of "loves for his brother" is those things which are from obedience to Allaah, and the permissible matters, as opposed to the evil or Haraam matters, and this is proved from the narration collected by an-Nasaa'ee which mentions : "until he loves for his brother from the good that which he loves for himself".
Shaykh Abu 'Amr ibn as-Salaah said : And this appears to be something which is difficult/unobtainable, but this is not the case, beacuse its meaning is that the eemaan of one of you is not completed/perfected until he loves for his brother in Islaam that which he loves for himself [and not that he has no eemaan at all until he does so]. And establishing this is obtained through loving that he obtains something good without vying/competing with him in obtaining that thing, meaning that he does not desire any decrease in him of blessing. [This is the opposite of hasad or jealousy, where one wishes that his brother is deprived of a blessing, and that you posses it instead]. And this is easy and attainable for the Pure and Upright heart, but is difficult for the corrupt heart - may Allaah ta'aalaa forgive us and all of our brothers.
And Abu az-Zinaad said : What is apparent from this hadeeth is that one desires for ones brother the same as that which one wishes for oneself, but the real meaning is that one desires for him better than what one wishes for oneself. This is because man always wishes that he is the best of the people [in all things]; so if he loves for his brother what he loves for himself [to be the best], then he has placed his brother amongst the generality of those who are the best. [Also,] do you not see that man desires to receive justice for his rights and injustices done against him ? So if he has completed/perfected his eemaan, and then he sees that he has wronged his brother or his brother has a right upon him, then he makes haste to establish justice in that affair, even if this may cause himself difficulty.
And it is narrated that al-Fudail bin 'Iyaad said to Sufyaan bin 'Uyaynah "If you wish that the people are similar to you then you have not offered to Allaah, the Most Generous, the True Naseehah [sincerity - see Hadeeth 7], so how will it be if you love that they are less than you ?"
And some of the 'Ulamaa have said based upon this Hadeeth that the believer with another believer is like a single soul, and so it is desired that he loves for him that which he loves for himself, since they are as though a single soul. And similar to this has come in another hadeeth : "The Believers are like a single body; if a single limb feels pain, then the whole body along with it suffers with fever and sleeplessness."

Summary :

• The hadeeth negates the perfection/completeness of Faith (eemaan) for someone who does not wish for his Muslim brother that which he likes for himself
• That a believer will not want something to happen to another Muslim which he would not like for himself

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[Khayal]

Hadeeth 14
The Prohibition of the Blood of a Muslim and the Reasons for Shedding it

On the authority of Ibn Mas'ood (radiAllaahu anhu) who said : The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said :

It is not permissible to spill the blood of a Muslim except in three [instances] : the married person who commits adultery, a life for a life, and the one who forsakes his religion and separates from the community.
It was related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 14

And in some of the narrations of this hadeeth, that are also agreed upon by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, it mentions :
"It is not permissible to spill the blood of a Muslim who testifies that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that I am the Messenger of Allaah, except in three [instances] ...".
So his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "testifies that none is worthy of worship except Allaah and I am the Messenger of Allaah" is as though a tafseer (explanation) of his statement "a Muslim". Similarly, his statement "[who] separates from the community" is like a tafseer of his statement "who forsakes his religion". So in these three instances the blood of a Muslim can be spilt, from a textual evidence. And the meaning of the 'community' (al-jamaa'ah) is the community of Muslims. So separating from the Muslims by apostacy from the Religion of Islaam is a reason for the permissibilty of shedding his blood.
And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "the one who forsakes his religion and separates from the community" is general and refers to all those who apostate from Islaam, by whichever method this may occur, and it then becomes obligatory on the Muslims to kill him unless he returns to Islaam.
And the scholars have mentioned that this also includes all those who leave [being of] the community of Muslims through an innovation or transgression or other than that, and Allaah knows best. [Note: It would appear that this innovation or transgression must be of a very serious nature, such that the perpetrator would effectively leave the fold of Islaam]
And what is apparent is that this is a general rule [ie. killing a Muslim is only allowed in these three instances], but it also includes certain specific situations such as an attacker or similar to that. In such cases, then it is permissible to kill a Muslim out of defence from harm from him - indeed it may be that this becomes obligatory, as such an attacker comes under those who have separated from the community. And also, the meaning here is that killing a Muslim intentionally is not permitted except in these three instances, and Allaah knows best.
And some of the 'ulamaa have used this hadeeth to show that the one who abandons the Prayer (salaah) is killed, because the one who abandons the Prayer is included amongst these three. And the scholars have differed over this issue, so from them are those who say that the one who abandons the Prayer becomes a disbeliever (kaafir) while others say that he does not. And some of those who rule that he becomes a kaafir use as a proof another hadeeth inthe Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said "I have been ordered to fight the people until they testify that none is worthy of worship except Allaah, and that I am the Messenger of Allaah, and they establish the Prayer (salaah) and pay the poor due (zakaah)". So it is said: "the angle of derivation of proof is that the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam made protection based upon fulfilling all of these conditions - the two shahaadahs, establishing the salaah and paying the zakaah. And the consequence of these things (protection) is not attained except by fulfilling all of them, and is negated by the absence of any one of them." And this is what is obtained if we consider only the apparent speech of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam where he said "I have been ordered to fight the people ...", as this seems to indicate an order to fight until the goal is obtained. However, [in taking such an understanding] it is forgotton and overlooked that there is a difference between muqaatalah (fighting) over something, and qatl (killing) over it. For in fighting over something the purpose is to obtain what is desired [that they return to the Prayer] in any way that may occur, and it does imply the necessity of killing the one who leaves the Prayer, as long as they do not fight us, and Allaah knows best.
And as for his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "the married person who commits adultery" then this includes both males and females, and it is a proof for that which is agreed upon by the Muslims that the ruling for the adulterer is stoning to death, with its conditions, as are mentioned in the books of Fiqh.
And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "a life for a life" is in agreement with the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa "And we have prescribed for them in it (the Tawraat) : a life for a life"
[al-Maa'idah, 45].
And its meaning is those who are equivalent in Islaam and Freedom, due to the statement of the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) "A Muslim is not killed [in requittal] for a kaafir". And also, Freedom is a condition for equality according to Imaams Maalik, ash-Shaafi'ee and Ahmad. [ie. A free man cannot be killed for a slave] However, the scholars of Ahl-ur-Rayy [The People of Opinion - a reference to the scholars of the Hanafee madhhab] have taken the position that a Muslim is killed for a dhimmee [a non-Muslim who pays the jizyaa, and lives under the protection of a Muslim state] and that a free man is killed for a slave, and they use this hadeeth as a proof. But the jamhoor (majority of the scholars) have ruled opposite to this.

Summary :

• That a Muslim can be killed legally only for three crimes : a) adultery b) murder and c) apostacy

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[Khayal]

Hadeeth 15
Islaamic Manners

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On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

Let him who believes in Allaah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in Allaah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour; and let him who believes in Allaah and the Last Day be generous to his guest.
It was related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 15

His (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "Let him who believes in Allaah and the Last Day" means the one who believes with the complete Eemaan that will save him from the Punishment of Allaah, and will attain for him the Pleasure of Allaah; then for such a person, "let him speak good, or keep silent", because the one who believes in Allaah and does not fulfill everything that his Eemaan entails [ie. he falls into sin] then he fears His Threat [of Punishment] and he hopes in His reward, and he strives in performing what he has been commanded with, and in leaving that which he has been forbidden from. And the most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he will be asked about on the Day of Standing, as Allaah ta'aalaa has said : "Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allaah)"
[al-Israa', 36].
And Allaah ta'aalaa has said : "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)"
[Qaaf, 18].
And the sins of the tongue are numerous, and because of this the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said : "And what is it that throws the people into the Hellfire upon their noses, except what their tongues have harvested" and he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) has said : "Everything that the son of Aadam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allaah and his ordering the good and forbidding the evil".
So whosoever understands this, and protects the rights of his Eemaan, then he will fear Allaah and have taqwaa of Him with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good, or will remain silent.
Some of the 'ulamaa have mentioned that all of the Good Manners can be derived from four hadeeth, and they mentioned amongst them this hadeeth. And some them have said regarding the meaning of this hadeeth that if a person wishes to say something, then if that speech is good, and will surely be rewarded for, then let him say it. And if not, then let him keep silent - whether it is apparent that the speech is Haraam (forbidden) or Makrooh (disliked) or even Mubaah (permissible). So from this it is said that the permissible speech is to be left and avoided, and rather it is preferred to keep silent in such situations, out of fear that it may turn into something which is Haraam or Makrooh; and it is seen that this happens a great deal, and thus Allaah has said : "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)"
[Qaaf, 18].
However, the 'ulamaa have differed over whether everything that a person says is written down by the Recording Angels, including that which is considered Mubaah (permissible), or if it is only those things for which he may be rewarded or punished. And Ibn 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhu) and others have adopted this second opinion, and so in this case the aayah mentioned above would have its meaning restricted to those words or statements for which there is some kind of recompense - good or bad.
And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "let him be generous to his neighbour" and "let him be generous to his guest" contains instruction on the rights of the neighbours and guests, and on doing good to them and encouragement upon protecting the limbs from doing harm to them, and also Allaah ta'aalaa has advised us in His Noble Book with Ihsaan (good behaviour, kindness, good treatment) towards the neighbours. And the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam has said : "Jibreel - alayhi as-salaam - did not cease to advise me regarding the rights of the neighbour, until I began to think that they would also receive a part of the inheritance".
And hospitality is from Islaam, and from the character of the Prophets and the Pious. And some of the scholars have made it obligatory, though the majority consider it to be from the noble, recommended traits of character. And the author of "al-Ifsaah" has said regarding this hadeeth :
"It should be believed that hospitality to the guest is a means of attaining nearness to Allaah, and that it is a form of worship of the Lord, and that this worship is not decreased if the guest is a wealthy person (rather than a poor man), nor is it affected if one presents for ones guest simple things from what one posseses. Rather, the correct hospitality is achieved by keeping a smiling countenace for ones guest, and beautifying ones conversation with him, and the Pillar of Hospitality is preparing a meal for the guest; and so one should be eager to prepare for him from what Allaah has provided and made easy, without causing oneself undue difficulty."
He then mentioned some other points on hospitality, before saying :
"And as for his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement 'let him speak good or keep silent', then this indicates that the Good Speech is better than keeping silent, and that silence is better than Evil Speech, and this is because the form of the Prophet's (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement contains a command. And from the Good Speech is conveying knowledge from Allaah 'azza wa jall and his Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, and teaching the Muslims, and commanding the good, and forbidding the evil, and reconciling the differences between people, and speaking well to the people, and from amongst the best of speech is the Statement of Truth, for the one who truly Fears and Hopes for the Recompense."

Summary :

• That one should only speak what is good and true
• That one must not under any circumstances speak evil or use filthy language
• That one should be kind and generous to ones neighbour
• That one should treat ones guest well
• That if one is a true Muslim then one would do the above, else ones [true] belief in Allaah and the Last Day is in question.
• 
  

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[Khayal]

Hadeeth 16

The Forbiddance of Anger

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu anhu),

That a man said to the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam : "Counsel me", so he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :
Do not become angry.
The man repeated [his request for counsel] several times, and he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said : Do not become angry.
It was related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 16
The author of "al-Ifsaah min al-Jaa'iz" said that the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam recognised in this man considerable anger, so he singled out for him this particular advice. And the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam has praised the one who is able to control himself at the time of anger, and has said "The powerful man is not the one who is able to wrestle, but the powerful man is the one who is able to control himself at the time of anger".

And Allaah ta'aalaa has also praised such a person where He says : "those who repress their anger, and who pardon others"
[aal-'Imraan, 134].

And it is narrated from the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that he said : "Whoever represses his anger while he is able to express it and is not in the wrong, then Allaah 'azza wa jall will call him amongst the best of Creation on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be allowed to choose whoever he wishes from amongst the Hoor."

And it has also been narrated in another hadeeth : "Verily anger is from Shaytaan", and it is because of this that the angry person is no longer able to deal justly, and he speaks falsehood, and he takes on many blameworthy characteristics, and he takes into his heart feelings of hatred and malice and other than that of the despicable, forbiddden characteristics - and all of this is from anger, may Allaah protect us from it. And it has been narrated in the hadeeth of Sulaymaan bin Sarud : "Verily seeking refuge with Allaah from Shaytaan, the outcast, causes the anger to recede." And this is because Shaytaan is the one who beautifies anger and all other such blameworthy affairs, for Shaytaan always tries to mislead man and keep him away from the Pleasure of Allaah 'azza wa jall, and so seeking refuge with Allaah from him is one of the strongest weapons available to repel his evil designs.



Summary :

• That one can simply ask for advice or counsel from a teacher
• That one must not become angry because of impatience
• That the teacher may delay in responding to the question
• That the teacher can be asked the same question serveral times
• That the teacher can respond with the same answer each time.

[Khayal]

Hadeeth 18

Good Character

On the authority of Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junaadah, and Abu 'Abd-ir-Rahmaan Mu'aadh bin Jabal (radiAllaahu anhumaa) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

Have Taqwaa (Fear) of Allaah wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people.

It was related by at-Tirmidhee, who said it was a Hasan (Good) Hadeeth, and in some copies it is stated to be a Hasan Saheeh Hadeeth.


Explanation of Hadeeth Number 18
The virtues and outstanding traits of Abu Dharr (radiAllaahu anhu) are many. He accepted Islaam while the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) was still in Makkah, and was instructed by him to return to and keep close to his tribe [in order to call them to Islaam]. However, when the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) saw in him a great eagerness to remain with him in Makkah, and knowing that he would not be able to do so [due to the torment of the Quraysh], he said to Abu Dharr : "Have Taqwaa (Fear) of Allaah wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out", and this is in accordance with the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa "Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds"
[Hood, 114].



And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "and behave well towards the people" means that one should treat the people the way one would like them to treat oneself. And know that "Verily the heaviest thing to be placed in the Scales [on the Day of Accounting] will be the Good Character/Behaviour".
And the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) is reported to have said "Verily the most loved of you by me and the closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection are the best of you in Character"
[related by at-Tabaraanee, but judged weak by al-Haafidh al-Mundhiree in at-Targheeb wa at-Tarheeb]. And good character is from the characteristics of the Prophets and Messengers and the chosen ones from amongst the Believers - those who do not retaliate with evil, but rather forgive and pardon and behave well despite being treated badly.




Summary :

• That one must remember Allaah with Fear no matter where he may be
• That one must do a good act to cover up each bad act that he commits
• That a Muslim must behave well towards others

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[Khayal]

Hadeeth 20

Modesty is from Faith (Eemaan)

On the authority of Abu Mas'ood 'Uqbah bin 'Amr al-Ansaaree al-Badree (radiAllaahu anhu) who said : The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

Verily, from what was learnt by the people from the speech of the Earliest Prophecy is : If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.

It was related by al-Bukhaaree

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 20
The meaning of his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "From the speech of the Earliest Prophecy" is that modesty has always been considered praiseworthy, commendable and ordered with, and has never been abrogated in the teachings and Laws of the earlier Prophets.

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "then do as you wish" has two angles to it :

The first of them is that it is not an order to do as we please, but rather it is a warning or threat that if we do so then we shall have to face the consequences. And this is similar to the statement of Allaah ta'aalaa with reference to the Disbelievers : "Do what you will"
[Fussilat, 40].
And this is a threat to them as it has been made clear to them what will come about as a result of their disbelief. And this is also similar to the statement of the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) "Whoever sells alcohol then let him also make permissible the eating of swine" - and, clearly, there is not in this permission to eat the flesh of pigs !

The second is that if a person does not have any modesty or shame, then let him come forward and openly perform every single shameful act without any reservation. And similar to this is his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "Modesty is from Eemaan (faith)". Its meaning is that modesty prevents a person from committing shameful and evil deeds, but rather encourages him towards piety and good actions; just as a person's Eemaan (faith) prevents him from committing such acts, and instead encourages him upon obedience [of the Lord]. Thus, modesty attains the station and position of Eemaan, through its being equivalent to Eemaan in this.
And Allaah knows best.

Summary :

• That people are generally alright until they corrupt themselves
• That when one has remained pure one can trust one's conscience

.

[Khayal]

Hadeeth 21

Say 'I believe in Allaah' and then be Steadfast

On the authority of Aboo 'Amr - and he is also called Aboo 'Amrah - Sufyaan bin Abdillaah ath-Thaqafee (radiAllaahu anhu) who said :

I said : "O Messenger of Allaah, tell me something about al-Islaam which I can ask of no one but you."
He said : "Say: I believe in Allaah - and then be Steadfast"

It was related by Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 21

The meaning of his (radiAllaahu anhu) statement "tell me something about al-Islaam which I can ask of no one but you" is that he is asking the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) to teach him a comprehensive statement about the meaning of al-Islaam, that is clear in and of itself, and does not require any further explanation by anyone other than the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), such that he may act upon it and protect himself (from the Fire) with it. So the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) replied to his question with his statement : "Say: I believe in Allaah - and then be Steadfast".
This is from the Complete and Comprehensive Speech that has been given to our Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), for verily he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) has combined, for the questioner, in these two phrases the complete meanings of al-Islaam and al-Eemaan. For verily these words instruct one to renew one's Eemaan through the tongue and the remembrance of the heart, and they instruct one to remain steadfast (have Istiqaamah) upon performing the actions of Obedience and to refrain completely from all the actions of Disobedience, since it is not possible to establish al-Istiqaamah while at the same time having some element of crookedness and disobedience, as this is its opposite. And this is similar to His statement : "Verily, those who say: 'Our Lord is Allaah', and then they remain steadfast upon that"
[Fussilat, 30], ie they believe in Allaah alone, and then they remain steadfast upon that, and upon His obedience, until Allaah takes their souls and they are still upon that. 'Umar bin al-Khattaab (radiAllaahu anhu) said : "They are steadfast upon the obedience of Allaah, and they do not swerve away from that with the evasions of the fox". And its meaning is that they are firm upon most of what Allaah has ordered, from the matters of Belief, Speech and Action. And they persist upon that, and this is the meaning of the explanation given by most of the scholars of Tafseer, and it is the meaning of the hadeeth, in shaa' Allaah ta'aalaa.
And similarly the statement of Allaah subhaanahu : "So stand (O Muhammad SAW) firm and straight (on the religion of Islaam) as you are commanded"
[Hood, 112].
Ibn 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhu) said that no other verse from the entire Qur'aan was revealed upon the Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that was harder upon him than this verse. And due to this he sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said : "(The Soorah) Hood and its companions have made my hair white". And Aboo Bakr (radiAllaahu anhu) has narrated that he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said : "My hair has been made white by (Soorahs) Hood, and al-Waaqi'ah, and al-Mursalaat, and 'Amma yatasaa'aloon, and Idha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat".
al-Ustaadh Aboo al-Qaasim al-Qushairee (rahimahu Allaahu ta'aalaa) said : al-Istiqaamah is a station by which is achieved the perfection of the affairs, and their completion, and with its presence one attains all that is good and in order. And he who does not attain Istiqaamah in his endeavour then he has lost that endeavour and all good fortune.
And it is said : al-Istiqaamah is not sustained except by the elders and seniors [in the Deen], because it involves keeping away from the common [incorrect] practises of the [ignorant] people. And it involves difference and separation from the [incorrect] customs and traditions of the people, and instead standing firm between the Hands of Allaah ta'aalaa upon the Reality of Truth, and due to this the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said "Be steadfast [in your actions] and do not count/enumerate [your good actions, which may cause you to limit them]. And know that the best of your actions is the Prayer, and none except the [true] Believer takes care to maintain his wudoo'". And al-Waasitee (rahimahu Allaah) said : "al-Istiqaamah is a trait such that with it all the good qualities are perfected, and without it they are all disfigured."
And Allaah knows best.

Summary :

• That only the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) fully understood the essence and worth of worshipping Allaah truly
• That one must truly believe that Allaah is his Lord whom he worships, and then stay upright and steadfast upon that belief, and that covers the whole religion
• That keeping Upright / Steadfast is following the injunctions that have come from Allaah in Whom he trusts and Whom he worships and Whom he takes as the highest authority

[Khayal]

Hadeeth 22
Confinement to the Obligatory Deeds is Sufficient to be Entered into Paradise

On the authority of Abu 'Abdillaah Jaabir bin 'Abdillaah al-Ansaaree (radiAllaahu anhumaa) that :
A man questioned the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) and said : Do you think that if I perform the obligatory Prayers, fast in Ramadaan, treat as lawful that which is Halaal, and treat as forbidden that which is Haraam, and do not increase upon that [in voluntary good deeds], then shall I enter Paradise ? He (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) replied : Yes

It was related by Muslim.

And the meaning of 'treat as forbidden the Haraam' is to stay away from it, and the meaning of 'treat as lawful the Halaal' is to perform it believing it to be permissible.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 22
This man who questioned the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) was an-Nu'maan bin Qawqal. The Shaykh Aboo 'Amr bin as-Salaah (rahimahu Allaah) said : "What is apparent from his statement 'treat as forbidden that which is Haraam' is two issues.
The first : that he believes those things to be forbidden.
The second : that he does not perform those actions, which is different from the case of treating the Halaal as permissible, as in the latter case it is sufficient to believe that they are permissible [without actually performing all of them]."

The author of al-Mufham said that in this hadeeth the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not mention to the questioner any of the voluntary actions, and this is a proof indicating the permissibility of leaving all of the voluntary actions. But the one who does so, and does not perform anything from the voluntary deeds, has deprived his soul of a tremendous profit and an immense reward. And the one who persists upon leaving something from the Sunnah is considered to have a deficiency in his Religion, and an impairment to his decency and justice. And if his leaving it is due to disdain or indifference to it, or due to his detesting it, then this is considered to be fisq (sinfulness) that is deserving of punishment.
And our scholars have said : If the people of a land come to an agreement upon the leaving of a Sunnah, then they must be fought against until they return back to it. And the leaders from amongst the Sahaabah (radiAllaahu anhum) and those who followed them would persevere upon performing the voluntary deeds, and these would make easy persistence upon the obligatory deeds, and they would not distinguish between the voluntary and the obligatory in trying to attain reward.

And here the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) left out the Sunan and other voluntary acts in his advice to the man to make the Religion easy for him, due to his having recently accepted Islaam, as excessive obligations may have alienated him from the Religion. And he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) knew that if the man established himself upon Islaam and if Allaah opened his heart to the Deen, then he would, of his own accord, seek those voluntary actions which the other Muslims sought. Also, it is possible that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not mention the voluntary deeds in his advice so that the man would not wrongly assume that such actions are also obligatory.
And similarly in another hadeeth :
A man asked the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) about the Salaah (Prayer), so he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) told him that they are five. So the man said : "Am I required to perform any more [other than these five] ?" to which the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) replied "No, except that which you perform voluntarily". Then the man asked about the Fasting, and the Hajj and other prescribed matters, and the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) answered him [in a similar manner]. Then at the end of this the man said : "By Allaah, I will not increase upon this, nor will I perform less than it", to which the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said : "He will be Successful if he is truthful", and in another narration "If he holds onto that which he has been commanded with then he will enter Paradise".

And the Sunan and voluntary deeds have been prescribed to complete and beautify the Obligatory deeds. So in the case of this questioner, and the one mentioned before him, the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not include in his advice the voluntary deeds in order to make the Religion easy for them, until their own understanding of the Deen increased, which would then lead to a desire to attain the reward of the voluntary deeds.
So he who preserves the deeds obligatory upon him, and performs them in their time, without leaving anything from them or violating any of their requisites, then he will attain a tremendous and immense Success - may Allaah grant us that. And similarly, he who comes with the obligatory deeds and then follows that up with additional voluntary deeds will achieve a Success even greater than the first.

Summary :

• The hadeeth is self-explanatory and clear

That Paradise is guaranteed for him who fulfills his Prayer and Fasting in the right way, with faith and perfect submission, and without asscociating any partners with Him, together with treating as lawful those things that are so, and treating as forbidden those things that are so

That some things become an obligation to be done or avoided under certain circumstances and given certain conditions, and those things are included in the hadeeth too

That treating as lawful that which is lawful and treating as forbidden that which is forbidden essentially covers the practising of the whole of the Deen
That fulfilling the conditions of this hadeeth for Paradise is the upholding of Tawheed by the Worshipper in his life

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