The Foundations of Islam - An-Nawawī's 40 Hadīth - Explanation of Shaykh al-Fawzān (حفظه الله)

From ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhuma) who said:

I was behind the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) one day when he said, "Young man, I shall teach you some words. Be mindful of Allāh and Allāh will protect you. Be mindful of Allāh and you will find Him in front of you. When you ask, then ask only of Allāh, and when you seek aid, then seek aid from Allāh. Know that if the whole ummah gathered together to benefit you with something, they will not benefit you except with something that Allāh had written for you, and if they gathered together to harm you with something, they will not harm you except with something that Allāh had written for you. The pens have been lifted, and the scrolls have dried." 

And in a narration from other than al-Tirmidhī (there occurs), "Be mindful of Allāh and you will find him in front of you. Be acquainted with Allāh in prosperity and He will know you in hardship. Know that whatever passed you by was never going to befall you and whatever befell you was never going to pass you by. Know that aid comes alongside patience and that relief comes with difficulty and ease comes with hardship."

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• Explanation of the 20th Hadīth - Modesty, Shame is From Īmān

 From Abū Masʿūd ʿUqbah bin ʾAmr al-Ansārī al-Badarī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "That which the people came across from the speech of the (era) of the first prophethood is that when you have no shame then do as you wish."

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• Explanation of the 21st Hadīth - Having Istiqāmah Upon Islām

 From Abū ʾAmr and it is said, Abī ʿAmrah Sufyān bin ʿAbd Allāh (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) that he said:

I said, "O Messenger of Allāh, say to me a word regarding Islām which I cannot ask from anyone besides you." He said, "Say: I believe in Allāh and thereafter remain steadfast."

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• Explanation of the 23rd Hadīth - Purity is Half of Īmān

From Abū Mālik al-Ḥārith bin ʿĀṣim al-Ashʿarī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: "Purity is one-half of faith, (saying) 'alḥamdulillāh' fills the scales, and (saying) 'subḥānallāh wal-ḥamdulillāh' fill what is between the heavens and the earth. Prayer is light, charity is an evidence and patience is illumination. The Qurʾān is a proof for or against you. Everyone awakes as a vendor of his own soul, so either he delivers it or destroys it."

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• Explanation of the 24th Hadīth - From the Graciousness of Allāh upon All of Mankind (A Hadīth Qudsi)

From Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), from that which he narrates from His Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, that He said, "O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except he whom I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except he whom I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except he whom I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O my servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to become as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allāh, and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself."

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[Part 2 of 2] Continuation in the Explanation of the 24th Hadīth - From the Graciousness of Allāh upon All of Mankind (A Hadīth Qudsi)

From Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), from that which he narrates from His Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, that He said, "O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except he whom I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except he whom I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except he whom I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O my servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to become as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good praise Allāh, and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself."

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• Explanation of the 25th Hadīth - The Excellence of Dhikr

From Abū Dharr (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) that some from the companions of the Messenger of Allāh said: "O Messenger of Allāh, the wealthy have made of with the rewards, they pray as we pray they fast as we fast, and they give away in charity through the excess of their wealth." He said, "Has not Allāh made things for you to give away in charity? Every tasbih is a charity, every takbir is a charity, every tahmid is a charity, and every tahlil is a charity, to enjoin a good action is a charity, to forbid an evil action is a charity, and in the sexual act of each of you there is a charity." They said, "O Messenger of Allāh, when one of us fulfils his sexual desire will he have some reward for that?" He said, "Do you not think that were he to act upon it unlawfully he would be sinning? Likewise, if he has acted upon it lawfully he will have a reward."

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• Explanation of the 26th Hadīth - The Paths of Goodness

From Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "For every day on which the sun rises an act of charity is due for every joint in a person's body. That you reconcile between two people is an act of charity, to aid a man with his riding-beast, helping him onto it or lifting up his belongings onto it is an act of charity. A good word is an act of charity, and every step that you take to the prayer (in congregation) is an act of charity, and that you remove something harmful from the path is an act of charity."

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• Explanation of the 27th Hadīth - Righteousness and Sin

 From al-Nawwās bin al-Samʿān (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) that he said, "Righteousness (birr) is good morality, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike people finding out about."

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And on the authority of Wābiṣah bin Maʿbad (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) that he said: I came to the Messenger of Allah and he said, "You have come to ask about righteousness?" I said, " Yes." He said, "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast even though people again and again have given you their legal opinion [in its favor]."

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• Explanation of the 28th Hadīth - Sticking to the Sunnah (The Farewell Sermon)

From Abū Najīh al-ʿIrbāḍ bin Sāriyah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:
The Messenger ﷺ lead us in prayer one day, and then he faced us and gave us an eloquent sermon due to which the eyes flowed with tears and the hearts were moved, so one of us said, 
“Oh Messenger of Allah, it is as if this is a farewell sermon, so what do you advise us with?
He ﷺ said: 
“I advise you with the fear of Allah and to hear & obey (your leaders) even if an Abyssinian slave were to rule over you for whomsoever lives (long) amongst you after me then they will see a great amount of Differing, so upon you is to follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (after me). Stick to it and bite onto it with the molar teeth and be warned of the newly invented matters for indeed every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance.”

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"And every misguidance is in the hellfire."

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• Explanation of the 29th Hadīth - The Avenues of Goodness & The Danger of the Tongue

From Muʿādh bin Jabal (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

I said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will enter me into Paradise and will keep me away from Hellfire." He said, "You have asked me about a major matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allāh the Exalted makes its easy. You should worship Allāh, associating nothing with Him, you should perform the prayers, you should pay the zakāt, you should fast in Ramaḍan, and you should make the pilgrimage to the House." Then he said, "Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting [which] is a shield, charity [which] extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depth of night." Then he recited, "Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them. No soul knows what is kept hid for them of joy, as areward for what they used to do". Then he said, "Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar, and its topmost part?" I said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allāh." He said, "The peak of the matter is Islam, the pillar is prayer, and its topmost part is jihād." Then he said: "Shall I not tell you of the controlling of all that?" I said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allāh", and he took hold of his tongue and said, "Restrain this." I said: "O Prophet of Allāh, will what we say be held against us ?" He said: "May your mother be bereaved of you, Muʿādh ! Is there anything that topples people on their faces - or he said on their noses - into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?"

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• Explanation of the 30th Hadīth - The Limits of the Sharīʿah

From Abū Thaʿlabah Jurthūm bin Nāshir (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), that he said, "Allāh the Exalted has obligated religious duties, so do not neglect them. He has set boundaries, so do not transgress them. He has prohibited some things, so do not violate them and about some things He was silent, out of compassion for you, not forgetfulness, so seek not after them."

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• Explanation of the 31st Hadīth - Abstinence From the World

 From Sahl bin Saʿd al-Sāʿidī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

A man came to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) and said: "O Messenger of Allāh, direct me to an act which, if I do it, [will cause] Allāh to love me and people to love me." He said, "Abstain from (pursuit of) the world and Allāh will love you, and abstain from (pursuing) what people possess and people will love you."

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• Explanation of the 32nd Hadīth - There Should Be No Harm

From Abū Saʿīd Saʿd bin Sinān al-Khudrī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm."

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• Explanation of the 33rd Hadīth - The Proof is Upon the Claimant

From Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā), that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "If the people were to be given in accordance with their claim, men would claim the fortunes and lives of [other] people, but the onus of proof is upon the claimant, and the taking of an oath is incumbent upon him who denies."

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• Explanation of the 34th Hadīth - Correcting the Evil

From Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

I heard the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) saying, "Whosoever amongst you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand, and if he is not able, then with his tongue and if he is not able, then with his heart, and that is the weakest of faith."

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• Explanation of the 35th Hadīth - Brotherhood and Piety

From Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices one to another; do not hate one another; do not turn away from one another; and do not undercut one another, but be you, O servants of Allāh, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: he neither oppresses him nor does he fail him, he neither lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. Piety (taqwā) is right here - and he pointed to his breast three times. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother muslim in contempt. The whole of a Muslim for another Muslim is inviolable: his blood, his property, and his honor."

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• Explanation of the 36th Hadīth - Seeking Knowledge

From Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), that he said, "Whosoever removes a worldly distress from a believer, Allāh will remove from him one of the distresses of the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates [the lot of] a needy person, Allāh will alleviate [his lot] in this world and the next. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allāh will shield him in this world and the next. Allāh will aid a servant [of His] so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allāh will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allāh, reciting the Book of Allāh and studying it among themselves, without tranquillity descending upon them, mercy enveloping them, the angels surrounding them, and Allāh making mention of them amongst those who are with Him. Whosoever is slowed down by his actions will not be hastened forward by his lineage."

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• Explanation of the 37th Hadīth - Righteous Deeds

From Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā), from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam), from that which he narrates from His Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, that He said, "Allāh has written down the good deeds and the bad deeds." Then he explained it [by saying that], "He who considered doing a good deed and has not done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he considered doing it and has done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he considered doing a bad deed and has not done it, Allāh writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he considered doing it and has done it, Allāh writes it down as one bad deed."

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• Explanation of the 38th Hadīth - The Friends of Allāh

From Abū Hurayrah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said: Allāh, the Exalted, says, "Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it."

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• Explanation of the 39th Hadīth - Mistakes and Forgetfulness

From Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā) that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "Allāh has overlooked my people for me, for [their] mistakes, [their] forgetfulness and for what they have done under compulsion."

Related by Ibn Mājah, al-Bayhaqī


• Explanation of the 40th Hadīth - Be in the World as a Stranger

From Ibn ʿUmar (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā) who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) took me by the shoulder and said, "Be in the world as though you were a stranger or a traveller." And Ibn ʿUmar used to say, "At evening do not expect (to live till) morning, and at morning do not expect (to live till) evening. Take from your health for your illness and from your life for your death."

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• Explanation of the 41st Hadīth - Following the Prophet ﷺ

From Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd ِAllāh bin ʿAmr bin al-ʿĀṣ (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā) who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said, "None of you truly believes until his inclination is in accordance with what I have brought."

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• Explanation of the 42nd Hadīth - Allāh's Vast Mercy

From Anas (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) who said:

I heard the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) saying: Allāh the Exalted has said, "O son of Ādam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Ādam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would in turn bring you forgiveness nearly as great as (the earth)."

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The Foundations of Islam - An-Nawawī's 40 Hadīth - Explanation of Shaykh al-Fawzān (حفظه الله)

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