CCHB 1012

SEC 32 SEM 2 2015/2016

HADITH 20 NAWAWI
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Hadith 20: A sense of haya as sign of Faith

On the authority of Abu Masood Uqbah bin Amr al-Ansaree al-Badree (may Allah be
pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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. [Al-Bukhari]
The statement, If you do not feel shame, do what you wish, can be understood in
several ways. The scholars give several explanations. It is interesting to consider that
all of these meanings are true, and all of the meanings are possible simultaneously.
The first point to understand this hadith in term of threat. Allah gives freedom to us,
do whatever we want but be prepared for the consequences. Every action has its own
reaction. People who is true believer will have a sense of shame or haya, a sense of
been watching by God as mentioned in Al Quran where Allah says Do whatever you
will, indeed He sees all that you do (Surah Fussilat 41:40). They will refrain
themselves from doing something bad in the sight of Allah. Opposite to that, People
who have lack of haya will simply do as they please. They have no internal limitations
or barriers to engaging what they want. This makes them far away from Allah and
their heart become hard to turn back to the truth.
Next, this hadith can be understand in terms of worshipping or ibadah. A true believer
will have a sense of shame on The Greatness of Allah and Allah deserves better. He
feels that his ibadah isnt enough on the sight of Allah. This will motivate him to do
better and fulfil his obligation towards Allah in pursuing his goal to be better as a
servant of Allah. For examples, Hell try his best to fulfil his ibadah by checking his
mutabah amal and this coming Ramadhan, hell multiply his deeds as much as he can
because that is the month where most doa will be granted and having lailatul qadar.
The hadith can also be interpreted as a prescription from the Prophet. Believers can
use their internal haya as a barometer to measure their actions. For actions that are
not clearly forbidden, one way that we can check is by paying attention to our internal
state. The Prophet (sas) said, A sin is what becomes lodged in your chest, and what
you hate for people to see you doing. When a believer is faced with a choice, he or
she can check for the feelings of haya--shyness, shame, apprehensiveness, and
worry. Would you feel ashamed if you were caught doing the action? If so, then refrain.
If not, then do it hoping for Allahs mercy.