40 Hadeeth of Al-Imam An-Nawawi Class

With Dr. Yahya AlBaheth

Saturday, 11:00 – 12NN (KSA TIME) via ZOOM
HANDOUT #24
Lectured on February 19, 2022

The Twenty-ninth Hadeeth

Hadeeth #29
،‫ار‬ ِ ‫َّللا! أ َ ْخبِ ْرنِي بِعَ َم ٍل يُد ِْخلُنِي ْال َجنهةَ َويُبَا ِعدْنِي ِم ْن النه‬ ِ ‫ قُ ْلت يَا َرسُو َل ه‬:َ‫ع ْنهُ قَال‬ َ ُ‫ي هللا‬ َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ع ْن ُمعَا ِذ ب ِْن َجبَ ٍل َر‬ َ
،َ ‫ص ََلة‬ ‫ َوت ُ ِقي ُم ال ه‬،‫ش ْيئًا‬ َ ‫ ت َ ْعبُدُ ه‬:‫علَ ْي ِه‬
َ ‫َّللا ََل ت ُ ْش ِر ْك ِب ِه‬ ‫علَى َم ْن َيس َهرهُ ه‬
َ ُ‫َّللا‬ ٌ ‫ َو ِإنههُ لَ َيس‬،‫ع ِظ ٍيم‬
َ ‫ِير‬ َ ‫ع ْن‬َ ‫سأَلت‬ ْ َ ْ‫ "لَقَد‬:َ‫قَال‬
ُ‫صدَقَة‬ ‫ َوال ه‬،ٌ‫ص ْو ُم ُجنهة‬ ‫ب ْال َخي ِْر؟ ال ه‬ ِ ‫علَى أَب َْوا‬ َ ‫ أ َ ََل أَدُلُّك‬:َ‫ ث ُ هم قَال‬، َ‫ َوت َ ُح ُّج ْالبَيْت‬، َ‫ضان‬ َ ‫صو ُم َر َم‬ ُ َ ‫ َوت‬،َ ‫الزكَاة‬‫َوت ُؤْ تِي ه‬
‫ع ِن‬ َ ‫ " تَت َ َجافَى ُجنُوبُ ُه ْم‬:‫ ث ُ هم ت َََل‬،‫ف الله ْي ِل‬ ِ ‫الر ُج ِل فِي َج ْو‬ ‫ص ََلة ُ ه‬ َ ‫ َو‬،‫ار‬َ ‫ئ ْال َما ُء النه‬ ُ ‫ُط ِف‬ْ ‫َطيئَةَ َك َما ي‬ ِ ‫ئ ْالخ‬ ْ ُ‫ت‬
ُ ‫ط ِف‬
‫ أ َ ََل أ ُ ْخ ِب ُرك ِب َرأْ ِس‬:َ‫ ] ث ُ هم قَال‬17 ‫ و‬16 :‫ األيتان‬/ ‫ سورة السجدة‬32 [،" َ‫اج ِع " َحتهى بَلَ َغ "يَ ْع َملُون‬ ِ ‫ض‬ َ ‫ْال َم‬
ُ ‫ َوذُ ْر َوة‬،ُ‫ص ََلة‬ ‫ع ُمودُهُ ال ه‬ َ ‫ َو‬،‫س ْاأل َ ْم ِر ا ْ ِْلس ََْل ُم‬ ُ ْ‫ َرأ‬:َ‫ قَال‬.‫َّللا‬ ِ ‫ بَلَى يَا َرسُو َل ه‬:‫َام ِه؟ قُ ْلت‬ ِ ‫سن‬ َ ِ‫ع ُمو ِد ِه َوذُ ْر َوة‬ َ ‫ْاأل َ ْم ِر َو‬
‫علَيْك‬ َ ‫ف‬‫ كُ ه‬:َ‫سانِ ِه َوقَال‬ ِ ‫ َبلَى َيا َرسُو َل ه‬:‫ أ َ ََل أ ُ ْخ ِب ُرك ِب َم ََل ِك ذَلِكَ كُ ِلِّ ِه؟ فقُ ْلت‬:َ‫ ث ُ هم قَال‬،ُ‫َام ِه ْال ِج َهاد‬
َ ‫َّللا ! فَأ َ َخذَ ِب ِل‬ ِ ‫سن‬ َ
َ‫أ ْو‬- ‫علَى ُو ُجو ِه ِه ْم‬ َ ‫اس‬ ُ ْ َ َ ‫ه‬ ُ
َ ‫ ث ِكلتك أ ُّمك َوه َْل يَكُبُّ النه‬:َ‫َّللا َو ِإنها ل ُم َؤا َخذونَ ِب َما نَتَكَل ُم ِب ِه؟ فَقَال‬ َ ِ‫ي ه‬ ْ ُ
‫ يَا نَ ِب ه‬:‫ قلت‬.‫َهذَا‬
.‫ص ِحي ٌح‬َ ‫س ٌن‬ َ ‫ِيث َح‬ٌ ‫ َحد‬:َ‫] َوقَال‬2616 :‫ي [رقم‬ ُّ ‫ َر َواهُ ال ِت ِّ ْر ِم ِذ‬. "!‫صا ِئدُ أ َ ْل ِسنَ ِت ِه ْم؟‬
َ ‫ هإَل َح‬-‫َاخ ِر ِه ْم‬ ِ ‫علَى َمن‬ َ ‫قَا َل‬

On the authority of Muadh bin Jabal ‫ رضي هللا عنه‬who said: I said, “O Messenger of Allah,
tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire.”
He ‫ ﷺ‬said, “You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah
makes it easy: worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the
prayer; pay the zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the pilgrimage to the House.”

Then he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield;
charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths
of the night.” Then he ‫ ﷺ‬recited: “ [Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in
fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah’s cause) out of what We have bestowed
on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they
used to do.” [as-Sajdah 32:16-17]
Then he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?”
I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He‫ ﷺ‬said, “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar
is the prayer and its peak is jihad.” Then he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Shall I not tell you of the foundation
of all of that?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” So he took hold of his tongue and said,
“Restrain this.”

I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?” He ‫ﷺ‬
said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh! Is there anything that throws
people into the Hellfire upon their faces — or: on their noses — except the harvests of
their tongues?”

It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth.

Status of Hadeeth #29

• Imam Jirdani said “This hadeeth is a great foundation of the religion and one of the
most important bases of Islam.”
• Dr. Bugha and Mistu (author of Alwafi) stated that “This hadeeth included the good
deeds that enter one to paradise and keep him/her away from Hellfire, therefore,
it is a great hadeeth, because for the purpose of entering Jannah and saving from
Hell, Allah sent Messengers and revealed Books.”. Alwafi: Page 240

Narrator of the Hadeeth #29

Abu Abdurrahman Muadh ibn Jabal
‫رض هللا عنه‬
‫ي‬
• He ‫ رضي هللا عنه‬became a Muslim in the Pledge of Aqaba when he was 18 years old. He
was from Madinah and belonged to Sons of Salama clan of the tribe of Khazraj.
• He was the most knowledgeable one of among the companies )‫)رضي هللا عنهم‬
concerning haram and halal.
• He was also specialized in the Qur’an As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah (‫)ﷺ‬
said, “Learn the Qur’an from four people: Abdullah bin Mas’ud, Ubayy bin Ka'b, Muadh
bin Jabal and Abu Hudhayfa.”
• After the Migration, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬established brotherhood between
Muadh and Abdullah bin Mas’ud.
• He took part in all battles and wars including the battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq,
and struggled in the first ranks. When the Prophet set off for the Expedition of Hunayn,
he appointed him as his deputy in Madinah. He ordered him to teach people the Quran
and tell them about religious issues.
• The prophet ‫ ﷺ‬sent him to Yamen to call its people to Islam and teach them the religion
and he died at the age of 38 in Sham in the year 18, After Hijrah.

Some Vocabularies of Hadeeth #29

‫أخب ي‬
‫ن‬ ‫ر‬ Tell me
‫يدخلني‬ Which enters me
‫يباعدني‬ Distances me
‫ب‬
‫أبوا ي‬ gates
‫جنةي‬ A shield
‫جوفيالليل‬ Middle of the night
‫تتجافي‬ Raise
‫عموده‬ Its Pillar
‫ذروةيسنامهي‬ highest point, “ Top”
‫مالك‬ What controls it
‫نتكل يم‬ We speak
‫وجوههم‬ Their faces
‫حصائ يد‬ Harvest
‫ألسنتهم‬ Their tongues

Explanation of the Hadeeth #29

On the authority of Muadh bin Jabal ‫ رضي هللا عنه‬who said:
▪ Muadh bin Jabal ‫يرضيهللايعنه‬has narrated this hadeeth and he is not reporting about
others because he is the one who asked the question to Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.

I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into

Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire.”
▪ This statement of Muadh bin Jabal ‫ رضيهللايعنه‬shows his interest in knowing the
actions that will take him into Paradise and keep him away from the Hellfire. Like
 the other companions, he doesn’t think about how to become a ruler, how to be
wealthy and many other things of this world except about the Hereafter, which is
the real life. This life in this world is just a dream and one day it will be over while
the real life is the one that will last forever, which is the next life.

He ‫ ﷺ‬said, “You have asked me about a great matter,

▪ The reply of the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬
‫ ي‬to Muadh’s ‫ رضي هللاي عنه‬emphasized the
importance of his question. This is a great matter because the answer is the secret
of life and the reason of our existence in this world – to work hard to achieve Jannah
(Paradise) and to be saved from the Hellfire. Allah ‫ سبحانه يوتعاىل‬send Messengers
and revealed Books to show us how to worship Him and everybody will be judged
based on his love for Allah ‫ عزيوجل‬and his sincerity in worshipping Allah ‫عزيوجل‬.
Salvation is to follow the revelation and this is only the way, thus this is very
important for every Muslim to remember. Whenever people are misguided, Allah
‫ عزيوجل‬sends somebody to remind them and get them back in the right path, and
this shows the Mercy of Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.
▪ Allah said in the Qur’an:
... َ‫ار َوأُد ِْخ َل ْٱل َجنهةَ فَقَدْ فَاز‬
ِ ‫ع ِن ٱلنه‬
َ ‫فَ َمن ُزحْ ِز َح‬...
...And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he
indeed is successful...
[Surah Ali ‘Imran 3, Part of Ayah 185]

yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy:

▪ Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬
‫ ي‬said that even though it is a greater
matter, it is easy, meaning it’s not that difficult but for the one whom Allah ‫سبحانهي‬
‫ وتعاىل‬makes it easy. It’s not easy for everybody that’s why there are many people
that even for the very simple matter of ‘ibadah, they are not able to do it. The
simplest form of an act of worship is remembering Allah, e.g., saying “Subhan
Allah”, “Alhamdulillah, “Allahu Akbar” and others. It doesn’t take much effort in
doing this that even a sick or weak person can move his lips and praise Allah, yet
many people don’t say or forget the adhkaar such as saying “Bismillah” before they
eat. One may say or perform certain actions but what is important is the motive or
what is in the heart because it is the reason in doing great things. If a person is
always remembering Allah ‫ىل‬ ‫ سبحان يهي يوتعا ي‬in his heart, the dhikr or words of
remembering Allah will come out automatically from his tongue because his mind
 is busy thinking about the Greatness of Allah, His Mercy and His attributes. This
person’s heart is full of love for Allah ‫سبحانه يوتعاىل‬, and a true believer loves Allah
more than anything and anybody else, including oneself. Therefore, for the one
who loves Allah ‫عزيوجل‬, Allah will make it easy for him to remember Him with his
tongue, and to think how he can please Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬. Allah ‫سبحان يهيوتعاىل‬, out of
His Mercy, will never let down those who turn to Him – if they turn to Him, He will
accept them, if they seek His help, He will never forsake them. This is why the
prophet ‫ﷺ‬ ‫ ي‬said, “it is easy for those whom Allah makes it easy”. It is not about a
person’s power, nor intelligence. There are many people with high IQ, rich and
powerful but their hearts are empty from remembering Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬, they are
not guided to do this very simple thing that draw them near to Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.
▪ In Islam, Alhamdulillah, it is easy. There are certain situations that is impossible for
us to do, and Allah ‫ سبحانهيوتعاىل‬forgives us and makes it easy for us. Allah said in the
Qur’an:
ُ َ َ ْ َ َ ‫َ َّ ُ ۟ ه‬
‫ي‬...‫ايٱستط ْعتم‬‫فٱتقوايٱَّلليم‬
So fear Allah as much as you are able...
[Surah At-Taghabun 64, Part of Ayah 16]

▪ For example, in the salah, if a person cannot pray standing then he can pray sitting.
Moreover, if a person cannot fast because of a valid excuse, there are other
alternatives that he can do to for compensation. And if a person wants to do
something but was unable to fulfill it, his intention is sufficient to accept his good
deeds out of Mercy of Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.

worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him;

▪ The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬gave his answer to the question of Muadh ‫ رضيهللايعن يه‬by
starting with Tawheed. In fact, this is the mission of all the prophets of Allah ‫سبحان يهي‬
‫وتعاىل‬. This is the command that all prophets and Messengers, from the time of
Adam ‫ عليهيالسالم‬to prophet Muhammad ‫ ;ﷺ‬they call the people to Tawheed – to
worship Allah and never associate any partner with Him. And any acts of worship
will not be valid or accepted except with sincerity.

establish the prayer;

▪ Prayer is the second pillar of Islam, meaning one of the foundations, and it is very
important because if a pillar is missing or destroyed, the building will collapse.
“Establish” meaning it comprises its conditions, pillars, obligations, and Sunnah.
pay the zakat;
fast in Ramadhan;
and make the pilgrimage to the House.
▪ The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬is reminding the questioner about the 5 Pillars of Islam
and that performing them properly and well is a key to enter Paradise and be saved
from the Hellfire.
▪ Here, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬didn’t mention and believe that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah. He didn’t talk about the Shahaada (Testimony of Faith) here
because in fact, one cannot worship Allah‫ييسبحانهييوتعاىل‬without knowing the
Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬.

”Then he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness?
▪ In the original Arabic text, the word ‫ب‬
‫ أبوا ي‬is used - which means door or gate, an
entrance that takes or guides somebody to another place. This statement means
that the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬ ‫ ي‬will give additional information apart from the
previously stated pillars of Islam.
▪ Here, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬asked a question instead of giving an answer right
away. This is one of the practical way of teaching – to get the attention of the
listener. This is a nice approach that we should apply in teaching, especially for the
teachers when they are giving certain important points. They should not give the
information directly unless the listener is ready, paying attention and have opened
their minds to concentrate.

Fasting is a shield;
▪ Now the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬
‫ ي‬is talking about the virtue of each action. ‫– جنة‬
(Junnah) or shield is something that protects or a barrier. Therefore, fasting is a
shield from doing bad actions. A fasting person is abandoning something necessary
in his life, such as eating and drinking water. Also, when one is fasting, he is staying
away from many bad things that protect him from committing sins, and this is a
protection from the Hellfire for pleasing Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.
▪ In Islam, fasting is not just abandoning food, more importantly it is about the
motive or intention. This is why the ‘Ulama defined fasting as worshipping Allah by
giving up eating and drinking for the sake of Allah ‫سبحانه يوتعاىل‬. In fact, niyyah or
intention is required in doing obligatory fasting.
 ▪ There is no reward on fasting but it is equal to patience, as Allah ‫ عزيوجل‬said in the
Hadeeth Qudsi:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah ‫ رضيهللايعنه‬said: The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:
“Every deed of the son of Adam will be given a ten-fold reward, up to seven hundred.
Allaah says: ‘Except fasting, for it is for Me, and I shall reward for it, for he
gives up his desire and his food for My sake…’ and the fasting person has two
joys, one joy when he breaks his fast and another when he meets his Lord. And the
smell from his mouth is better before Allaah than the fragrance of musk.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5927; Muslim, 1151.

▪ Allah did not mention what is the specific reward for fasting, but this means it is
countless and it is explained in the Qur’an: “Indeed, the patient will be given their
reward without account [i.e., limit]." [Surah Az-Zumar 39, Part of Ayah 10]. And
fasting is a form of patience.

charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire;

▪ This is why it is advised to the one who commits any sin to give sadaqah (charity)
when he repents to Allah ‫ سبحانه يوتعاىل‬because it will help to wipe the sin, same
thing as the water does to the fire. The fire has heat and it burns whatever is around
it. Likewise, the sins that one commits has a certain heat that may burn the person
and might bring him in the Hellfire if it continued. As mentioned before, there are
many ways on how to wipe the sin, and one of these is following up a bad deed
with a good deed, by the will of Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.
▪ Moreover, it has been discussed about the seven of those whom Allah will give
shade with His shade on the Day when there will be no shade and one of them is a
man who gives in charity and conceals it to such an extent that his left hand does
not know what his right hand gives; meaning he gives secret sadaqah (charity).

and the praying of a man in the depths of the night.

▪ The word ‫ف‬‫( جو ي‬Jauf) when used along with the word night means the middle of
the night, which is the last 3rd part of the night. In fact, it was mentioned in a
hadeeth that "The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is that during the depths
of the night." (Recorded by Muslim.), because in the depths of the night while
everybody is sleeping, you are alone in your roo. In the darkness of this night, you
stand and perform wudhoo and stand for prayer while nobody is seeing you except
 Allah ‫سبحانه يوتعاىل‬, and this is the real sincerity. There is no way that the shaytaan
will try to confuse you and whisper you that you are a showoff, you are a hypocrite,
etc., and play with your mind. Thus is the real meaning of the salah, when the heart,
the mind and the tongue are all working together. When you read the Qur’an, you
think about it, and feel it in your heart. Nothing else disturbs you because at this
time of the night, you are not expecting any calls, no visitors are coming, and it is
not the time for taking meals, etc. You spare this time for the sake of Allah ‫سبحانهي‬
‫ وتعاىل‬and you are alone with the Creator. You can feel the Mercy of Allah and
pleasure during this time because your soul is feeling the real Tawheed - the
sincerity of worshipping and loving Allah ‫ىل‬ ‫ سبحانهييوتعا ي‬and this is why the night
prayer is very important.
▪ Performing this is not difficult and it will take just a matter of 30 minutes. For
example, when you set your alarm for Fajr prayer which is around 5:30 AM, adjust
it at 5:00 AM and pray at least 2 rak’ah with the intention of praying for night
prayer, and you will be done by the time the adhaan for Fajr calls. When you make
it as a habit and you include it in your routine, it will be easier. Moreover, if a
Muslim who is used to get up and pray for the night prayer and missed it because
of a valid excuse, Allah ‫ سبحان يهيوتعاىل‬will write for him what he used to do even if he
was asleep because the sleep was a blessing from Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.

”Then he ‫ ﷺ‬recited: “ [Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord
in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah’s cause) out of what We
have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of
joy as a reward for what they used to do.” [as-Sajdah, 16-17]
▪ Allah ‫ سبحانه يوتعاىل‬praised those pray the night prayers. So these people wake up
and leave their warm beds to invoke their Lord in fear of the Hereafter and the
Hellfire, and fearing that Allah is not please with them. And also with hope, as
always mentioned, there should always be balance between fear and hope in the
life of a believer. Whenever one does good, he is more hopeful and whenever one
commits sins, he is more fearful. So one is motivated to perform night prayers
because he has fear because of the sins that he has committed but at the same
time he has hope that Allah ‫ سبحانه يوتعاىل‬will forgive him and make him enter in
Jannah. And as mentioned in the Ayah above, the reward for these is beyond our
 imagination SubhanAllah and no one can know what has been prepared for them,
and in everything is known only to Allah ‫عزيوجل‬.

Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,

“Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter,
its pillar and its peak?”
▪ Here the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬
‫ ي‬is continuing his answer by asking another question
to get the attention of Muadh ‫ رضي هللاي عنه‬so that he will listen carefully to the
information about the head of the matter (of everything) and as well as it’s pillar
and peak (top or highest).

I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.”

He ‫ ﷺ‬said, “The head of the matter is Islam,
▪ It means that the most important of matters is Islam – submission to the Will of
Allah. And this is the head of the matter, and we all know that without head, there
is no life. As believers, we all know that we belong to Allah that’s why any action
that we do, and word that we say and everything that we plan, we should consider
this question: Is this going to please Allah ‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬or not?
▪ Allah ‫ سبحانهيوتعاىل‬mentioned in the Qur’an:
... ۗ ‫ٱَّللُ َو َرسُولُ ۥٓهُ أ َ ْم ًرا أَن يَكُونَ لَ ُه ُم ْٱل ِخيَ َرة ُ ِم ْن أ َ ْم ِر ِه ْم‬
‫ضى ه‬ َ َ‫َو َما َكانَ ِل ُمؤْ ِم ٍن َو ََل ُمؤْ ِمنَ ٍة إِذَا ق‬
It is not for a believing man or woman—when Allah and His Messenger decree a
matter—to have any other choice in that matter.
[Surah Al-Ahzab 33, Part of Ayah 36]

Meaning, if Allah makes a ruling in the Qur’an or the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬makes a ruling,
then a Muslim is not allowed to seek judgment from anyone else, nor follow their
own desires. Whatever He ‫ سبحانهيوتعاىل‬commanded us, we should follow and do
it, whether we knew the wisdom behind that or not. As Allah mentioned in the
Qur’an:
َ َ ‫س ِم ْعنَا َوأ‬
..‫ط ْعنَا‬ ۟ ُ‫وقَال‬....
َ ‫وا‬ َ
And they say, “We hear and obey.
[Surah Al-Baqarah 2, Part of ayah 285]

its pillar is the prayer

▪ This means that the salah (prayer) is a pillar just like the pillar of a building or house,
without it, it will fall down. It is very important because it is the fuel of our soul. We
 would always bring our power banks or charger everywhere we go to make sure
our gadgets are fully charged. We feed our body three times a day or even more,
but what about our soul? The soul is the secret of our body, and without it we don’t
have a life hence we should nourish our soul through salah. Allah ‫ سبحانهيوتعاىل‬is not
in need of our salah, or any of our ‘ibadah. Yet He made the salah five times a day
so we can increase our love for Allah ‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬.

and its peak is jihad.”

▪ The word Jihad should be understood in the general meaning, not as how many
people are defining it and mis-using its concept, especially the enemies of Islam.
Jihad is not limited to “fighting”. In fact, in this world we are in jihad – meaning we
are striving with ourselves and from any things that keeps us away from Allah
‫سبحانهيوتعاىل‬. Striving with oneself is more important than striving with the enemies
because the desires always push one to do something bad.

Then he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?
”I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.”
▪ Again, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬is trying to get the questioner attention before
he talks about the important matter.

So he ‫ ﷺ‬took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.”

▪ The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬emphasizes the danger that the tongue can do by
holding his tongue and not just mentioning it.

I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say

with it?”
▪ Muadh ‫ رضيهللايعنه‬was surprised with the statement of the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬.
If we will count all what we have said from the morning we wake up until the end
of the day, we might be surprised with what we have uttered because sometimes
we care about the words that come from our mouth but sometimes not.

He ‫ ﷺ‬said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh!

▪ This statement of the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬is not meant literally. It is similar to
idiom, which is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-
literal meaning. The words that were used have different meaning.
Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces
— or: on their noses —
except the harvests of their tongues?”
▪ The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬answered Muadh ‫ رضيهللايعنه‬in a form of a question
here. This shows the danger of tongue and speech because with this tongue one
pronounces his Shahaada but also, one word from it may cause him to be out of
the fold of Islam. So, the Muslim should be cautious of whatever he says because
if he will not pay attention, he might utter a statement of disbelief or Shirk,
mockery of the Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬or anything that is related to the religion,
and because of these, he will be thrown in the Hellfire.
▪ Allah ‫ سبحانهيوتعاىل‬mentioned in the Qur’an:
َ ٌ‫هما َي ْل ِفظُ ِمن قَ ْو ٍل ِإ هَل لَدَ ْي ِه َرقِيب‬
ٌ‫ع ِتيد‬
Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher
by him ready (to record it)
[Surah Qaf 50:18]

▪ Also, it is narrated in the following hadeeth:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "A man utters a word pleasing to Allah without
considering it of any significance for which Allah exalts his ranks (in Jannah);
another one speaks a word displeasing to Allah without considering it of any
importance, and for this reason he will sink down into Hell." [Al-Bukhari].

Lessons Learned from Hadeeth #29

1. This hadeeth shows how much the companions ‫ رضي هللاييعنه يم‬care and are keen
about seeking knowledge, therefore they ask the prophet ‫ ﷺ‬what can benefit them
and increase their knowledge.
2. The proof of the existence of Jannah (Paradise ) and Nar (Hellfire).
3. The good deeds bring one near to Paradise and keep him/her away from Hell.
4. What Muadh ‫ رضيهللايعنه ي‬asked was an important question because it is the real
cause of life and whatever that exist.
5. With the greatness of responding to this question, Allah will make it easy to whom
He wants.
 6. One should always ask Allah for help and ease from all his/her matters of this life
and the next one.
7. Reminding about the pillars of Islam.
8. The importance of Tawheed.
9. The great fruits of fasting and charity.
10. The great value of optional prayers at the last part of the night.
11. The importance of controlling the tongue as one will be accountable for whatever
he/she says.

References:
1. The 40 Hadith of Al- Imam An-Nawawi; by Umm Muhammad.
2. Commentary on The Forty Hadith of Al- Nawawi; by Jamaal al-Din M. Zaraboza
3. Explanation of the 40 Nawawi Hadith, Sh. Muhamad bin Uthaymeen. (Arabic)