Al-Nawawi Forty Hadith

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu 

The collection of Forty Hadith (actually there are 42) complied by Al-Imam Yahya Bin Sharaf an-Nawawi is being widely studied primarily due to:

1)      The soundness of the collection as a whole- most of the Hadith quoted are from Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

2)      The concise and comprehensive meanings contained therein.

3)      From them are derived many of the basic principles of Aqeedah and Shariah.

I am starting a new thread to keep these Ahadith together instead of posting them in the Daily Hadith thread.

Insha Allah we will study together these Ahadith. I am copying and pasting from www.islaam.net

http://www.islaam.net/40hadeeth/frames.html

Introduction to the Collection of Forty Hadeeth

by Imam al-Nawawi

(d. 676 AH / 1299 CE)

All Praise is due to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, the [One Who] Sustains the Heavens and Earths, Director of all that is created, who sent the Messengers (may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon all of them) to rational beings, to guide them and explain the religious laws to them with clear proofs and undeniable arguments. I praise Him for all of His bounties. I ask Him to increase His grace and generosity. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah alone, who has no partner, the One, Who Subdues, the Generous, the Forgiving. I bear witness that our leader Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, His beloved and dear one, the best of all creation. He was honoured with the Glorious Qur'aan that has been an enduring miracle throughout the years. He was also sent with his guiding Sunnah that shows the way for those who seek guidance. Our leader Muhammad has been particularized with the characteristic of eloquent and pithy speech, and simplicity and ease in the religion. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, the other Prophets and Messengers, all of their families and the rest of the righteous.

To proceed :

We have narrated, through many chains (isnaad, pl. asaaneed) and various narrations, from Ali ibn Abee Taalib, Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood, Mu'aadh ibn Jabal, Abu ad-Dardaa, [Abdullaah] ibn 'Umar, [Abdullaah] ibn 'Abbaas, Anas ibn Maalik, Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree - May Allaah be pleased with all of them - that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

"Whoever preserves for my Ummah forty hadeeth related to the religion, Allaah will then resurrect him in the company of the pious and the scholars."

Another narration states :

"Allaah will raise him as an erudite and learned scholar".

In the narration from Abu ad-Dardaa, it is stated :

"On the Day of Resurrection, I will be an intercessor and witness for him".

In the narration from Ibn Mas'ood it is stated that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

 "It will be said to him 'Enter Paradise through any door you wish'".

In the narration from ibn 'Umar, one finds the words :

"He will be recorded among the company of the scholars and will be resurrected in the company of the martyrs".

[However] The scholars of hadeeth agree that, although this hadeeth has numerous chains, it is weak [ie. da'eef, and hence cannot be used as a sharee'ah proof].

The scholars (may Allaah be pleased with them) have compiled innumerable works of this nature [ie. collections of forty hadeeth]. The first one that I know of who compiled such a work was Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak [a taabi'ee, rahimahu Allaah]. After him came ibn Aslam at-Toosee, a pious scholar. Then came al-Hasan ibn Sufyaan an-Nasaa'ee, Abu Bakr al-Aajurree, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Asfahaanee, ad-Daaraqutnee, al-Haakim, Abu Nu'aim, Abu Abd-ir-Rahmaan as-Sulamee, Abu Sa'eed al-Maleenee, Abu 'Uthmaan as-Saaboonee, Abdullaah ibn Muhammad al-Ansaaree, Abu Bakr al-Baihaqee and countless others both from the earlier and later times.

I have turned to Allaah for guidance and prayed to Him while compiling these forty hadeeth, following the example of those Imaams and guardians of Islaam. The scholars have agreed that it is permissible to act in accordance with weak hadeeth that deal with the virtues of good deeds [ie not weak hadeeth that deal with rulings - ahkaam - or acts of worship]. Nonetheless, given that fact, I have not simply relied upon that [weak] hadeeth [mentioned above], in compiling this work. Instead, I am following the statement of the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) found in an authentic hadeeth :

"Let him who was present among you inform those who are absent".

The Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) also said :

"May Allaah make radiant the man who has heard what I said, preserved it in his memory and conveyed it in the way that he heard it".

[Note : What an-Nawawi is saying here is that many of the scholars before him have made collections of forty hadeeth, and hence he is following their good example and not simply following the weak hadeeth quoted above, thus showing that he considers it improper to base ones actions upon weak hadeeth alone.]

Scholars have compiled forty hadeeth on faith and belief (usool), on practical matters (furoo'), on jihaad, on austerity (zuhd), on etiquette (adaab), and even on sermons (khutbahs). All of these [collections] were concerning righteous aims. May Allaah be pleased with those who sought them. However I have found it best to collect together forty hadeeth which are more important than all of those. These forty hadeeth incorporate all of those separate topics. In fact, each hadeeth is by itself a great general precept from the foundations of the Religion. Some scholars state that all of Islaam revolves around these hadeeth. Some have said, about a particular hadeeth, that they are one-half of Islaam, one-third of Islaam and so forth.

I have committed myself to including only authentic hadeeth (saheeh or hasan) in these forty hadeeth. The majority of them are from Saheeh al-Bukhaaree or Saheeh Muslim. I have mentioned them without their chain of narrators in order for it to be easier to memorize them and thus more [people] will be able to benefit from them, Allaah willing. After the hadeeth, I included a section on the meanings of the obscure expressions found in the hadeeth.

Everyone who desires and looks forward to the Hereafter must be familiar with these hadeeth because they cover the most important aspects of the religion and offer direction to all forms of obedience of Allaah. This is clear to anyone who ponders these hadeeth.

I rely only upon Allaah and I entrust my affair only to Him. To Him is all Praise and Grace, from Him is Guidance and protection from error.

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala bless us with useful knowledge and protect us from the evils within ourselves and the evils around us. Ameen!

Wa Alaikum Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatuallahi wa Barakatuhu

Hadith 2: An Explanation of Islaam, Eemaan and Ihsaan

Also on the authority of `Umar (radi Allaahu 'anhu), who said:

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).

As Salamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Hadeeth 4: Deeds are by their Final Actions

As'Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Masha-Allah, sister - very good thread. That too with its explanation. May Allah swt, reward you and help us to learn from these hadiths.