Al-Nawawi Forty Hadiths and Commentary

By Arabic Virtual Translation Center and Yahya Al-Nawawi

Our objective has always been to produce an English-language comprehensive, but yet compact, book of hadith that is easy to read and understand by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Simply put, there is no one book of hadith that meets that criterion better than the book written by Imam Al-Nawawi in the thirteenth century and known as Al-Nawawi Forty Hadiths and Commentary. The book covers all aspects of Islam from the very basic abstract definitions to the most practical daily chores. It contains all the major sharia laws. The book is a horse’s mouth for hadith commentary and is the cream of the crop of all hadith books.
We translated from Arabic Imam Al-Nawawi’s book in its entirety including the lines of poetry. We listed the text of each hadith first and followed it by the commentary.
If you want to study Islam thoroughly and don’t have time to go through endless volumes of esoteric literature, this is the book to read. It’s a compact standard book that is taught to all Muslim students around the world. It is a reference book that can be kept for many years to come. This English translation by the Arabic Virtual Translation Center is complete, accurate, unfiltered, and unbiased.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304501226

Book preview

Al-Nawawi Forty Hadiths and Commentary

AL-NAWAWI FORTY HADITHS AND COMMENTARY

MUHYI-AL-DIN YAHYA-BIN-SHARAF

AL-NAWAWI

1234–1277

631–676 A.H.

Translated by

Arabic Virtual Translation Center

New York

Arabic Virtual Translation Center LLC

330 East 38th Street

New York, NY 10016

www.books.avtcllc.com

Telephone: [phone]

Copyright © 2010 by Arabic Virtual Translation Center

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher.

Any questions regarding the material discussed in this book should be sent to [e-mail]. All other questions should be sent to [e-mail].

ISBN: 978-1-304-50122-6

Introduction by the Publisher

Our objective has always been to produce an English-language comprehensive, but yet compact, book of hadith that is easy to read and understand by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Simply put, there is no one book of hadith that meets that criterion better than the book written by Imam Al-Nawawi in the thirteenth century and known as Al-Nawawi Forty Hadiths and Commentary. The book covers all aspects of Islam from the very basic abstract definitions to the most practical daily chores. It contains all the major sharia laws.  The book is a horse’s mouth for hadith commentary and is the cream of the crop of all hadith books.

In this book, we translated from Arabic Imam Al-Nawawi’s book in its entirety including the lines of poetry. We made the translation as simple as possible without straying from the meaning intended by the author or the hadiths themselves. There is no doubt that the commentary is still complex and sometimes hard to comprehend for the first-time reader. That is so because the events are mentioned in compact form with little or no illustration. To fully understand all the topics discussed in this book, one must consult other Islamic literature. The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the building blocks of Islam with the option to dig deeper into a massive and voluminous subject.

Lastly, we need to make two quick points. First: The first twenty-six hadiths of Al-Nawawi’s book were actually compiled by Imam Ibn-Al-Salah and the rest were compiled by Imam Al-Nawawi himself. Later on, all the hadiths became known as Al-Nawawi Forty hadiths. Second: The actual number of hadiths in the book is forty-two and not forty. This can be rectified by knowing that it was common practice for Arabs to round numbers to the nearest decade.

Arabic Virtual Translation Center

New York

November 15, 2010

Introduction by the Translators

A hadith is a narration, or story, that involves the Prophet Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him. Since these narrations were collected hundreds of years after the Prophet’s death, many mechanisms have been put in place to make sure that these stories are authentic and not fabricated. Such mechanisms have given birth to what we know now as the science of hadith.

The scholars who collected the narrations are known as hadith reporters (muhadithun). A hadith recorder (hafiz) is loosely defined as someone who is an expert hadith reporter. The forty-two hadiths in this book were reported by master hadith recorders Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others.

The body of any hadith is split into two parts. The first contains the names of the individuals who heard the hadith, starting with the person who recited the hadith to the reporter and ending with the person who heard the narration directly from the Prophet. This chain of transmission is called sanad, or isnad. The text of the story itself is known as matn. A hadith is called musnad when the isnad is continuous, i.e. all the people mentioned in the isnad heard the story from each other in the order mentioned with no people missing. A hadith is called mursal when the isnad is missing the name of the companion who heard the hadith from the Prophet directly.

Hadiths are classified based on the degree of their reliability. The classifications used in this book, along with their equivalents in the science of hadith, are as follows, in descending order of reliability:

authentic sahih

good authentic hasan sahih

good hasan

weak da`if

fabricated mawdu`

The good authentic classification is used only by Imam Al-Tirmidhi.

Finally, we would like to leave you with a few notes:

We used Arabic Islamic terminology when necessary in order to define words precisely and remove any ambiguity. With less common words, we used translations of the words but gave their Arabic equivalents

All Qur'anic verses are followed by a pair of brackets that contain the name of the sura (chapter) and the number of the verse.

As it is common practice in the Scriptures, we capitalized all attributes of the deity. We also conformed to common practice in Islamic literature by using salutations whenever the names of the prophets and any of their companions are mentioned.

Whenever the titles Messenger or Prophet are used without mentioning a name, they refer exclusively to the Prophet Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him.

All information included in parentheses and footnotes are added by us for clarification.

We used full descriptive nouns, such as God, and general pronouns, such as they, instead of he and she, for clarity and to prevent giving preference to any of the sexes.

Table of Contents

Introduction by the Publisher

Introduction by the Translators

Introduction by Imam Al-Nawawi

First Hadith

Intentions

Second Hadith

Definition of Islam

Definition of Iman

Definition of Ihsan

The hour of resurrection

Signs of the hour of resurrection

Third Hadith

The five pillars of Islam

Fourth Hadith

Stages of prenatal development

Fate

Fifth Hadith

Heresy

Sixth Hadith

Halal, haram, and questionable matters

Seventh Hadith

Advice

Eighth Hadith

Jihad against unbelievers

Ninth Hadith

Disputes over grey areas

Do what you can

Tenth Hadith

Hypocrisy

Eleventh Hadith

Doubt and certainty

Twelfth Hadith

Minding one’s own business

Thirteenth Hadith

Loving others

Fourteenth Hadith

Capital punishment

Fifteenth Hadith

Saying only good things

Respecting neighbors

Honoring guests

Sixteenth Hadith

Anger management

Seventeenth Hadith

Killing with kindness

Eighteenth Hadith

Fearing God

Good deeds erase bad deeds

Treating people with kindness

Nineteenth Hadith

Faith in God

Predestination

Twentieth Hadith

Shame

Twenty-First Hadith

Righteousness

Twenty-Second Hadith

Prerequisites for heaven

Twenty-Third Hadith

Good deeds

Selling one’s soul to God

Selling one’s soul to the Devil

Twenty-Fourth Hadith

Injustice

Providence

Forgiveness

Omnipotence

Judgment Day

Twenty-Fifth Hadith

Rewardable deeds

Twenty-Sixth Hadith

People are indebted to God

Twenty-Seventh Hadith

Definition of righteousness

Definition of sin

Twenty-Eighth Hadith

Last words of advice

Twenty-Ninth Hadith

Prerequisites for heaven

Good deeds

Islam; salat; jihad

Keeping the tongue from evil

Thirtieth Hadith

Dealing with grey areas

Thirty-First Hadith

Asceticism

Thirty-Second Hadith

Inflection of harm

Thirty-Third Hadith

Burden of proof is on the plaintiff

Thirty-Fourth Hadith

Stopping evil

Thirty-Fifth Hadith

Unlawful deeds

Muslims are brothers

The sanctity of a Muslim’s life, property, and honor

Thirty-Sixth Hadith

Helping other Muslims

Seeking knowledge

Reading the Qur'an

Kith and kin don’t count

Thirty-Seventh Hadith

Deeds: rewards and penalties

Thirty-Eighth Hadith

God protects the believers

Mandatory and optional acts

Thirty-Ninth Hadith

Dealing with mistakes, forgetfulness, and coercion

Fortieth Hadith

Asceticism

Do not postpone today’s work until tomorrow

Forty-First Hadith

Following the teachings of the Qur'an and hadith

Forty-Second Hadith

All sins are forgivable

AL-NAWAWI FORTY HADITHS

AND COMMENTARY

Introduction

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

May thanks be to God, the Everlasting in heavens and on earth. God who takes care of all creatures and sends messengers, may God’s peace and blessings be upon them, to the designees to guide them and show them the laws of religion through decisive evidence and clear proofs. I thank God for all God’s gifts and ask God for more grace and generosity. I acknowledge that there is no god but Allah, the Only Conqueror and Gracious Forgiver. I also acknowledge that our master Muhammad, God’s servant and Messenger, God’s loved one and close friend, is the best of creatures. He’s been honored with the Qur'an, the continuous miracle that has lasted countless years, and with the sunna[1], the guiding light for all seekers. He’s been gifted with succinct speech and grace of religion. May God’s peace and blessings be upon him, and all the prophets and messengers, and all their families, and all the righteous ones.

We’ve reported that, according to, `Ali-Bin-Abi-Talib, `Abdullah-Bin-Mas`ud, Mu`adh-Bin-Jabal, Abu-Al-Darda', Ibn-`Umar, Ibn-`Abbas, Anas-Bin-Malik, Abu-Hurayrah, and Abu-Sa`id Al-Khudri, may God be pleased with them, through numerous transmissions and various reports, that God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said, People who safeguard forty hadiths for my nation pertaining to its religion, God will bring them back, on the day of resurrection, in the company of jurisprudents and scholars. In another report it says, God will resurrect them as jurisprudents and scholars. And in the report of Abu-Al-Darda', I will be for them, on the day of resurrection, an intercessor and a witness. And in the report of Ibn-Mas`ud, They will be told, ‘Enter heaven from any gate you wish.’ And in the report of Ibn-`Umar, They will be recorded together with the group of scholars and gathered with the group of martyrs. Hadith recorders have agreed that this hadith is weak even though it has many transmissions.

Scholars, may God be pleased with them, classified in this category countless compilations. The first one I know to have such a compilation is `Abdullah-Bin-Al-Mubarak, and then Muhammad-Bin-Aslam Al-Tusi Al-`Alim Al-Rabbani, and then Al-Hasan-Bin-Sufyan Al-Nasa'i, Abu-Bakr Al-Ajurri, Abu-Bakr Muhammad-Bin-Ibrahim Al-Asfahani, Al-Daraqutni, Al-Hakim, Abu-Nu`aym, Abu-`Abd-Al-Rahman Al-Sulama, Abu-Sa`id Al-Malini, Abu-`Uthman Al-Sabuni, `Abdullah-Bin-Muhammad Al-Ansari, Abu-Bakr Al-Bayhaqi, and innumerable predecessors and successors.

I turned to God, the Sublime, to seek what is best in collecting forty hadiths, emulating those great imams and hadith recorders of Islam. Scholars have agreed that it is permissible to work with weak hadiths when dealing with good traits. Despite of this, I did not rely on this hadith but I relied on what the Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said in authentic hadiths: Let the eyewitness, from you, inform the absent and  May God prosper those who hear and comprehend a discourse of mine and deliver it the way they heard it.

There have been scholars who collected forty hadiths before. Some collected forty hadiths about the principles of the religion (Usul Al-Din). And some collected forty hadiths about the branches of the religion (Furu` Al-Din). And some collected forty hadiths about jihad. And some collected forty hadiths about asceticism. And some collected forty hadiths about good conduct. And some collected forty hadiths about sermons. Those are all good acts, and may God be pleased with the people who did them. But I wanted to collect forty hadiths that are more important than all of them. I wanted to collect forty hadiths that include all of those subjects where each hadith represents one great foundation, of the religion’s foundations, and is described by scholars as being an axis of Islam, or represents half of Islam, or a third of it, or something of the sort. Also, I wanted to make sure that the forty hadiths are authentic and largely listed in Sahih[2] Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. I wanted to list the hadiths without isnad to make them easy to remember and widely beneficial, God willing. Lastly, I wanted to add a section to show precisely the hidden meaning of each hadith.

It is incumbent on anyone who looks forward to the hereafter to know these hadiths due to the important information that they contain and the attention that they bring to all the pious deeds. That is clear to the careful examiner. I do rely on God, and I do turn to the Lord for empowerment and support. To God, belong all praise and grace, and through God, comes all success and preservation.

First Hadith

Commander of the Faithful, Abu-Hafs, `Umar-Bin-Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, said, "I heard God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, say, ‘Actions are judged by intentions and everyone reaps what they intend. So those who migrate for the sake of God and God’s Messenger, their migrations are for the sake of God and God’s Messenger. And those who migrate for the sake of a worldly gain or for the sake of someone to marry, their migrations are for what they intended.’"

Reported by the two imams of hadith reporters Abu-`Abdullah Muhammad-Bin-Isma`il-Bin-Ibrahim-Bin-Al-Mighirah-Bin-Bardizbah Al-Bukhari and Abu-Al-Husayn Muslim-Bin-Al-Hajaj-Bin-Muslim Al-Qushayri Al-Naysaburi in their two hadith books, which are the most accurate books of hadith.

***

This hadith shows that intentions are a standard for judging the validity of actions. When intentions are good, the action is valid. And when intentions are corrupt, the action is null and void. There are three cases of actions when accompanied by intentions:

An action performed as a consequence of the fear of God, the Sublime. This is the worship of servants.

An actionperformedto seekheaven and recompense. This is the worship of merchants.

An action performed as a consequence of the respect of God, the expression of servitude, and the showing of gratitude. And to realize, despite of this, that there is a lot more to be done. And to be fearful for not knowing if an action has been accepted by God or not. This is the worship of the free. That’s what God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, referred to when Aisha, may God be pleased with her, told him after his feet swelled from staying up at night, You burden yourself with this and God has forgiven all your sins past and present? He replied, Shouldn’t I be a thankful servant?

So, which is better, a worship arising from fear or a worship arising from supplication? Ghazali, may he rest in peace, said, A worship arising from supplication is better because supplication breeds affection while fear leads to despair. Those are the three types of actions performed by the righteous.

Be aware that sincerity might get exposed to the pestilence of conceit. So those who are enthralled by their actions, their actions will fail. Also, those who are arrogant, their actions will fail.

The second situation is when actions are performed for the sake of this life and the hereafter. Some scholars rejected those actions. They based their ruling on what God’s Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said in a divine revelation, "God, the Sublime, says, ‘I am the richest of partners. So those who partner with anything else, I shall disown them.’ Similarly, that’s what Al-Harith Al-Muhasibi referred to in his book Al-Ri`ayah when he said, Righteousness is to want God through obeying God, and to want nothing but God."

Hypocrisy is two types. The first is when the objective of obedience is to seek people and the second is when the objective is to seek people and their god. Both actions are rejected. This opinion was quoted by Hafiz Abu-Nu`aym from some salaf (predecessors) in Al-Hilyah. Some of them also based their ruling on God’s words, God is the Enforcer and the Superior; How can people take other gods beside the Lord? God is high above what they do. [Al-Hashr:23] Just as God is high above taking a wife or a son or a partner, God is also high above accepting an action where people acknowledge other gods beside God. God is Bigger, more Tremendous, and far Superior. Al-Samarqandi, may he rest in peace, said, An action performed for the sake of God is accepted but an action performed for the sake of people is rejected. An example of that is when people intend to and offer the noon salat (prayer), a God’s commandment, but they prolong the salat and the recitation and they embellish it for the sake of others. The essential part of the salat is accepted but the prolonging and embellishment of it, which was done for the sake of people, is not because the intentions were directed toward people. When Sheikh `Iz-Al-Din-Bin-`Abd-Al-Salam was asked about people who prolong their salat for the sake of others, he replied, "I hope their actions won’t be rejected in their entirety. That’s if partnering others with God occurs in the attributes of an action. But if partnering others with God occurs in the essential part of an action, such as offering an obligatory (fard) salat for the sake of God, the Sublime, and other people, then salat is not accepted."

The way hypocrisy exists in the performance of an action, it also exists in the abandonment of it. Al-Fudayl -Bin-`Iyad said, The abandonment of actions for the sake of people is hypocrisy, and the performance of actions for the sake of people is polytheism. Salvation is when God saves someone from both. What Bin-`Iyad, may he rest in peace, means is that people who intend on worshiping but do otherwise, due to the fear that others might see them, are hypocrites. If they, on the other hand, do not worship in public and choose to worship in private, that’s better. That is the case except when worshiping involves an obligatory salat[3] or a dutiful zakat[4], or a scholar who is a role model, then worshiping in public is better.

The way hypocrisy invalidates an action, similarly does boastfulness. That’s when people perform an action in private and brag about it in public. The Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said, Those who publicize their actions, God will expose them. And those who pretend, God will not reward them. Scholars have said that if people are role model scholars and they publicize their actions in order to energize and educate others, then publicity in this case is permissible. Al-Marzubani, may he rest in peace, said, For salat to be accepted, it has to have four characteristics: The presence of the heart, the witness of the mind, the submission of the body, and the acquiescence of the limbs. So those who pray without the presence of the heart, they are inattentive worshipers. And those who pray without the witness of the mind, they are oblivious worshipers. And those who pray without the submission of the body, they are crude worshipers. And those who pray without the acquiescence of the limbs, they are false worshipers. And those who pray utilizing those parts, they are perfect worshipers.

In actions are judged by intentions, the Messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, refers to actions of obedience (ta`at) and not permissible actions (mubahat). Al-Harith Al-Muhasibi says that sincerity does not cover permissible actions since those actions are not pious actions neither do they lead to pious ones. An example of this, is building a structure for no reason other than frivolity. On the other hand, if the construction is for a purpose, such as a mosque, arches, or bonds, then it is desirable (mustahab). Al-Muhasibi says there is no sincerity in committing prohibited or abominated acts. That’s like when people look at things they’re not permitted to look